Tag: Sam Bradford

Elite NFL Quaterbacks

Eli Manning, Tom Brady, and Ben Roethlisberger

Ashley Wright 

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sportswithashley/

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The quarterback position is one of the most challenging and vital positions in the NFL. It may also be one of the most analyzed positions. Arguably, the greatest debate that surrounds the quarterback is what makes them elite. Household names such as Tom Brady and Aaron Rodgers have almost become immune to the debate however other quarterbacks such as Eli Manning and Joe Flacco have been questioned about their elite status.

When Philadelphia Eagles QB Carson Wentz suffered an ACL tear in a Week 13 win against the Los Angeles Rams many people thought their Super Bowl LII hopes were out of reach, some even thought they would lose the game. Nevertheless, Nick Foles stepped in and shocked majority of NFL fans. Not only did he win the game in Los Angeles but he has led the Eagles to Minneapolis where they will face Tom Brady and the Patriots in Super Bowl LII.

In Minnesota Case Keenum took the place of Sam Bradford who suffered a knee injury in Week 1. Keenum may have had the most shocking success in the NFL this season. He led the Vikings to a 13-3 record, and the NFC championship game. The story here is without Nick Foles stepping into Carson Wentz’s place, and without Case Keenum filling in for Sam Bradford the Eagles and Vikings probably would not have enjoyed so much success. Is it possible that their incredible seasons now make them elite quarterbacks? Many NFL fans think Carson Wentz deserves to be in NFL MVP talks but what has he accomplished other than winning a divisional championship?

In the case of the proven quarterback such as Eli Manning, what does it take to make him elite? He is top ten in multiple categories including fourth quarter comebacks, touchdown passes, and passes completed. Manning also has four Pro Bowl selections, two Super Bowl rings with MVP honors to match them both, and he beat conceivably the best quarterback ever in Tom Brady in both championship seasons as a wild card in the playoffs. Even with all of his accomplishments he is oftentimes snubbed on elite quarterback lists. Joe Flacco is also a proven quarterback who is underappreciated when it comes to elite quarterback talk.  Flacco is a Super Bowl winning quarterback and I can see the argument coming in saying, “well the Raven’s defense carried Flacco to the Super Bowl.” If you look at the numbers, it isn’t true at all. When the Ravens won the Super Bowl in 2013, their defense ranked in the middle of the league. They were 17th in yards per game, 10th in yards per play, and 20th in rushing yards per game. The Ray Lewis retirement journey may have been a major highlight, but Flacco played his best football during that playoff stretch. He finished the playoffs with 11 touchdowns and 0 interceptions. Joe Montana is the only other quarterback to do that. I am not saying Flacco is the best quarterback, but he was the main reason the Ravens got to and won the Super Bowl. Granted he has not played nearly as good since his Super Bowl win but he has been riddled by injury much of the time.

So what does it take for a quarterback to be considered elite? Super Bowl wins? Touchdown passes? Conference championships? Individual records? Whatever it is…many deserving quarterbacks get overlooked when it comes to the debate.

Sam Bradford: The Complaining Thief

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@thelegendkil

ST. LOUIS, MO

With the arrival of the NFL draft approaching, there has been no let down when it comes to wheeling and dealing by teams looking to inject something positive into their franchise with a game changing player. Last week the Los Angeles Rams traded their first round pick (Number 15), two second round picks (43 &45), a third round pick (76), and the Tennessee Titans will get Rams first and third round picks in 2017. That’s what the Rams gave up for the number one overall pick in the draft. This will mark the second time the Rams have picked number one overall since 2010.

And in 2010, while the Rams where still residing in St.Louis, they decided to draft Sam Bradford with that pick.  That pick failed to live up to the hype of an elite quarterback, with the former Heisman winner receiving a 6-year, $78 million dollar contract ($50 million of it guaranteed). Bradford was just a tease, he had all the tools to make himself one of the best in the NFL, but he lacked the most important ingredient any football player should have – and that’s heart.

He was coddled by the press – and it got worse when Jeff Fisher became head coach in 2012. But last year, in an unexpected twist, Bradford was dealt to the Philadelphia Eagles for Nick Foles. Fisher was perturbed that Sam Bradford wouldn’t take a pay cut, especially after several other veterans did so. Most thought that once Sam Bradford got away from the Rams his star would rise and he would prove naysayers wrong.

And boy he did over achieve. He went 7-7 as a starter for the Eagles putting his career record at a “dazzling” 25-37-1. A “eye-popping” winning percentage of .405, yet he bolstered 19 TD’s with 14 interceptions and 3,725 passing yards. His career totals are 78 TDs/52 INTs and 14,790 yards. These are some of the most deceiving numbers you’ll see a starting QB have without taking one single snap in the playoffs.

