Tag: Sam Bradford (Page 7 of 25)

NFL Week 12 ROY power rankings

It’s turning out to be a pretty awesome rookie class.

1. Sam Bradford, St. Louis Rams—Turning out to be a very strong rookie campaign—on pace for 3586 yards, 25 TDs and 13 picks. And the upstart Rams are now in a tie for first with the Seahawks.

2. Ndamukong Suh, Detroit Lions—Suh is like Albert Haynesworth—doesn’t put up huge numbers, but teams have to game plan around him. Just think how good he’s going to be in five years.

3. Earl Thomas, Seattle Seahawks—Leads all NFL safeties with 5 picks, and averaging 6 tackles a game.

4. Colt McCoy, Cleveland Browns—Averaging almost 200 yards a game and has a stunning 63.8 completion percentage. If only he didn’t get hurt, we would be putting him up there with Bradford.

5. Dez Bryant, Dallas Cowboys—Let’s see if Jon Kitna gets him the ball a bit more today.

6. Devin McCourty, New England Patriots—Funny how Bill Belichick manages to lose guys like Asante Samuel and replaces them with rookies.

7. Mike Williams, Tampa Bay Bucs—Strong start and will hopefully finish strong and move up. He has the talent.

8. Eric Berry, Kansas City Chiefs—Numbers are fading, but that might be because no one is throwing in his direction.

9. Jermaine Gresham, Cincinnati Bengals—Give him a couple of years, he’s going to be a star.

10 (tie). Aaron Hernandez/Rob Gronkowski, New England Patriots—Combined, here are their numbers—61 catches, 772 yards, 9 TDs.

There’s no way Sam Bradford is a rookie, is he?

St. Louis Rams quarterback Sam Brandford throws during warm ups at Invesco Field at Mile High in Denver on November 28, 2010.     UPI/Gary C. Caskey Photo via Newscom

Sam Bradford continues to amaze me. He’s playing for a team that is so devoid in talent and yet, he continues to do incredible things in his first year.

With their 36-33 win over the Broncos on Sunday, the Rams are now tied for first place in the NFC West. Granted, they’re 5-6 and play in the worst division in football, but don’t forget that this is a team that only won one game last year. Yet here they are, mostly because of Bradford’s play, fighting every week and in contention for a playoff spot.

Bradford threw for 308 yards and three touchdowns without an interception in Denver on Sunday. He now has 11 touchdown passes and one interception since leading receiver Mark Clayton landed on injured reserve. That was right around the time when everyone thought Bradford would start to play like the rookie he is.

Instead, he’s flourished. The Rams have yet to take the training wheels off, but they don’t need to either. The Falcons kept it simple for Matt Ryan in his rookie season, as did the Ravens with Joe Flacco. There’s still plenty of time for Bradford to adjust to defenses and make calls at the line of scrimmage after he’s learned what the pro game is all about. Ryan has just begun to look like Peyton Manning and Tom Brady when it comes to dissecting defenses and he’s in his third year. Bradford still has time to grow and he’s only a rookie.

And that’s what the most impressive thing is: he’s not playing like a rookie. He’s poised. He’s comfortable. He’s in control. He’s winning. He has given the city of St. Louis something to cheer about again after several miserable seasons.

The Rams still have a long way to go if they want to reach the playoffs, but it’s not like the Seahawks (who are also 5-6) are ready to claim the division. They were just blown out at home by the Chiefs.

Why not the Rams?

NFL Week 11.1 ROY power rankings

Every week, I have to add a new name to this list, and that’s really saying something as players have to make major adjustments to the NFL game their first year.

1. Ndamukong Suh, Detroit Lions—Hung in tough against Patriots, racking up another sack and three tackles. Not huge numbers, but it’s more his presence in the middle.

2. Sam Bradford, St. Louis Rams—Hung tough in Atlanta despite a loss; but who was really expecting Rams to win that or to be still in contention at Thanksgiving?

3. Earl Thomas, Seattle Seahawks—55 tackles and 5 picks through 10 games after a fine game in a losing effort at New Orleans.

4. Colt McCoy, Cleveland Browns—Of all his numbers, the 63.8% completion percentage as a rookie is the most impressive, especially because you probably can’t name more than one of his receivers.

5. Dez Bryant, Dallas Cowboys—He made it clear on Thanksgiving that he wants the ball more, as his 0 catches proves. And maybe he should get the ball more.

