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Have we mentioned just how important Sam Bradford is for the St. Louis Rams' future lately? In the last two hours? I thought so. Time to touch on that subject again. This time, we'll take a different approach, asking the non-essential question of where Bradford ranks among the league's quarterbacks.
This is a tough one. Bradford's has all kind of potential, but has yet to translate that to success on the field in the NFL. There are more than a handful of other quarterbacks in the league with far less talent that have produced more. For that reason, I put Bradford and the Rams' overall QB situation at No. 26 on the rankings list.
26. St. Louis Rams
Sam Bradford dinked and dunked his way to the Offensive Rookie of the Year Award in 2010. Things regressed a little bit in 2011 as injuries to himself and his teammates torpedoed what was supposed to be a big year for the Oklahoma product. Bradford still has the talent, and the Rams are counting on a fundamentals-first approach from new OC Brian Schottenheimer to get him back on track. The team brought back Kellen Clemens to backup Bradford, and he at least has a familiarity with Schottenheimer.
Consider me a believer. Bradford should get back on track this season, but it's hard to put the Rams' QBs any higher than that until we see the results.
As for Clemens, it's interesting to note that he was not the Rams' first choice to be the backup. They pursued everyone from Jason Campbell to Brady freaking Quinn before settling on Clemens. Reading between the lines, that would seem to suggest that A) they felt KC was limited and/or B) concern about keeping the team competitive should Bradford get injured again or continue to struggle.
Take a look at the rest of the rankings. Too high? Too low for the Rams?