long Bleacher Report blog on Bradford, with pics n stuff

Injuries Only Thing Holding Back Sam Bradford from Being Rams’ Savior

By Cian Fahey , Featured Columnist

Feb 12, 2015

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2361744-injuries-only-thing-holding-back-sam-bradford-from-being-rams-savior

I only include so much, up until the barrage of pics and screen caps starts. So if you are interested, followez vous le link.

t’s easy to forget that Sam Bradford is a talented quarterback.

Since his rookie season, the positivity for the St. Louis Rams player has slowly shifted toward the dark side of the moon. The majority of the media coverage surrounding Bradford has focused on his sizable contract, injury history and muted statistical production.

Two of those aspects are inarguable.

As the first overall pick of the 2010 NFL draft, Bradford was the final top pick before the introduction of the rookie wage scale. He signed a six-year contract worth $78 million, so his cap hits compared to other young quarterbacks over recent times have been huge.

Compounding that cost is the fact that Bradford has played in only 49 games over the first five seasons. A high ankle sprain cost him six games in 2011 and a torn ACL prematurely ended his fourth season after just seven games. That ACL re-tore during the preseason in 2014, costing Bradford all 16 games of the season.

Injuries aren’t predictive moving forward, but it is concerning how often Bradford has missed time on the field dating back to his spell in college.

With the financial cost of Bradford and the potential durability problems, it’s easy to craft an argument against the Rams’ keeping him on the roster. When you add in his statistical output, you can also suggest that he isn’t a viable starter regardless of those separate issues.

This is the piece of the Bradford puzzle that is most often misconstrued.

Most top quarterback prospects don’t begin their careers on third base. In fact, most are fortunate to start their careers at home plate because of how the NFL structures the draft to promote parity. If your average top-10 quarterback pick begins his career swinging a bat from his knees, Bradford began his buried up to his shoulders.

As a rookie, Bradford played with Steven Jackson during his prime. Jackson had over 1,200 rushing yards, but the Rams running game as a whole ranked 31st in DVOA, a Football Outsiders metric that measures efficiency on a snap-by-snap basis. Even at that stage, the Rams passing game was better than the running game.

During his first three seasons, the Rams running game ranked 31st, 28th and 19th in DVOA. When it ranked 19th in 2012, the passing game ranked 17th even though Bradford’s receiving options were Danny Amendola, Brandon Gibson, Chris Givens, Lance Kendricks and Austin Pettis.

For the first three years of his career, Bradford didn’t have a running game to rely on, his offensive line was largely incompetent and his receivers were very limited. As such, his statistical output was largely irrelevant for evaluating his performances.

Entering his fourth season, the Rams had attempted to re-tool his supporting cast. Bradford was now at a point where most of his development should have been completed. Therefore, the numbers were expected to improve.

Alas, the front office’s best efforts hadn’t been good enough.

In 2013, Bradford was still working with a dysfunctional supporting cast. Zac Stacy would eventually ignite the running game, but Daryl Richardson was the initial starter alongside Bradford in the backfield. Richardson averaged 3.3 yards per carry and didn’t score a single touchdown over the first four games of the year.

Not only did that balance force Bradford to carry the offense, it also put more pressure on the team’s offensive line. A line that was proving to be a liability despite the arrival of Jake Long at left tackle.

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http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2361744-injuries-only-thing-holding-back-sam-bradford-from-being-rams-savior