St. Louis Rams: Bringing Back Bradford?

[BadCompany]

Yup, I've been on board with this from the beginning. The re-injury to Bradford's was unfortunate, but the dude can still whip the ball around. Worst case, keep him next year and see what's what with him and at the same time draft a young QB no later than round 3. If Bradford stays healthy next year I have no doubt that he will lead this team to the playoffs. If not, then we still have Davis or the rookie QB. Davis would then be in his second year under center and should be more than capable of managing the game as our defense should be strong, our o-line (hopefully) should be strong, and our run game will be strong.
Yup, I've been on board with this from the beginning. The re-injury to Bradford's was unfortunate, but the dude can still whip the ball around. Worst case, keep him next year and see what's what with him and at the same time draft a young QB no later than round 3. If Bradford stays healthy next year I have no doubt that he will lead this team to the playoffs. If not, then we still have Davis or the rookie QB. Davis would then be in his second year under center and should be more than capable of managing the game as our defense should be strong, our o-line (hopefully) should be strong, and our run game will be strong.

What he said.

Restructure Bradford, then go O-line, QB, O-line with our first three picks. Between Bradford, Davis and our draft pick we should be able to get at least average QB play, no? With potential for more?

 

[MerlinJones]

Why would you jack with his head by screwing around with his contract as if you are telling him you have no confidence in him?

If he can't handle somebody questioning his durability after two seasons on the sidelines he needs to find something else to do.

 

[MerlinJones]

People use that contract of Bradfords to further their agenda.

What agenda?
Wanting the Rams to win?

 

[CGI_Ram]

If there is any silver lining; the loss of Bradford has raised the appreciation of Bradford.

He's a good player. A good teammate. A pro.

I hope he bounces back from the knee. He deserves it.

That said; we need a plan B. If that turns out to be Davis, great. If not, we need to find that player.

 

[den-the-coach]

Winston, Mariota, or bust

Winston from the neck up scares me to death! Sorry can't fix stupid!

 

[LesBaker]

I am watching the Oregon-Utah game. Trust me, I got plenty of laughs.

Did the refs catch it?

Jerry Rice did that type of thing once......I wonder if it's on youtube.

 

[den-the-coach]

Did the refs catch it?

Jerry Rice did that type of thing once......I wonder if it's on youtube.

Oregon defense caught it and return the ball the other way for a touchdown! So yes the officials did not call it a touchdown for Utah.

 

[LesBaker]

I think the hating on Davis is ridiculous. It's getting on my nerves. Do people realize that we've been playing top 5 D's on a weekly basis? Don't you think it's quite a coincidence that his play declined as soon as we started playing legit D's?

Elite defenses can even make guys like Peyton Manning look like garbage. Give the guy a chance and let's see what he can do against average teams. Not to mention, the pass pro has been pretty brutal...if it was Bradford in there, everyone would be ragging on the oline and few would be calling out Sam.

I like Bradford. I've backed him from pre-2010 draft till the '14 preseason. But some of you guys are out of your element if you think he's our future. How can the Rams put faith in that knee? I don't know about you guys, but I don't want to be in this same boat a year from now because we put too much faith in a guy that has proven time and time again that he can't stay on the field.

And let's face it... Even when healthy, his play was just "pretty good." Nothing more. Our situation isn't exactly like Denver banking on Manning coming back from his nerve issue, where the upside was easily worth the risk. This is putting our 2015 season on the line for a guy who's upside is 25 TD passes and 3,500 yards... not exactly irreplaceable production, so why gamble?

As for bringing back Bradford?

A No. 2 at best at a (very) reduced price. We need a starter who can step on the field every week. We need consistency at the position, and Bradford flat out can't provide that.

Even if he comes back as our starter next season and has a Pro Bowl year... do you really have any faith that he can remain a 16-game starter for 8+ seasons beyond 2015? Because I don't.

The Rams need another answer at QB, and looks like the top QBs from the draft will be out of reach. For the sake of the offense, we better hope Davis shapes up and proves he's a legit starter. We really need him to work out for us.

I have no interest in bringing him back either. It's simply not worth the risk. Time to move on and continue the rebuild with a different QB. Bradford isn't the solution.

 

[moklerman]

Does Winston even declare for the draft? That seems like a big question mark at this point doesn't it?

