Quarterback Criticism

There have been numerous threads pertaining to Sam Bradford since his arrival in St. Louis. Fans have many times commented passionately- some staunchly defending Bradford while others have maligned his short tenure with the Rams. I think it's important to recognize some basic facts that fair or unfair will always be present when Sam Bradford is discussed.

1) Disenchantment with one's QB is hardly anything new. Tony Romo, Mark Sanchez and Michael Vick are among the more prominent guys who have been roasted by their team's fan base. Each has had his share of successes and failures as a player. Eli Manning, who has won two Super Bowls, was ripped for several years before his fortunes turned. For the duration of what we hope is an excellent career, Sam Bradford will endure the same questioning and the same second guessing.

2) Feeling compelled to refute EVERY negative Bradford post is petty and a waste of energy. Recognize that fans are fickle- and that will never change. Ask Cam Newton- who was "great" last year but now "sucks and can't play".

3) A QB will always get more credit than he deserves when they win and more blame than they deserve when they lose. As a number 1 overall pick,and as a guy many fans were sold on being "the face of the franchise for years to come" Bradford will be scrutinized heavier than most. Expect it.

4) Stats must be taken in their proper context when defending or supporting a guy. They can be misleading in many ways and can be twisted to support your own argument or refute the other guy's. You can talk about "dropped passes" for instance, but fail to mention spectacular grabs by those same receivers. Or neglect to mention "poorly thrown incompletions to wide open receivers". Things tend to even out over the long term. And one must attempt to be balanced when assessing a guy's performance or body of work.

5) I am truly convinced Sam Bradford is a winning player. Because he is not Aaron Rodgers, Tom Brady, Peyton Manning or Ben Roethlisberger does not mean he isn't any good. He has shown me enough over the course of about two full seasons that given proper support he can be a guy ranked in the top third in the NFL at his position.

6) CONSISTENT WINNING is the only thing that ultimately will mollify fans. The intelligent fan recognizes his team's inadequacies, but at the end of the day is uninterested in excuses or reasons why a guy can't get the job done. Shortcomings on the line or at the WR position can only be talked about for so long before we start becoming apologists for bad QB play.

Some might not agree, but I think that the end of NEXT season would be the time to make a definitive judgment on Bradford. He will have had 2 years in the same system with the same head coach and a young and improving corps of receivers. It will be more than fair by then.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by NJ Ramsfan1

6) CONSISTENT WINNING is the only thing that ultimately will mollify fans. The intelligent fan recognizes his team's inadequacies, but at the end of the day is uninterested in excuses or reasons why a guy can't get the job done. Shortcomings on the line or at the WR position can only be talked about for so long before we start becoming apologists for bad QB play.

Some might not agree, but I think that the end of NEXT season would be the time to make a definitive judgment on Bradford. He will have had 2 years in the same system with the same head coach and a young and improving corps of receivers. It will be more than fair by then.

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I also believe in Sam...The wins need to come like they did in his rookie year he found ways to win of corse we wanna see more than 7 wins but that year he was getting it done

For a young QB i believe you keep him as your starter until it is clear he is not improving and making the same exact mistakes that are costing your team year after year game after game

This also holds true for potential Superbowl QBs like Romo who has played so many snaps and still throwing horrible picks and miscommunicating with receivers he has played with for years

Thats not Sam this year his deep ball accuracy has been improving all season as well as his QB WR rapport just ask Chris Givens; last year his deep ball was horrible the only times he would connect on a deep one is if Lloyd would make a nice catch

Great post NJ (short for "no jive")?

I watched Avery and Robinson acquit themselves well last nite, but as Rams they were pretty much injured all the time. We HAVE been a bit cursed at WR.
(I'd like to see Luck's stats without Wayne).

But to the OT, Bradford is fine. He won't be Manning, Brady or Rodgers (or Luck), but he'll be good to very good. Part of the problem, (perception wise), I feel, is the $50 M guaranteed we had to pay, but that is not his fault. Fact is, he is noticeably better in all aspects than he was last year, and if it's not obvious, you're not watching

Next two years will be very different. One can point to SF and Indy, but there are multiple other factors in play, not the least of which, is that they have both been well run organizations for a long time. Drafting anyone?

I need a dead horse icon, but it needs to be repeated that a lot of us fans still don't grasp the damage done to this team by the previous management, or more accurately, complete lack thereof.

Rams will lose Sunday, (but cover), but will win at home. Cheers from Vegas, (where it's currently 51 degrees - lovin' it!)

Rams are not a very good football team. Haranguing the QB based on his not having an S on his chest is way too premature. As Vegas Ram so eloquenty put it, the previous regimes really did a number on this organization. Big hole to climb out of BUT I am hopeful this is the last year we hear Bradford does not have the tools to get the job done.

Nice post NJ


I think it takes five years before a QB has his master degree sort of speak.

Using Eli as an example:

Key stats

He played 9 games as a rookie year CMP% 48 TD 6 INT 9 RAT 55
year two CMP% 52 TD 24 INT 17 RAT 76
year three CMP% 58 TD 24 INT 18 RAT 77
year four CMP% 56 TD 23 INT 20 RAT 74
year five CMP% 60.3 TD 21 INT 10 RAT 86

It is in year five where Eli RAT jumped up and his CMP% was above 60 and has never dropped below that and his RAT has always been above 85.

Looking at his early numbers you can see where fans might have been worried.

Sam had a CMP% of 60 his rookie year and a RAT 76 His second year his CMP% dropped to 53 and his RAT was 70. * Injured *
This year so far CMP% 61.4 and his RAT 82.

The number that needs to come up is TDs, Sam only has 8 this year, He had 18 his rookie year. IMO he will become a better playmaker with more experience.

Eli already has 12 this year. The Rams FO needs to find Sam a Victor Cruz that will help.