Mock drafts giving Sam Bradford to the Rams
by VanRam on Mar 2, 2010 10:59 AM CST
in 2010 NFL Draft
38 comments
With the Combine (mostly) over, a rash of updated mock drafts are breaking out all over the internet. Naturally, those mock drafts are looking different now. And who are the St. Louis Rams taking with the first overall pick in these mock drafts?
Posted this morning, the mock draft at Yahoo's Shutdown Corner NFL blog, written by Doug Farrar, has the Rams drafting Oklahoma QB Sam Bradford. Here's Farrar's take:
When Bradford weighed in at 236 pounds at the Combine, a 13-pound gain from his previously listed weight, he also showed lean muscle that could put to rest previous durability concerns. Bradford said at the Combine that his recovery from shoulder injuries has him at about 85 percent. By his Pro Day on March 25, my guess is that he'll put on the kind of show that will have the Rams realizing the value of his potential franchise quarterback status.
A week ago, mock drafters were split between otherwordly Nebraska DT Ndamukong Suh and Notre Dame QB Jimmy Clausen. All that's changing now thanks to a week of whispers from pundits and 13 pounds of muscle.
Draft Tek has a new mock draft up this morning as well, mirroring the Bradford emerging conventional wisdom.
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ESPN is reporting....
That the Eagles are going to keep Vick and Kolb both, thus leaving speculation that McNabb is out of Philly.
Spags says no one from the Rams has talked to anyone from the Eagles about McNabb
According to Bernie, he used the words Rams and Eagles and McNabb.
by CoachConnors on Mar 2, 2010 12:18 PM CST up reply actions
as opposed to when Devaney said "I have had no talks with..."
which left wiggle room for someone else in the building to have contacted them to feel it out
Call me an idiot, but....
When did muscle mass = durability?! I’m no physical education major but I’m pretty sure the strongest man in the world could still sucumb to a torn ACL or a broken ankle. I dot care how big your back or bucep is, if you fall on your shoulder, it could pop out of place. It’s great that he has gained weight, but since when did that mean he was durable? PleAd advise….
On this team, we are all united in a common goal: to keep my job.
-- Lou Holtz
by RamsMan83 on Mar 2, 2010 11:30 AM CST via mobile reply actions
I have huge buceps
You don't seem to want to accept the fact you're dealing with an expert in guerrilla warfare, with a man who's the best, with guns, with knives, with his bare hands. A man who's been trained to ignore pain, ignore weather, to live off the land, to eat things that would make a billy goat puke. In *St. Louis* his job was to dispose of enemy personnel. To kill! Period! Win by attrition. Well, *Steven Jackson* was the best.
by 3k on Mar 2, 2010 1:02 PM CST up reply actions
i can't find my buceps.
where are they supposed to be?
"SJAX" - The extra strength cleaner that fights off that Stubborn, Stingy Defense
by moy on Mar 2, 2010 2:54 PM CST up reply actions
Call me an idiot, but....
When did muscle mass = durability?! I’m no physical education major but I’m pretty sure the strongest man in the world could still sucumb to a torn ACL or a broken ankle. I don’t care how big your back or bicep is, if you fall on your shoulder, it could pop out of place. It’s great that he has gained weight, but since when did that mean he was durable? Please advise….
On this team, we are all united in a common goal: to keep my job.
-- Lou Holtz
by RamsMan83 on Mar 2, 2010 11:30 AM CST via mobile reply actions
If you double post again I have a strong feeling some will call you an idiot. LOL
But you raised an excellent point. I’m sure there are guys in the NFL who are small and slender or large and overweight but don’t get injured too much. Having a cut body does not protect you from injury………..unless you are Arnold the Commando.
Yes it does
The fact is stronger muscles do protect joints from twisting in unnatural ways.
by CoachConnors on Mar 2, 2010 12:16 PM CST up reply actions
A shoulder is a different kind of joint than a knee
A shoulder is an open type of joint, not a ball and socket like people think. It is a lot less stable than a knee because of the placement of ligaments. Its easier to pop a shoulder out than a knee for this reason….just as a straight comparison betwen those two joints, in that way.
Obviously there’s never a hard gaurantee of staying injury free, but most injuries come not form popping joints out but from twisting in unnatural ways or straining tendons. Getting stronger with weights, and bulking up with quality muscle tissue, does protect joints from twisting like that.
Football players don’t just lift weights to use strength against opponents, they also do it to prevent injury. So do sprinters, who are pound for pound a lot stronger than most people realize.
You guys know when a serious injury/surgery happens, they rehab by working on strengthening the affected joint. Why would they do this if it didn’t matter? Big and cut doesn’t always = strength but if you work hard at strength chances are you will get bigger and stronger, there is a relationship. I can’t believe you serious doubt this.
You probably remember me telling of how I destroyed both shoulders and had reconstructive surgeries on each one, and the many months of rehab I went though. The only way I could keep my shoulder in the socket was to strengthen it. Ohh man…it nauseates me just to think about. Ugh.
by CoachConnors on Mar 2, 2010 12:40 PM CST up reply actions
Caoch, remember Pisa...
