FanPost

Hello, Bleeding Green Nation!



Charles Martel here...staff writer for Turf Show Times.

Well....damn...I guess you know why I am here. It seems fairly safe to say, that exactly no one saw this trade coming. It seems very much to be a surprise to you ya'll as much as to the Ramned Faithful.

As a Rams fan, I can tell you that Sam Bradford has been quite the ongoing controversy...seemingly boundless potential, but endless season ending injuries. Throw in a little bit of confusing offensive philosophy and well...what we got were flashes of greatness followed by a lot of disappointment. Each year the mantra has been...next year, that will be the one...just one more year. One more chance.

Here are his career stats-

Year Age Tm Pos No. G GS QBrec Cmp Att Cmp% Yds TD TD% Int Int% Lng Y/A AY/A Y/C Y/G Rate QBR Sk Yds NY/A ANY/A Sk% 4QC GWD AV
2010 23 STL QB 8 16 16 7-9-0 354 590 60.0 3512 18 3.1 15 2.5 49 6.0 5.4 9.9 219.5 76.5 38.25 34 244 5.24 4.73 5.4 9
2011 24 STL QB 8 10 10 1-9-0 191 357 53.5 2164 6 1.7 6 1.7 68 6.1 5.6 11.3 216.4 70.5 26.2 36 248 4.88 4.49 9.2 1 1 3
2012 25 STL QB 8 16 16 7-8-1 328 551 59.5 3702 21 3.8 13 2.4 80 6.7 6.4 11.3 231.4 82.6 50.28 35 233 5.92 5.64 6.0 4 3 9
2013 26 STL qb 8 7 7 3-4-0 159 262 60.7 1687 14 5.3 4 1.5 73 6.4 6.8 10.6 241.0 90.9 48.05 15 97 5.74 6.10 5.4 1 1 6
2014 27 STL 8 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Career 49 49 18-30-1 1032 1760 58.6 11065 59 3.4 38 2.2 80 6.3 6.0 10.7 225.8 79.3 120 822 5.45 5.17 6.4 6 5 27

As you can see, 2013 was the last time he had any real playing time and that he was on track for a banner year. Then he tore his ACL in week 7 vs. the Panthers.

And that has been the story of Bradford. Over at TST he has been the object of many a heated debate (as we go to press, that continues, though the issue is decidedly settled, I would say).

Of course, ya'll know all that. So a few things about Bradford that you may not know-

When on the field, Sam was consistently good, with potential to be great. The only controversy that arose from his play was that he checked down too often, but most Rams fans blamed this on Brian Schottenheimer's play calling...I mean, this is the guy who sent Tavon Austin, off-tackle repeatedly! He had great accuracy, with tremendous touch on his deep balls. Mistakes were rare and he had a lot of poise under pressure.

He has been a true team leader in every sense. The game after his ACL tear, he was on the sideline coaching Kellen Clemens and doing everything he could to help the team. He did the same last year after his second ACL. Through everything, including much angst and wailing and gnashing of teeth, by fans and press, he has been a class act. Absolutely. Jeff Fisher and Les Snead have continuously advocated and backed Sam all along the way and in this case, it always came across as genuine (in contrast to Tim Walton and Brian Schottenheimer). I believe them when they say they always had faith in Bradford, but now they have some heat emanating from their respective chairs and something had to be done. This is why it is so maddening to see him not reach his potential in the Horns. Seriously, we hope that he does, wearing the Wings.

I think I can say, bottom line, is that this deal is one part sadness and one part relief. Sadness that such a potential is lost, but relief that the questions are finally answered...or at least passed along to you.

Of course, this gains us other questions, doesn't it?

So, Nick Foles-

Many Rams fans these last weeks have desperately wanted Foles. Most however, this writer included, wanted him as a back-up/insurance plan. None of us were really thinking starter!

We have seen his stats, of course from his Pro Bowl year and naturally, we are all hoping that is the Nick Foles that we are getting...is it?

Has he been consistent in his play? Is he a leader? This is probably the most important one...how does he handle pressure?

In short, what is your take on Nick Foles? You the fans know him better than we do and most certainly better than the standard talking heads. What should we be concerned about? Did the Eagles or the Rams get the better end of the deal? Is it a draw?

I will be around in the comments to try and answer any questions that you may have I will likely have more of my own, which I hope you will help me with. I will also invite the gang from TST here. I don't expect it, but if any of them get out of line, just let me or another TST writer/editor know.