Is Sam Bradford the 'face of the franchise'?

By Michael Martinez
NFL writer
Posted Aug 20, 2010

The St. Louis Rams gave Sam Bradford the richest rookie deal in NFL history. He should embrace eveything that goes with it.

This might come as a surprise to St. Louis Rams rookie quarterback Sam Bradford, but $78 million is supposed to buy more than just wins.

That’s what all that money is about, of course, but Bradford is also an investment for a franchise that has been the butt of jokes for too many seasons. The Rams intend to turn around their horrendous slide, and if they do, it will be Bradford who helps them.

So it’s curious to see that Bradford disdains being labeled “the face of the franchise” because that’s exactly what he is.

“I think that's ridiculous,” he told Bill Coats of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. “I don't think one person is any face of the franchise. It takes 11 guys on offense, 11 guys on defense and however many guys you have playing special teams to win a football game. That's how I look at it.

“And I wish more people would look at it like that.”

Won’t happen. Peyton Manning is the face of the Indianapolis Colts. Mark Sanchez is the face of the New York Jets. Drew Brees is the face of the New Orleans Saints.

And like it or not, Bradford represents everything the Rams see in their future. They expect him to sell seats, sell jerseys and, most of all, sell hope. That goes along with winning games. Remember, this is a franchise that hasn’t won more than three games in any season since 2006. Hope is all it has.

When they gave Bradford the richest rookie contract in NFL history, the Rams expected bang for their buck. At the same time, they’re also doing all they can to allow him to focus on making a smooth transition to the pro game. In many ways, they’re protecting him from overload.

“We want him to become acclimated to the life of being an NFL player, focus on being in training camp, focus on being a better player, a better teammate and really have all of his attention be on the field,” Kevin Demoff, the Rams’ VP of football operations, said. “I think his name, the buzz, the recognition, it's all organic; we don't need to do anything to help it. And we don't want to take advantage of him.”

being called the face of the franchise is part of all that, shouldn’t Bradford embrace it, not try to avoid it?

What happened, Michael ? Did you get turned down for an interview?

I've watched all of Sam's pressers through camp & he's handled them very well. You can see him growing more comfortable each time; not easy with the same questions over & over plus some absolutely asinine ones ( have you picked a song to sing at the rookie show?).

I think all he was trying to say with the comments quoted was that the team is the most important thing and that he hasn't done anything on the field yet to deserve this savior mantle that he was being asked to comment on. He seems more than capable of growing into that role when the time comes but he's not going to blather about it just to give some hack journo an easy article.

Do all sportswriters live in la la land?

This Michael Martinez is an idiot. If he asked Peyton Manning the same question about being the face of the Colts, he'd get the same answer Bradford gave.

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Originally Posted by r8rh8rmike

This Michael Martinez is an idiot. If he asked Peyton Manning the same question about being the face of the Colts, he'd get the same answer Bradford gave.

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Yeah he basically asked &answered his own question....ive had my dose of DUMB for the day.

Bradford is the face of the franchise to everybody on the outside. Steven Jackson is still our main guy and the "face" of the team.

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Originally Posted by The Rammer

Bradford is the face of the franchise to everybody on the outside. Steven Jackson is still our main guy and the "face" of the team.

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Maybe so, but in 3 years Sjax will be gone. Bradford will be the Rams QB for the next 12-15.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by r8rh8rmike

This Michael Martinez is an idiot. If he asked Peyton Manning the same question about being the face of the Colts, he'd get the same answer Bradford gave.

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Exactly... not once in his entire college or professional career have I heard Manning utter anything close to "I'm the face of the Colts." or "This team is built around me." I would even bet money that Manning would say he is just one of the leaders on the team.

Article = crap.

Bradford is just being politically correct. He already said before that he knows he has to become the leader of this team. Not in year one maybe, but he will eventually need to be it.

Sam's smart enough to understand what being a quarterback of a football team means.

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Originally Posted by SLSG

Maybe so, but in 3 years Sjax will be gone. Bradford will be the Rams QB for the next 12-15.

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Steven's only 28 years old. I think he has 2 or 3 years left of being one of the top-3 running backs in the league, but I believe that he's going to be our starter for maybe 5 or 6, possibly more years. I know running backs don't last long, but just like Thomas Jones, Steven Jackson is a very special type of running back.

I wouldn't expect Sam to answer the question any other way. But the truth of the matter is that, when you're picking a QB first overall, part of the logic is you're getting the new face of your franchise. We know it, but Sam can't really come out and say it.

Of course Bradford is the face of the franchise, for what he is getting paid there really isn't another option.