He was always popping his shoulder out, but he just kept on coming back and I though he played pretty well for the most part.
Go Rams!
"We can't run. We can't pass. We can't stop the run. We can't stop the pass. We can't kick. Other than that, we're just not a very good football team right now." --- Bruce Coslett, New York Jets Head Coach circa 1990s
A lot of guys can do that...me too unfortunately
Doesn’t have to be a big deal, but it definitely depends on what you do.
The best dislocation position for an arm is with your hand raised like you were taking an oath. Push that hand back, and the shoulder pops out very easily.
Tackling is rough on shoulders but it’s workable. Throwing, serving tennis balls and blocking a basketball (the latter is how I ripped my other shoulder) are different stories…you really need good surgery, and even then you will not ever be as good as you were.
After surgery, you are a little more limited in range of motion. Its limited to how far behind your head you can put your hand, when your arm is up in that oath position. With good range of motion, professional throwers can generate more power if they can start the throw with their hand behind their head.
My original injury (on a UPS loading dock) almost tore the arm off my body. I’m really lucky to still have the arm attached. But even though that was a much worse injury than the basketball one, the open surgery from that held up nicely, whereas the arthroscopic surgery on the basketball injury was ruined fairly quickly.
The durability issue...
…is a strange argument when it comes to NFL QBs. Favre and Brees, and even Manning and Brady don’t appear to spend a large amount of time in the weight room. But they will tell you it’s better to have a little meat on your bones (and hopefully some muscle mixed in) when you’re taking a pounding from DLs and LBs. I think Bradford using the time since his surgery a few months ago to add muscle mass says a lot about his work ethic and desire to prove he will do what it takes to be successful in the NFL. Hopefully he’s added some leg strength that translates into mobility, because NFL QBs have to be mobile to try to avoid as many hits as possible.
It does make a difference
This doesn’t mean that people who have big muscles and are fit won’t get hurt, but its like putting out a 6’2’’ 150 pounder out there and putting a 6’2’’ 230 pounder out there. Which one do you think is more likely to get hurt? Muscles help prevent injury but they don’t make you immune to them.
Size, Strength, Durability
Just wanted to offer another source for concern about size relating to durability, from NFL.com:
Dexter McCluster, Ole Miss, RB/WR He stood out among his peers due to his outstanding speed and explosiveness. While his tiny frame (5-8,165 pounds) raises serious concerns about his durability, McCluster’s playmaking ability is making it tough for evaluators to dismiss his potential as a multi-purpose threat.
And from Scouts, Inc. on another site:
Jahvid Best’s aggressive running style only increases concerns about his durability, but his performance in Indy certainly helps his cause.
And on the player profile pages, they have a whole category they grade players on Durability, along with Production and Vision/Patience. Think that’s only for injury history? Not so:
McCluster’s Marginal size only adds to long-term durability worries.
I think Bradford's pro day
and all the medical checks are going to go a long way to deciding what happens. If he is great in his pro day, and the physicals all come out clean, he probably will be the pick. If any doubts come up in those things, it will be Suh. I think the Combine caused G. McCoy and Clausen to drop down just a little. I love Suh and can just imagine what he could do for the Rams defense, but at some point you have to have a QB and I’m not convinced any of the guys coming out next year are better than Bradford.
Concerning the Philly QBs, I just within the last 30 minutes heard Spags being interviewed and he said there is absolutely no talk wth the Eagles about McNabb. A little earlier Greg Mortensen of ESPN said McNabb will control where he goes if the Eagles do decide to trade him. He is on the last year of his current contract, and if he doesn’t want to play for someone he will just tell them he wants a $50 million signing bonus and $100 million dollar contract. Mort thinks McNabb would only go to a potential winning team like the Vikings.
I agree
IF Bradford checks out I think that’s who we’ll pick. Suh, IMO, looked really good at the combine and would help our team w/out a doubt. I don’t understand how anyone can say we’re going to pick a player that didn’t work out at the combine. I’ll look forward to what happens at some of these Pro Days.
I’d rather see us swap our 2nd or 3rd with CLE and get Quinn instead of drafting a QB.
On McNabb
I tend to agree with Mort, it’s not going to be a team like the Rams, mostly because none of these teams feel that it is worthwhile to give up a top pic to an aging QB, teams like the seahawks, cardinals, vikings, redskins, denver and maybe even the 49ers, might feel there team is close enough to the playoffs talent wise to make a run, and adding a veteran like McNabb even at his age, is a good move.
If Bradford is the pick,
he could use some targets like Brandon Marshall and Greg Olsen.
Only five players have averaged 25 and 10 in their playoff careers. One of them, Dirk Nowitzki.
Here's the thing that makes sense to me...
I would rather pay a frachise QB the big bucks that come with the number 1 overall pick than a DT.
