Watching Sam Bradford

[The Maestro]

This guy...what a freaking stud. Just 23 games into his career he reached 70 touchdown passes. Went for 36 and only 8 picks last year and is already at 34 TD's with just 6 picks and that includes the fluke at the end of the texas game.

70 TD's...14 picks...in just 23 games.

Rocket arm, great guy, awesome leader and proven winner.

I am not taking him for granted. The dude is special to watch and I certainly am enjoying every second of it.

[85sooners]

:pop:

[OU-HSV]

This guy...what a freaking stud. Just 23 games into his career he reached 70 touchdown passes. Went for 36 and only 8 picks last year and is already at 34 TD's with just 6 picks and that includes the fluke at the end of the texas game.

70 TD's...14 picks...in just 23 games.

Rocket arm, great guy, awesome leader and proven winner.

I am not taking him for granted. The dude is special to watch and I certainly am enjoying every second of it.

Yep. He's a helluva player. Amazing how well he's done, and how he's done it since day one.

They showed last night during the game that he wants to be a corporate attorney. However, my guess is that he'll be a starting NFL QB before he works one day as a corporate attorney.

Seems to be a great guy, stays out of trouble, excellent QB, future Heisman winner, and hopefully he'll be a BCS bowl winner or even BCS national champ winner before he's done at OU.

[OU-HSV]

Oh and by the way, my wife and I are planning to have another kid next year probably.....I'm already pushing the first name Bradford or Brad if it's a boy.

[crawfish]

How many of those I's have been flukes? I only recall one that was actually a bad pass. The guy is incredible.

[PLaw]

This guy...what a freaking stud. Just 23 games into his career he reached 70 touchdown passes. Went for 36 and only 8 picks last year and is already at 34 TD's with just 6 picks and that includes the fluke at the end of the texas game.

70 TD's...14 picks...in just 23 games.

Rocket arm, great guy, awesome leader and proven winner.

I am not taking him for granted. The dude is special to watch and I certainly am enjoying every second of it.

And, that's why I call him "MONEY".

Sam has rocketed to the BEST ALL-TIME category for QB's at OU. Consistent, rock solid, unshakable, steady, has all of the throws, with great decision making. Yes, the NFL is salivating.

I hope he stays one more year. He said he would, but the money may talk and the O-line will be fairly green next year. That, along with over-analysis by the media that will start nick-picking the way he puts his pants on may drive him to get the money now.

BOOMER

[yermom]

he needs to get over this 5 TD hump :D

it's way too commonplace for him to throw 5 TDs, i think that's the 4th time this season alone

that's just crazy

[1890MilesToNorman]

Yup, Sam is in a slump. 5 TD's per game just ain't cuttin it. :rolleyes:

[the_ouskull]

And, that's why I call him "MONEY".

Sam has rocketed to the BEST ALL-TIME category for QB's at OU. Consistent, rock solid, unshakable, steady, has all of the throws, with great decision making. Yes, the NFL is salivating.

I hope he stays one more year. He said he would, but the money may talk and the O-line will be fairly green next year. That, along with over-analysis by the media that will start nick-picking the way he puts his pants on may drive him to get the money now.

BOOMER

Did you just call Sam Bradford one of the best QB's to ever play at OU? How many did you mean by "one of?"

Sincerely,

Claude Arnold,
Jim Harris,
Steve Davis,
Jamelle Holieway,
Josh Huepel,
Jason White, and
Jack Mildren.

Bradford is amazing to watch, and has the potential to be one of the greatest to ever play here... There's only one way to do it. Win. Not the OSU game. Or the Texas game. Drive your team to keep winning when they are playing like they can't win anymore. Be so one-dimensional (offense) that nobody else is in your dimension. Drive them to a championship. That's what marks the greatest ever, in my not-so-humble opinion. White's in there for playing in two championship games, and for winning the Heisman that should have been Josh Huepel's. Mildren for being "The Man" as far as OU football quarterbacks go, and for being a great guy, in life and in death. I've never heard anyone say a bad word about the guy...

Win, Sam.

the_ouskull

Post Script -- If I were to order them...

Steve Davis,
Jim Harris,
Josh Huepel,
Jamelle Holieway,
Claude Arnold,
Jack Mildren, and
Jason White.

I would actually be tempted to put Mildren above Jamelle and Arnold, but you simply cannot overlook the importance of being the trigger man for the team that wins it all.

Do I think that Troy Smith was a great quarterback? No. Do I think that Tee Martin was a better college quarterback than Peyton Manning? No.

