Sam Bradford... where to begin!? I've been banging the drum for homie since the 2012 offseason, and only now is the western world coming around to my way of thought. No one remotely near the organization is any less than effusive. Teammates and beat writers are astonished. Twitter is alight. Lane Johnson says he's "like a machine." It's been a fucking artillery display. This is a number one pick, mind you, taken sixteen months removed from having ruthlessly dominated the Big 12 as a teen.
What's more, his supposed durability concerns have been drastically overblown. Dr. James Carey, one of the head orthopaedic surgeons at the University of Pennsylvania, has this to say.
What to make of it? Carey likened an ACL tear to pulling out a kitchen drawer just hard enough that it jumps off the rails and hits the ground. Oftentimes, you fix the stop, put the drawer back in its grooves and the issue never comes up again. But in some cases, the same elements come together and the drawer pops back out.
"In my opinion, I don't think that he's at an increased risk for a third injury any more so than his other knee or the knees of any other NFL quarterback."
"I think it's mostly the environment that the athletes are in. In football, there are a lot of ankle sprains and ACL ruptures. It's part of the nature of the game. I think all of the athletes are vulnerable to these injuries -- it's part of the game -- but I don't think that any one athlete is systematically more prone to these injuries than any other athlete, really."
The Rams medical staff and Dr. James Andrews offer up strikingly similar opinions.
"I think it’s just kind of one of those freak deals," said Bradford at his introductory press conference. "From everyone I’ve talked to – our team doctors in St. Louis, Dr. [James] Andrews, they just thought that it was one of those things where they felt like I got hit a certain way two times and regardless of whether my ACL was an original, a repair, it was going to tear. So I think it just happened."
He's suffered four injuries: a pair of ACL ruptures, which ostensibly would not place him at heightened risk; an AC joint sprain of more than five years ago; and a high ankle sprain from behind an offensive line that would surrender 114 QB hits. He's yet to miss time with any other malady, and he's started every game in every other college or professional season.
On the field, Bradford has been historically risk-averse. Despite woeful O-lines, anonymous receivers, a mediocre-to-bad running game,
zero homefield advantage, playing incessantly from behind, and (shudder) Brian Schottenheimer, Bradford's career interception rate is
fourth-lowest among qualified players. He trails Rodgers, Brady, and O'Donnell. Rams receivers were top-six in drops three of the four years Bradford played there, and the line was probably the most penalized in football (20th, 31st, 29th, 26th). Their PFF grades for pass blocking were ninth-worst on average.... It was and still is a tire fire.
Philadelphia houses at least four of the six best receivers Bradford has ever had, as well as a palpably elite rushing attack and a well-regarded offensive line. They run eleven additional plays per game. Matthews,
Ertz, even Agholor could conceivably ascend to stardom, while all three tailbacks are proficient pass catchers. He's had an electric training camp, as I say, completing 96 of 122 passes thus far for eight touchdowns and a pick.
This guy piloted the Eagles to a 13th-best QBR last year.
Nick Foles had them sixth.
Watch this video. It is seven minutes long. It contains every throw of 15+ yards attempted by Bradford in 2011 — by
far his worst season. Completion percentage on these throws is 45% leaguewide. From beyond 20 yards that number dips below 40%. Featuring Danario Alexander, Brandons Lloyd and Gibson, Michaels Sims-Walker and Hoomanawanui, Mark Clayton, rookies Lance Kendricks, Austin Pettis, and Greg Salas, and the worst O-line in the NFL, I give you arm tool bondage porn.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IaN2GAROPno
I am selecting this guy several rounds early in every fantasy draft. He is going to rewire our perception of quarterbacks and the role they play within offensive schemata.