In previous years, Arizona Cardinals head coach Bruce Arians has been critical of the Eagles' up-tempo offense, but when he held his conference call with the Philadelphia media earlier this week, Arians was quick to praise the offense and the team overall heading into Sunday night's matchup.
"(The Eagles have) a lot of different faces but still the same high quality coaches," Arians said. "It looks like (Nelson) Agholor is filling in a role that (Jeremy) Maclin had. They're rebuilding in a very nice way. I think Chip had a plan and they're sticking with the plan. They have a very exotic defense. I like Billy Davis. I think he's one of the better coordinators in the league. You just see the young influx of talent and then with Darren Sproles, he's as tough as it gets."
Though the Eagles have had their struggles during parts of the season, Arians, who is now in his third season as the Cardinals head coach, sees the Eagles going through the progression of becoming a stronger football team.
"I've just seen Sam (Bradford) getting more comfortable," Arians said. "The big plays, Darren Sproles is out there making splash plays every week, whether it's in the kicking game or offense, and they're defense just looks more in-tuned and tackling better. (Fletcher) Cox is still a heck of a player and their young secondary players are really improving."
Arians' Cardinals currently sit at 11-2 and in first place in the talented NFC West. One of the biggest reasons why the Cardinals are atop the division is the stellar play of quarterback Carson Palmer, who like Sam Bradford, has had two ACL surgeries during his NFL career. Arians has had a first-hand look at what it takes for a player to come back from an injury while learning a new system.
"It's not just getting healthy, it's finding your rhythm in that offense, and it was the same thing with Carson here," Arians said. "As you're learning, you're playing slower. As you get a feel for it, the game slows down and your athletic ability can take over, and Sam is blessed with athletic ability. I had him rated as one of the best ever to come out (of college). He just got unlucky with the injuries but he looks like he's starting to flourish in that offense.
"I think it just takes time for guys. For some it takes a little longer, but for others, the second part of the season they should be flourishing."
Arians knows that the Eagles took a risk in trading for Bradford, but he knows that success in the NFL is ultimately tied to the quarterback position.
"You're tied to the hip with your quarterback, no matter where you're the head coach," Arians said. "You can run the football and have a defense, but if you don't have a quarterback, you aren't going anywhere.
"It was a major decision to go away from Nick (Foles) and go to Sam. Nick played extremely well against us, but those are the decisions you make as a head coach."
Click play on the video above to listen to the entire conference call.
