Totally false on reading defenses

he had other flaws---not sure he had good pocket presence but
he was known for reading defenses, know where to go

Having average to poor OL and poor WRs in StL killed him
But you cannot be good when you don't play and when he
did play for a lot of factors he was average, at best.



As far as processing info---it was one of his strengths

Duffy, who's excellent talks about it ...
[www.philadelphiaeagles.com]

Let's go to the tape and see how Bradford looks in four of the most important factors in NFL quarterback play: decision-making, accuracy, pocket mobility and arm strength. Do these four factors make up everything in a successful NFL signal caller? Far from it. But these at least give you a glimpse of what Bradford brings to the table as the Eagles' new starting quarterback.

Let's start first on the mental side of the game, his decision-making.

Decision-Making

There are a ton of facets that must be accounted for when you analyze about a quarterback's decision-making (more than I can even bring up in this space), but ultimately it starts with how quickly he can process information on the field. Does he go through progressions in a play and can he eliminate reads quickly? What do I mean by that? When the quarterback drops back, can he quickly discern that a read in the progression has been taken away by the defense and he should check to the next available read? The ones that do that quickest are often able to limit turnovers and get the ball where it needs to be consistently. Overall, I think one of Bradford's best traits is his mental-processing capabilities and how he can handle the cerebral aspects of the quarterback position. Let's take a look at an example of this from his 2013 game against Atlanta, on one of my favorite plays that I watched when I studied him.

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It's third-and-10 late in the game and the Rams need a score if they hope to have a chance at coming back to tie the game up. This is a full-field read for Bradford, who drops back, looks to his left at his first read, a high-low "Smash" concept getting taken away by three defenders.

Before he even reaches the second step in his drop, he's already eliminated that and moved to the next read, a post route from the tight end over the middle. Bradford eliminates that from the progression by the top of his drop when he sees that getting taken away by two linebackers. He progresses to the far right side of the field, where he has another high-low concept. This time, he decides to pull the trigger, as he steps up and delivers the ball to the outside shoulder of the receiver, away from the underneath defender, where only his man can get it for a touchdown. A great play from Bradford, and a great example of processing information quickly under the gun to put your team in the end zone.

Obviously when you look at decision-making, you have to factor in how well a quarterback takes care of the football. Does he unnecessarily force balls into coverage when other options with free yards are available? Does he know where to go with the ball against a particular coverage? Showing an understanding of route concepts is another area where I thought Bradford stood out on tape, consistently taking what the opposing defense gave him.

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This is a play from Week 1 in 2013. The Rams are running a high-low concept commonly referred to as "Levels," where you have a pair of in-breaking routes at different levels of the defense across the middle of the field. In theory, the shallow crossing route closest to the line of scrimmage will occupy the underneath defender, opening up a window for the dig route over the top. Bradford quickly recognizes that would not be the case on this play, as he sees the safety jump on the dig route and instantly checks down to the running back out of the backfield. This is a great example of taking what the defense gives you, as Bradford picks up some clean yards on first down.

When one tries to evaluate a quarterback's mental-processing ability, one trait you can look for is how he manipulates second-level defenders. Does he move linebackers or defensive backs with pump fakes? Can he hold a safety in the middle of the field with his eyes or look defenders off of his intended option? Going through the tape, I found multiple examples of this trait with Bradford, one in particular on a touchdown pass from that same game against the Arizona Cardinals in the 2013 season opener.

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It's second-and-8 down in the red zone, and the Rams are running similar one-read concepts to both sides of the field. At the snap of the ball, Bradford stares at the single-high safety, holding him in the middle of the field and preventing him from cheating to one side or the other. At the top of his drop, Bradford gets his eyes to the right and shows off his quick release, delivering a ball in-stride to tight end Jared Cook, who dives in for the touchdown to tie the game before halftime. This was great execution by Bradford in the two-minute drill, leading his team on a much-needed touchdown drive.

One buzzword you hear often with quarterback play in the NFL is "anticipation." What exactly does that mean? To put it plainly, you want to see a quarterback pull the trigger to release the football before a receiver gets into his break at the top of his route. This is so important at the NFL level because the defenders are faster and the windows are tighter, so the throwing lanes are only available for split seconds at a time. The ability to throw with anticipation proves that a quarterback has an understanding of the passing concept, has a good feel for the way his receivers run routes and has the trust in his eyes with regard to what he sees from opposing defenses. Bradford consistently throws with great anticipation, as he almost never holds the ball longer than he should when he drops back to throw.

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Here's a third-down play in that same Cardinals game. The Rams bring receiver Tavon Austin in motion and plan to have him run an out route at the sticks for the first down. This isn't a tight window throw, but look at how early Bradford gets the ball out of his hands. He puts the ball right on Austin past the marker for the first down. There were a ton of examples of tight-window throws, but I picked this one because of just how early Bradford gets the ball out. Austin has three steps before his break when Bradford takes his hand off the ball! Great anticipation here from the quarterback.

One of the last traits that I will include under the "decision-making" umbrella for the purpose of this article is the ability to burn the blitz. When a quarterback senses pressure, he should know who the "hot read" is immediately, so he can get the ball out of his hands to prevent a negative play and hopefully get a playmaker in space to make the defense pay for sending extra rushers. On this play against Atlanta, Bradford does just that.

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The Falcons are sending in the corner from the boundary side of the field and the receiver, knowing he's the hot read, does a nice job running a quick stop route. Bradford immediately recognizes the pressure and gets the ball to the hot receiver. With the safety too far away from the ball to make the play, the Rams get a first down against the blitz.

Decision-making has been a strength of Bradford's going back to at least his college days. In an interview with ESPN.com back in 2013, current Indiana head coach and former Oklahoma offensive coordinator Kevin Wilson talked about the second start of Bradford's career with the Sooners. In the week leading up to the game, the offense practiced a play seven to eight times, a play-action pass that on every rep resulted in a touchdown in the back of the end zone to receiver Malcolm Kelly. When the play was called in the game, however, Kelly was covered up by safeties over the top. Instead of forcing it, Bradford checked down to the fullback who walked in for an easy touchdown.

"I put Sam in a position to fail, but he's so bright and so smart, he made the right play," Wilson said.

This is just one example of how Bradford's decision-making on the fly put the offense into the end zone. In college, Wilson transformed Oklahoma's traditional run-oriented offense into a fast break attack, with Bradford as the catalytic point guard spreading the ball around to a plethora of targets. In an interview with Dave Spadaro last week, Shurmur talked about Bradford's ability as a quick thinker and good decision-maker, saying he "understands the importance of executing quickly," something that is so important in an up-tempo, shotgun offense like the one that the Eagles employ.