Suffice it to say, Philadelphia Eagles fans were shocked when innovative and possibly unhinged head coach Chip Kelly shipped former potential franchise signal-caller Nick Foles along with a second-round pick in the 2016 NFL Draft to the St. Louis Rams in exchange for oft-injured, oft-off quarterback Sam Bradford at the outset of the latest league year.
While it's pretty clear that Kelly simply viewed Bradford has having greater potential than the athletically-limited Foles - even if said potential remains untapped even at this point of his career - a recent report may shed some further light on why Kelly was willing to give up on Foles, a quarterback who achieved significant success under his tutelage.
"He's been doing this for a long time, he was the number one draft pick, he was the starter there for all those years. He talks like a franchise quarterback, whereas, Nick [Foles] I think, wasn't very comfortable in that role, especially in Philadelphia," Jeff McLane of the Philadelphia Inquirer said recently, while appearing on 97.5 The Fanatic. "I think there probably wasn't as much written about that [as there should've been] and I've kind of learned a few things since Nick has been gone, that it had really gotten to him, some of the criticism that was happening here in Philadelphia based on his play last season and I don't think Bradford is the type of guy where he lets that type of stuff get to him.
"Now, he played in a small market in St. Louis where things are a little different than here in Philadelphia, but he did play at Oklahoma where [it's a] big-time college football program and an entire state, everything is focused on what that quarterback is doing at that university."
Bradford did perform at an elite level in front of the legions of Sooners fans in college, but due to a pair of ACL tears, hasn't suited up for a regular season NFL game in over 19 months. Foles, despite coming off a mediocre and injury shortened 2014 campaign of his own, was still looked upon by Eagles fans as the guy who'd thrown 27 touchdowns and just two interceptions during a magical 2013 run to the playoffs and had amassed a 15-9 starting record.
Foles' fantastic 2013 aside, he did falter last season and now plays for the Rams of St. Louis. Former NFL personnel executive Louis Riddick added to the rhetoric regarding Foles recently.
"My experience with Nick is that he was very even-keel, very mellow, very much so not affected by a lot of outside things, but more...I've talked with people directly that were with him every day and coached him, and he was the kind of guy who behind the scenes didn't necessarily like being criticized, didn't necessarily like maybe being coached hard, being gotten on in the way that some quarterbacks and some players can take," Riddick told Anthony Gargano And Jon Marks On The Morning Show. "So is it surprising that maybe he would fit in a little bit better in a town like St. Louis where, not necessarily that they don't have high expectations, but it's not the same kind of scrutiny he'll face here in Philadelphia? Yeah, that doesn't shock me. That doesn't shock me that he would feel more comfortable there.
"You've gotta be different, man. You've gotta be different in a good way in order to thrive here."
It's certainly not surprising to hear Riddick's assessment that you've got to be "different" to make it work in the Philly media pressure-cooker. It is, however, interesting to hear that Foles, who always seemed so calm under pressure, may not have been as up to the task of dealing with the Eagle spotlight as it looked from the outside.
Whether Bradford is capable of that remains to be seen and will go a long way towards deciding his and Kelly's NFL future.
