170-18-41-14-151-1-1

[AvengerRam]

You may have noticed, I've been a bit quiet since Sunday. I've been pretty much in "I don't want to talk about it" mode.

This team has a lot of problems. The WRs are inadequate. The OL is under-performing. The offense clearly has not acclimated to McDaniels' system (which we know CAN work well in this league). The run defense has been disappointing, to say the least.

So why is my title a series of numbers? Those numbers are my response to anyone who has Sam Bradford on the list of weak points of this Rams team.

170 - The number of times Bradford has gone back to pass.
18 - The number of times Bradford has been sacked.
41 -The number of times Bradford has been hit after throwing the ball.
14 - The number of passes dropped by Rams' receivers.
151 - The number of pass attempts Bradford has recorded this year.
1 - The number of interceptions thrown by Bradford.
1 - Bradford's league rank in interception percentage.

That's right. Despite being clobbered on a regular basis and having enough passes dropped to lower his completion percentage from 58.9 to 49.7, Bradford has thown fewer interceptions per pass attempt than any QB in the NFL.

If you still think Sam Bradford is the problem, well... I can't do nothin' for you, son.

[PARamfan]

You may have noticed, I've been a bit quiet since Sunday. I've been pretty much in "I don't want to talk about it" mode.

This team has a lot of problems. The WRs are inadequate. The OL is under-performing. The offense clearly has not acclimated to McDaniels' system (which we know CAN work well in this league). The run defense has been disappointing, to say the least.

So why is my title a series of numbers? Those numbers are my response to anyone who has Sam Bradford on the list of weak points of this Rams team.

170 - The number of times Bradford has gone back to pass.
18 - The number of times Bradford has been sacked.
41 -The number of times Bradford has been hit after throwing the ball.
14 - The number of passes dropped by Rams' receivers.
151 - The number of pass attempts Bradford has recorded this year.
1 - The number of interceptions thrown by Bradford.
1 - Bradford's league rank in interception percentage.

That's right. Despite being clobbered on a regular basis and having enough passes dropped to lower his completion percentage from 58.9 to 49.7, Bradford has thown fewer interceptions per pass attempt than any QB in the NFL.

If you still think Sam Bradford is the problem, well... I can't do nothin' for you, son.

Couldn't agree more Av. Anyone that thinks a QB can throw the ball AND catch it AND pass block for himself is just kidding themselves.

[RAMarkable]

Only 14 passes dropped? Is this the official number because I'm all but certain that Kendricks has that many himself.

At any rate I agree with the main thrust of this thread but would like to mention that Sam does need to improve a few things to help reduce the physical assault that he experiencing. This includes things like increasing his pocket awareness, stepping up or out of the pocket quicker, not holding on to the ball as long and checking down or even throwing the ball away quicker.

Another thing that could help is that McDaniels needs to call more roll out and sprint-option passes as Sam is very good at throwing on the run. Also, the no-huddle package has been very effective at times yet the Rams seem to go away from it for no apparent reason. some draws and screens would help to blunt a pass rush, too.

Lots of work to be done, I just hope Sam doesn't turn into the next David Carr while the Rams are trying to get it together.

WHAT SAY YE?

[richtree]

14 - The number of passes dropped by Rams' receivers.

Where did you get that number ? I think it is actually higher, because MSW had 4 official drops last week himself and week one the Rams had 5 plus as a team. I think the number is closer to 25 ?

Is there a place that records individual player drops ???

[AvengerRam]

I don't know that there is an "official" dropped passes statistic. The number I found was from a quick Google search. It may be higher, but I think we can all agree that even if its only 3.5 drops/game, that is a unacceptable number.

[Rambos]

I agree 100% Sam is not the problem he is the the only player that gives me hope that we will have a great team sooner or later.

He is not getting enough time to go through his reads and no help with these WR. We all where concerned about the WR we had going in and well they have really stunk.

To those that are watching the games and are saying Bradford has regressed or he is in a sophomore slump all I can say is your missing it. Really it's simple, when he hits a WR in the hands and they drop it that's high school mistakes. dropped passes are so sad and deflating it's unreal. If you are going to blame the QB that's like blaming the holder every time a FG is missed.

Really? Sam is the issue really? We have a Great Young QB!

[RamFan_Til_I_Die]

14 - The number of passes dropped by Rams' receivers.

Where did you get that number ? I think it is actually higher, because MSW had 4 official drops last week himself and week one the Rams had 5 plus as a team. I think the number is closer to 25 ?

