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5 Reasons Sam Bradford Will Have A Huge Second Half Of Season

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- Go get Sam Bradford in all of your fantasy football leagues.

Bradford, 28, and the Philadelphia Eagles are poised for a monster second-half of the season coming off their 33-27 walk-off win at the Dallas Cowboys. With an increasing comfort level, an improving receiving corps, a dominant run game, and a favorable schedule, Bradford's numbers should soar over the final eight games.

Foresight, is a beautiful thing.

 

1. Comfort Level

 

You can scoff at the "he's only played eight games in this system" argument all you want, but the reality of the situation is, it's valid.

In life, when you start anything, it naturally takes time to get comfortable. Your first assignment as a police officer, your first day as a school teacher, your first public speech. Everything takes time and in the quick-twitched social media-driven sports world we live, we don't allow for that. We want success now. We want domination now. We want the Super Bowl now.

To quote the Hall Of Fame writer Ray Didinger, "REALITY CHECK!" Life doesn't work that way.

"The more you do something, the more reps you get, the better you feel," Bradford told Jeff McLane. "And that's kind of how this process has been for me. The more I've been out there, the different looks I've seen from defenses against certain plays, the more comfortable I feel running this offense."

BONUS: He's coming off a 296 yard, 0 turnover, walk-off touchdown winning performance. That bodes well for his confidence.

 

2. The wide receivers 

 

According to SportingCharts.com, the Eagles lead the NFL is percentage of drops at 6.5-percent---20 drops on 309 targets.

Catching passes is like hitting in baseball, or jump shooting in basketball. Pro athletes can go through hot and cold streaks when it comes to those things. There's no rhyme or reason to it.

You don't think Jordan Matthews knows he needs "to keep his eye on the ball?" Of course he knows that. He doesn't need "Tom" from Mayfair to yell about it on the radio, for him to realize he needs to catch the ball.

Thanks Tom, but he can catch the ball. And he will catch the ball. And last week, Matthews responded with nine catches on 12 targets for 133 yards and a walk-off touchdown.

Zach Ertz started the season with a sports hernia injury. The last two games, as Ertz gets back to 100-percent, he's had 10 catches on 14 targets for 107 yards, including two go-up-and-get-it plays.

Ertz
Zach Ertz makes big catch (NFL game rewind screen shot)

Still, Ertz has yet to find the end zone. That will even itself out. Look for Ertz's name to be called a lot in the red zone over these final eight games, as pointed out by the respected NFL analyst Mike Clay.

Nelson Agholor has missed the last three games due to injury. Sure, he's a rookie, but he has speed and is probably (hopefully) the team's only deep threat. With Agholor expected to return this week, he's likely to produce more than eight catches the rest of the way.
https://vine.co/v/e2HM6h55txv
 

3. Chip Kelly's Offense

 

Since Kelly's arrival, the Eagles lead the NFL with 25 400-yard games on offense.

Furthermore, per 94WIP's Reuben Frank, the Eagles are averaging 151 rushing yards per game since Week 3, second best in the NFL. This will presumably open things up for Bradford, as it did against the Cowboys.

And according to ESPN.com's Matthew Berry, since Kelly became head coach of the Eagles in 2013, only Drew Brees, Andrew Luck and Peyton Manning have more fantasy points (which essentially means better stats) than "Eagles QB," the accumulative of whoever was playing quarterback for the Birds.

Those QB's = Mike Vick, Nick Foles, Matt Barkley, and Mark Sanchez. No chance you are going to try and convince me, or anyone with a brain, that Bradford isn't at least as good, if not considerably better, than all four of those quarterbacks.

 

4. The Schedule

 

Lincoln Financial Field (Photo credit: Cindy Webster/WIP)

MIA (3-5)
TB (3-5)
at Det (1-7)
at Ne (8-0)
BUF (4-4)
ARZ (6-2)
WAS (3-5)
at NYG (5-4)

That's three winning teams, one of which is the 5-4 Giants (who probably won't be a winning team after their game vs. the Patriots this week)---a team the Eagles already beat easily. Plus, of their eight remaining games, five are at home.

 

5. Sam Bradford, himself

 

Sam Bradford
RLINGTON, TX - NOVEMBER 08: Quarterback Sam Bradford #7 of the Philadelphia Eagles looks to pass during the game against the Dallas Cowboys on November 8, 2015 in Arlington, Texas. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images)

Bradford has 10 touchdowns to 10 interceptions (t-4th most in the NFL), but five of those picks came in back-to-back blow out home wins for the Eagles in Weeks 5 and 6. Yes, those were atrocious costly red zone throws, but those few throws have given Bradford's numbers a terribly negative slant.

His 62.9 completion percentage is the best of his career. While that percentage is just 21st among NFL quarterbacks, Aaron Rodgers is 13th at 64.7-percent, for context. Bradford's 2,061 passing yards is 14th in the NFL, less than 200 yards behind Andy Dalton who is 8th in the NFL in passing yards and playing out of his mind on the undefeated Cincinnati Bengals.

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