Now Sam Bradford is demanding a trade from the Eagles. Just a month ago they signed him to a two year deal for $35 million, with 22 of it being guaranteed.  This is happening all because the Eagles, just like the Rams, made a huge deal with the Cleveland Browns to land the number two pick in this year draft.

The Eagles traded (No.8) pick and fourth round pick this year – and traded away first round pick in 2017 and second round pick in 2018. The Eagles will more than likely use that pick on a QB.

Philadelphia Eagles Executive VP of football operations Howie Roseman is quoted in an ESPN.com story by Phil Sheridan as saying “Let me be clear. Sam Bradford is our starting QB. We told him that.” Not that it mattered to Bradford. He threw a tantrum and is now demanding a trade. Talk about entitlement – this guy has the gall to throw a fit because the Eagles want to draft a QB with the second pick.

He should be doing all types of praise dancing after stinking up the Edward Jones Dome for four years, getting traded and collecting every penny of that rookie contract – only to have the Eagles gift wrap an additional 22 million guaranteed. He’s never had to fight for a job as the starter his entire career, and he can’t even handle competing against either Carson Wentz,  Jared Goff or former Missouri Tigers QB Chase Daniel. We are seeing the real guy now and it’s more than unflattering.

According to NFL Insider Ian Rapoport, the Eagles feel blindsided by Bradford’s trade request. “Too much dead cap $11m if they trade him before June 1 Broncos and Jets seem good spots though #NFL #shutUpSam,” says longtime Philadelphia radio host Phil Allen (now program director for 98.5 FM and contributor to NTheZone), said via Twitter.

That was about the cleanest tweet I could find coming out of the city of Brotherly Love.

Sam Bradford has fooled us all for years. He’s managed to get over 100 million playing a shade over .400 football, no playoffs and shaky health.

Find me on Twitter @thelegendkil

You can also follow @NTheZoneShow on Twitter as well

10 For Tuesday: Rams’ Demoff Further Exposed

DemoffRams(St. Louis, MO)

@RealShaneGray

By now, many of you have likely either watched or heard quite a bit about the head-scratching, mind-boggling presentation that Los Angeles Rams Chief Operating Offender Kevin Demoff made at Harvard-Westlake High School on March 1.

Unfortunately, if you missed the video and want to see it, Demoff has apparently had his infamous, boneheaded speech pulled, after several comments he made were strongly scrutinized in articles by the likes of The Sporting News’ Ron Clements, InsideSTL’s Tim McKernan and 101 ESPN’s Randy Karraker as well as in audio by 101 ESPN’s Bernie Miklasz, among others.

In other news regarding the Rams’ great deceiver, Demoff spent time this weekend speaking at the South by Southwest conference about “the intersection of personal ethics, fandom and commerce in sports.”

Yes, you read that correctly.

The same man who quite obviously has no appreciation or understanding of proper personal ethics and who blatantly lied to his fans repeatedly was invited to speak about “the intersection of personal ethics, fandom and commerce in sports.”

You can’t make this stuff up.

If Demoff’s speech was honest, this appearance would have consisted of him talking about how he believes that any respect towards personal ethics or fans should be tossed out and stomped on if needed when “commerce in sports” is involved.

With that said, today’s “10 for Tuesday”…

 

1. Some people want the N The Zone family to continue talking about the Rams, while others want us to stop talking about the *%$#*@-up franchise altogether. I can see both sides.

With that said, the above is new information and — I for one — will continue to report anything that exposes Demoff for the deceptive, dishonest, slimy human being that he has proven himself to be. Consider it a warning for our L.A. brethren and appropriate reporting for the STL family.

So, if you don’t want to see it, you’re on the wrong site. On the other hand, if you want to see Demoff called out for his lies and exposed for all the damage he helped bring to St. Louis and the fans here, then you’re exactly where you need to be.

2. In Demoff’s aforementioned presentation, he made it clear that the move to L.A. was in the works for two-and-a-half years prior to its approval. In other words, the Rams began plotting for relocation by at least the Summer of 2013 when Sellout Stan Kroenke called Demoff about the Inglewood site.

3. Additionally, Demoff detailed how the Rams were quietly but earnestly making moves towards the move by the Spring of 2014 and that they were “stealthily” working hard towards an L.A. stadium in the summer of that same year.

4. Points two and three — like the Rams relocation proposal — add more proof that Demoff was lying to St. Louis since — at least — roughly the close of the dome’s arbitration case in early 2013. When looking at points two and three, these words from 2014 — among many others you can find here from both 2013 and 2014 — look particularly pitiful:

Demoff (to InsideSTL)

“I expect it (our future) will be right here in St. Louis. I don’t see any reason that that can’t be so.”

