Strong performance by QB Sam Bradford

[RamDez]

Mr. Mo,

If he could have scrambled and threw the ball away it does two things:
1.) It prevents a loss of yardage
2.) It stops the clock

Sam is actually more athletic than many realize; he could have at least gotten out of the tackle box and made attempt to throw it away. At that point in the game there was not enough time to assume the fetal position.

I'll wager when Sam reviews the film he may come to the same conclusion.


WHAT SAY YE?

Well when I was watching it in "real" time, I thought he was going to ferkin DIE, the speed he came through unblocked. So, getting his head down and securing the ball is OK in my books.

[Rambos]

You can add me to the "Drool" possibilities. He made two passes that I was just blown away. The one he fired into a tight window to hit DA, to pick up the third down was unreal late in the game. The 80 yarder to DA was perfect, that was the best deep pass I have seen him throw so far.

I also like the way he looked off the safety and then fired the ball to Quick for the first TD.

[MoStateRam]

Ramarkable, Richardson was losing the edge against SFs DE to Sams right. Similar pressure was coming up the middle because Sam held onto the ball so long. If he had rolled out Im almost sure he would have ran straight into the pressure.

[AvengerRam]

Ramarkable, Richardson was losing the edge against SFs DE to Sams right. Similar pressure was coming up the middle because Sam held onto the ball so long. If he had rolled out Im almost sure he would have ran straight into the pressure.

"Held onto the ball so long"?!?!!?! Are you watching the play in super-slow-motion? The pressure came immediately while he was still in his back-peddle.

Folks... please be mindful of the old saying: you're entitled to your own opinion, but you're not entitled to you're own facts.

[Rambos]

"Held onto the ball so long"?!?!!?! Are you watching the play in super-slow-motion? The pressure came immediately while he was still in his back-peddle.

Folks... please be mindful of the old saying: you're entitled to your own opinion, but you're not entitled to you're own facts.

I agree, the holding the ball too long is getting played out. There are so many things that you can say that Bradford needs to work on that are not subjective.

In basketball there is a shot clock, I know when that expires, this holding the ball too long is hard for me to really agree with. Not knowing the route or seeing if it's a coverage sack.

I would like to know how many sacks he takes on third down? It's better to take a sack and punt it then force it down field. It's better to take a sack and kick a FG then force it IMO.

Try this one going forward. Sam needs to manage the clock better, he takes too many delay of game penalties. Black and White.

[NJ Ramsfan1]

The people upset at that last "sack" would be much MORE upset if Bradford tried to make something happen that wasn't there and threw a pick. What a conversation THAT would be today!!


Bradford did a nice job in the face of a SF defense that is considered to be amongst the league's best. I really don't know how anyone can objectively look at that game and say Bradford was a big reason we tied.

[sosa39rams]

Sam played absolutely lights out yesterday. NO QB should ever have pressure coming from in-front of his face, ever. If there is pressure from his front side, than 99 out of 100 times that play ends terribly. Its the quickest and easiest way to a QB from the defenses standpoint. Sam did the smart thing to save himself. I thought he should have thrown it away, but I wasn't mad at how he ended the play.

The guy played LIGHTS-OUT yesterday. All balls were perfectly placed and caught in stride. Had that 80 yard Amendola catch stood, all the haters would be drooling right about now.. Some people just need to find things to bash a guy on. My perspective stands as-is. Sam, you truly are progressing. Next year I wouldn't doubt for one second he can be in the elite "top 5" talk.

[Nick]

I agree, the holding the ball too long is getting played out. There are so many things that you can say that Bradford needs to work on that are not subjective.

In basketball there is a shot clock, I know when that expires, this holding the ball too long is hard for me to really agree with. Not knowing the route or seeing if it's a coverage sack.

That's a fair point, but I look at it this way.

In the NFL, you're lucky if you get four seconds after the snap in the pocket to make a throw. As a quarterback, you've got to be able to figure out the defense pre-snap as best you can, then confirm the coverage and get through your progressions during your drop and set.

I wouldn't say it happens often, but there have been times when it would seem to me Sam has reached the end of the drop and looks as if he's locked on a guy, waiting for him to come open, rather than adjusting to the coverage and finding the open man. I don't know that knowledge of every route on that pass or access to the coach's tape is needed to confidently believe the ball was held onto too long.

In the grand scheme of things, I think this is a minor quibble rather than a big problem, as I don't think it happens very often in the course of a game. If I'm recalling the specific play in question in this thread, I don't think Sam realistically had the option to do anything else besides what he did, and sometimes you're right in that you just have to take a sack. Better to protect the ball than end up doing something foolish by trying to make too much happen.

