NFC West News

Sam Bradford is long-term remedy

EARTH CITY, Mo. -- Often in sports, franchises must take a step back in order to move forward.

Blessed with great quarterback play for a decade, the St. Louis Rams kept passing on young quarterbacks, hoping Marc Bulger would cover for their declining talent base. He couldn't. The Rams bottomed out with a 1-15 record last season and got the first pick in the 2010 draft.

Although Rams officials won't publicly admit it, they were sold on drafting Oklahoma quarterback Sam Bradford before the 2009 regular season ended. It's a quarterback-driven league, and the Rams knew they could get the jump on the rest of their division rivals by grabbing Bradford. Matt Leinart of the Cardinals, Alex Smith of the 49ers and Matt Hasselbeck of the Seahawks are all in year-to-year situations.

Optimism for this season is grounded in reality. Bradford has the benefit of having a decent offensive line and a great running back (Steven Jackson), but growing pains are inevitable. Steve Spagnuolo is an upbeat head coach who is trying to develop an aggressive defense. But the key to this season is developing Bradford and coming together as a team. That might not translate into a lot of victories, but it would set up the Rams toward becoming players in the NFC West again in years to come.

Here are three observations from Rams camp:

• Bradford shows every sign that he could be the opening-day starter from his work in practice. He's a tall pocket passer with an accurate arm. Having worked the college spread offense for the past couple of seasons, he might not be completely comfortable retreating from center on three-, five- and seven-step drops, but he's good enough.

The key is his accuracy. Bradford knows how to throw a catchable, accurate pass. He has the knack of locating a throw so a receiver can make the grab and get some yards after the catch. The only thing that would prevent him from starting the opener would be the urgency of beating the Arizona Cardinals. The Rams won only one game last season, so Spagnuolo needs a win to give everyone hope.

The talent comparisons between Bradford and A.J. Feeley are dramatic. Feeley is a decent backup. Bradford has that Matt Ryan look of being an elite franchise quarterback. The problem facing Spagnuolo is that if he starts Bradford and the quarterback has a poor game that results in a loss, the feeling that this season is only about developing Bradford might enter the locker room. The Rams will use four preseason games to see which quarterback gives them the best chance of beating Arizona.

• Thursday was an important day for the Rams, as they got to see how the offensive line will work this season. Jason Smith, the second pick of the 2009 draft, was healthy enough to go on the practice field after missing a week because of a slow recovery from offseason toe surgery. A left tackle in college, Smith struggled making the adjustment to right tackle last year because he had to completely revamp his stance, footwork and how he used his hands. A bad concussion and the toe problem further complicated things.

Smith lined up Thursday as the right tackle, leaving second-round choice Rodger Saffold as the starting left tackle. Don't expect that to change. After coaches had watched Saffold in practice for a week, they realized he's better as a left tackle prospect than they expected. He sets up nicely to handle pass-rushers, and Spagnuolo knows the importance of having the quarterback's blind side protected. They also remembered that when Smith played in a three-game stretch at right tackle last season, his ability to maul defenders on running plays to the right gave the offense some of its better yardage numbers. Having the second pick in a draft as a right tackle may not translate into great value for the dollar, but at least the Rams have addressed the two tackle spots and won't have to touch them for the next few years.

They also have a Pro Bowl-caliber center in Jason Brown and a decent left guard in Jacob Bell. The key is making sure Saffold doesn't look like a rookie in his first season at left tackle.

• Jackson is a freak. He showed up at camp eight pounds heavier than last season and every bit as fast. Now he's 244 pounds and has 5 percent body fat. He has put together five consecutive 1,000-yard seasons and wants to do at least five more. His goal is to play a dozen seasons. Most running backs start to run out of gas after about 1,600 carries. Jackson feels as if he's just getting started after 1,548 rushing attempts.

He knows teams will stack eight and nine defenders at the line of scrimmage to stop him, particularly when the Rams go to Bradford as the starter. Armed with fullback Mike Karney, Jackson is ready for the pounding.