“I promise you Stan is looking at lots of pieces of land around the world right now and none of them are for football stadiums.”

Demoff (to 101ESPN):

“..I know everybody can sit here and say, especially this weekend, “The building can rock like it did in 1999,” which is absolutely true. If we play better football, it will be loud, passionate. But in terms of getting people off the couch away from television which is a fight that everybody in the NFL is going through and everybody in sports is going through, how do we improve the fan experience and give them the best? I think that’s the solution. If we can come up with it whether it’s downtown, whether it’s in the county, whether it’s somewhere else, I think we’d be in favor of it.”

Demoff October 2014 (CBS Sports 920’s McKernan, Edmonds & Moe):

“I think when he (Kroenke) said what he said (about wanting Rams to stay) when he bought the team, he was sincere, he was genuine and in the meantime there’s a path and a process that’s behind closed doors, and that’s what we’ve adapted to.”

“It’s hard to believe now but the Seattle Seahawks actually moved to Los Angeles for about two weeks in 1996 before returning back to Seattle. I don’t think anybody now looks at their fanbase and says they’re not passionate, they’re not a great team, that’s not a great market. So these things tend to get worse before they get better and I always look at if we can get this thing done, how do we move forward, how do we build a great stadium, how do we make St. Louis a better place for having a great venue?”

5. Clearly, Demoff served as Chief B.S.er in St. Louis, along with his duties as Vice President of Football Operations. And while were on the football side, Demoff also let this gem slip out at his presentation at Westlake-Harvard, via Turf Show Times:

“I will say, we’ve been really crappy in free agency. I’ve written a lot of bad deals. We just haven’t found a lot of success in free agency. And so I think there’s a buyer beware in all of that, in terms of going out and buying other people’s players, that we just haven’t figured out.”

There are clearly a lot of things that Demoff and the Rams haven’t figured out on the field, as evidenced by there historically poor performance over the last decade-plus. But for Demoff to admit that they aren’t being aggressive in free agency due, in part, to them not having the confidence to believe they are capable of getting it right… well… that is stunning.

I mean, everyone who’s followed the Rams in recent years realizes they aren’t getting it right and haven’t for some time, but for the team’s COO to admit that they are basically inept in regard to free agency is eye-opening and scary.

Best of luck with that, Los Angeles. You sure as heck will need it with Kroenke, Demoff and company at the helm.

6. Demoff’s presentation also revealed that when then Rams quarterback Sam Bradford was knocked out for the year in the preseason of 2014, that he welcomed a “distraction” from the on-field “trainwreck” that was likely to come.

I have to wonder what current players or former Rams like Chris Long or James Laurinaitis think knowing their top executive — and who knows who else in the organization or on the coaching staff — had given up on the season before it even started. I have to think they aren’t very appreciative of the thoughts.

Either way, the comments vividly show that Demoff possesses quite the loser’s mentality, giving up on his team before the season even began. What a competitive fighter to lead the organization from the top, right? And you wonder why the Rams haven’t had a winning season since 2003? With leadership like this, don’t much to change for the Rams on the field other than the stadium and the city the team plays within.

7. Along the same lines, Demoff essentially shared that he was thankful that the Rams fell out of the playoff race late in 2015 so that he could concentrate more on the franchise’s reLIEcation application.

What a slap in the face to the hard-working, paying customers buying tickets in St. Louis and the players who put their bodies on the lines on the gridiron. Yet another example of the classlessness at the top of the Rams organization.

8. With all of the above in mind, I wonder how many season ticket holders out there have emails from 2013-2015 from Demoff? I know that many do, as he was quite interactive with fans and media during many stretches. I would love to see ’em.

9. On another note, we would love to have your feedback on what you think of the N The Zone Show. Tweet @RealShaneGray, @thelegendkil, @TheATrainSTL or @NTheZoneShow to provide us with your feedback and we will try to respond to everyone’s thoughts and opinions.

10. Finally, a little late on this, but excited to see St. Louis land an NHL Winter Classic game for 2017 against the Chicago Blackhawks. The Blues and Cardinals worked in conjunction to bring this to pass. Good to have a couple of civic-minded professional organizations in town working together to bring great events to the STL.

Thanks for reading…

 

Thursday’s Thoughts

janorisjenkins-

(St. Louis, MO)

by @RealShaneGray

-I was happy to see former University of Missouri quarterback Chase Daniel agree to terms yesterday on a three year, $21 million dollar contract with the Philadelphia Eagles that includes $12 million in guaranteed cash. This is Daniel’s second significant “second string” contract of his career — after just finishing a three year, $10 million dollar deal with the Kansas City Chiefs where he served as a backup to Alex Smith.