Is there a place that records individual player drops ???

When I rewatched Sunday's game, I kept a tally of all the drops. These are passes that the receiver should have caught, and got at least a hand on them.

MSW:4
Kendricks: 3, a 4th was catchable IMO, but was a bit overthrown, so not sure if it's considered a drop.
Hoomanawanlalablablah: 1
Jackson: 1

So that's a definite 9 drops, possibly 10, in one game. No way there are only 5 in the other 3 games. Don't feel like rewatching the first 3 games again to actually get a count, but the 25 number is definitely closer to reality. I can't even think of proper wording to describe how pathetic all these drops are. The fact that these guys are in the freaking NFL and still having issues like this, is mind boggling.

[Richbert88]

I've seen this drop statistic on ESPN. They defined "drop" as a ball that absolutely should have been caught by an average skilled receiver in the league. It does not include balls that "feasibly" should have been caught by an average skilled receiver in the league, or balls that reasonably should have been caught period. <these are paraphrase definitions by mean from memory>.

I think we as Rams fans have a reasonable expectation that if the ball is within 2 feet of a receiver whose in a position to make the catch, and even gets his hands up to make the catch or even gets his hands on the ball, and is looking in the direction the ball is coming at him from, that the catch SHOULD ABSOLUTELY BE MADE MORE OFTEN THAN NOT.

I think Sam may have that same thought, in addition to expecting his receivers to be looking period. Especially on a 5 yard goal line pattern when your running toward and within 10 yards of the friggin sideline.

Under these circumstances, I think that drops should be upwards of around 25 to 30.

There is NO excuse.

I hope Clayton can come back soon and with what I've seen from MSW, I wish we'd have kept Avery and/or Robinson instead.

[macrammer]

Bradford is the least of our worries except to keep him healthy

[sosa39rams]

I seen somewhere else our drops were at 23 which looks more appropriate. I do agree though. Sam has been nothing short of spectacular, especially with what hes been given to work with.

[ZiaRam]

Couldn't agree more Av. Anyone that thinks a QB can throw the ball AND catch it AND pass block for himself is just kidding themselves.

What? He's the first pick in the 1st round .. shouldn't he be able to do all the above?

[rNemesis]

What? He's the first pick in the 1st round .. shouldn't he be able to do all the above?

Sarcasm over!!

[Nick]

I don't know that there is an "official" dropped passes statistic.

According to STATS LLC, the Rams have dropped 11 passes, which ranks second in the league. The Browns have dropped more with 14. This appears to be the only official stat I can find (for free) on drops, though obviously there's some subjectivity on this one.

I would guess that STATS LLC follows something like Richbert's criteria for a drop, in that there's no question it absolutely should have been caught by even an average receiver. If you look at MSW from last week, some will claim he dropped three balls. But with a strict standard for what counts as a drop, he was probably only credited with one.

It might produce lower numbers than fan perception, but it'll produce low numbers for every team since the criteria would be applied to everyone.

[MrBagIndgang]

I don't want to argue that Bradford is our main concern, but to throw out some random stats that supports your point of view is quite stupid. Yes, he doesn't throw many picks and as you state he throws the least amount pr attempt than any in the NFL.

But that is no surprise. Bradford also throws among the least amount of deep balls in the NFL. He also have the worst TD pr attempt ratio in the entire NFL.

So please drop this pro/against Bradford, and any other player, and try to be just a little balanced/nuanced in your criticism.

[AvengerRam]

I don't want to argue that Bradford is our main concern, but to throw out some random stats that supports your point of view is quite stupid. Yes, he doesn't throw many picks and as you state he throws the least amount pr attempt than any in the NFL.

But that is no surprise. Bradford also throws among the least amount of deep balls in the NFL. He also have the worst TD pr attempt ratio in the entire NFL.

So please drop this pro/against Bradford, and any other player, and try to be just a little balanced/nuanced in your criticism.

The Interception % absolutely supports my point. First of all, you have no evidence for your assertion that he throws "the least amount of deep balls in the NFL." Second, who cares? Bradford has played every game under heavy pressure while trying to bring the Rams from behind (and has had his number 1 running option on the sideline half the time). Under those circumstances, you would expect a young QB to throw a lot of interceptions. Instead, Sam has thrown 1 in 151 pass attempts. Clearly, that shows that he is generally accurate and careful with the ball.

So, I think I'll disregard your advice about the nature of my criticism.