Eagles vs. Ravens Preview: What to expect from Sam Bradford's debut

Each week Patrick and Dave discuss the week that was and is. It's Two Guys Internetting Football!

Dave: Pre-season games are basically meaningless, so I wanted one thing and one thing only from Sunday's game against the Colts. Takes. And man did we get them. But before we get to that, there were some very encouraging signs. We shouldn't read too much into one exhibition game, but it was nice to see so many backups have a nice game. Depth is always a good thing.

Nelson Agholor gave us a glimpse of what he can be if he can just focus better. Highly encouraging. Also encouraging was Marcus Smith II carrying over his good week of practice to the field, if he can earn meaningful playing time this season then the front seven is stacked. Unfortunately we won't get to see any progression this week since he's injured. Eric Rowe also had an encouraging performance. We should expect this from these top picks, but they don't always work out so it's nice to see good signs.

What stood out to you about the Colts game?

Patrick: Dave, how dare you say preseason games are meaningless when your favorite player of all time ran for a touchdown last week!

In all seriousness, the play of the young guys was the big story, but I was also pleased with the defensive line. Obviously that's not saying a ton, as they're the best unit on the team, but nose tackle Bennie Logan looked fantastic in limited snaps last Saturday. Him taking the next step would really be a "rich getting richer" situation for the Eagles.

That said, there were some not-so-nice things we should talk about. Namely, the kicker situation. I'm not one to overreact about bad games, but it's at least a little concerning that Cody Parkey missed a 33-yard PAT and a 34-yard field goal, right?

Dave: Favorite player, ha.

Logan, who's already a good and underrated player taking another step would definitely be the rich getting richer. The front seven could be something special this year, which will help out the secondary. Which will help out the offense. Which will help out the defense. Which will help out the offense. It's a vicious cycle.

I'm not at all concerned about Parkey. Kickers and fluctuation go hand in hand, one pre-season game is nothing to fret over.

Nor is one pre-season game something to get too excited about. I could almost skip the pre-season entirely if not for the takes. Ed Reynolds II was invisible in camp, then he picks off Bryan Bennett, who isn't remotely an NFL player, and now he's a front runner for the last backup safety spot. That is Na Brown Award material right there. I'm looking forward to seeing who will be this week's star.

Patrick: Like you mentioned last week, this preseason hasn't had the same spice without some fringe-y, back-of-the-roster guy showing up and showing out in camp. Granted there are still a few games to go, but I think that's where the reaction to Ed Reynolds comes from. If he can do it again Saturday it's a different story, though.

But Saturday is all about Bradford, right? Instead of focusing on the fact that he should be better than Sanchez was last week (not sure that says much, but still), I'm curious to get your take on Sammy. I know you're still in wait-and-see mode, which honestly is probably the safest emotional state in which to be. So what do you want/need to see from Bradford Saturday to make you feel better about the acquisition? And do you think you'll actually see it?

Dave: Yeah, Saturday is all about Bradford. Which means he'll be in for two series and throw 6 passes, 2 of which will be screens and we won't learn anything.

I am most definitely in wait and see mode, and I'm not sure that I will get out of it until 2016. But I am really looking forward to seeing him play. What I would like to see from Bradford is some mobility in the pocket and some deep passes. I don't need or want to see him keeping it on a read option, or even a bootleg, just some moving around to buy time. Normal QB stuff. I need to see him feel comfortable doing that. I also, and I've said this before, need to see him be willing to take a couple of shots down the field, demonstrate that he is willing and able to play a vertical game.

Will we see it? I doubt we'll see enough of it. I anticipate him getting 8 attempts max, most of them short passes by design, which won't tell us much. That's one of the frustrations of the pre-season, vanilla play calls and limited playing time by starters, which is magnified by Bradford missing last week. This week I'm also curious to see how the backups do again. The Ravens are a deeper and better coached team than the Colts, so they should present a tougher challenge.

Also can we take a minute to laugh at Chip for calling Joe Flacco "elite"? Maybe Chip is Pro Football Talk Commenter.

Patrick: "Is Joe Flacco a elite quarterback? You won't believe which NFL coach thinks so!!"

This week is when guys who did some good things last week can really cement their roles. Can Jaylen Watkins get a tighter grip on the slot job? Will Eric Rowe make some plays? And then there are guys like Eric Tomlinson, who looked good at the end of Sunday's game - can those back-end guys show up?

It'll be interesting to see how the offensive line does as well. We barely saw them last week, and while things seemed fine for the most part, I want to see them go against a superior front seven. Please, guys, no RGIII mishaps this week.

Dave: This season could go terribly wrong staring with Bradford blowing his knee out on the first play and there will be the comfort of knowing that short of its darkest hours no team can compare to the wretchedness of the Redskins.