How Soon Can Sam Bradford Help the Rams?
The hype’s almost over and now reality will soon set in. How much can Sam Bradford help the St. Louis Rams and if so, when can he do it?
Of the list of rookie quarterbacks, Bradford is the most likely to win the starting job out of training camp. While the Rams have A.J Feeley listed as their starter, GM Billy Devaney states: "Players don't win jobs in shorts, they win starting jobs in pads in camp."
Now, the St. Louis Rams have one safety net for Bradford, should he earn the starting job this season. They have a tough, speedy running back (RB) in Steven Jackson. Jackson will likely be the go-to guy on offence for the Rams in 2010 as he has been for a while in St. Louis.
One important key to Bradford’s production will be the pass protection from his o-line. That has not been the Rams’ forte and may have led to many of Marc Bulger’s injury problems. Don’t forget Bradford is coming off of two shoulder surgeries from his collegiate career and protecting him will be essential for his success. No QB like Bradford has ever truly been overwhelmed and rocked until you run into an NFL defence.
Another problem is that the Rams’ don’t have a legitimate threat at receiver for Bradford to go to. It can be a tough year for Bradford if he has no targets and it will hurt his numbers. St. Louis’ quest for improvement has only started with the drafting of Bradford. They have many holes to fill and realistically, it would take Bradford 2-3 years to move among the top quarterbacks in the league.
Most rookies have the benefit of learning from the bench for one or two seasons before being thrown into the fire. Bradford does not have that benefit. He will likely be thrown into the fire from the start of the league.
Fans in St. Louis will have to be patient with Bradford, as he will go through the growing pains of an NFL quarterback, and will have to deal with the fact that he’s on perhaps one of the worst team's in the league.
Bradford cannot be expected to carry the team to a playoff spot this year. However, what he can do is learn from his rookie mistakes and make the difficult transition from an NCAA Star QB to hopefully one day a star NFL QB.
If you add up the averages of the 30 starting quarterbacks in the league, this is how their rookie seasons went and what we can expect from rookies this season. They converted less than 60% of their passes on third down. They completed less than 38% of their passes on third down. They averaged more interceptions than touchdowns in a season and take at least a sack a game.
So don’t expect a Rams team in 2010 to be the dark horses of the season. They have to build from the basement to the top, which will take a while. What we can expect is for Bradford to show some flashes of what he can bring in the future and if he can one day return the franchise to glory. However, before Bradford can do that, he’ll need a good supporting cast.
This season is where Bradford will learn how to be smarter, craftier and show his determination. He has all the talent and is a great passer, but no NFL player can make it on talent alone. Bradford will have to show why he was selected first in the draft. Maybe we won’t see it this year, but hopefully we’ll be able to see it in the years to come.
Tags: