Eagles quarterback Sam Bradford, who’s trying to revive his once-promising career in Philadelphia, is set to face the Falcons at 7:10 p.m. Monday night at the Georgia Dome.
He spoke with the local media on a conference call and here’s what he had to say:
Q: With the Falcons starting a lot of new personnel, how will the Eagles prepare for this game?
A: It does make it tough for the simple fact that we are not really sure what they are going to do. We have a pretty good idea based on what we've seen in the (exhibition) season, but we know that haven't shown us everything that they've got. All you can do is really prepare for what you've seen on tape, but then be ready to adjust if they start throwing some different looks at us on game day.
Q: Are you comfortable with the pass protection?
A: Yes, I am. I feel good with the guys that we've got up front. I think they really came together in training camp. I thought they had a really good training camp together. I got more comfortable with the way that they set and the way they like to block guys. They were great about communicating with me what they were seeing and how they were communicating things up front. I feel really good with those five guys.
Q: How do you feel about the tempo offense the Eagles run?
A: I love it. I've always enjoyed playing no huddle whether if it is two-minute drives. When were in St. Louis, every now and then, we'd just get into our no-huddle package that we had. It's something that I learned in college. We played a lot of the no-huddle my last couple of years at Oklahoma. It's something that I really got accustomed to, and I really enjoyed playing at a fast pace. It puts a lot of pressure on the defense. They've got to get their calls in. They've got to get lined up. They've got to be ready, as opposed to when you huddle and kind of give them a chance to catch their breath and get set again.
Q: What’s it like having a big receiver like Jordan Matthews in the slot?
A: I love it. I've never really had a big receiver in the slot like that before. Obviously, he's not your typical slot receiver. Most of your slot receivers are smaller, quicker type guys. He's a bigger, more rangy receiver playing in the middle, which for me, I think his catch radius is much bigger than what I've been used to in the slot. When we are throwing verticals or trying to push the ball down the field, I feel like I have a bigger target area with him.
Q: What has been your early impression of the stamp that (Eagles coach) Chip Kelly has put on the program and how does that compare to what you’ve seen from other coaches in the league?
A: I think the greatest thing about Coach Kelly is just his confidence. He believes in himself. He believes in the system. I think when he first got into this league, people were skeptical that he was going to come in and do things that hadn't been done in the NFL. I think a lot of people doubted him. But he never doubted his system. He never doubted himself. I think that confidence really just overflows to everyone else in our locker room. I think we feed off of that. I think the culture that he's created here really just breeds confidence.
Q: How are you feeling overall health-wise?
A: I feel great. I feel really good. Once I got here to Philly in March, we kind of put together a plan. Obviously, I was pretty limited in the OTAs. But the goal was to get ready for training camp. I felt like I was really in a good place when training camp started. I was able to get some good work in and also kind of maintain the position that I was at. So, the body feels really good right now.
Q: How do you prepare for a cornerback like Desmond Trufant?
A: It's just being aware of where he's at depending on if they are going to match him or keep him on the same side. Just having that awareness and being selective. The balls that we do throw to his side, studying his technique and knowing how he's going to play certain routes. The biggest thing is having awareness of where he is.
Q: How are you feeling about receiving an opportunity to re-boot you’re career in Philadelphia?
A: I feel great. From the day that I got traded, from the moment that I've been here, I've been nothing but excited. It's been a blast to play for Coach Kelly so far. I get to learn his system. How he does things. I think it's a quarterback's dream to play in an offense like this. We go fast. We put a lot of pressure on the defense. There are answers all over the field for us. So, I've really enjoyed my time so far in Philly.
Q: Have they been receptive of you?
A: You know what, they have. That could be because we haven't played a game yet. So far, it's been great.
Q: How do you plan for the noise in the Georgia Dome?
A: Just staying discipline. We know that it's going to be a loud and hostile environment on Monday night with it being the season opener and it being Monday Night Football. We are expecting it to be loud. The biggest thing is for us to stay on track. Be disciplined. Don't let the atmosphere get to us. We'll just kind of work that as we go through the week here.
Q: How’s rookie wide receiver Nelson Agholor coming along?
A: He's got a chance to be a really special player. He's shown that he's already probably one of the better route runners that I've seen or played with in the NFL. I think that just speak volumes for his work ethic. He's one of the hardest workers that we have here. Since we drafted him, he's one of the first ones in the building every day. He always wants to do extra. He always wants to catch more balls. Sometimes, you have to calm him down say, 'it's OK. You don't need 500 balls today.' You just love to see that work ethic. He wants to be great. The drive is there. It's really fun being around a young wide receiver who has such a passion for the game.
Q: What’s your assessment of the trio of running backs, (DeMarco) Murray, (Ryan) Mathews and (Darren) Sproles?
A: They are all different in the way that they run the football. I think for defenses that it makes it tough. They have to prepare for three different styles. When we get the tempo going, we're playing fast and we're starting to wear people down, with those three guys, we can rotate them in to keep those guys fresh. Especially, late in the game. I think having three running backs of that caliber is really one of our biggest advantages on offense.
Q: Have you all been game-planning for Falcons rookie defensive end Vic Beasley?
A: We know that he's a very talented player. We talked about him a little bit the other day in our game plan (meeting). I think kind of like Trufant, he's another one of those guys that we just have to be aware of where he's aligned and how he wants to rush, especially (on) passing downs.
