Photo courtesy of The Warren Peace NFL Report
I didn’t want to believe it, but yesterday’s loss to the Chiefs makes it impossible to deny any longer: Sam Bradford really is a rookie, and occasionally he’ll look like one. Sometimes, he’ll go 21-for-43 and throw two interceptions; sometimes, he’ll average just 4.2 yards per attempt; sometimes, he and the Rams offense will strand the defense on the field with one brief, ineffective drive after another.
More than that, Bradford is a rookie playing on a team that still has a long way to go. His best receiving option is Danny Amendola, an undrafted slot receiver who’s on pace for 84 receptions. His second-best receiving option is Danario Alexander, undrafted himself because of surgery to repair his left knee earlier this year. The Rams' star running back is on pace for the lowest yards-per-carry of his career.
Thanks to a historically bad division and some preternaturally solid play from Bradford, however, the Rams could still make the playoffs this season—even at 7–9. It’s been a lot of fun, but that improbable playoff run threatens to turn the end of the 2010 season into a disappointment, instead of a harbinger of good things. A team that went 3-29 over the past two seasons shouldn’t be in a position to disappoint if it finishes 6-10 (with the remaining two games of the season against division rivals, the San Francisco 49ers and the Seattle Seahawks), but that’s what the Rams, who never stop inventing new ways to disappoint, have the chance to do.
Whether Bradford and the Rams reach the playoffs or fall apart late in the season, it’s important to remember that they’ve already been a resounding success compared to recent years. Bradford is, as of yesterday, the third quarterback in NFL history to pass for 3,000 yards in his rookie season; the Rams are still, somehow, atop the NFC West. That those feats seem less impressive than they did two months ago is a credit to the work that the team has already done, and a promising sign for 2011.
