Bernie Bytes: Defending Sam Bradford

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Bernie Miklasz
<a class="postlink" href="http://www.stltoday.com/sports/columns/bernie-miklasz/bernie-bytes-defending-sam-bradford/article_ea298634-2669-11e1-ba2f-0019bb30f31a.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://www.stltoday.com/sports/columns/ ... 0f31a.html</a>

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The Bytes are back after a travel day ... it's not as if much has changed in the last 24 hours ... we begin with a follow-up to my early-deadline column written before the start of the Rams-Seahawks game in Seattle. In the piece I reaffirmed my belief in Sam Bradford as the Rams move forward.

Reading Time 5 Minutes:

[wrapimg=left]http://bloximages.newyork1.vip.townnews.com/stltoday.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/f/e9/fe943a47-77b4-59cc-80f3-3398bfd569e2/4e78180339985.preview-300.jpg[/wrapimg]* Sam Bradford didn't look good on Monday night, but that's no surprise given his bad ankle, the lack of practice time going into the game, a confused offensive approach, and the ongoing problems at receiver and the O-line. Bradford was intercepted once but probably should have had three or four passes picked off by the Seattle. And he did miss open receivers, and that's his fault.

* It's easy to overreact to Bradford's second-year struggles, and there's a noisy faction forming on Internet boards that would have us believe that Bradford is a bust. That's pretty crazy. Even if one has legitimate concerns over some aspects of Bradford's play, it's way too soon to dismiss him as a potential franchise QB. But we live in a short-attention span culture, so it isn't surprising to see an anti-Bradford wolfpack form. When a team loses, the head coach and the QB are the easy targets.

* Part of the problem for Bradford is this: in recent seasons we've seen young QBs break into the league, immediately play well, and never really endure much suffering as they transition into the NFL. That list would include Matt Ryan in Atlanta, Ben Roethlisberger in Pittsburgh, Joe Flacco in Baltimore, and Eli Manning with the NYG. And while he has serious accuracy issues, Mark Sanchez has been a winning QB for the NY Jets.

* I haven't included Cam Newton or any the 2011 NFL rookie quarterbacks; it's too soon to tell. After all, did we hear any of the haters ripping Bradford after his Rookie of the Year season? No, we didn't. Which tells us something about the volatile nature of learning the QB trade in the NFL. It's a job that can throw you all over the place. Even though there have been a few exceptions, it isn't easy to master this position in the NFL without going through hell first. It takes time. And even when we think a quarterback has "arrived," he can relapse. Josh Freeman (Tampa Bay) is the latest example.

* For some historical perspective, consider: After his first two NFL seasons, this No. 1 overall draft choice had completed 55 percent of his passes for 20 TDs and 36 interceptions and a passer rating of 62.0 His team was 7-19 in his starts. The quarterback ... Troy Aikman in Dallas. Hall of Famer. A lot of people believe that Bradford is closest to Aikman in terms of personality, build, and style of play. So Aikman is a pertinent example.

* This quarterback and No. 1 overall draft choice was benched multiple times in his first few seasons. After his first five NFL seasons he'd completed 48 percent of his passes with 48 TDs and 81 INTs for an abysmal passer rating of 53.2. But late in that fifth season things started to click for the struggling quarterback. His team added two playmaking receivers in '74, and it helped the QB get grooved. The quarterback ... Terry Bradshaw in Pittsburgh. The rookie receivers in 1974 were Lynn Swann and John Stallworth. All three are Hall of Famers and owners of four Super Bowl rings. Kinda helps to have two playmaking wideouts, a Hall of Fame RB (Franco Harris) and a robust defense on your side, eh?

* After a promising rookie season in which his rebuilding team improved to 6-8, this former No. 1 overall choice threw 8 TDs and 25 INTs in his second NFL season. The gruesome year caused fans and media and even the team to change their view of him. He would last two more seasons with his original team before moving on. Later in his career he started two Super Bowls for the Raiders and won them both. The quarterback ... Jim Plunkett, who thrived after recovering from the trauma in New England.

