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Bernie Miklasz
http://www.stltoday.com/sports/columns/ ... 7ac37.html
If you’ve been wondering about my sporadic appearances here recently … I’ve been down and out for close to a week, but with the help of some good medication, the bronchitis and sinus infection have cleared, so it’s back to work.
If you missed me or the Bytes, thanks for your patience and support.
If you were hoping I’d been fired or that I’d quit to open a saloon or a cigar shop — well, sorry to disappoint you.
Take Five:
1. Now that Jacksonville has passed on hiring Rams offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer as head coach, here’s my hope for 2013: turn Sam Bradford loose. The guy is a better athlete than we think. He’s mobile. He has quick feet, and good speed for a quarterback. Start taking advantage of that by making it a part of the approach. Open things up some.
I’m not suggesting that the Rams treat Bradford as if he’s, say, Colin Kaepernick and install the Pistol offense. But surely there’s a way to tap into Bradford’s athleticism and get him moving. But 2013 will be Bradford’s fourth NFL season. It will also be the first time in the NFL that he’s set up in the same offense with the same OC for a second consecutive year.
It’s time to take off the water wings.
Bradford’s progress is real, but it’s also methodical. Much of that in 2012 was by design. If you remember, before the season, head coach Jeff Fisher and Schottenheimer said that they considered 2012 to be Bradford’s rookie season. The result, in my opinion: Bradford is too programmed. I saw an instinctive quarterback at Oklahoma, a QB that could set up in an up-tempo offense and make quick decisions, make quick plays. A QB that had a feel for the game, and when to take chances.
Bradford has been turned into a Robo Quarterback here. Yes, I am exaggerating the point. But Bradford’s natural talent and instincts have been suppressed in St. Louis, at least to an extent, by a sequence of new playbooks and coordinators and a mix of bad/mediocre offensive lines and receivers.
Now that the Rams have re-established Bradford’s mechanics and fundamentals, the emphasis should be on becoming more creative and aggressive in the passing game. That would include more extensive use of the hurry-up offense, letting Bradford run the game, and putting his underrated and underutilized mobility to use in a reasonable way.
This initiative would also be enhanced by the presence of a No. 1 receiver, but the Rams haven’t had one since Torry Holt’s knees turned old. And finding one doesn’t seem to be a priority.
At least not to this point.
http://www.stltoday.com/sports/columns/ ... 7ac37.html
If you’ve been wondering about my sporadic appearances here recently … I’ve been down and out for close to a week, but with the help of some good medication, the bronchitis and sinus infection have cleared, so it’s back to work.
If you missed me or the Bytes, thanks for your patience and support.
If you were hoping I’d been fired or that I’d quit to open a saloon or a cigar shop — well, sorry to disappoint you.
Take Five:
1. Now that Jacksonville has passed on hiring Rams offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer as head coach, here’s my hope for 2013: turn Sam Bradford loose. The guy is a better athlete than we think. He’s mobile. He has quick feet, and good speed for a quarterback. Start taking advantage of that by making it a part of the approach. Open things up some.
I’m not suggesting that the Rams treat Bradford as if he’s, say, Colin Kaepernick and install the Pistol offense. But surely there’s a way to tap into Bradford’s athleticism and get him moving. But 2013 will be Bradford’s fourth NFL season. It will also be the first time in the NFL that he’s set up in the same offense with the same OC for a second consecutive year.
It’s time to take off the water wings.
Bradford’s progress is real, but it’s also methodical. Much of that in 2012 was by design. If you remember, before the season, head coach Jeff Fisher and Schottenheimer said that they considered 2012 to be Bradford’s rookie season. The result, in my opinion: Bradford is too programmed. I saw an instinctive quarterback at Oklahoma, a QB that could set up in an up-tempo offense and make quick decisions, make quick plays. A QB that had a feel for the game, and when to take chances.
Bradford has been turned into a Robo Quarterback here. Yes, I am exaggerating the point. But Bradford’s natural talent and instincts have been suppressed in St. Louis, at least to an extent, by a sequence of new playbooks and coordinators and a mix of bad/mediocre offensive lines and receivers.
Now that the Rams have re-established Bradford’s mechanics and fundamentals, the emphasis should be on becoming more creative and aggressive in the passing game. That would include more extensive use of the hurry-up offense, letting Bradford run the game, and putting his underrated and underutilized mobility to use in a reasonable way.
This initiative would also be enhanced by the presence of a No. 1 receiver, but the Rams haven’t had one since Torry Holt’s knees turned old. And finding one doesn’t seem to be a priority.
At least not to this point.