But if I go to Columbus, or Knoxville, I'll hear arguments from their own fans. That argument? "They won." Be it drive the field every series for your team to even have a shot, like a Harrell, or, frankly, a Bradford... or be it just to not screw up a great team, like Jay Barker for 'Bama back in 1992, or Trent Dilfer for the Ravens. Right now, it's our defense's job to not screw up a great team.

[stoopified]

To give a little more context to Sam let me add this:

J.White(27-4) 627-990/63.3%/7922 yds/81 TDs-24 ints

J.Heupel(20-5) 654-1025/63.8%/7456 yds/53TDs-31ints

C.Gundy(23-12-1) 460-808/56.9%/6686 yds/40TDs-32ints

S.Bradford(19-4) 439-668/68.8%/6207 yds/70TDs-14ints

As you can see Sam has put up tremendous numbers with fewer attempts than both Jason Wite(Heisman winner) and Josh Heupel(Heisman runner-up).He has set NCAA records for TD passes by a frosh QB(36) previous record 29(Colt McCoy).He also has the combined TD pass record for frosh,soph years with 70,previously held by Rex Grossman wwho had 55. Sam has already made a huge impression on not only the OU recordbook but has set the above mentioned NCAA marks.

The only mark at OU I don't see Sam breaking this year is career passing yards.FYI WHEN Sam gets at least 649 yards passing the rest of the season(with at least 4 games left) Bradford will set the single season passing record,and 7TD passes will break the single season mark of 40 by Jason White.Sam already has the single game yard mark at 468 and has tied the single game TD mark of 5 TD passes ,4 or 5 times(I've lost track).

The only thing I can add to that is ......Rhett WHO?

[jkm, the stolen pifwafwi]

i think its interesting that sam bradford, colt mccoy and chase daniel were all 3 star QBs out of high school. chase daniel came out of the bomar class where they had bomar, kirby freeman, robert reid, and stephen mcgee ranked way ahead of him.

if we would have stuck with the 3 star instate QBs instead of going after the big time super recruits we would have had paul smith instead of grady :(.

[the_ouskull]

I sat in the stands for a LOT of Cale Gundy's games. I would not have him listed with the rest of those guys... I mean, I know he was doing his best with the team around him, but in one of the best games I ever saw him play, the Owen Field astroturf jumped up and said

http://i2.bebo.com/012b/14/medium/2006/07/20/04/237949626a1411402501b970102108m.jpg

...and we lost. He was unreal in that game before that happened. We should NOT have been playing with that Colorado team.

As for the rest of the stats, yes, I agree 100%. What Sam has done as OU's quarterback is absolutely historical. We are watching a great college QB, who is also a native son of our state, and a great person as well.

BUT...

Huepel was playing alongside a tailback that should have gotten Heisman trophy consideration a year later; at least an invite, and in an offense that made a commitment to running the ball that the team didn't have in Huepel's only one other season as our quarterback. Yes, Huepel's stats are skewed a bit for having only played two seasons. Also, he won a National Championship and should have won the Heisman as well.

White had A.D. for his last season... Nobody passes the ball as much as they could when A.D. is their tailback.

And, as much as I love Demarco and Chris Brown, they're no Q and A.D. Sam HAS to pass the ball more often...

Huepel in 2000 attempted 472 passes.
White in 2004 attempted 390 passes.
Bradford in 2008, so far, has attempted 297 passes. If his average of 33 per game extrapolates out, then he'll end up with about 462 passes thrown on the year.

Sam > Huepel? If he wins, yes. Also, see "Sam > White" below.
Sam > White? If he continues to play at the level at which he's playing for another season, or if he wins the Heisman THIS season, yes. This applies for his being considered better than Huepel as well.

I just don't want to crown Sam as one of the greatest to play at OU...

http://i111.photobucket.com/albums/n125/lbrownie/dennis-green-crown.jpg

...when he's still got so much work to finish.

the_ouskull

[The Maestro]

skull...I certainly respect your opinion but Sam is rated on a different level based on what he has done and what he can do. For starters, he can't help his defensive issues...not his side of the ball...but he could walk away today and be one of the best ever at OU. By your standards you have set for Sam, AD was a disappointment as a Sooner. Sam has a conference title for starters and will shoot for more...but he can only do his job...and he will also be the first OU quarterback to see actual time as an NFL quarterback, barring injury.

[bringit]

Sam is absolutely a badass... It will be interesting to see how well he performs next year behind an untested line.

[the_ouskull]

skull...I certainly respect your opinion but Sam is rated on a different level based on what he has done and what he can do. For starters, he can't help his defensive issues...not his side of the ball...but he could walk away today and be one of the best ever at OU. By your standards you have set for Sam, AD was a disappointment as a Sooner. Sam has a conference title for starters and will shoot for more...but he can only do his job...and he will also be the first OU quarterback to see actual time as an NFL quarterback, barring injury.

