Reminder: 7PM this Saturday Vikings at Rams

[looch]

It's on Cox channel 11 and 711 or 34.1 over the air.

[SoonerPr8r]

Thank you! I was searching for the regional broadcast channel for this one,

[goingoneight]

We get to see Sam's robo arm go to work.

[badger]

We get to see Sam's robo arm go to work.

Domo arigato, Sammie Ramboto

[goingoneight]

Hopefully he doesn't get punked like Romo did the other night on the first series... why do teams even play starters in these games?

[swardboy]

Fuel, meet fire.....

Bryan Burwell August 10, 2010 12:15 am

Because it is in his nature to take absolutely nothing to chance, Steve Spagnuolo (http://www.clanram.com/forums/autolink.php?id=59&script=showthread&forumid=11) is the sort of man who manages everything in his coaching life. From the number of water breaks allowed to the time spent on a particular practice field (measured down to the precise second), to which photos hang on the walls along the hallways in Rams Park, there's little that "Spags" has failed to calculate, manipulate or prognosticate to suit his own professional whims.

When your mentors are Andy Reid and Tom Coughlin - two old-school control freaks of the highest order - you have to expect that their favorite protégé would not only crave control but find sweet comfort in it. So imagine how special the circumstances must be when the Rams' fearless leader is led into a situation he finds increasingly impossible to restrain yet quietly revels in. This is where he is with Sam Bradford.

The first pick in this year's draft was supposed to be slowly spoon-fed on the demanding challenge of becoming the Rams' starting quarterback. Yet barely two weeks into training camp, instead of a little nibble here and there, the $78-million QB is proving to have a rather voracious appetite for learning. After a sometimes bumpy first week in the NFL, the last six days have been a stunning awakening as he continues to put together eye-opening practice session after eye-opening practice session at such an accelerated pace that Spagnuolo's timetable for slowly grooming Bradford into the starter's role might end up being tossed aside before we get halfway through the exhibition season.

"He was very effective and very impressive on Thursday, got even better on Friday and that carried over to Saturday's scrimmage," said Tony Softli, a former Rams player personnel man and frequent visitor to practice as a local radio commentator. "Here's what I think they're doing with him. They've given him the keys to the car and now he's started the car. He's playing with the rear-view mirrors and the buttons trying to figure it out. And you know what? They're going to let him drive this car in a little bit. What they're trying to do is make his comfort zone very good and he's already comfortable right now."

The plan always has been to allow Bradford to not necessarily ease into the job, but carefully grow into it with a well-scripted system that would allow him to become the starter at his own pace. That pace appears to be a 4.2-second sprint now.

Ever since last Thursday's practice, a light switch seems to have gone off in Bradford's head. It's as if the game has completely slowed down for him, and he is making all the throws we saw him make in college. The most entertaining thing that has gone on at Rams training camp over the last few days is eavesdropping on all the conversations of folks talking about Bradford's best throws.

Everyone has a different favorite.

• "Did you see the one to Danny Amendola?"

• "Nah, how about the one to the back shoulder of Keenan Burton?"

• "Oh man, you should have seen the one he threw to Donnie Avery. I swear you could hear the ball zipping through the air, it had so much heat on it."

• "He makes throws that you are kind of blown away by," linebacker James Laurinaitis said. "He made a couple throws in the scrimmage that were sort of remarkable. ... You can just see the natural ability that he has."

Laurinaitis know a little about the accelerated learning curve of a ballyhooed rookie. A year ago as the second-round pick out of Ohio State, he came in as the kid who was expected to ease into the starting role as the defensive signal-caller at middle linebacker. But he figured things out so quickly that one day he showed up at Rams Park and his middle linebacking mentor, Chris Draft, was gone - cut to make a clean path of succession for Laurinaitis.

And now Bradford seems to be doing the same thing, opening everyone's eyes with his accuracy, his big arm, his touch and his understanding of the playbook and even the defenses that are being thrown at him.

I don't know exactly when he will become the starting quarterback, but there's no doubt in anyone's mind out at Rams Park that he's the real deal.

"The way ‘Spags' does it with his rookies, especially his quarterbacks, is he brings them along slow," said Softli, who says the idea is to allow Bradford to gain a "comfort zone" with the offense. "And when he reaches the comfort zone, that's when they'll start him."

Now the practice reps are going up for Bradford. In less than a week, he has gone to getting 31 percent of the snaps between the four quarterbacks to basically 50 percent of them, splitting time between the first and second units.

With the exhibition opener Saturday at the Edward Jones Dome, expect to see him in the game by no later than the third offensive series - with at least one run with the first unit and the entire second quarter with the second unit.

A lot of people would have preferred to see Bradford just handed the starter's job from Day 1. I like this way better. He already has opened the eyes of his veteran teammates with his poise and talent. Now it's up to him to use the preseason to establish just how soon he does become The Man.

[delhalew]

We already know what the national media has yet to see. Sam is smart and a hard worker. He will be reading defenses in no time. That said, I would be scared for him versus that Vikings D.

[sooner518]

any idea if this is on in the DFW area? over the air?

[goingoneight]

"That Vikings D" may not even be in by the time Sam gets in there. Now, if Sam were starting, or this was a real game... Yeah, I'd be worried.

[Aries]

Hopefully he doesn't get punked like Romo did the other night on the first series... why do teams even play starters in these games?

At the moment, he is not the starter.

[badger]

I was highly considering going to this game to cheer for Sooner alums and nobody else... I just worry about the preseason. It's so much easier to watch at home.