Leadership on a football team can stem from a number of players. But for the most part, the quarterback is usually pegged as the team's "leader." It comes with the territory. The most important player on a football team should also be its most inspiring, right?
The Eagles do have "leaders." On the defensive side, Malcolm Jenkins and DeMeco Ryans have established themselves as the spokesmen of the defense; Jenkins more so, but Ryans didn't earn the nickname "Mufasa" for keeping quiet.
But on the offensive side of the ball, there really isn't that one player you can point to and say, "Yeah, he's the clear-cut leader." If you were to ask teams in the NFL who their leaders are, you would probably hear names such as "Russell," "Aaron," "Tom," "Drew," "Peyton" or even "Tony."
But what about "Sam?" Is the Eagles' new quarterback capable of becoming the definitive leader for not only the offense, but the entire team? According to ESPN's Sal Paolantonio, Sam Bradford doesn't have what it takes to be a leader.
"The first half he looked so scared, didn't he?" Sal Pal said in an interview with Mike Missanelli. "He's a very uninspiring player. He's always licking his right fingers. And he's got that look on his face like he's not sure what he's doing. It's not a very inspiring look. He's not getting the team pumped up. It's very nonchalant; it looks awkward."
While I can't disagree with the "licking his fingers" or the comments about his puzzling facial expressions, to go as far as to call Bradford "uninspiring" is a bit too much.
Fast forward to today, and the comments made by Sal Pal appear even more misguided.
In a post-practice interview with CSNPhilly.com's Reuben Frank Wednesday, center Jason Kelce discussed how a halftime pep talk delivered by Bradford may have helped inspire an Eagles comeback in the second half of Monday night's 24-26 loss to the Falcons.
“He just stood up and said, ‘Hey, we’ve all got to play better, we’ve all got to start making plays," Kelce said of Bradford. "He told us, ‘Everybody needs to forget the score and forget the first half and just focus on your job, your technique on each play. We have to get something going. It’s no one single person, it's all of us. We all have to play better in the second half."
Whether it was the pep talk or not, the Eagles rallied in the second half after being down 20-3, and went on to score three consecutive touchdowns, eventually taking a 24-23 lead halfway through the fourth quarter.
As for Bradford, after finishing the first half 15-of-27 with an ugly interception right before halftime, the 27-year-old bounced back with a 21-of-25 effort for 219 yards in the second half.
The Eagles were one Cody Parkey field goal away from potentially winning the game, but the attempt sailed wide right. After a defensive stop, Bradford had the opportunity to lead the offense down the field for a game-winning drive with just 1:49 left in regulation. However, the drive faltered after a slightly high Bradford pass bounced off Jordan Matthews' hands and into the hands of a Falcons defender, sealing the Eagles' fate.
So for what it's worth, Bradford led the offense from a 20-3 deficit, to an almost miraculous come-from-behind win on the road. Does that sound uninspiring?
“He took it upon himself to get everybody together after the first half, and that was big,” Kelce said. “Sam's great that way. We definitely played a lot better in the second half.”
With the Falcons game now behind them, the Eagles will look for Bradford to inspire the offense from the get-go much like he did during halftime Monday night, and lead them to a crucial win over the Dallas Cowboys Sunday afternoon.