...and I yours, sir. I KNOW that Sam can't help the defensive issues, nor is it his place to. It's his place to navigate his team through whatever waters the season's course puts them on. So far, he has done that as well or better than anybody in the country this year. I think he's the first guy I'm leaving off of my list, but that he's got some more time to prove it; that's all.

And, I don't feel that A.D. was a failure at OU at all, other than not winning a Heisman; which I really feel he would have had he not gotten injured in 2006. (Troy Smith? Really?) But see, the standard is different for quarterbacks than it is for any other position on the football field. Fair or not, that's just the way that things go. Quarterbacks are judged differently.

Better QB, all-time, Dan Marino or Peyton Manning? I LOVE Marino, guys. Love him. But, when you think about things... they're very, very similar. High-powered offenses; sketchy defenses, decent to good running games. Number 1 picks, high expectations... I know that most of the career marks are Marino's. I also know that 1) he's just holding them for Peyton, and 2) when Peyton shakes his hand for holding those marks for him, only Peyton's wearing a ring. You have to give it to Peyton, right?

That's how I feel about Bradford and White right now, statistically, right now. I think that we run the ball less with Bradford than White did with A.D. here, and that has to be considered as well, right? Sam's the Man. No question in my mind... But, like I said, let's wait to see how it ends for him... College or NFL.

(I think they'll question his durability and his arm strength.)

...or was that Jason White? :D

the_ouskull

[stoopified]

I sat in the stands for a LOT of Cale Gundy's games. I would not have him listed with the rest of those guys... I mean, I know he was doing his best with the team around him, but in one of the best games I ever saw him play, the Owen Field astroturf jumped up and said

http://i2.bebo.com/012b/14/medium/2006/07/20/04/237949626a1411402501b970102108m.jpg

...and we lost. He was unreal in that game before that happened. We should NOT have been playing with that Colorado team.

As for the rest of the stats, yes, I agree 100%. What Sam has done as OU's quarterback is absolutely historical. We are watching a great college QB, who is also a native son of our state, and a great person as well.

BUT...

Huepel was playing alongside a tailback that should have gotten Heisman trophy consideration a year later; at least an invite, and in an offense that made a commitment to running the ball that the team didn't have in Huepel's only one other season as our quarterback. Yes, Huepel's stats are skewed a bit for having only played two seasons. Also, he won a National Championship and should have won the Heisman as well.

White had A.D. for his last season... Nobody passes the ball as much as they could when A.D. is their tailback.

And, as much as I love Demarco and Chris Brown, they're no Q and A.D. Sam HAS to pass the ball more often...

Huepel in 2000 attempted 472 passes.
White in 2004 attempted 390 passes.
Bradford in 2008, so far, has attempted 297 passes. If his average of 33 per game extrapolates out, then he'll end up with about 462 passes thrown on the year.

Sam > Huepel? If he wins, yes. Also, see "Sam > White" below.
Sam > White? If he continues to play at the level at which he's playing for another season, or if he wins the Heisman THIS season, yes. This applies for his being considered better than Huepel as well.

I just don't want to crown Sam as one of the greatest to play at OU...

http://i111.photobucket.com/albums/n125/lbrownie/dennis-green-crown.jpg

...when he's still got so much work to finish.

the_ouskullThe only reason Cale is listed is because is currently 3rd in career yards ahead of Bradford at #4.However I will always feel Gundy is underappreciated because his skills were underutilized by Gibbs.Every time Gibbs turned Gundy and the passing O loose,they oroduced,in dramatic fashion-Virginia,Texas Tech,Virginia Tech are three that come to mind.

I am not saying that Cale is in the same class as White,Heupel,Bradford BUT if he had played in the pass-friendly Stoops era,I think he could be in that class.I can't count the number of games where UT,Nebraska, and others(1991 Nrbraska game is prime example) dared OU to throw and Gibbs insisted on trying to grind it out instead of turning Coker,Gundy and the offense loose.I sat through many of those games screaming THROW THE BALL, GIBBS YOU CHICKEN HEARTED SLUG.I also used other more profane messages as I got more frustrated.

In any case this thread is all about how GREAT Bradford is as a quarterback and a leader.I think we can all agree on that.

BTW I was at that Colorado game too.I knew the game was over when they took Gundy off the field after his concussion.We left for O'Connells right after that.

