http://www.thebackyardbanter.com/th...s-should-commit-to-sam-bradford-for-2014.html
By: Matt Harmon
February 12, 2014
Sam Bradford hasn’t exactly lit the world on fire since he entered the NFL as the number one overall draft choice in 2010. His 79.3 career passer rating suggests he has been an average at best starter thus far. The Rams subpar records under his watch lend more credence to that assessment.
Bradford began the 2013 season on pace to record career best statistics across the board. Still, media members and fans alike were unsatisfied. The calls for Bradford’s head began to grow, especially after a poor showing against the 49ers in Thursday Night Football’s national spotlight.
Unfortunately, Sam Bradford never really got the chance to prove his doubters wrong over the course of the season. The fourth year quarterback was lost for the year with an ACL tear suffered during the seventh week of the NFL season. The chorus of doubt was actually given a new sheet of music to read from in the weeks following Bradford’s departure.
As the season progressed, the Rams offense seemed to actually improve without their franchise quarterback in the fold. The team hit on more big plays with Kellen Clemens behind center in place of Bradford. The Rams procuring upset wins over the Saints and Colts during this time only served to throw fuel on the fire. By the end of the 2013 season, it seemed the Rams had an obvious answer to what to do with Sam Bradford.
Many have decided it is time for the Rams to move on from their former top draft pick. It has been suggested they should get themselves out from under the albatross of a contract Bradford carries and use the second overall pick on one of this draft’s talented quarterbacks. The thought is Bradford has shown he isn’t good enough, and the Rams were gifted a chance to pick this high by the Washington Redskins; might as well take advantage.
Not too long ago,
I was amongst those who felt that was the wisest course of action. However, after taking an in-depth look at all of Bradford’s snaps during his injury shortened 2013 campaign, my feelings have changed. The view from the eye in the sky shows a passer who flashed a ton of growth, all while still playing on a bad offense.
Charting Sam Bradford’s 2013 season
Sam Bradford’s completion percentage this season was 60.7%, and his yards per attempt figure came in at 6.44. Both of those numbers fall just at, or below, the average standards desired from NFL quarterbacks. Nothing about Bradford’s statistics scream “former number one overall pick” or “franchise quarterback”. However, as always, the basic statistics do not paint the whole picture.
By charting each of Bradford’s 2013 games you can see which areas of the field he excelled in throwing to, and how efficient he was. Completion percentage does not take into account passes that were obviously thrown away, or mistakes by other teammates. To counteract that, these charts track the percentage of good and accurate throws Bradford made, and where he made them.
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There's a tidbit of the article. It's long but I recommend everyone read it. It has a lot of great information, charts and pictures. And the guy that wrote it is NOT a Rams fan.(as much as that will upset the PD crowd)
Props to jjab for posting it on another site.
