The St. Louis Rams just bumped up the start date for the Sam Bradford era. The Rams open the preseason on Saturday against the Minnesota Vikings. Bradford will not start that game, but he will get significant time in the first half with the first team offense.
Playing time in the team's preseason opener for various players will be determined sometime in the next 24 hours.
Back to King Sam. ESPN's John Clayton has this to say about the Rams first overall pick in his mailbag column at ESPN today:
The more I think about St. Louis Rams rookie Sam Bradford, the more convinced I am he is going to be a top quarterback. The Rams might not start him in the season opener, but he'll play at least 12 games this season.
Honestly, at the rate things are going, I'll be surprised if Bradford isn't starting in the season opener, though there's lots of time left before Sep. 12.
Bradford may have the national media attention in the wake of his performance in the scrimmage last weekend, but St. Louis still loves Steven Jackson. The Rams made SJ39 available to the media after this morning's practice. Jackson praised the progress of his offensive unit. Most notably, he commented on the timing of the o-line and the running backs as much improved from the last season and said that the Rams will be a better "screen team." They better be, because the screen pass ought to be one of their primary weapons this season with a healthy Steven Jackson and a rookie QB.