Former coach believes Sam Bradford can bounce back

Chip Kelly and the Eagles are not the only ones who believe Sam Bradford can bounce back from two ACL tears.

Chester native Dick Curl believes Bradford too and he knows from experience.

Curl was Bradford's quarterback coach with the St. Louis Rams in 2010.

He helped the No. 1 overall pick become Rookie of the Year.

"You can make it to the big game - he's good enough to get you there. He's extremely intelligent and he's very competitive. The biggest weakness is can he stay healthy?" said Curl.

That's the x-factor. Bradford has missed close to 50 percent of his starts since 2010.

However Curl has not doubt of his ability and drive. He says Bradford never took a day off when they worked together.

"He will flat out work his butt off because it's important to him, football is important and his performance is important to Sam. He has a lot of pride in himself - to the point sometimes where he can be little bit of a pain where you have to say, 'Sam back off a little bit, don't put so much pressure on yourself?' said Curl.

Curl, a former college quarterback himself and who got his start coaching at Cherry Hill East High School in the 1960s, has fond memories of the hardworking Bradford.

How many memories does he have?

"There's a lot. Being able to have a kid with that ability, who wanted to work as hard as he did, had the desire to be good - that really made for a fun thing," said Curl.

The Eagles are hoping Bradford will be just as much fun to watch.