How will we know when Sam Bradford is ready to start?
by Ryan Van Bibber on May 28, 2010 8:50 AM CDT
in 2010 St. Louis Rams offseason
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PrintOne debate we're going to be hearing a lot more of as the 2010 NFL season gets closer is whether or not the St. Louis Rams should start Sam Bradford right out of the gate in week 1. That's a distinct possibility, but precedent says it's more likely that A.J. Feeley will be under center for the Rams when the season starts.
One Oklahoma sports pundit came out and made the case for week 1 start recently, saying:
So play him. It’s not like the Rams are going anywhere in 2010. That sounds like a reason to be patient, but instead, it’s a reason to give Bradford the playing time that will come in handy if and when the Rams get competitive.
All arguments aside, the Rams have to take several factors into consideration when they decide to throw Bradford to the wolves, be it week 1 or week 12. Let's take a look:
- Protection - One thing that will be a big factor is the status of the offensive line. The Rams have a solid young core of players for their front five, but there are some notable changes this year with Jason Smith moving to the left side, Rodger Saffold (or Phil Trautwein) on the right side and a to-be-determined starter at RG. Waiting for that unit to be running perfectly may not be necessary, but they have to be gelling well enough to offer a reasonable amount of protection. Besides the front five, Pat Shurmur's other guys need to be well versed in the blocking schemes, guys like the tight ends, running backs, etc.
- Steven Jackson's health - A star running back like Jackson is a rookie QB's best friend. The team expects Jackson to be fine for the season, but you just can't take it for granted. If the Rams don't have Jackson, the burden falls entirely on the QB to make the offense work. Contrary to the article linked above, the Rams do have a good running game, with a health SJ39.
- Are the receivers ready? - The team expects their young receivers to take a big leap forward this season. However, without a number one guy, the group is being looked to as a complementary group. If one of the role players isn't ready or gets injured, it could mean something less than a complete passing game.
- Bradford himself - I'm fairly confident in Bradford's health, so I'll take that concern off the list. Of course, his health will be at a risk if the parts above aren't working as planned, regardless of his current status. This is more about Bradford's grasp on the game, the speed, the routes, reading defenses, etc. Remember last year when the coaching staff kept telling the press and fans that Null wasn't ready? They were right. They were forced to use Null and the results were rough. Of course, some of the blame for that goes to the injuries around him, but it was also pretty apparent that Null wasn't ready. Bradford comes from a D-I program and is much closer as a prospect; however, he still has to show that he has masted the learning curve.
Have no doubt, I think Bradford will be leading the huddle before the end of the season. Plenty of things have to be in place before that happens. It's unlikely those things will be a go by week 1.
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Start him in week 1
I think we should start him in week 1. We should have a pretty strong offensive line this year and hopefully, all the pieces will be there and healthy at the beginning of the season. I think Bradford will be much better protected in week 1 than after 6 weeks when injuries may start piling up (let’s hope that is not the case though).
Same applies to the rest of the offensive unit. By week 1, we should have all our weapons in place and ready to go. We want to give Sam an opportunity to succeed and that happens at the beginning of the season.
If we had someone that could definitely mentor him along the way, it wouldn’t be necessary to start him right away but giving the situation of the Rams at QB, Sam will have a better chance of being successful when he has the entire team to work with him and protect him.
Feeley looks like Bradford's older brother
From everything I’ve heard about his attitude he’s acting like one too, willing to talk to him and giving him the benefit of his experience.
That does't erase his previous years experience
he has 7 years total, right? As starting his team or leading the opponent’s in practce and the last couple of years don’t erase that.
Obvioulsy the FO brought him here soley because of his experience, because that’s the main value he has over Null and Thaddeus Lewis. None fo them stand apart except for him knows what he’s doing already…..not that he’s so great at it, but you know
by CoachConnors on May 31, 2010 4:49 AM CDT up reply actions
I admit that I really don't know alot about AJ Feeley.
But, I haven’t heard much good associated with him over the last decade. That, plus the fact he hasn’t thrown a pass in an NFL game since Scott Linehan’s sophomore season with the Rams, don’t give me a warm and fuzzy feeling. I’m afraid we latched onto him for the same reason we did most of our FA acquistions; they came cheap.
I would start him
as soon as I was comfortable with his knowledge of the offense. He’ll take some lumps this year, certainly, but there’s going to be that curve whenever he begins to start. He needs to get lots of game speed reps.
Open QB competition
The Rams need to just have an open QB competition in the preseason. If Sam doesn’t pick up the offense, then that’s fine, let Null or Feeley start. However, if Sam hits the ground running like Sanchez did in the preseason last year, then let him start.
My preference for starter at RT is Saffold and at RG is Stett/Greco (open competition again). Saffold should have received a phone call on draft day asking him if he had the maturity to start in 2010 if necessary. Stett and Greco are both more than capable of starting at that slot. Let them duke it out in camp.