Considering Daniel’s sizable contract in relation to his professional resume, ESPN’s Adam Schefter was right in pointing out that the former Mizzou standout will receive at least a puncher’s chance to win the Eagles starting quarterback job over incumbent QB Sam Bradford — who somehow recently reeled in a 2 year, $35 million dollar deal to remain in Philadelphia.

Furthermore, this move puts Daniel in position to potentially land at least a handful of starts in 2016 due to injury, considering the fragile history of Bradford, a player who has missed 33 of 96 pro starts due to injury — or over two full season’s worth of games in six years.

With all that said, however, I can’t help but wonder whether a delay of another 24 hours might have left Daniel with an almost ideal opportunity with the Denver Broncos after the Super Bowl winning franchise lost Peyton Manning to retirement and free agent Brock Osweiler to the Houston Texans.

Had Daniel remained on the market, you have to wonder if John Elway and company might have took a hard look at Daniel few relatively few appealing options available on the free agent market.

With the QB spot wide open in Denver, an exceptional D in place, a more-than-capable stable of running backs in the fold and some very good pass catchers under contract, a chance to lead the offense in the Mile High City would present a great opportunity for a quarterback this fall.

Considering how everything has played out, I can’t help but wonder if Daniel could have at least ended up being in the mix and with a chance to earn a starting gig had he signed on in Denver.

-Folks can spin it however they want to, but the Rams loss of cornerback Janoris Jenkins to the New York Giants is a significant one. At 27, Jenkins was entering his prime and coming off what was clearly his best all-around season to date.

Sure, there is a shot that former Mizzou Tigers corner E.J. Gaines can get back to full strength following a season ending injury last year and build upon a very stout 2014 rookie campaign, but there is no guarantee this will occur.

Gaines indeed had a very impressive rookie season, but even if he proves to be as good in 2016 as Jenkins was a year ago, the Rams lost high-quality depth at a position that absolutely demands depth and lots of in today’s pass-proficient NFL.

So, even if Gaines proves to be an adequate replacement for Jenkins opposite of franchise-tagged Trumaine Johnson, Los Angeles lost quality depth that will likely be much harder to replace than most wish to admit.

Beyond Jenkins, the Rams also lost starting free safety Rodney McLeod, who had grown into a solid player in Gregg Williams’ defense. With Williams running something of a unique, hybird D, replacing a solid veteran like McLeod may be easier said than done.

In total, a good-to-great 2015 Rams defense is now minus half of its starting secondary from a season ago. People can act as if that isn’t a big deal, but it is.

Beyond that, the Rams are now down nearly 50 percent of last season’s first string defense when counting the cuts of defensive end Chris Long and middle linebacker James Laurinaitis.

Yes, Long’s production had dropped off and Laurinaitis had his flaws. And yes, both are replaceable — especially on the field — and even upgradeable.

On the other hand, Laurinaitis ran and quarterbacked the St. Louis D for seven seasons and both J.L. and Long both served as key leaders in the Rams locker room.

The stat sheet is one thing, but the intangibles are another — and both Long and Laurinaitis brought a great deal of desirable intangibles to the franchise that aren’t always easy to replace.

Can the Rams defense be as good as it was a year ago?

Yes, it can, as they will have defensive end Robert Quinn back in top form, a deep, talented defensive line that includes defensive tackle Aaron Donald and re-signed defensive end William Hayes and potential improvement in the middle, where former outside ‘backer Alec Ogletree is expected to take over — something he has experience doing from his SEC days at the University of Georgia.

The Rams also return one of the game’s best strong safeties — T.J. McDonald — and re-signed small but highly-productive outside linebacker Mark Barron. If he can hold up at 210 pounds — which is a legitimate if — then the Rams could be formidable at linebacker.

With all of that considered, the departures of Jenkins and McLeod in free agency — and particularly Jenkins — wasn’t a small thing. This pair was productive and likely will not be easily replaced.

There’s a reason that most top-tier defenses lock up their in-prime defenders. The Rams are gambling that they can plug-and-play others and be fine. But for me, they will have to prove they can do it before I believe it.

-On the other side of the ball, I think the Rams made smart moves in bringing back center Tim Barnes (yet another former Missouri Tiger stalwart finding his way into this article) and 6’4″ wide receiver Brian Quick — who was on his way to a breakout campaign in 2014 before suffering a season ending injury midway through the year.