But you also have to consider that if receivers aren't open and pressure is incoming, the quarterback can also throw the ball away and avoid the loss of yardage that accompanies a sack and the potential for fumble as well. According to Pro Football Focus, Sam Bradford ranks 30th in the NFL in number of passes thrown away. Maybe that's something he could work on, especially if he gets to the end of that drop and can't find anyone open.

I dunno, like I said, it's a minor point because I think Bradford played a very good game yesterday. Focusing the criticism of yesterday's result on him seems incredibly misplaced to me.

I would like to know how many sacks he takes on third down?

14 of Sam's 25 sacks have come on third down.

[MoStateRam]

Well it makes sense that he would hold onto the ball longer because the routes were all deep. Rams were trying to score. Notice I didnt say "too" long I said "so" long. Implying there was a reason he did that instead of getting it off as soon as possible.

[Rambos]

14 of Sam's 25 sacks have come on third down.

This makes sense. He's holding the ball waiting for a receiver to come open. I kind of thought this would be a high number. Throwing it away on third down is not that critical, unless it takes you out of FG range. Phil Simms when he called the game said Sam does a great job holding the ball waiting for guys to uncover.

I think it's fair to say we have a bunch of 4th or 5th receivers and one real stud in Danny. Givens is great on the deep ball needs work in his underneath routes.

I think its bothers me when we as fans can't see all the players in the route on TV and assume he has somewhere to go with the ball. Maybe I'm frustrated cuz I don't see it. It's like those pictures where you can find the hidden images in this picture, I can't see those either and it's frustrating.

How many times does he hold the ball that fraction longer to find the receiver late? Do we say I know he completed that ball BUT he should have just thrown it away?

[Nick]

Throwing it away on third down is not that critical, unless it takes you out of FG range.

Well, I think nine times out of ten, I'd prefer a quarterback throw the ball away instead of take a sack. The fewer times the QB is being tackled forcefully to the ground, the better.

I think its bothers me when we as fans can't see all the players in the route on TV and assume he has somewhere to go with the ball.

That's bothersome, sure. But no more bothersome, IMO, than those who can't see all the players on the TV and just assume that all the receivers were covered.

But yes, I agree that simply assuming there was an open receiver is pretty questionable. My approach wouldn't be to assume someone was open, but just assume there was a more favorable option to be had than simply accepting a negative play like a sack (for instance, throwing the ball away instead).

How many times does he hold the ball that fraction longer to find the receiver late? Do we say I know he completed that ball BUT he should have just thrown it away?

Hard to say. I think the guys who develop into the best in the league are able to find the balance between the scenarios, and know whether or not they're going to have enough time to wait for a guy to break open or if they won't.

[Trevor]

There are quite a bit of pessimists on this forum.

[Rambos]

That's bothersome, sure. But no more bothersome, IMO, than those who can't see all the players on the TV and just assume that all the receivers were covered.

But yes, I agree that simply assuming there was an open receiver is pretty questionable. My approach wouldn't be to assume someone was open, but just assume there was a more favorable option to be had than simply accepting a negative play like a sack (for instance, throwing the ball away instead).

Fair enough but the fans that are criticizing him for holding the ball are being critical without knowing the facts. The fans that are assuming players are covered rely on the announcers calling the game to point out open receivers if that the case. If WRs are open they will bring it to up during the game. Last week Kapernick missed a wide open receiver and they showed it on a replay.

IMO if you are going to be critical you should have facts not assumptions. When fans said Bradford can't throw the deep ball because he has not done it in games enough made no sense. When the fact was up until Givens he had no one to throw too deep. To say he holds the ball too when we all know he only has one really exceptional receiver, is the same thing. He's going through his progression but no one is getting open.

I agree he could throw the ball away more, but on third down why not hold it and try to make a play? He's smart enough to know when to get down we saw that Sunday.

[macrammer]

I would not mind getting another TE 6-5 or so... but Kendrick is not getting his just do, the announcer at one point said Kendricks is the best player in the game for the Rams yesterday. He was making some great blocks against a tough D line. He also had 3 catches for 48 yards. Not sure how many targets but he needs to be used more, he's not dropping balls that like last year.

Yes, I too was critical of Kendricks early on but his play on sunday was spot on.......his blocks were tremendous and he did make a few key grabs and I do not recall any drops.....

[39WillRunYaOva]

Huge statement game by Bradford,he shut alot of people up with that performance.If your not convinced your just not being realistic in our expectations,Bradford is the future QB of this team and i couldnt be happier.In Bradford We Trust!!!!