"I think last year he was frustrated," Eagles defensive coordinator Jim Johnson said of Bradley. "But he got his chance and came through in those last three games.
"He went into those games and made a lot of plays. All of a sudden, the confidence was there. I see confidence. He can make a mistake, but he knows when he does it. It doesn't bother him because he knows he won't make it again."
Frankly, Bradley made about as good of an impression as a rookie could in his first career start against the Saints on Dec. 23.
He became the first Eagle to register a sack and an interception in his first start. He finished with six tackles.
For the season, Bradley had 20 tackles (12 solo, eight assists). He was second on the team with 17 tackles on special teams.
So based on Bradley's projected upside, the Birds took a calculated risk and released Spikes.
It really wasn't that much of a different move than the one the Eagles made before last season when they released veteran middle linebacker Jeremiah Trotter on the hunch that second-year players Omar Gaither and Chris Gocong were ready to step up.
Frankly, if the move to Bradley works as well as the one to Gaither and Gocong did, the Eagles could have something that has never been a part of Andy Reid's 10-year reign - a solid corps of young linebackers.
"They can all run pretty good, they are smart and they play well off each other," Johnson said of Bradley, Gaither and Gocong. "It's kind of fun to watch."
Obviously, Bradley has the most to prove. Gaither (21 career starts) and Gocong (12) have cut their teeth under the pressure of NFL regular-season action.
But if Bradley, who was a 3-year starter at Nebraska, is insecure, it certainly isn't showing.
"I think it's just more comfort level with the defense," Bradley said. "Last year, I was still trying to grasp all the things that were going on.
