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Throughout this offseason, Eagles head coach Doug Pederson has been very adamant that Sam Bradford is Philadelphia's starting quarterback. As recently as last week, Pederson literally said Bradford is "the No. 1" quarterback. Eagles offensive coordinator Frank Reich doesn't necessarily feel the same way. Check out this exchange on the 94WIP Morning Show, via CBS Philly.
Angelo Cataldi: We're getting the sense, Frank, that that's not going to happen, that there isn't a quarterback competition, that Bradford is the No. 1. Is that the right impression?
Frank Reich: "No, that’s probably not the right impression. I’ve been around this business a long time as a player and as a coach, and one of the things I’ve really come to appreciate is it’s not a contradiction to say you’ve got to have order. Because if you don’t order it’s chaos. So, if you’re the head coach you gotta come in and you’ve gotta establish order. There has to be organization, there has to be order, but the other thing that — as coaches — that you’ve got to establish is a culture of competition. This is one of the most competitive industries in the world and so, to say that there’s not competition, that’s just the furthest thing from the truth. So, I don’t see the problem with creating order and competition at the same time, personally. Every one of us as a coach and a player, you’re working harder to get better, but in that process you have to establish order and things have a way of working themselves out."
Reich's response comes one day after Eagles defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz had the following to say when asked about the keys to developing a rookie quarterback, such as Carson Wentz, in the NFL. Bold emphasis mine:
"Don't judge him on somebody else, and then also don't predetermine the results of the race. Just let him go play. Don't put pressure on him."
It's worth noting that the Eagles have split quarterbacks reps equally among Bradford, Chase Daniel, and Wentz so far during OTA practices. But the quarterbacks have also appeared in that order, which suggests Bradford is the starter, Daniel is the backup, and Wentz is the third string guy. Last week, Pederson also noted that the equal reps method won't last forever.
"I know once we get later into camp, we need to get our starter, Sam, we need to give him more reps, but right now I'm not concerned with that," he said.
Bradford is still likely to be the team's Week 1 starter. The team isn't paying him $18 million this season just to sit the bench. With that said, if Bradford gets totally outplayed this summer, I wouldn't think it's impossible for him to get unseated. I just don't think that's likely right now.