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/trainingcamp10/columns/story?columnist=clayton_john&id=5445006

Cardinals WR Doucet sits out with abdominal injury

LAGSTAFF, Ariz. (AP) -Arizona Cardinals receiver Early Doucet sat out Saturday mornings practice with an abdominal injury.

Cardinals coach Ken Whisenhunt said the move was just precautionary and that he expected Doucet to return to practice soon. The team is off Sunday and will resume training camp Monday.

Doucet, a third-year pro out of LSU, is expected to be the teams No. 3 receiver behind Larry Fitzgerald and Steve Breaston. He has a larger role this season after Arizona traded receiver Anquan Boldin to Baltimore in the offseason.

Doucet has a history of injuries in his first couple of years in the NFL. He missed time as a rookie with a hamstring injury and then battled a groin injury later in the season. Last season, he missed some time with a rib injury.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2010/football/nfl/wires/08/07/2020.ap.fbn.cardinals.doucet.0239/

Hasselbeck limited with hamstring issue

Seattle Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll ran about a two hour practice today at Husky Stadium, which included some controlled scrimmage situations so the coaches could use the headsets and work on some game-like situations.

After going through some individual work, quarterback Matt Hasselbeck for the third straight day was held out of team drills, with Charlie Whitehurst and J.P. Losman taking all of the snaps.

After practice Carroll indicated that Hasselbeck tweaked a hamstring trying to out run the defense on a bootleg a few days ago, and that team trainers are being cautious about the injury. However, after the team’s off day on Monday Hasselbeck is expected to be back at full speed on Tuesday, Carroll indicated.

Tight end John Carlson also was held out of practice because of an injured oblique, and center Chris Spencer got kicked in the leg during team drills and sat out the rest of practice.

The Seahawks brought back wide receiver Mike Hass just two days after they cut him, replacing him on the roster for Isaiah Stanback, who was waived/injured.

Other players who did not practice due to injury include LB Lofa Tatupu (hamstring), DE Lawrence Jackson (hamstring), LB Aaron Curry (headaches), RB Louis Rankin, WR Marcus Maxwell (leg) and LB Joe Pawelek.

OL Chester Pitts and CB Josh Pinkard remain on the active PUP list.

Defensive tackles Kevin Vickerson and E.J. Wilson returned to action, with Wilson wearing a cast on his left wrist. Safety Kam Chancellor also was in full gear.

The league does not require NFL teams to submit injury reports during training camp, so that’s why some of the players’ injuries are unknown.

UW product Lawyer Milloy talked about donning pads for the first time at Husky Stadium since he played for the Huskies during the mid-1990s.

“Camp is camp” he said. “Even today, this morning I’m sitting up there and I’m tired. But as soon as I got off that bus. As soon as I smelled that fresh air from the water, and ultimately to see the ‘W’ in the middle, I felt like I was at home.”

Wide receiver T.J. Houshmandzadeh was full go today. He talked about fellow receiver Isaiah Stanback going down with a torn Achilles tendon injury on Saturday. Houshmandzadeh was one of the first players to console Stanback after the injury.

“I like Isaiah a lot,” he said. “It’s just sad because he works hard. And I had met him prior to him signing with us, and he’s just a hard worker. And he loves football. He doesn’t like football, he loves it.

“And so to see that happen is really sad, because he was working hard to try and get to where he wanted to go.”

Houshmandzadeh also addressed the issue of developing a better rapport with Hasselbeck, with both players going into their second season playing together.

The duo’s time together during the offseason was spotty at best because Houshmandzadeh sat out most of the OTAs after having sports hernia surgery in April.

And during training camp, both players have been on the veteran maintenance program, so there hasn’t been a lot of time where both have been out on the field together during live situations.

In fact, during an earlier training camp practice, Houshmandzadeh became frustrated with Hasselbeck during one-on-one drills and expressed that vocally because it appeared he didn’t feel that Hasselbeck was getting the ball to him early enough as he was coming out of his breaks.