* This quarterback, heralded as a franchise savior, went 3-16 in his first two seasons with 14 TDs and 37 INTs. His original NFL team gave up on him after two years and traded him off. The quarterback ... Steve Young. More than anything Young was a victim of circumstances in Tampa Bay -- surrounded by poor coaching and mediocre talent. But Bill Walsh knew. That's why the 49ers traded for Young. He's a Super Bowl champ and a Hall of Famer.

There are other examples we could use. There are also plenty of examples of highly-touted QBs that took a beating after being drafted early and never recovered from the experience. You could put Joey Harrington and David Carr on that list.

Even though Bradford has missed three games, he's still been sacked more than all but one NFL quarterback this season. And only four QBs have had more passes dropped than Bradford.

If you think about it, Bradford has been caught in a perfect storm of negative factors, and all are working against him:

-- Poor pass protection.

-- Arguably the league's worst group of receivers.

-- Incompetent coaching.

-- Injury.

What else could go wrong?

I suppose some of you believe he should be shining, anyway. But that's nutso.

If you calculate NFL passer rating in a more accurate way -- by removing dropped passes and intentional throwaways from the equation -- Bradford's rating is better this season than in 2010.

According to Pro Football Focus, Bradford's adjusted passer rating of 80.4 this season is superior to that of Joe Flacco, Sanchez, Freeman, Ryan Fitzpatrick and Matt Hasselbeck.

Bradford hasn't proven to be Troy Aikman. But he hasn't proven to be David Carr, either. I'd just like to see the guy get a fair chance before everyone turns on him. No one is saying Bradford has to have a perfect offensive line in front of him, or that he must be supplied with Hall of Fame receivers. But let's not be silly here. He's not exactly operating in favorable circumstances. In addition to having so much mediocrity around him, Bradford is playing in a new offensive system that really doesn't seem to be a good match for his skill set.

I would suggest that everyone take a deep breath and settle down.

Even though Bradford's numbers are down this season, it's not as if the roof has caved in. He keeps the really damaging mistakes to a minimum. Even with everything going wrong, he's thrown six interceptions, with six TDS. Quarterbacks who have lost their heads usually become INT dispensers. But that's not the case with Bradford. If this is the worst he'll be in his career, we'll take it -- provided that he'll improve in 2012.

The Rams owe it to their fans, and to Bradford, to put him in position where he has a viable chance to succeed. Last season the Rams ran the kind of offense that put Bradford in position to make plays, and to grow. And -- with the help of a soft schedule and a disruptive defense -- the Rams won seven games and were one win from making the playoffs. That guy, Bradford, is still there. It's up to the Rams to make this right.

Thanks for reading ...

— Bernie

 

[bluecoconuts]

According to Pro Football Focus, Bradford's adjusted passer rating of 80.4 this season is superior to that of Joe Flacco, Sanchez, Freeman, Ryan Fitzpatrick and Matt Hasselbeck.

I'll be using that in the future.

 

[-X-]

According to Pro Football Focus, Bradford's adjusted passer rating of 80.4 this season is superior to that of Joe Flacco, Sanchez, Freeman, Ryan Fitzpatrick and Matt Hasselbeck.

I'll be using that in the future.

Can I just give you the default response now? Save you some time?

"Scoreboard."

 

[bluecoconuts]

According to Pro Football Focus, Bradford's adjusted passer rating of 80.4 this season is superior to that of Joe Flacco, Sanchez, Freeman, Ryan Fitzpatrick and Matt Hasselbeck.

I'll be using that in the future.

Can I just give you the default response now? Save you some time?

"Scoreboard."

I'll use it anyway right before I leave. I spend too much time defending Sam to my friends, it'll be nice to have another little stat to use against them.

 

[superfan24]

Yes me too. And they were trying to tell me a few weeks ago Caleb Hanie was gonna do better.....IDIOTS

 

[DR RAM]

Very few people can honestly evaluate a QB. There are so many factors that play into it.

 

[steferfootball]

Very few people can honestly evaluate a QB. There are so many factors that play into it.

Agreed. Usually the people who can are paid to do it.

Also, I like the adjusted QB rating.

