Bernie: Giving up on Bradford for Griffin would have been wrong move ..

[HUbison]

I mean c'mon, the guy isn't Jesus.

Now THAT guy could really throw a Hail Mary!

[rams4life88]

This is what separates the rams from franchises like the steelers. They build through the draft. secure that talent for awhile and let them go to have the next guys step in. They give their players the time to develop. With the Rams, if you arent great from day one your expendable. There has to be some continuation for this team in order to build a foundation for a consistent winner in this league. You already have the qb you paid for, now surround him with talent enough to succeed then judge him. Get off the RG3 bandwagon, unless your a redskins fan...

[ljcrayton]

Can I just remind everyone who thinks RG3 is the best thing since slice bread that they were playing the Saints. A team without a head coach AND more importantly, a coaching staff that has Spags in it. As Rams fans, we all know that Spags gets out-coached weekly. I don't give RG3 and the redskins any credit, I give all the credit to Spags...if there is one thing he knows how to do, is make sure you are not in a position to win.

[macrammer]

I agree with the Literary license .... but aren't you doing what you just criticized by saying "blind loyalty" and " blind eye"?

In this thread alone there are plenty of stats from the last game to indicate Bradford is playing better then he did last year. We are watching the games and looking at his numbers. We are looking to see what the players that have gone through the process and have played QB think of him. To say it's "blind" is just not true. IMO

This really comes down to expectation IMO. Some equate a 1st pick to immediate play of an elite QB, regardless of the situation. While some are content to have him play steady, while he goes through the learning curve of become an established QB in the NFL. I choose the later... that being said if in three years from now if he is not the guy and this roster in loaded with all the talent from the recent bounty of draft picks. I will be the first to say let find our franchise QB.

I'm NOT saying he is a lock but I don't see anything that tells me he won't be either.

Lets agree on looking for Sam to continue to progress and agree to disagree on expectations of Sam at this point of his career. Your point was clear, I appreciate your view, mine is of the former view you lay out on expectations.

[IBleedBnG83]

The Rams did the right thing. The only way it will be the wrong move is if Bradford doesn't become an elite QB and RG3 does. I think Bradford will be a very good QB for many years.

[Rambos]

Lets agree on looking for Sam to continue to progress and agree to disagree on expectations of Sam at this point of his career. Your point was clear, I appreciate your view, mine is of the former view you lay out on expectations.

Sounds good to me lets hope for 300 yards and 3 TDs this weekend! We both will be satisfied!

[Rambos]

The Rams did the right thing. The only way it will be the wrong move is if Bradford doesn't become an elite QB and RG3 does. I think Bradford will be a very good QB for many years.

God forbid RG3 does not become an elite QB, how big of a setback do you think giving up your next two first RD picks and a second RD to get him will have long term?

[AvengerRam]

The Rams did the right thing. The only way it will be the wrong move is if Bradford doesn't become an elite QB and RG3 does.

Wrong. You can't evaluate the trade merely by looking at Bradford and RGIII.

The Rams have already obtained Michael Brockers, Janoris Jenkins, Isaiah Pead and Rokevious Watkins as a direct result of the trade. They will obtain two more players from the Redskins 2013 and 2014 first round picks.

If those six players help the Rams become a contender, then the trade will have been a success for the Rams, regardless of any Bradford/RGIII comparison.

[swatter555]

Here is an honest guy giving you his evaluation of Bradford. The question is do you want to accept it?

101ESPN.com: Audio Player - Kurt Warner

The question is do you want to listen? Can you live with the what the "appraisal" is?

I listened to it live on "The Fast Lane" and man I love Kurt. I was happy to hear him say those things about Bradford. I certainly hope Bradford is the least of our worries.

Thinking of Kurt also reminds me that QBs can have down years too and return to greatness. Everyone thought Kurt was out for the count after St. Louis, but he bounced back in a big way. With Bradford it was just worrying seeing him hit a brick wall (almost literally) in year 2. Bradford says all the right things and everyone says he is very intelligent, and those are great things. At the same time, he seems to be nagged by bad habits we all see. I have ragged on Bradford too much this weekend, I try too hard sometimes to be the devils advocate. I am not THAT worried about Bradford.