The two talked for a time before the team headed to team drills, appearing to try and work through the issue.

Hasselbeck and Houshmandzadeh developing a rapport was an issue last season. Specifically, Seattle had struggles protecting the quarterback, which meant Hasselbeck had to get rid of the ball quicker and did not have time for more intricate routes to develop, which is where Housh excels.

Further, the struggles between Hasselbeck and Housh further amplify the good rapport Hasselbeck and Bobby Engram had on the field in previous years.

But so far, Houshmandzadeh does not see it as an issue this early in camp.

“Whenever we can get the time, we’ll just have to get it,” Houshmandzadeh said. “I was on a one-a-day schedule up until yesterday. It’s just we’ve got to figure out a way to get it done, period.

“Last year was last year, so no excuses. We just have to find a way tot get it done.”

Deon Butler again had an impressive day of practice. Carroll called the second-year player out of Penn State one of the most improved players in camp. Butler made a diving catch on a deep ball from Charlie Whitehurst during the controlled scrimmage, beating cornerback Cord Parks down the sidelines.

Speaking of Parks, he made a nice interception on a Hasselbeck ball during 7-on-7, cutting off an in route to Ruvell Martin.

Josh Wilson returned kicks and Golden Tate returned punts during the scrimmage

http://blog.thenewstribune.com/seahawks/2010/08/08/hasselbeck-limited-with-hamstring-issue/

Sam Bradford impressive in scrimmage

No. 1 overall pick Sam Bradford threw four touchdowns Saturday night in a team scrimmage for the St. Louis Rams. The game action was varied for different types of offensive scenarios, including two-minute drills, but on his opening drive the rookie out of Oklahoma completed 4-of-4 passes for 65 yards and a touchdown.

The report mirrors the evaluations of pro scouts this spring: Bradford is ready to be a starting NFL quarterback right now.

"He was zipping the ball around pretty good," Rams coach Steve Spagnuolo told the St. Louis Dispatch. "He was finding receivers. He was hitting second receivers. I thought there were one or two in there where he might not have gotten them away."

According to the Dispatch, Bradford took 34 snaps and 33-year old quarterback A.J. Feeley, who the Rams signed this spring, took 14. Spagnuolo said on Friday that if he had to choose right now, Feeley would be the team's No. 1 quarterback.

"Just like I stated all spring, if we played today — I'm sticking with it — if we played today, A.J. would be the guy. Maybe I should put that on tape."

http://www.digitalsportsdaily.com/nfl/news/2769-sam-bradford-impressive-in-scrimmage.html

Defense ahead of the offense early on in Cards Camp

FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. - The Arizona Cardinals were able to practice Saturday morning in front of more than 11,000 fans as they finished up their first week of training camp.

Due to rain the practice was forced inside the Walkup Skydome.

Head coach Ken Whisenhunt said it's "not surprising" that the defense is ahead of the offense at this point in training camp.

The defense showed how far ahead they are with the first team defense not allowing the first team offense a single touchdown during the Red-White practice.

Overall, the defense intercepted the quarterbacks five times with starting quarterback Matt Leinart getting picked off three times.

However, Whisenhunt - before jetting off off to Canton to see Russ Grimm get inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame - said Leinart "did good" and blamed some of the mistakes on bad protection and receivers dropping balls.

"You know it's one weekend," Whisenhunt said. "We've done a lot of good things in the practices this week and you can't make assessments too quickly based on what you see on one day."

Derek Anderson threw the lone touchdown pass of the day, connecting on a 10-yard pass to Stephen Williams.

The team ran two goal line drills. The first one saw a holding penalty negate a Leinart touchdown run. The second saw Beanie Wells stuffed on third down as he tried to leap over the pile.