A great DT is very good to have but they don’t make great teams like a great QB does hence, QBs are more valuable. A not so good QB can break a team which I believe would happen with either Kyle Boller or Keith Null at the helm.
Go Rams!
"We can't run. We can't pass. We can't stop the run. We can't stop the pass. We can't kick. Other than that, we're just not a very good football team right now." --- Bruce Coslett, New York Jets Head Coach circa 1990s
How about Tony Pike?
His mechanics are great, footwork is great, arm strength is decent, accuracy is ok, and he stand 6’6. His biggest flaw is his passes can become wobbly at times. St Louis is a run first offense, not pass first. With that said, you need a game managing QB like Joe Flacco or Ben Roethlisberger. Tony Pike fits that mold well.
"No player is greater than a team."
-Vince Lombardi
I wouldn't say his mechanics are great
but they’re certainly solid and grade very high. That wobbly pass you talk about is from his wrist in his release, which is why I say not great. The real problem with it is, it’s hard to fix because he’s lean, so natural wrist strength isn’t something he’ll be able to develop much of.
You don't seem to want to accept the fact you're dealing with an expert in guerrilla warfare, with a man who's the best, with guns, with knives, with his bare hands. A man who's been trained to ignore pain, ignore weather, to live off the land, to eat things that would make a billy goat puke. In *St. Louis* his job was to dispose of enemy personnel. To kill! Period! Win by attrition. Well, *Steven Jackson* was the best.
by 3k on Mar 2, 2010 10:05 PM CST up reply actions
You can likely get Colt in the second
You don’t pass up Suh when you can easily get one of the top 4 QB’s in the second round
Mortensen said he loved McCoy,
but he isn’t even close to Bradford or Clausen. He feels those two are the only surefire starters in this year’s draft.
I'm so against a reach at QB at this point. I will only be happy with young guy with a couple years experience (a la Kolb, Quinn, etc) or Bradford or Clausen.
I’m hoping they don’t wait another year to address it, but I am really looking forward to someone with very high potential. A 3rd rounder, for me, is not a serious attempt at filling the job. I know others are into that, but not me,
If Kiper moves him up...
…then I’ll buy it. If I’m not mistaken, he has a streak going as far as guessing the #1.
"I was just letting the shots fly. You know, I don't leave any bullets in the chamber."
"Everything negative- pressure, challenges- is all an opportunity for me to rise."
-Kobe Bryant
A mantra for all athletes.
by TrojanRam on Mar 2, 2010 4:18 PM CST via mobile reply actions
Didn't Kiper say Leinart was going to be good?
Only five players have averaged 25 and 10 in their playoff careers. One of them, Dirk Nowitzki.
Colt McCoy has
bust written all over him. That 2nd round pick needs to hit just as much as the 1st round pick does. Why would you pick a QB there in a weak QB draft and a DT at #1 in a strong DT draft?
by rams_fan on Mar 2, 2010 6:19 PM CST reply actions 1 recs
I'd rec you if the iPhone let me.
+1
by BruinHalo on Mar 2, 2010 8:14 PM CST via mobile up reply actions
Consider my rec 1/2 yours
great point, rams fan.
You don't seem to want to accept the fact you're dealing with an expert in guerrilla warfare, with a man who's the best, with guns, with knives, with his bare hands. A man who's been trained to ignore pain, ignore weather, to live off the land, to eat things that would make a billy goat puke. In *St. Louis* his job was to dispose of enemy personnel. To kill! Period! Win by attrition. Well, *Steven Jackson* was the best.
by 3k on Mar 2, 2010 10:06 PM CST up reply actions
Enough about Bradford - That would be a colossal mistake!
Usually CBS has the worst NFl coverage because Prisco and Judge spout off the worst drival without any common sense found in their articles. I like Peter King of SI and the National Football Post writers because they at least use stats to back up their opinions and they check multiple sources. But I found this article on CBS this morning by Mr. Doyel and he intelligently articulates what I believe.
http://www.cbssports.com/columns/story/12998785/dumb-it-down-suh-still-the-best-tackle-stupid/rss
Enough about questionable QBs. Sure if Bradford was Peyton Manning or Phillip Rivers – great. Rocket arms, intelligent players with competitive fires that do not dim, take them and quick. But the QBs this year are not even in Matt Ryan’s, Joe Flacco’s, or Mark Sanchez’s class. These 2010 guys have questions about their health and abilities. The Rams need all-pro talent not just good talent.
They need to select Suh a premiere player who is unblockable. Bring back the fearsome foursome and people will come and watch. Defense and a running game bring competitive football. The Rams have been anything but the last three years. Improve the defense and please fix the OL with guys who can stay healthy and gel; then find a young gun to groom. There is no sense in spending 10s of millions of dollars on a player who will be on the IR after 4 weeks because he does not get protected or always plays from behind. Just ask SJax how it feels to run behind lines that do not open many holes.
If the money for the top picks was not so insane, would there even be a debate?
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