[mh-i]

The Rams brass will have their own view on Bradford and his future with the Rams after this season. I don't buy into many of the arguements posted here about judging Bradford on who he has and hasn't played with. Players can show leadership and physical skills no matter who they play with. I think it matters having a different OC every year. That's huge. At any rate the current staff will do what's right for the Rams and if they think Bradford is still the guy after this season then he'll be the guy. If they don't think Bradford is the guy then he'll be gone. It's up to them not us. The'll have a pretty good handle on the Bradford situation by the end of the year.

[IBleedBnG83]

Wrong. You can't evaluate the trade merely by looking at Bradford and RGIII.

The Rams have already obtained Michael Brockers, Janoris Jenkins, Isaiah Pead and Rokevious Watkins as a direct result of the trade. They will obtain two more players from the Redskins 2013 and 2014 first round picks.

If those six players help the Rams become a contender, then the trade will have been a success for the Rams, regardless of any Bradford/RGIII comparison.

It's a QB driven league - plain and simple. All those pieces maybe great, but you need a top flight QB to win the Super Bowl. SO if all those players all turn out to be great, smart money says they still won't make a serious run at a SB without a very good QB.

But the fact they did obtain all those players is a very good thing. Unfortunately, the Rams draft track record has been very poor. Maybe Fisher will help.

[Rambos]

The Rams brass will have their own view on Bradford and his future with the Rams after this season. I don't buy into many of the arguements posted here about judging Bradford on who he has and hasn't played with. Players can show leadership and physical skills no matter who they play with. I think it matters having a different OC every year. That's huge. At any rate the current staff will do what's right for the Rams and if they think Bradford is still the guy after this season then he'll be the guy. If they don't think Bradford is the guy then he'll be gone. It's up to them not us. The'll have a pretty good handle on the Bradford situation by the end of the year.

Bradford has a six year deal... he's played only two years of the six, he's in year three. He is not close to being cut loose, even if he has another season like last year.

Bradford's contract. He is still scheduled to earn $9 million in base salary in 2013, $8 million of which is guaranteed, $14.015 million in 2014 and $12.985 million in 2015. Up to $800,000 in escalators are available in each remaining year of the contract with $2 million available in total incentives.

[Goldenfleece]

It's a QB driven league - plain and simple. All those pieces maybe great, but you need a top flight QB to win the Super Bowl. SO if all those players all turn out to be great, smart money says they still won't make a serious run at a SB without a very good QB.

But the fact they did obtain all those players is a very good thing. Unfortunately, the Rams draft track record has been very poor. Maybe Fisher will help.

Well, it certainly helps, but I don't think Big Ben was top flight the first time the Steelers won one with him behind center in 2005, nor was Eli considered top flight in the 2007 season. If you go back ten years, you've got Brad Johnson winning one with Tampa. The general trend there would seem to be that the surest way to win a Super Bowl is to have an elite pocket passer like New England, Indianapolis, Green Bay, New Orleans, and debatable the most recent wins by Pittsburgh and New York. However, we've also seen quite a few teams play in the championship game in recent years with just an above average--but not top flight--quarterback and a strong defense.

And let's just say that hypothetically, Sam Bradford doesn't pan out, but next year or the year after we draft a different franchise quarterback with one of the picks we got from the Redskins and still have a better supporting cast because of the trade than we would have had for RGIII. Wouldn't the trade still have worked out to our advantage in that scenario? Basically, the only way it isn't a good move for us is if RGIII turns out to be a top five quarterback for the next decade and even with the extra picks, the Rams still can't manage to build a contender.

[AvengerRam]

It's a QB driven league - plain and simple. All those pieces maybe great, but you need a top flight QB to win the Super Bowl. SO if all those players all turn out to be great, smart money says they still won't make a serious run at a SB without a very good QB.

I'd rather have Bradford and all those choices than put all my eggs in RGIII's basket.

[Rambos]

I'd rather have Bradford and all those choices than put all my eggs in RGIII's basket.

I agree Av.

Top flight QB to win the Super Bowl. SO if all those players all turn out to be great, smart money says they still won't make a serious run at a SB without a very good QB.

If RG3 turns out to be elite he still is not going to win a SB on his own he needs pro bowlers around him, without top draft picks until 2015 that could be an issue.

If we hit on those picks and or leverage them to always be in position to upgrade our roster we will be in a better position.

If Bradford does not workout and the picks do, all we need is add that one player, If RG3 does not workout for whatever reason, the skins are going to be up a creek. Adding talent through FA is not cheap.

Bradford will work out and it's going to be nice to add two first rounders over the next two years to make sure he does!