6. Mike Williams, Tampa Bay Bucs—Continues to put points up on a team that might surprise with a postseason berth.

7. Devin McCourty, New England Patriots—61 tackles, including 30 in his last four games; and 5 picks, most notably two on a national stage this past Thursday.

8. Eric Berry, Kansas City Chiefs—Don’t look solely at his numbers, just watch the kid play on Sunday.

9. Jermaine Gresham, Cincinnati Bengals—Slowed recently, but still a bright spot on a crappy team.

10. Jordan Shipley, Cincinnati Bengals—A tough TD against the Jets on a national stage surely won’t hurt his chances here.

NFL Week 10 ROY power rankings

This is turning out to be a fine rookie class, isn’t it? There are game-changers on both sides of the ball:

1. Dez Bryant, Dallas Cowboys—On pace for 73 catches, 958 yards, and 9 TDs; but also he’s averaging a ridiculous 14.4 yards on punt returns with 2 scores. Absolutely electrifying.

2. Ndamukong Suh, Detroit Lions—A monster in the middle, and something Detroit has not had in a long, long time.

3. Sam Bradford, St. Louis Rams—It’s not like he’s throwing to Roddy White or Hakeem Nicks or Antonio Gates. In fact, I don’t know who this kid is throwing to.

4. Earl Thomas, Seattle Seahawks—47 tackles and 4 picks through 9 games. That’s a full season for many safeties.

5. Colt McCoy, Cleveland Browns—If the Browns had beaten the Jets, and they almost did, we’d be talking potentially squeaking into the playoffs. And this kid is a huge reason the Browns are playing with confidence.

6. Mike Williams, Tampa Bay Bucs—DUI might hurt his chances for the top spot, but still no denying his numbers (40, 627, 5).

7. Jermaine Gresham, Cincinnati Bengals—Give it a year or two, and this dude will be fawned over the way Jermichael Finley was this year.

8. Eric Berry, Kansas City Chiefs—He’s going to make life miserable for whoever is quarterbacking the Cardinals these days.

9. Jahvid Best, Detroit Lions—Slowed after a fast start and injury, but finally Megatron has defenses paying attention to someone else.

10, Dexter McCluster, Kansas City Chiefs—If he hadn’t hurt his ankle, this Ole Miss product might be higher on this list.

Cassel, Orton combine for 765 yards & eight touchdowns; Seahawks back in first

Denver Broncos starting quarterback Kyle Orton throws against the Kansas City Chiefs in the first quarter in their NFL football game in Denver November 14, 2010. REUTERS/Rick Wilking (UNITED STATES - Tags: SPORT FOOTBALL)

In a game only an Area Football fan could be proud of, the Broncos hammered the clueless Chiefs 49-29 on Sunday.

Matt Cassel threw for a career-high 469 yards and four touchdowns, while Kyle Orton threw for 296 yards and four scores. Neither quarterback was picked off, although it’s important to note that they were playing against air.

Dwayne Bowe’s assault on defensive backfields continued, as he caught 13 passes for 186 yards and two scores. He now has eight touchdowns in his last five games, which is enough to make any fantasy owner who dropped or traded him earlier in the year when he was laying goose eggs want to take a bath with a toaster.

With Kansas City’s loss, the AFC West is now up for grabs. The Chiefs and Raiders are now tied for first place at 5-4, while the Chargers (who we all know will win this juggernaut of a division with a 9-7 record when it’s all said and done) are 4-5. At 3-6, even the Broncos aren’t totally out of the picture if they can string a couple of wins together, and this is a team that gave up 59 points to Oakland three weeks ago.

Speaking of bad football, the Seahawks crushed the Cardinals 36-18 on Sunday. The win, coupled with a Rams’ loss to the 49ers (23-20 in overtime), puts Seattle back in first place at 5-4 in the NFC West. If you can find a worse division in football, let me know.

Sam Bradford put together a nice drive late in the fourth quarter to push the game into overtime. Of course, had St. Louis’ defense held on to a 7-point lead with about six minutes remaining in the game, the Rams wouldn’t had needed Bradford’s heroics. The Rams remain winless on the road this year.

Troy Smith has given the 49ers new life at quarterback. He completed 17-of-28 passes for 356 yards and one touchdown, while compiling a 116.7 QB rating. He also had a couple of touchdowns wiped off the board because of penalties. Despite their back-to-back wins, San Francisco remains a poorly coached team and Mike Singletary’s in-game management should continue to draw criticism from the media.

« Older posts Newer posts »