Week 2 or 3
The reason is … we want him to get some confidence and our early season schedule is easier than our late season schedule.
Minus Opening Day vs Az, we have several lower tiered opponents, most of which play 4-3 defenses.
AZ, playing a 3-4, may really knock him around and give him fits.
We are also far less likely to have many injuries early, when he most needs to lean on the o-line and SJax.
… and Sanchez is a joke. He opens up with a bomb in the pre-season vs the Rams 2nd team defense and hasn’t done anything since. The Jets are a better team without him. Tired of hearing all the falsehoods regarding Sanchez. There is no parallel between Sanchez and Bradford.
I can take a beating ... I'm a Rams fan.
Why the hatred for Mark Sanchez. Like it or not, he was QB in the AFC Championship game.
When was the last time Marc Bulger, who started for us last year, was in the NFC Championship game?
this is arguably
the dumbest thing you’ve ever said, Chop
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 May 29, 2010 2:48 AM CDT up reply actions
It certainly was in the top 5.
You’re right, my opinion varied a little bit from that of 3k.
I guess now that I gave you a compliment, Edpjr will perceive that as proof of his thesis. Sorry.
by CoachConnors on May 31, 2010 4:57 AM CDT up reply actions
Mark Sanchez and Marc Bulger
Maybe people are concerned about how our O-line will play.As for Sanchez,If Bulger had the same personnel that Sanchez had with the Jets,The Rams would have gone further in the playoffs.Sanchez was an upstart make no mistake about it.And yet you still bash Bulger for being part of a team that let the talent level get old?The purpose of bringing in Feeley was to prep Bradford and allow the offense to gel before starting Bradford,end of story.
Bulger wasn't going anywhere with anyone.
He can no longer hit the broad side of a barn. And, he’s a sack magnet because of his total immobility.
I donno
Aikman started week 1… Manning brothers… I’m thinking, start him, get the learning curve under way.
Protection? I think we’re fine… if not, test the shoulder baby.
He’s gonna take a pop sooner or later… it’s football.
Saying that we should wait and make sure his protection is solid, is like saying, “wait until we’re confident he won’t be sacked” it’s ridiculous IMHO.
Start the kid… get in there Sam and kick some ass, PERIOD. You’re ready brother… it’s football..
"The greatest accomplishment is not in never falling, but in rising again after you fall." - Vince Lombardi
I agree.
I just think it would be wiser to give him less to think about at first. 3-4 is more confusing than the 4-3 (and washington is new to it so I won’t count them).
I can take a beating ... I'm a Rams fan.
by Midasknight on May 28, 2010 11:55 AM CDT up reply actions
If nothing else
it’s going to make the preseason games interesting to watch. He should get plenty of time, no?
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.
Yes, I would think so. The preseason should be an introduction to the pro-game speed ...
… without so much worry about blitzes and such.
That will come soon enough.
I can take a beating ... I'm a Rams fan.
start him
as soon as he learns the offense. if we start him in week 1 and he doesn’t know the offense well enough yet then he will look like an idiot. i’m confident about the supporting cast around him with sjax, karney and ogba behind him to help out. like colt said, ogba being on the field made him extremely comfortable. don’t know much about the guy but i’m assuming he’s a good blocking back, which is definitely a plus for sam. we have solid, young receivers who aren’t fully developed yet and changing quarterbacks mid-season will only slow that down more, just let them grow with sam, for the sake of our future. if we don’t start him then give him at least half of the playing time right off the bat. i still want to see a sammy vs. colt rematch in the preseason, holm-gini better start him.
I want to see him throw the ball before the WR's make their break.
I’m always so glad to see Alex Smith wait until a receiver is open before he throws it. Gives the DB time to make a play.
Stupid Alex Smith. :)
I can take a beating ... I'm a Rams fan.
Give him some time
We shouldn’t probably start him at all this season. Why not work out a rotation with him and Feeley around halfway in the season? I don’t want his shoulder to explode again, give it some time to get hit but not torn up over the course of an entire season. The Aikmen and Manning starting argument is intriguing but they ran more pro-style schemes in college. We don’t want him to turn into a sack of mush like David Carr. We’re going to suck for a good little longer, give him time.
It's complicated
I did a\two posts over on Mile High Report about this topic: Age of Accountability and Great Expectations. And while in some cases, your rookie is the best quarterback you have so you should start him, but from what I found is that rarely do quarterbacks do well if rushed into play, especially if they aren’t surrounded by talent. While I like some of the moves we’ve made, I don’t think Bradford will be comfortable in the pocket very much next season, and I’m pretty fearful of a shoulder injury. But I think he gives us the best option to win, so it’s tough.
I am a bear of very little brains and big words bother me.
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