Cardinals camp has been physical and a few fights have broken out in the first week of camp. Saturday saw no fights, rather just one incident with some pushing and shoving between offensive lineman Jeremy Bridges and defensive tackle Gabe Watson.

Early Doucet was held out as a precaution according to Whisenhunt. He has a "slight" abdominal strain that Whisenhunt didn't think would keep him out for very long.

Charles Ali, who walked off the practice field Friday afternoon, has a hamstring injury that will sideline him "a couple of weeks" according to Whisenunt.

Michael Adams was limited to drills and Anthony Becht suited up but did participate in any team activity.

Among those in attendance included Senator John McCain, sitting with team president Michael Bidwill.

And of the special teams front kicker Jay Feely connected on two field goals, including one from 50 yards.

http://ktar.com/?sid=1322692&nid=229

matt leinart not doing so hot

Sure, Matt Leinart's struggles in a Cardinals scrimmage on Saturday don't amount to much. But scrimmages are better than just practice reports and they are what we have to go on so far.

Leinart did not perform well on Saturday, according to Kent Somers of the Arizona Republic. He misfired especially on deep throws to Larry Fitzgerald and Steve Breaston. Perhaps just as concerning, the protection for Leinart on Arizona's rebuilt offensive line proved shady.

In general, Leinart has distanced himself from Derek Anderson during camp. ESPN's Mike Sando writes, however, that Leinart did not stand out one way or another when he watched the Cardinals. SI's Peter King writes that Leinart's accuracy certainly doesn't measure up to Kurt Warner, which is no surprise.


http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2010/08/09/leinart-struggles-in-scrimmage/

Originally posted by teeohh:
matt leinart not doing so hot

Sure, Matt Leinart's struggles in a Cardinals scrimmage on Saturday don't amount to much. But scrimmages are better than just practice reports and they are what we have to go on so far.

Leinart did not perform well on Saturday, according to Kent Somers of the Arizona Republic. He misfired especially on deep throws to Larry Fitzgerald and Steve Breaston. Perhaps just as concerning, the protection for Leinart on Arizona's rebuilt offensive line proved shady.

In general, Leinart has distanced himself from Derek Anderson during camp. ESPN's Mike Sando writes, however, that Leinart did not stand out one way or another when he watched the Cardinals. SI's Peter King writes that Leinart's accuracy certainly doesn't measure up to Kurt Warner, which is no surprise.


http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2010/08/09/leinart-struggles-in-scrimmage/

Originally posted by teeohh:
matt leinart not doing so hot

Sure, Matt Leinart's struggles in a Cardinals scrimmage on Saturday don't amount to much. But scrimmages are better than just practice reports and they are what we have to go on so far.

Leinart did not perform well on Saturday, according to Kent Somers of the Arizona Republic. He misfired especially on deep throws to Larry Fitzgerald and Steve Breaston. Perhaps just as concerning, the protection for Leinart on Arizona's rebuilt offensive line proved shady.

In general, Leinart has distanced himself from Derek Anderson during camp. ESPN's Mike Sando writes, however, that Leinart did not stand out one way or another when he watched the Cardinals. SI's Peter King writes that Leinart's accuracy certainly doesn't measure up to Kurt Warner, which is no surprise.


http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2010/08/09/leinart-struggles-in-scrimmage/

I think those guys are going 6-10

Fitz took a decent shot to the knee and came out, has ice. Nothing confirmed yet on how bad, if it all.

Originally posted by jreff22:
Fitz took a decent shot to the knee and came out, has ice. Nothing confirmed yet on how bad, if it all.

Wow.

ChrisJReyes

@espn_nfcwest FYI, Fitz has the ice off his knee and is moving around fine, even playing coach on sidelines for Andre Roberts.

Delayed madden curse? I'm sure he's fine

Arizona O didn't look that good from what I watched.

Bradford already taking a few sacks

espn_nfcwest

Vikings' Jayme Mitchell lighting up Rams RT Jason Smith tonight. Batted pass, half-sack, full sack on consecutive plays.