[stoopified]

Wasn't that Colorado game the one where the Sooner Schooner crashed?I think so but could be combining memories from two seperate games.That LOST DECADE(Gibbs -Schnelly-Blake) has largely been blocked out.

[Widescreen]

I am not saying that Cale is in the same class as White,Heupel,Bradford BUT if he had played in the pass-friendly Stoops era,I think he could be in that class.I can't count the number of games where UT,Nebraska, and others(1991 Nrbraska game is prime example) dared OU to throw and Gibbs insisted on trying to grind it out instead of turning Coker,Gundy and the offense loose.I sat through many of those games screaming THROW THE BALL, GIBBS YOU CHICKEN HEARTED SLUG.I also used other more profane messages as I got more frustrated.

I know what you mean. Gibbs whole philosophy was to get a 1 TD lead and then play not to lose. And of course we frequently lost because of it. Maddening football for sure.

[PalmBeachSooner]

This guy...what a freaking stud. Just 23 games into his career he reached 70 touchdown passes. Went for 36 and only 8 picks last year and is already at 34 TD's with just 6 picks and that includes the fluke at the end of the texas game.

70 TD's...14 picks...in just 23 games.

Rocket arm, great guy, awesome leader and proven winner.

I am not taking him for granted. The dude is special to watch and I certainly am enjoying every second of it.

I think he has to beat Texas at some point to be considered among the best. If not then I think that history will hold it against him. A winning drive in the waning moments of a championship game, or winning the Heisman could also elevate him to legendary status. At this particular point he doesn't have either on his resume'. I would just like to see hime be a hero when it counts the most. I truly believe that if anyone can do it Sam can.

[JLEW1818]

Sam Bradford = next Peyton Manning

[Widescreen]

I think he has to beat Texas at some point to be considered among the best. If not then I think that history will hold it against him. A winning drive in the waning moments of a championship game, or winning the Heisman could also elevate him to legendary status. At this particular point he doesn't have either on his resume'. I would just like to see hime be a hero when it counts the most. I truly believe that if anyone can do it Sam can.

Who was our QB last year when we beat Texas. I forget. ;)

[freshchris05]

^ Yeah

[PalmBeachSooner]

I think he has to beat Texas at some point to be considered among the best. If not then I think that history will hold it against him. A winning drive in the waning moments of a championship game, or winning the Heisman could also elevate him to legendary status. At this particular point he doesn't have either on his resume'. I would just like to see hime be a hero when it counts the most. I truly believe that if anyone can do it Sam can.

My bad! He beat UT last year. Sorry. Still, I would like to see him have a signature win that we talk about for years to come.

[badger]

Bradford > Brett

Not Favre, mind you. I'm talking about Romar, and I choose not to picture what OU would be like had we continued down that road... probably not fighting for the Big 12 South right now.

I know he's dorky looking, but I think you can't be a football fan without having a tad bit of a crush on studly Sammy. :D

[BoulderSooner79]

This guy...what a freaking stud. Just 23 games into his career he reached 70 touchdown passes. Went for 36 and only 8 picks last year and is already at 34 TD's with just 6 picks and that includes the fluke at the end of the texas game.

70 TD's...14 picks...in just 23 games.

Rocket arm, great guy, awesome leader and proven winner.

I am not taking him for granted. The dude is special to watch and I certainly am enjoying every second of it.

Maestro, thanks for starting this thread and I'm with you all the way. I was thinking the exact same thing when the 2nd team took over last night. I know they were running a limited scheme, but the drop-off was tremendous and those passes that Sam throws so effortlessly don't look so easy anymore. We're going to miss that confidence of knowing we can move the ball.

I'm hoping Sam steps up in the way Billy Sims did in 1979. Sims didn't have the same all-star team around him as his heisman year in '78 and his stats were not as eye-popping. But I thought he actually had a better year; he ran harder through smaller holes and general carried the team. I think Sam can do the analogous at the QB spot if the O-line doesn't drop off too much.

[JLEW1818]

As long as our guys can catch and block a bit, he will be fine. Easier said than done.

[Widescreen]

I think Broyles becomes our main WR next year. He's got crazy skills. It will be interesting to see what our coaches can do with Owens and Miller before next year.

[Sooner04]

Wasn't that Colorado game the one where the Sooner Schooner crashed?I think so but could be combining memories from two seperate games.That LOST DECADE(Gibbs -Schnelly-Blake) has largely been blocked out.
Yep. 1993. I can still see the duck tape on the field from where they tried to cover up the busted seams of astro turf.

[Widescreen]

BTW, Sam leads the nation right now in TD passes with 34. Pretty impressive. He's got several more records he's going to break this season.