9 interceptions the last 6 games makes it seem like he's going through some growing pains. Certainly curious to see if another year in college continues the downtrend of his numbers.

 

[fearsomefour]

Not a fan. Gotta be able to handle the pass rush in the NFL.

Jrry32....I really like him last year but watching him this year to me he has regressed....or maybe I am paying more attention. I have not been impressed with him this year as an NFL prospect and would not draft him in round 1.

 

[blackbart]

While I agree that the OLine needs upgraded, I'm not sure you can put either ACL injury on them.

First time he's hit running out of bounds. Second time I'd say he was pulled on more than hit, and not all that hard. How was the line supposed to prevent these things?
Do you feel it's realistic to expect an OLine to allow no contact of any kind to a QB, and how would they do that?

I agree that Bradford's numbers were good. It's too bad he hasn't been able to add to them for a year and a half.
What Bradford needs to prove is that he can stay on the field.

The first one the protection broke down and Bradford had to scramble, a clean pocket and it never happen.

The second one J Long was not ready to play, he wiffed on the block and the guy fell into Bradford's leg hyper extending it. A healthy LOT at least gets a shot on the DE and a half decent one rides that guy around and passed Bradford. If they wanted to play Long they should have waited until Bradford was out of there before giving Long his first game action.

Fixing the O line (Hello Coach Bou) and keeping Bradford clean is the answer and has been the answer for years.

 

[fearsomefour]

To me it comes down to a pretty obvious equation....balancing the best available option and he money. If Bradford does not restructure, he is gone. If the Rams can save $6-7 M and bring him back they probably will. Along with the other cap relief this will allow for options in FA and resigning their own guys. Heading into next with Bradford and a young back up QB in Davis....thats not terrible. If the QB crop is really thin next year and the Rams keep pulling upsets they will not be in a position to draft a guy ready to start.
I said all along there was a decent chance Bradford comes back if winning now was the focus. If Bradford redoes his deal the Rams could sign Davis (restricted FA I think) and resign Hill and still realize savings from redoing Bradfords deal. Money has to be right though.

 

[LesBaker]

Oregon defense caught it and return the ball the other way for a touchdown! So yes the officials did not call it a touchdown for Utah.

I bet he wishes he had that one back!

 

[cgsuddeath]

If he can't handle somebody questioning his durability after two seasons on the sidelines he needs to find something else to do.

No one would question his durability if his line blocked for him.

 

[cgsuddeath]

What agenda?
Wanting the Rams to win?

The agenda is blaming him for all the loses that the TEAM had.Like I said before,The SF game proves it takes more than one player.

 

[-X-]

Bradford's my dude, and I'd like to see him come back and succeed.
That is all.

 

[cgsuddeath]

While I agree that the OLine needs upgraded, I'm not sure you can put either ACL injury on them.

First time he's hit running out of bounds. Second time I'd say he was pulled on more than hit, and not all that hard. How was the line supposed to prevent these things?
Do you feel it's realistic to expect an OLine to allow no contact of any kind to a QB, and how would they do that?

I agree that Bradford's numbers were good. It's too bad he hasn't been able to add to them for a year and a half.
What Bradford needs to prove is that he can stay on the field.

You could say the same for Brady's injury or Navarro Bowman's injury also.It's part of the game.

 

[HE WITH HORNS]

I think we can bring him back for next year, hopefully on a reduced salary. And then we can pick a QB in the 2nd or 3rd round. Find a developmental guy, that could be great with proper NFL coaching. No rookie QB is going to come in and outperform Bradford his first year anyway. And bring back Davis too, I believe we have exclusive rights for him, so that would give us 3 options for next season. And whatever happens during the season, then so be it.

 

[MerlinJones]

No one would question his durability if his line blocked for him.

His ACL injuries weren't really a direct result of poor blocking, but I would agree that the line wasn't great during his tenure.

 

[MerlinJones]

The agenda is blaming him for all the loses that the TEAM had.Like I said before,The SF game proves it takes more than one player.

All the losses during his tenure weren't his fault alone, but he definitely had a role in them.

If people want to give Bradford the bulk of the credit for the wins he participated in (and there are a bunch out there), they should be prepared for him to take some blame for losses as well.

Note: I substituted the phrase "the bulk of" for "all" in this post in an effort to be more accurate.