 

[Faceplant]

Very few people can honestly evaluate a QB. There are so many factors that play into it.

Agreed. I would not go toting that or ANY stat around as a argument for or against SB. the best you can do is to go by what you see on the field. To me, Sam has not passed the "eye test" this year. These are just MY opinions and observations.

The GOOD: I think he throws well outside of the pocket (bootlegs). For the most part, I think he had good accuracy on his midrange throws. I think his play fake is well executed.

The BAD: I feel he locked on too much, was a statue in the pocket, had little to no accuracy on his longer throws, had too much velocity on his shorter throws, took too many coverage sacks instead of getting rid of the ball and fumbled too much DURING those sacks.


Can all of this be corrected?? Sure...I guess. He is young, and he obviously has the tools physically. Time will tell, but after 2 seasons of watching every snap from center, I just don't feel warm and fuzzy about him. Hope I am wrong!!

 

[Anonymous]

Very few people can honestly evaluate a QB. There are so many factors that play into it.

Agreed. I would not go toting that or ANY stat around as a argument for or against SB. the best you can do is to go by what you see on the field. To me, Sam has not passed the "eye test" this year. These are just MY opinions and observations.

The GOOD: I think he throws well outside of the pocket (bootlegs). For the most part, I think he had good accuracy on his midrange throws. I think his play fake is well executed.

The BAD: I feel he locked on too much, was a statue in the pocket, had little to no accuracy on his longer throws, had too much velocity on his shorter throws, took too many coverage sacks instead of getting rid of the ball and fumbled too much DURING those sacks.


Can all of this be corrected?? Sure...I guess. He is young, and he obviously has the tools physically. Time will tell, but after 2 seasons of watching every snap from center, I just don't feel warm and fuzzy about him. Hope I am wrong!!

Part of the problem is that you had this qb who openly said he needed to improve reading defenses. And then a coordinator comes along who then makes his entire job more difficult by adding things like adjusting to WR sight adjustments. That is, he got a more challenging load as a 2nd year qb, one he was not ready for. Does the coordinator adjust to that? No he keeps doing the same things. He just pushes ahead, without adjusting to his personnel.

He had young OTs, a young TE, young WRs, and a young qb. Most of the offense. And having mostly worked with vets before, he pushes ahead without sensing that he was causing problems.

Meanwhile in SF Harbaugh simplifies the offense, and it works.

The Rams, instead, look out of sync, pressed, and unconfident--as an entire offensive unit, not just the qb.

That;s the coordinator.

 

[DR RAM]

Very few people can honestly evaluate a QB. There are so many factors that play into it.

Agreed. I would not go toting that or ANY stat around as a argument for or against SB. the best you can do is to go by what you see on the field. To me, Sam has not passed the "eye test" this year. These are just MY opinions and observations.

The GOOD: I think he throws well outside of the pocket (bootlegs). For the most part, I think he had good accuracy on his midrange throws. I think his play fake is well executed.

The BAD: I feel he locked on too much, was a statue in the pocket, had little to no accuracy on his longer throws, had too much velocity on his shorter throws, took too many coverage sacks instead of getting rid of the ball and fumbled too much DURING those sacks.


Can all of this be corrected?? Sure...I guess. He is young, and he obviously has the tools physically. Time will tell, but after 2 seasons of watching every snap from center, I just don't feel warm and fuzzy about him. Hope I am wrong!!

Part of the problem is that you had this qb who openly said he needed to improve reading defenses. And then a coordinator comes along who then makes his entire job more difficult by adding things like adjusting to WR sight adjustments. That is, he got a more challenging load as a 2nd year qb, one he was not ready for. Does the coordinator adjust to that? No he keeps doing the same things. He just pushes ahead, without adjusting to his personnel.

He had young OTs, a young TE, young WRs, and a young qb. Most of the offense. And having mostly worked with vets before, he pushes ahead without sensing that he was causing problems.

Meanwhile in SF Harbaugh simplifies the offense, and it works.

The Rams, instead, look out of sync, pressed, and unconfident--as an entire offensive unit, not just the qb.

That;s the coordinator.

IMO there are so many reasons for the Rams being out of sync, that I can't and won't pin it on one guy and that's why it's so bad. If it was one guy or thing, we could probably fix it. As far as Sam goes and knowing the offense, Spags and McDaniels have said numerous times that Sam isn't who they worry about, he's got the offense down. Now being injured, not practicing, or getting reps, yada, yada, yada...

 

[bluecoconuts]

Very few people can honestly evaluate a QB. There are so many factors that play into it.

Agreed. I would not go toting that or ANY stat around as a argument for or against SB. the best you can do is to go by what you see on the field. To me, Sam has not passed the "eye test" this year. These are just MY opinions and observations.

The GOOD: I think he throws well outside of the pocket (bootlegs). For the most part, I think he had good accuracy on his midrange throws. I think his play fake is well executed.

The BAD: I feel he locked on too much, was a statue in the pocket, had little to no accuracy on his longer throws, had too much velocity on his shorter throws, took too many coverage sacks instead of getting rid of the ball and fumbled too much DURING those sacks.


Can all of this be corrected?? Sure...I guess. He is young, and he obviously has the tools physically. Time will tell, but after 2 seasons of watching every snap from center, I just don't feel warm and fuzzy about him. Hope I am wrong!!

Part of the problem is that you had this qb who openly said he needed to improve reading defenses. And then a coordinator comes along who then makes his entire job more difficult by adding things like adjusting to WR sight adjustments. That is, he got a more challenging load as a 2nd year qb, one he was not ready for. Does the coordinator adjust to that? No he keeps doing the same things. He just pushes ahead, without adjusting to his personnel.

He had young OTs, a young TE, young WRs, and a young qb. Most of the offense. And having mostly worked with vets before, he pushes ahead without sensing that he was causing problems.

Meanwhile in SF Harbaugh simplifies the offense, and it works.

The Rams, instead, look out of sync, pressed, and unconfident--as an entire offensive unit, not just the qb.

That;s the coordinator.

Harbaugh can afford to simplify the offense because he has an all-pro TE, a really good O-Line, and a defense that hasn't allowed a rushing TD in forever. Makes it easier.

 

[JdashSTL]

Very few people can honestly evaluate a QB. There are so many factors that play into it.

Agreed. I would not go toting that or ANY stat around as a argument for or against SB. the best you can do is to go by what you see on the field. To me, Sam has not passed the "eye test" this year. These are just MY opinions and observations.

The GOOD: I think he throws well outside of the pocket (bootlegs). For the most part, I think he had good accuracy on his midrange throws. I think his play fake is well executed.

The BAD: I feel he locked on too much, was a statue in the pocket, had little to no accuracy on his longer throws, had too much velocity on his shorter throws, took too many coverage sacks instead of getting rid of the ball and fumbled too much DURING those sacks.


Can all of this be corrected?? Sure...I guess. He is young, and he obviously has the tools physically. Time will tell, but after 2 seasons of watching every snap from center, I just don't feel warm and fuzzy about him. Hope I am wrong!!

Part of the problem is that you had this qb who openly said he needed to improve reading defenses. And then a coordinator comes along who then makes his entire job more difficult by adding things like adjusting to WR sight adjustments. That is, he got a more challenging load as a 2nd year qb, one he was not ready for. Does the coordinator adjust to that? No he keeps doing the same things. He just pushes ahead, without adjusting to his personnel.

He had young OTs, a young TE, young WRs, and a young qb. Most of the offense. And having mostly worked with vets before, he pushes ahead without sensing that he was causing problems.

Meanwhile in SF Harbaugh simplifies the offense, and it works.

The Rams, instead, look out of sync, pressed, and unconfident--as an entire offensive unit, not just the qb.

That;s the coordinator.

Harbaugh can afford to simplify the offense because he has an all-pro TE, a really good O-Line, and a defense that hasn't allowed a rushing TD in forever. Makes it easier.

But they still had that same talent around him last year. Theres just better coaching this year. Harbaugh knows what Smith can and cannot do. Thats why Smith is comfortable in that offense.