On Saturday, August 18, the St. Louis Rams beatthe Kansas City Chiefs 31-17 to earn their first victory of the 2012 preseason. Sam Bradford was 6 of 9 passing for 102 yards and two touchdowns.
I’m feeling hopeful after watching the Rams’ performance against the Chiefs. Some fans will argue that it shouldn’t be that way, especially since it was just a preseason game. Yet there is a lot of hope to be found in the Rams’ victory. They scored 17 points in one half against a very good Chiefs’ first-team defense, and they did with a quarterback who finally let it loose and threw down field.
Bradford has faced more than his share of criticism throughout the past year. Some football analysts noted that they believe Bradford has Battered Quarterback Syndrome, which is essentially shell-shock for quarterbacks. They made these claims after watching Bradford getting happy feet in multiple games last season.
However, that’s not what we’ve seen from Bradford in the first two games of the preseason. Last week, the Rams relied on a short passing game, which helped protect their young quarterback from facing too much pressure. When he did face a strong pass rush, Bradford stood his ground and got rid of the football.
Against the Chiefs, Bradford stayed in the pocket and didn’t move around much at all. The Rams’ offensive line blocked well for him, and he didn’t get nervous between the tackles. As a result, Bradford made some beautiful throws, including the 35-yard pass play to Danny Amendola. That’s what we’ve been waiting for since early last season. Bradford proved that he can make the plays that are required of him, and that’s why I’m feeling a little more hopeful about this team in 2012. Bradford finally looked like the quarterback that he’s supposed to be.
I know this one preseason victory doesn’t negate five seasons of horrible football, nor should we forget last week’s 38-3 drubbing against Andrew Luck and the Colts. However, we finally saw some signs of life from the Rams on Saturday night. There is hope for the future of this franchise, and it still begins and ends with Sam Bradford at quarterback.
Derek Ciapala has been following the Rams since childhood. He has been published on Yahoo! Sports, GatewayMMA.com and multiple other websites. You can check him out on Facebook or Twitter @dciapala.
