The Eagles' coaching staff might be preparing us for a situation in which Sam Bradford is not the team's opening day starter.
The malcontent quarterback made it clear he was not thrilled about Philadelphia selecting Carson Wentz with the No. 2 overall pick and tried to force his way out, but the Eagles' steep trade demands made everyone think they were sticking to their plan. Bradford was the bridge starter, Wentz was the future face of the franchise.
Through comments made by defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz on Tuesday and offensive coordinator Frank Reich on Wednesday morning, we're looking at the situation quite differently. This could be more of an open competition than initially expected.
"Don't judge (Carson Wentz) on somebody else and then also, don't predetermine the results of the race," Schwartz said on Tuesday, via CBS Philadelphia. "Just let him go play."
Reich, appearing on WIP-FM, was asked straight up if Bradford was the clear-cut No. 1 quarterback.
"No, that's probably not the right impression," Reich said. "I've been around this business a long time as a player and as a coach, and one of the things I've really come to appreciate is it's not a contradiction to say you've got to have order. Because if you don't order it's chaos. So, if you're the head coach you gotta come in and you've gotta establish order. There has to be organization, there has to be order, but the other thing that -- as coaches -- that you've got to establish is a culture of competition.
"This is one of the most competitive industries in the world and so, to say that there's not competition, that's just the furthest thing from the truth."
He added: "So, I don't see the problem with creating order and competition at the same time, personally. Every one of us as a coach and a player, you're working harder to get better, but in that process you have to establish order and things have a way of working themselves out."
There could be a few situations afoot here. In listening back to Reich's interview, he made it clear that he did not hear Schwartz's comments from the day before and had to instantly process his thoughts after getting the audio played for him. This could just be two coaches forcefully repeating a favored trope around this time of year, that every spot is up for grabs and every player has a chance.
However, we could be in a situation where the coaches want to see how Wentz and Bradford respond to this news. Anointing a starter this time of year could instill a complacency in the No. 1 guy and slow the learning curve of the rookie, both of which would be disaster scenarios for the Eagles in 2016.
