Sam Bradford
The future of Sam Bradford poses an
ominous question with the answer to that question being determined upon every
step that he takes. The primary reason that he's in Minnesota, or better
said, the reason that it could be sold to this franchises fan base was that he
won with the Eagles at the end of the 2015 season. To be direct, although
Sam won four of the first five games in this 2016 season, since that time he's
hasn't been able to accumulate the fire power to generate wins down the stretch
going 1 & 6 in the last 7 games. There is no doubt that his offensive
line problems, due to injury are well documented, and many of his offensive
failures have come at key moments in games due to one member of his offensive
line making a horrific mistake but none of this defines Sam Bradford's future.
If you were to consider Sam Bradford's statistical QB rating numbers only, it is
clear that they are presently off the charts, except for two key stats ...
scoring touchdowns & victories. On the other hand, if you were to
consider Joe Kapp by comparison, his numbers would be dismal except for one key
stat ... he was a winner. Now compare that to the evolving inexperience of
Teddy Bridgewater and it could be said that he didn't have deep ball accuracy
but he was definitely evolving into a winner. On the other hand, what
would Teddy's season be like having to deal with the issues of this offensive
line? The answer to that question might surprise you ... as Teddy wouldn't
have had to face this issue as the situation would not be identical. What
could be said is that Sam Bradford's issues are a product of his own making ...
good or bad ... it is what it is. A comparison statement would be, we are
what are record says we are. Said another way, Teddy had no long ball
because he, like Sam Bradford, had no competent offensive line to give him that
opportunity to develop as a long ball thrower in this
league.
So what does this tell us? Sam's offensive production is based upon a
steady diet of repeat & stir. It is bland & efficient ... and it
misses opportunities regularly. Said another way, if you were to consider
that each team has 12 offensive drive opportunities in every game on average,
would you rather be inefficient and hit on 3 drives or be efficient and miss on
all 12 opportunities. For Sam Bradford, it's a good thing that this fan
base has been fed a steady diet of Christian Ponder to develop our keen senses
of accepting a QB with less than average results. If you don't believe me,
re-watch those last 7 games with a pencil and paper, and apply the rules of the WEIGHTED
QUARTERBACK RATING to Sam Bradford and you'll get an idea of what his future
holds in Minnesota.
There was a quote that was stated by our two St. Louis Ram's quarterbacks as
they were leaving the tunnel prior to a game. This exact quote eludes me
however how the quote came off might go something like this ... I have to
believe that my performance will be enough to secure today's victory.
There is an inherent problem within this statement. Especially with
someone with the incredible talent laden within Sam Bradford.
Regardless of whether it was Joe Kapp, Teddy Bridgewater or Gus Frerotte, they
all had something in common as none of them could even hold a candle to Sam
Bradford's obvious level of wasted talent. Their prayer, or better said,
their mantra was, allow me to see my opportunities ... as they will most
certainly present themselves ... with the chance to execute with my God given
talent, and the outcome of this team will be certain victory. In other
words, they are searching for something well beyond Bradford's mantra.
In short, it's not about statistics ... it's about winning ... and Sam Bradford
is not winning and it is because his reasoning is flawed. He has the tools
to evade ... to present opportunities ... but instead he relies upon a mind set that has
little to no chance of succeeding. He has been fed only part of the meal
... given the peas, mashed potatoes & gravy ... not being allowed to dine on
tenderloin & apple pie. In other words, he has been given a false
sense of reasoning. Sam Bradford has to find a way to snatch victories out
of the sky by desperately searching for opportunities. Does this not
define the man named Favre? Now tell me, what
did you think when you saw Sam Bradford outside of the pocket looking the ball
down the field? At one point, did he then resemble Fran
Tarkenton?
Sam, if you're listening to Zulgad, what you're hearing is that you've already
sown up your future here in Minnesota. Now imagine yourself in front of
Mark & Ziggy ... and then peer into those eyes because what you'll see is
that you certainly already have one foot out the door. There is no way you
even begin to measure up to Teddy Bridgewater's winning abilities, even with a
leg that may never work again as it once did ... and even without your level of
talent. Sam Bradford has every tool in the bag except for the unquestioned
will to burn down a concrete world. Most people will never understand that
last statement but put Teddy Bridgewater, Gus Frerotte (when he led these
Vikings) & Joe Kapp in that particular untenable situation & there would
be no question that incendiaries would be flying around everywhere.
