The St. Louis Rams are producing some troubling news as Sam Bradford is having knee trouble again, and controversial defensive end Michael Sam is probably not going to make the team, according to people close to the Ram's preseason preparations.
Bradford was taken to the locker room in the first quarter of Saturday's preseason game against the Browns. He took a hit from Browns defensive lineman Armonty Bryant, and seemed to be suffering afterwards. Bradford was clutching his left knee as he went down, the same knee that he had ACL surgery on last season.
Although you have to hate it for Bradford, the team has to be looking at ways to keep the offense going, especially since the regular season is just around the corner.
Behind Bradford the Rams have Shaun Hill, Austin Davis, then Garrett Gilbert at quarterback. Coach Jeff Fisher confirmed on Monday that Shaun Hill was the team's new leader, and said he was happy with the talent he had at the position.
Hill is 34 and has not made an NFL start in 4 years. He has been in the league for 13 years.
Behind Hill, Davis has shown some improvisational flare in his second year out of Southern Mississippi, and Garrett Gilbert, a rookie out of SMU, is just finding his NFL legs.
With all due respect to coach Fisher and his merry men, it's really hard to imagine that trio making it through the season with a winning record and getting a playoff birth, much less taking the team to the Super Bowl.
Right now, talk comes easy, but if the team starts suffering, it won't be long before some of the Rams' fan base, especially those who didn't join with all the drummed up hoopla over the Sam pick, to start questioning some of the decisions that have guided the team. It may be hard to believe by some of America, but there are probably many fans who were turned away by the decision to take Sam, and looked at it as a publicity stunt and not a sound football decision.
So how could coach Jeff Fisher and Rams' managment turn these negatives into a positive? How could they appeal to some the fans they lost with these poor decisions?
By giving Tim Tebow the chance he deserves, of course.
Again, this may not be the most popular choice with some, and the scoffers will point to his throwing mechanics, or his style of play, but at the end of the day success in the NFL is about one thing - the W-L column.(Yes, that is from THE Bill Belichick)
Tebow critics hate it when you point to that stat, because there is no argument for them to make really; Tim Tebow has proven that he knows how to win in the NFL, even when the deck is stacked against him.
He was arguably the best college quarterback of all time, and who can forget what he did as a Denver Bronco. He became the team's full-time starting quarterback beginning in the sixth game of 2011 when the struggling Broncos were 1-4. But, with Tebow handling the offense, they began winning, often coming from behind late in the fourth quarter. They won their first AFC West title and first playoff game since 2005. It was an amazing time to be an NFL fan, and it put Denver back on the NFL map.
The Rams have not won a playoff game since 2004, and have been nothing more than an afterthought for 10 years.
Tebow works as a broadcaster now, but he has made it known he wants another shot in the NFL. With Tebow under center, the Rams could turn some bad breaks and decisions into a team that can find a way to win. Sooner or later this season, the Rams will see the light and wish they had considered him. Hopefully sooner rather than later.
