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- The Dude
[101]96494047[/101]
<a class="postlink" href="https://soundcloud.com/101sports/mike-sando-06-11-2013" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">https://soundcloud.com/101sports/mike-sando-06-11-2013</a>
Notes:
What did you think (of OTAs)?
I came here to watch the offense, but the defense had a great practice. I think this defense, particularly the front 7, is gonna have a ton of speed and they were already good last year. They'll be better with Ogletree. He had a good interception today, and I don't' even know if he knew the ball was coming. It just stuck to him like velcro. If he shows up for them ... that's been kind of a spot for them (it's been a while since they had a good OLB) -- they've had some stop-gap guys there for sure.
On Bradford
When you look at a lot of teams, the 5th and 6th guys (receivers) are the guys you look to replace. You won't get better if you don't replace them. I think now, you can see 5 guys there that they want to have for a long, long time. Austin, Bailey, Cook, Quick, Givens, and maybe a guy like Pettis is uncovered now... That's something Bradford can build on and grow with.
This is not a make-or-break for him. They're not going to move on from him if he struggles. It's been sort of a nightmare for him with the guys he had coming through. This is also the first time in a while that Brian Schottenheimer had the same QB. He had Pennington to Clemens, to Favre to Sanchez, and he went from the most experienced guy ever, to a guy where he had to hold his hand for a little bit, and now this is Bradford/Schottenheimer in back to back years together. And talking to both of those guys, today, that's something he hasn't had in a while, and Bradford never had. It's more than one of those fun story-lines about continuity -- this is really important to both of them now.
You think about a guy like Eli Manning who had the same HC OC for his entire career, and he had some tough years there in the beginning. It took him a while to get going. They're really excited about Bradford, and that's not lip service by them, and they're not propping up the guy. They're building the offense TO HIS strengths. If you would have said, coming out of OU, what kind of offense should he have, it would be THIS offense. A bunch of guys who can run, one back, and they're all in with him.
For other teams in the division, the general feeling is positive on him, and people understand what happened. People loved him coming out, and other teams did too. All the other teams in this division thought he was the real deal coming out, and this year I think we find out why. They have different types of athletes on the team now. I was talking to him a little today, and nobody had to do anything special to prepare for the Rams before. You just kinda played them. Now they have matchup problems for other teams.
On Cook
Wait until you get Lance Kendricks in there too, because that's the other half of the equation. When McD was here, they went into that season wanting the two TE set, and that's such an advantage in the NFL, when you can make them choose between the two; well, with injuries and whatnot, the Rams never had that. Now Kendricks is gonna come back as a traditional TE, and Cook is a blazer. That part of the package should be exciting for them and Bradford. They're gonna be a fast break offense, but to have Kendricks and Cook out there gives the look of "Hey, we can run the ball too."
On Jake Long
I looked at him out there today talking to Saffold, and I'm thinking - there were a bunch of high school coaches out there watching, and I thought, what are these guys thinking, looking at a flat out stud in Jake Long? If you had to say, who is pick #1 overall on the field, and you just look at Jake Long, and you say ... that... # 77 - he's right over there.
About the division
When Seattle won the division at 7-9, the Rams, last year, were better than that team, and they went 7-0 last year and finished 3rd in the division. I think this will be the first time that there's not a truly awful team in the division. Arizona should be better this year. It would be optimistic from an AZ standpoint to think that they'll contend for the division title, but they were SO bad by the end of the year that you'd think that's where they start. That won't be the case. Carson Palmer's not that great, but you don't understand the gap between not that great and horrible. They will at least be in games now with him there over what they had last year. Their O-line's going to be way better.
Any concerns about the 49ers?
I'd say there's two areas that hurt them the past couple of years. They had wide receiver injuries, and now Crabtree's hurt. That's a position to look at, because Crabtree was Clapperdick's go-to receiver. That changes things for them. The other thing was the defensive front 7 getting worn down. They played a small rotation, Justin Smith got hurt (and is coming off a triceps injury), and his trajectory isn't going up. They'll try to get another year out of him. An injury on that front is something (in the short term) that would hurt them. Another area to watch with them.