[yermom]

Sam Bradford = next Peyton Manning

he'll be awesome but we won't with the MNC until he leaves? :confused:

;)

[Rogue]

Sam B is a really special player and I agree that we should not take him for granted. Guy's a natural athlete and seems like he'll always make us proud that he's associated with our Sooners.

Skull, I've never heard anyone in Tennessee argue about whether Peyton was better than Tee Martin. Peyton is some kind of demi-god here.

[St. Louis Sooner]

i believe we'll see how truly great he is Nov. 22 and Nov 29; he's already great, but he's going to see some excellent coverages and excellent pass rushes those two days;

[A-M]

Yup, Sam is in a slump. 5 TD's per game just ain't cuttin it. :rolleyes:

Maybe he can get 7 or 8 this Saturday.;)

[KaleoHolley]

Everyone should sit back and enjoy that we are even getting a chance to watch this kid play. We are being SPOILED by watching him. When he goes pro he will be SORELY missed. Be thankful for every snap. We are all witnesses.

[KaleoHolley]

Everyone should sit back and enjoy that we are even getting a chance to watch this kid play. We are being SPOILED by watching him. When he goes pro he will be SORELY missed. Be thankful for every snap. We are all witnesses.

[PalmBeachSooner1]

Oh and by the way, my wife and I are planning to have another kid next year probably.....I'm already pushing the first name Bradford or Brad if it's a boy.

That is so awesome. He is the best OU QB for the future (representing now and the NFL) perhaps ever.

If he only had Jason's deep pass touch, which is why I hope he returns and think he will. Sam is SO freaking good at standing SO tall in the pocket and is the best in the country at looking off coverage. He is so far ahead, but one more year and this guy is ABSOLUTELY not only #1, but ready for the speed of the NFL. Just watching him, he looks like an NFL QB, but an extra year?? Then he has Drew Brees material right out of the gate.

How nice is it to have seen perhaps the best RB ever and maybe (should he stick around) the QB of the next best pro QB represent the University of Oklahoma?

Good times, good times!!!

[picasso]

This guy...what a freaking stud. Just 23 games into his career he reached 70 touchdown passes. Went for 36 and only 8 picks last year and is already at 34 TD's with just 6 picks and that includes the fluke at the end of the texas game.

70 TD's...14 picks...in just 23 games.

Rocket arm, great guy, awesome leader and proven winner.

I am not taking him for granted. The dude is special to watch and I certainly am enjoying every second of it.

we should all enjoy the ride.

[stoopified]

Updating Sam:

Career:Record(20-4)

461-671 68.7 6527 yds 74TDs-14 ints

Bradford is only 159 yards behindGundy now,for3rd place,930 yards behind Heupel for 2nd,1466 behind White.Sam needs 445 yards in this seasonto set the all-time yards mark in a season(currently 3850 by Heupel).Three TD passes will break JWs school record of 40 in a season.Eight
TD passes resets the career mark of 81 by JW.Sam has (8) 300 yard games this year which ties Heupel's single season record.He has tied the TD passes in a game record of five (6) times(I earlier said 4-5 times,I looked it up now).In short at the end of his SOPHMORE campaign Sam will own all the school passing records except career yards.He has a shot at that if we make it to the BiG 12 CCG.He would need to average a whopping 366.5 yards a game to do it(his current average is340.6).

[VA Sooner]

Bradford is most impressive in such a short period of time. He's got the smarts, the arm, and the poise to be a regular on Sundays. He needs another year at OU to break all records.

But that's me being greedy for another season like this one.

[soonerfan28]

Does he still lead in TD passes?

[yermom]

by 2, with one more INT

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/sortables?stat=pass&group=80&year=2008&sort=passtds

[meoveryouxinfinity]

Big XII Qbs:

#1 Bradford, #2 Harrell, #8 McCoy, #8 Daniel, #12 Reesing, #14 Robinson, #18 Ganz, #18 Johnson, #32 Hawkins, #32 Freeman, #46 Griffin, and #63 Arnaud

[Piware]

Wasn't that Colorado game the one where the Sooner Schooner crashed?I think so but could be combining memories from two seperate games.That LOST DECADE(Gibbs -Schnelly-Blake) has largely been blocked out.

I was sitting in the west stands the day the Schooner crashed. One of my daughter's classmates observed "that's just perfect - all it needs is a flaming arrow sticking out of the canvas". The stadium crew rushed out and put a big duct tape X over the rip in the rug. Man, am I glad those days are gone.

[JLEW1818]

Sammy is looking like Peyton.

[OKC-SLC]

The kid is absolutely unbelievable.