Sam Bradford tentative in pocket, Ron Jaworski says

[Nick]

Sam Bradford tentative in pocket, Ron Jaworski says
By Dan Hanzus
Published: June 21, 2012 at 03:11 p.m.
Updated: June 21, 2012 at 03:30 p.m

Sam Bradford represents one of the NFL's biggest question marks heading into the 2012 season.

As a rookie, Bradford looked every bit the future star the St. Louis Rams envisioned when he was selected first overall in the 2010 draft. He nearly took the Rams -- 1-15 a season earlier -- to the playoffs and won Offensive Rookie of the Year honors for his efforts.

Bradford's sequel to 2010 fell somewhere between "Speed 2: Cruise Control" and that "Indiana Jones" alien movie. In other words, it was a grisly mess.

ESPN analyst Ron Jaworski, currently in the process of ranking each of the NFL's starting quarterbacks, said this week he was troubled by Bradford's behavior in the pocket last season.

"In 2011, Bradford, with very few exceptions, did not look like the same confident quarterback that I saw as a rookie," Jaworski said on "SportsCenter". "He was tentative in the pocket, a function of both erratic offensive line play and receivers that could not win on the outside. But I was troubled by Bradford's increasing tendency to anticipate the rush. I call that `cabin fever.' And Bradford struggled with that."

("Cabin Fever 2." Another bad sequel.)

In fairness, Jaws might have been jumpy in the pocket too if one of his ankles was essentially non-operational, as was the case with Bradford. The QB dealt with a nasty high ankle sprain troublesome enough that he still wasn't 100 percent by the spring.

Still, however, Bradford didn't look like the same guy even before the Week 6 injury. He's taken 70 sacks in 26 games, a level of abuse that would stunt most young signal-callers. Health and better protection can go a long way toward getting Bradford's development back on track.

[r8rh8rmike]

ESPN analyst Ron Jaworski, currently in the process of ranking each of the NFL's starting quarterbacks, said this week he was troubled by Bradford's behavior in the pocket last season.

The key words here being "last season". I'm wondering if Jaws took into account all the forces working against Bradford in 2011? I'll be troubled if Bradford has a decent working environment this year, and looks like he did last year. The only concern I have about Bradford is the ankle, and that it gets back to 100% before the season.

[berg8309]

Ron: your powers of deduction are exceptional! I can't allow you to waste them here when there are so many crimes going unsolved at this very moment. Go, go, for the good of the city!

[BrokenWing]

This guy spends more time throwing out all the movie titles he knows that saying something new.

[RAMFANRAIDERHATER]

Well, I for one agree with Jaws. Sure there were multiple reasons for him to be tentative. Getting beat on a regular basis will do that to ANY QB. Having no decent receiver to throw to added to his problems, as did his injury.

BUT..... Can he get past that? That's the million dollar question. The mind is a funny thing and convincing one's self that you' re getting protection and trusting your reads and throws is not always that easy. How this kid responds after a disastrous season is critical to the Rams future. I'm betting' he gets past it and rebounds, but it would not surprise me to see him continue to struggle this year either.

[r8rh8rmike]

I'm betting' he gets past it and rebounds, but it would not surprise me to see him continue to struggle this year either.

If Bradford has at the very least an average support system like he had his rookie year and he's healthy, I'll be shocked if he continues to struggle. The guy is a special player IMO.

[NJ Ramsfan1]

Well, I for one agree with Jaws. Sure there were multiple reasons for him to be tentative. Getting beat on a regular basis will do that to ANY QB. Having no decent receiver to throw to added to his problems, as did his injury.

BUT..... Can he get past that? That's the million dollar question. The mind is a funny thing and convincing one's self that you' re getting protection and trusting your reads and throws is not always that easy. How this kid responds after a disastrous season is critical to the Rams future. I'm betting' he gets past it and rebounds, but it would not surprise me to see him continue to struggle this year either.

"Getting past that" is indeed the operative phrase here. We can legitimately excuse much of Bradford's less-than-stellar performance in 2011 on his poor receivers, shoddy offensive line and resulting injuries. But that still doesn't eliminate the importance of him playing well in 2012. Anyone who has watched football knows how these variables affect a QB's psyche and performance (Bulger, anyone??), and it's important Bradford turn the page and perform like the guy we all know and hope he can be.

[Rambos]

If Bradford has at the very least an average support system like he had his rookie year and he's healthy, I'll be shocked if he continues to struggle. The guy is a special player IMO.

I agree 100%! There is no way Bradford struggles this year. I think this will be his best year to date. The pieces are in place.

[RealRam]

Jaworski is good people. The smart caveat to his opinion on our boy Bradford, however, is what Mike and Rambos said here.

[Nick]

I'm wondering if Jaws took into account all the forces working against Bradford in 2011?

"In 2011, Bradford, with very few exceptions, did not look like the same confident quarterback that I saw as a rookie," Jaworski said on "SportsCenter". "He was tentative in the pocket, a function of both erratic offensive line play and receivers that could not win on the outside. But I was troubled by Bradford's increasing tendency to anticipate the rush. I call that `cabin fever.' And Bradford struggled with that."

It sounds as if Jaworski recognized the situation around Bradford and how it played a part in the development of these issues.

[CRAZYHORNS]

I agree with Jaws....

We all know that Bradford can make all the throws and can be very accurate. When given time he can look like a probowl QB just like most QB's in this league. The question is can he stand the heat when the pressure is on. Can he maintain proper mechanics and extend a play by taking a hit? For example, Jay Cutler was severly harrassed last year but he made many many plays under duress. Lets hope that Bradford does not have to do it often this upcoming season but when needed it would show me and some of us that he is the future for this franchise. GO Rams.....

[r8rh8rmike]

It sounds as if Jaworski recognized the situation around Bradford and how it played a part in the development of these issues.

I'm not sure what else Jaws said in the discussion, but in the quoted statement, he mentioned nothing about the ankle injury.

[RockinRam]

One of the most important additions we have made in the off-season IMO is the addition of an experienced QB coach.

It was clearly obvious that Bradford got a bit lazy on some fundamental techniques throughout the season, partly because of the absence of a QB coach and the fact that he was in a bad situation pretty often.


I believe that with a better support system in place with the addition of a QB coach, Bradford should bounce back.

[laram0]

Funny to me how Jaws didn't mention a new offense and offensive coordinator. Forget about Bradford it was pretty clear that other than Lloyd we didn't have the right player(s) to run that offense.

[Nick]

I'm not sure what else Jaws said in the discussion, but in the quoted statement, he mentioned nothing about the ankle injury.

Well then shame on Jaws for not spending what probably was limited TV time giving viewers a complete and comprehensive checklist of the other factors working against Sam in 2011.

Sarcasm aside, while he did mention some of the factors that Sam was dealing with, I think the point he really wanted to get to about Sam's game was, in part because of those factors, the development of a habit that he's going to have to correct in order to take the next step. I can't speak for other Rams fans, but I think Jaws's take on this one is accurate. While he definitely needs an improved team around him to facilitate playmaking, Sam also has improving of his own to do if he wants to reach the next level of professional quarterbacks.

Mike Sando has a larger segment of quotes from the appearance, in which Jaws was very complimentary of the ability Sam showed in 2010. It can be found here...

Jaws' QB Countdown: Sam Bradford - NFC West Blog - ESPN

And I imagine the video will soon be on YouTube to share as well.