Your choice is Menga Mort (Dead Dick) or to burn down the world around
you. What is your answer? Your performance has been hidden beneath a
factious stat & it has not been anywhere near acceptable. There is one
more thing. When you change ... everyone and everything around you will
also change ... as inspiration abounds which can mask anything. What you
have done is made the task against you easy ... where your job is actually to
make it hard.
Just a reminder. It wasn't
so long ago that the Pittsburgh Steelers came to town to play our beloved
Vikings where if they had lost they would have been eliminated from the
playoffs. To make the playoffs the Steelers had to win their last four
games and even then, as it turns out, they'd only qualify for the NFL tournament
as the AFC's 6th seed ... meaning every playoff game would be on the road.
Guess what team was hoisting the Lombardi trophy that year? The reminder
is ... no one gets to choose this years NFL Super Bowl Champion. You're
done when your eliminated from the tournament. What is great one moment is
dismal the next with a genuine mystery that follows.
Every week a different segment of
this team has had it's turn in the barrel ... and it is all for a reason.
You haven't been just beat ... you've been tortured. You don't get to
decide ... only to endure what all of it teaches us. Last week, Thielen's
heart was ripped out ... only what he hasn't considered is that he's learned how
to fly in the bargain ... what a beautiful thing. There is great beauty in
front of us all & it sickens me that too many of us just refuse to accept it
for what it is. Do you think it was a mistake that last weeks Thursday
night tilt was the greatest watched in that slot ... or was it for a
reason? What does this tell you? Might the reincarnation (or clone)
of Paul Krause be sporting a Schilling bloody Red Sox ... the event that bridged
history?
I love it when Zulgad says it's in
Adrian Peterson's best interest to shut it down. Then he utters,
"What's the incentive if he has no future guaranteed money?".
How is that statement different from a former Viking tight end that said,
"I could have made that catch over the middle ... they just don't pay me
enough"? There is only one reason why Adrian Peterson won't be on
that field this year and that is if his right knee is not strong enough to play
in the NFL & only Adrian Peterson can answer that question. Let me be
the first to tell you that the question won't be answered by his family, his
agent or Zulgad. AP is not playing for money and he's not playing against
any particular team. All Day is carving out his way toward history, and
along the way, a little payback ... just like some brash kid by the name of
Moss. It's uncanny that he was once under the guise of Jerry Jones hoping
against all hope to run as a Cowboy. Well ... Jerry's soundly taken care
of than notion, hasn't he, with Elliot. Jerry might be tasting some All
Day payback at some point this season as he was directly entwined with a certain
commissioners exempt list that was a direct dagger to AD's heart. What was
once stored nicely upon the shelf just might be turned loose once again ... like
a plague upon the league. What Jerry hasn't considered is that Elliot and
Prescott have been virtually been untouched ... protected by an offensive line
with very little in the terms of adversity.
Sure Zim Zim is in hell ... being
tortured by his minions ... all the while ... I've never been so comfortable in
my 49 years of watching from obscurity. Oh yea of little faith. What
are we seeing? You're in quick sand where one this happens ... then
another ... then another ... then another. It's awesome. Soon all
the world will recant every disastrous step ... like the beat of a song ...
leading it's way toward it's crescendo. Did you remember the Smith
tackle ... the Turner coordinator ... the Peterson runner ... the Walsh
kicker ... the Teddy quarterback ... the Zim of eye ... and on and on and
on.
Here's a question for you ... is
the offensive line really as bad as it once was? Now take a step back and
consider that question deeply. Take out a couple plays like a false start
and what might you have? Then consider this ... you can't do stupid
forever as you either learn from your mistakes or you get thrown into the abyss.
This crap has less & less to do with draft order as much as an opportunity
to get it right.
Sometimes the answer is, "We
have no idea", when the question is, "How in the hell did you do
that?" Now imagine God saying, "So you wanted to win your
first NFL championship
...".
The Viking Ghost Writer
http://MyVikingBlood.org
Date: December 8, 2016
