On Jan. 3, when the Eagles hopped on the team bus heading up the New Jersey Turnpike to face the Giants in the season finale, there wasn’t much on the line.
The team was already eliminated from playoff contention and owner Jeff Lurie had already pulled the trigger to fire head coach Chip Kelly.
So why was that the game Doug Pederson watched so intensely?
Well, in that game, interim coach Pat Shurmur took over the offense and ran more of a West Coast system, very similar to the one Pederson will run this season in Philly. Shurmur, aside from slowing down the Eagles’ normally-torrid pace, also allowed quarterback Sam Bradford to check plays at the line of scrimmage.
And Bradford excelled.
“I did look at that game,” Pederson said on Thursday, shortly after Bradford signed a two-year contract to remain in Philadelphia. “Because that was very similar to what I bring to the table and the offensive structure that I’m going to bring where he can have a little bit of flexibility at the line of scrimmage and get in and out of plays.
“I know [Shurmur] was kind of in charge for that last game and put him in positions that way to be successful. Those are things that I’m going to continue to bring, and that was a big game.”
The Eagles won the season finale 35-30 and Bradford threw for 320 yards and two touchdowns. But more importantly, he looked comfortable controlling the plays at the line of scrimmage.
That’s a good sign, because in Pederson’s offense, the 28-year-old Bradford will have more autonomy at the line.
“I think that my mind is a great attribute to my game,” Bradford said. “I enjoy being able to go to the line and make those checks, make those audibles.”
The ability to change plays or at least part of plays under Kelly in the last three years was largely absent because of the emphasis on running the offense quickly.
Pederson on Thursday said the checks at the line of scrimmage in his offense aren’t necessarily audibles into completely new plays. Often, he explained, the offense will go into a play with three route concepts and the quarterback will be responsible for picking the correct one.
“It’s important,” Pederson said about this part of his offense. “It’s not everything that we do.”
Bradford didn’t meet Pederson until after Pederson was hired as the Eagles’ new head coach. It was during their preliminary talks that Bradford decided he wanted to play for Pederson, citing his ability to communicate as a former NFL quarterback.
One of the things they talked about was the freedom Bradford would have at the line of scrimmage. Bradford was able to look at the freedom Kansas City quarterback Alex Smith had in Pederson/Andy Reid’s offense as a model.
Now, Bradford will have that same freedom.
“He’s accustomed to that. He’s been used to that,” Pederson said. “He’s an extremely sharp guy, intelligent guy and definitely we’ll benefit offensively from having his mind.”