recent article quoting gruden and jaws... the key takeaway points (for me)...
bradford is reminiscent in some ways of aikman and palmer... while clausen may be more prepared as a rookie, bradford was the #1 QB prospect because of his "incredible" upside... they both expected him to make the transition to a more complex pro style offense... he has prototypical tools and skills to stand in the pocket and deliver the ball downfield...
http://www.tulsaworld.com/sportsextra/OU/a...6&rss_lnk=2
NFL analysts like Bradford, but have concerns
By JOHN E. HOOVER World Sports Writer
Published: 4/13/2010 2:43 PM
Last Modified: 4/13/2010 2:43 PM
During a national conference call Tuesday afternoon, ESPN NFL analysts Jon Gruden and Ron Jaworski compared former Oklahoma quarterback Sam Bradford to Vinny Testaverde, Troy Aikman and Carson Palmer — all No. 1 picks in their respective NFL Drafts — but both said Bradford will enter the NFL with a handicap.
"He played out of that spread offense at Oklahoma," said Jaworski, a former NFL quarterback from 1973-89. "He didn't read a lot of coverage. A lot of that stuff was looking back to the sideline, getting the play. He wasn't adjusting his protection to the fronts and the blitzes. There wasn't a whole lot of complex and sophisticated reading of coverage. So I think in that regard, you've got to be real careful when you feel Sam's ready to go out on the field and lead your football team and play against the type of defenses you see week in and week out in the National Football League now."
Gruden also cautioned that Bradford — widely expected to be the No. 1 overall pick by the St. Louis Rams in next Thursday's draft — has a long way to go.
"I think Sam's recognition, Sam's ability to get in the huddle and communicate verbally the system will be a challenge for him," said the former NFL head coach with Oakland and Tampa Bay. "Because he hasn't really done it a lot the last couple of years, being in a no-huddle, up-tempo, read-and-react to the sideline — the coaches made a lot of those decisions based on the looks that they got. So Sam will have to learn a lot of football, and I'm sure he will, because he's a bright and I'm sure he's gonna work on it."
Jaworski said he ranks Bradford as the No. 1 quarterback prospect and expects the Rams to take him first overall. But he also said because of the tutoring of ex-Notre Dame coach Charlie Weis and the system that he ran in South Bend, Ind., former Irish QB Jimmy Clausen should be more capable of having success as a rookie.
"He's probably a little more ready to step on the field now," Jaworski said. "He's got a lot of experience, he's been in a pro-style offense, pro-style reads. Charlie Weis trained him that way, so he's more likely to be a guy that's ready to step out on the field and give you quicker production than Sam Bradford can. But when you look at Sam, the upside is just incredible."
Jaworski said Bradford's situation would be best served if he could evolve like Palmer did with the Cincinnati Bengals in 2003. Palmer sat the bench all of his rookie season and emerged as the starter in 2004. He has since become one of the league's elite quarterbacks.
Gruden likened Bradford to Testaverde, the top pick of Tampa Bay out of Miami in 1987, because of his stature. Jaworski said in Bradford he sees traits of Aikman, the No. 1 pick of Dallas out of UCLA in 1989.
"The one thing you have to be able to do in the National Football League is look down that gun barrel and take a hit," Jaworski said. "And if you become soft in the NFL, you have no chance to play. So I look for a guy that will hang in the pocket and deliver the football, and Sam Bradford will do that. He has a quick, compact, smooth throwing motion, and his ball position has dropped and is very good. He has a little bit of a tendency to maybe overstride at times, but for the most part, when I look at Sam Bradford, I see a guy a like Troy Aikman, a big, statuesque quarterback that can stay in that pocket and throw the football."
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on the question of whether the rams shouldn't draft bradford because oklahoma QBs haven't fared well in past?
this question would seem to be similar to that of harvin being a dreaded florida WR (of course, most of those flops came with spurrier as HC)...
the maxim that florida WRs do bad is sloppy thinking...
most florida WRs have flopped (darrell jackson a conspicuous exception)... including former 1st rounders hilliard, anthony, taylor, etc...
but it would have been a mistake to not draft harvin because of the past failures from his alma mater (some teams may have done this, at their peril)... if you looked at his workout, he was clearly the most exceptional cutting at high speed & exploding out of his breaks from his class (a very good one, including crabtree, maclin, nicks and britt)...
bradford may have come from the same school as other previous QBs that have failed... but how many previous oklahoma QBs were even IN THE CONVERSATION for #1 overall? clearly bradford is a different animal... it is like if a grizzly bear wandered into the rabbit cage, and the zoo keeper insisted that it must be a rabbit, since it is in their cage!
on how it would have been a mistake to lump harvin with previous florida WRs...
http://blogs.orlandosentinel.com/sports_co...rcy-harvin.html
a list of NFL WRs from florida (admittedly ugly, but obviously had NOTHING to do with harvin's chances of success)...
http://www.coldhardfootballfacts.com/Artic...2009_draft.html
Mayock, Kiper or McShay or any another other so called draft expert were not great NFL qbs.
seriously, carriker has missed a lot of time, and if he isn't already a medical bust, is close... the team has to be disappointed with him, and i don't see how they could even know what they have in him, or be confident he will turn his career around and become a star... carriker is playing out of position, probably best suited for 3-4 DE (rams have a troubled history of trying to convert players like crouch from QB to WR, QB bellisari to S... carriker has been turned from a 4-3 DE to DT)... he is strong for a DE, but not necessarily for a DT... i hope i am wrong about him, but he hasn't inspired a lot of hope even when healthy.long is typical of young DL, in that it can take a year or two for the light to come on... he had a promising second half... he hasn't flahed as much talent as jared allen yet...i do think suh could be a pro bowler, but imo i don't think the rest of the rams DL stacks up well against their MIN counterparts, so i don't see him elevating them to the vikings level. if carriker and long truly are great players, they can plug in another DT (if not as great as suh) in the future, and have a stout DL...my point was also that you don't necessarily have to spend a #1 overall pick on a DT to amass a great DL (pat williams UFA, allen a 4th, i think, and acquired from original teams after free agency & trade... of course, warner & romo were UFAs)...rams have taken a linemen three years in a row (smith, long & carriker), four of past five (barron) & five of past seven (kennedy)... kennedy is off the team, barron probably not far behind, carriker could be a bust... they don't have a lot to show for their investment...when was the last time they took a 1st round QB? 1964? they did trade two 1sts for everett, and they obviously did well with UFA warner and former 6th bulger, for a while. the consensus is that the rams erred badly in not taking ryan or sanchez... some scouts think bradford compares favorably to them...are the rams worse on offense or defense?at 10.9, they are dead last in offense, and only three teams (OAK, CLE & TB) are even within 5 pts...on defense, they are 31st (27.3 - DET last at 30.9)... within five points of giving up less points, are 10 teams (in descending order of ineptitude... NYG, KC, TEN, TB, MIA, SEA, JAX, OAK, CLE & CHI). lastly, spags, if he is truly a defensive wizard, may be more likely to turn lemons into lemonade via scheming and game planning (that was the rationale, anyways), not to mention coaching players up, and putting them in a better position to succeed. i'm less sure about his ability to pull this off on offense... thus the best way to turn around that side, is to start dramtically upgrading the talent on that side of the ball...