With a full offseason without a major surgery to recover from ahead of him, can Quick get it going in 2016? In my mind, he can. And if I’m right, it will give a big boost to a Rams offense that needs the passing game to get a lot better this fall than it has been in recent seasons.

-Speaking of wide receivers, former Detroit Lions receiver Calvin Johnson hung up the cleats early at age 30 and walked away from a whole lot of paper in retiring during the past week.

At 6’5″ and with great speed to go with it — especially a little earlier in his career — Johnson was pretty much unstoppable when at his best. Johnson was not only a great player, but, from all indications, a good man as well.

It is amazing that one organization — the Lions — have now watched two all-time greats retire while at or near their prime, after seeing running back Barry Sanders walk away at the top of his game in 1998. How unlucky is Detroit, anyhow?

In that farewell year, Sanders compiled 1,491 rushing yards, 37 catches and four touchdowns.

— Thanks for reading….

THE A-TRAIN RANT 16.0!

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Time for another edition of The A-Train Rant…16-point-OH!

I have a lot to say on this day. Here we go.

  1. Roger Goodell continues to kill the NFL. I feel indifferent if professional football should go away as a whole.
  2. Tom Brady is a sore loser.
  3. Bill Belichick needs his eyes checked.
  4. Ohio State really sucks along with my Tar Heels. I knew UNC would be bad this year after watching them BEAT Kentucky.
  5. Joel Embiid of Kansas shouldn’t look at being #1 overall in the draft. He has great game so far, a lot more to work on and doesn’t need to focus on the NBA. He doesn’t need to be a Ralph Sampson or Hasheem Thabeet.
  6. I think I may have found a new favorite team…it’s the Golden State Warriors. Yes, they lost last night. But at the same time, this is a young team with a great head coach in Mark Jackson and should make playoff/championship runs for years. I love this team.
  7. The St. Louis Rams should get Clowney or a signal caller to wake up Sam Bradford in the upcoming 2014 NFL Draft. Not an offensive lineman. Work with the linemen they already have. Stop thinking that the next big draft pick is going to be the answer.
  8. Joakim Noah scares me as an NBA player. Last night’s Lakers/Bulls game indicated when he gets the ball under 2 minutes, he forgets how to play basketball. I like his energy but it seems like it spirals out of control when the game is on the line.
  9. Speaking of that Lakers/Bulls game…the Lakers got cheated in that game. Taj Gibson’s last second lay-up shouldn’t have happened the way it did. The clock didn’t start when Gibson got the ball.
  10. Clayton Kershaw deserves every bit of that $215 million the L.A. Dodgers gave him.
  11. Fighting in hockey is probably the reason why I watch it. Sad.
  12. What the hell happened to Serena Williams? She might be done with tennis.
  13. So far EA Sports is on point about the St. Louis Blues. They simulated their season and it came out that they would win the Cup. It would be the franchise’s first. I would love to witness that for real (on TV of course or downtown).
  14. Super Bowl 48’s matchup on paper looks like it’s one for the ages. The NFL is getting what they want by playing the game in it’s “normal” element.
  15. Carmelo Anthony needs to leave the Knicks. All he’s doing is bringing them down instead of building them up.
  16. Paul George’s 360 dunk was very impressive. To anybody that thinks it wasn’t…get a video camera, go find a court and do the dunk. If you can, the dunk wasn’t impressive. Point blank.
  17. Speaking of that dunk, George won’t be in the dunk contest. This is a great indicator that All-Star Weekend needs to die. Who can forget the ever-popular 2Ball competition? SMH
  18. I hope the WWE gets this new WWE Network correct.
  19. I can’t wait to see what the Ultimare Warrior says at his Hall of Fame speech.
  20. I will participate in Warren Buffett’s BILLION DOLLAR (yes that’s correct) bracket challenge. CBS, ESPN, Fox Sports’ bracket challenge’s better up their game. $1,000,000 means nothing anymore.
  21. FINALLY. This whole Richard Sherman thing indicates how silly, stupid and crazy us fans really are. I think we are worse than the athletes themselves. What Sherman did wasn’t right. But don’t dare call him a thug. A thug is a criminal. If that’s the case, Sherman robbed the 49ers of going to the Super Bowl. That’s the best description of what a thug is. People are getting mad that Sherman’s antics have been compared to Muhammad Ali’s antics. It has great comparison sports-related. Talk trash. Back it up. Ali did that. So far, Sherman has done the same. 20 interceptions in just 3 seasons indicates that. With that said…
  22. Justin Verlander needs to (in the words of Chris Jericho) SHUT…THE HELL…UP.

GOOD DAY EVERYONE.

A-Train