Then some stuff about the other teams towards the end...
<a class="postlink" href="https://soundcloud.com/101sports/mike-sando-06-11-2013" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">https://soundcloud.com/101sports/mike-sando-06-11-2013</a>
Notes:
What did you think (of OTAs)?
I came here to watch the offense, but the defense had a great practice. I think this defense, particularly the front 7, is gonna have a ton of speed and they were already good last year. They'll be better with Ogletree. He had a good interception today, and I don't' even know if he knew the ball was coming. It just stuck to him like velcro. If he shows up for them ... that's been kind of a spot for them (it's been a while since they had a good OLB) -- they've had some stop-gap guys there for sure.
On Bradford
When you look at a lot of teams, the 5th and 6th guys (receivers) are the guys you look to replace. You won't get better if you don't replace them. I think now, you can see 5 guys there that they want to have for a long, long time. Austin, Bailey, Cook, Quick, Givens, and maybe a guy like Pettis is uncovered now... That's something Bradford can build on and grow with.
This is not a make-or-break for him. They're not going to move on from him if he struggles. It's been sort of a nightmare for him with the guys he had coming through. This is also the first time in a while that Brian Schottenheimer had the same QB. He had Pennington to Clemens, to Favre to Sanchez, and he went from the most experienced guy ever, to a guy where he had to hold his hand for a little bit, and now this is Bradford/Schottenheimer in back to back years together. And talking to both of those guys, today, that's something he hasn't had in a while, and Bradford never had. It's more than one of those fun story-lines about continuity -- this is really important to both of them now.
You think about a guy like Eli Manning who had the same HC OC for his entire career, and he had some tough years there in the beginning. It took him a while to get going. They're really excited about Bradford, and that's not lip service by them, and they're not propping up the guy. They're building the offense TO HIS strengths. If you would have said, coming out of OU, what kind of offense should he have, it would be THIS offense. A bunch of guys who can run, one back, and they're all in with him.
For other teams in the division, the general feeling is positive on him, and people understand what happened. People loved him coming out, and other teams did too. All the other teams in this division thought he was the real deal coming out, and this year I think we find out why. They have different types of athletes on the team now. I was talking to him a little today, and nobody had to do anything special to prepare for the Rams before. You just kinda played them. Now they have matchup problems for other teams.
On Cook
Wait until you get Lance Kendricks in there too, because that's the other half of the equation. When McD was here, they went into that season wanting the two TE set, and that's such an advantage in the NFL, when you can make them choose between the two; well, with injuries and whatnot, the Rams never had that. Now Kendricks is gonna come back as a traditional TE, and Cook is a blazer. That part of the package should be exciting for them and Bradford. They're gonna be a fast break offense, but to have Kendricks and Cook out there gives the look of "Hey, we can run the ball too."
On Jake Long
I looked at him out there today talking to Saffold, and I'm thinking - there were a bunch of high school coaches out there watching, and I thought, what are these guys thinking, looking at a flat out stud in Jake Long? If you had to say, who is pick #1 overall on the field, and you just look at Jake Long, and you say ... that... # 77 - he's right over there.
About the division
When Seattle won the division at 7-9, the Rams, last year, were better than that team, and they went 7-0 last year and finished 3rd in the division. I think this will be the first time that there's not a truly awful team in the division. Arizona should be better this year. It would be optimistic from an AZ standpoint to think that they'll contend for the division title, but they were SO bad by the end of the year that you'd think that's where they start. That won't be the case. Carson Palmer's not that great, but you don't understand the gap between not that great and horrible. They will at least be in games now with him there over what they had last year. Their O-line's going to be way better.
Any concerns about the 49ers?
I'd say there's two areas that hurt them the past couple of years. They had wide receiver injuries, and now Crabtree's hurt. That's a position to look at, because Crabtree was Clapperdick's go-to receiver. That changes things for them. The other thing was the defensive front 7 getting worn down. They played a small rotation, Justin Smith got hurt (and is coming off a triceps injury), and his trajectory isn't going up. They'll try to get another year out of him. An injury on that front is something (in the short term) that would hurt them. Another area to watch with them.
Then some stuff about the other teams towards the end...
