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Scouting Round Table Discussion, Pt. I

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How To Lose On Monday Night

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Which team is the best in the NFL right now besides the Saints and Colts?

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The Staying Game

5th November, 2009 - 11:44 pm

Current Features

NFL Power Rankings For Week 9

The NFL season is nearly half over and it is absolutely clear that the Saints and Colts are the fillets of 2009. How the other 30 teams rank, especially those in the playoff race, remains anyone's most futile guess.

3rd November, 2009.

What A Difference A Wedge Makes

Even though the return average is higher in 2009, the number of big returns has gone down without the wedge being used.

17th October, 2009.

PLAYER RANKINGS:

The Final NFL Player Rankings For 2008

If you remove the illusions of name, reputation, media market, etc., what do you get when looking at the 2008 NFL season? With the Field Impact Counter and the Reina Value it is possible.

2nd January, 2009.

Brady: Injury Was A Blessing In Disguise

Tom Brady has watched his Patriots fight their way to a 5-3 record through the first half of the season, and in actuality, he's pretty darn happy with where he currently stands.

6th November, 2008.

How GMs Build Winning Rosters

While everyone focuses on the marquee players that will be drafted on day one this Saturday, the key to building a winning team is by acquiring 5-7 impact makers. It was Marques Colston last year, who will it be this year?

23rd April, 2007.

Click Here

By Randolph Charlotin

Oklahoma quarterback Sam Bradford is now recovering, a little over a week removed from surgery to repair the sprained right AC joint in his shoulder. The surgery was performed by Dr. James Andrews so Bradford was in good and famous hands. If everything goes right and Bradford makes a full recovery, he will enter the 2010 NFL Draft.

If Bradford could do things over, he probably would have entered the draft in ’09. He was projected by many to go first overall, even ahead of eventual top pick and fellow quarterback Matthew Stafford.

Would Detroit be better off with Bradford instead of Stafford? So far Stafford led the Lions to one win in five starts. Stafford also missed two weeks because of a knee injury.

There’s no telling if the Lions with Bradford would have more wins. It also isn’t guaranteed that the shoulder injury that finished his season with the Sooners wouldn’t happen in Detroit. But at least Bradford’s future wouldn’t be unknown.

If Bradford was already in the league, the starting job would still be his when he returned from injury. Bradford’s decision to return to college will likely drop him out of the first overall pick.

Even though Bradford is expected to make a full recovery in time to train for the NFL Combine, at Oklahoma’s Pro Day and numerous individual workouts with franchises, the two shoulder sprains raises questions despite his total body of work.

For scouts, the first tool for evaluating a prospect is video. Bradford’s 2009 season is very, very short, as he played in three games and finished just one. Bradford does have his 2008 season in which he threw 50 touchdowns on the record. But the NFL is a “what have you done for me lately” league. What Bradford did a year ago would have greater value if he stayed healthy in ’09.

Even if Bradford checks out after being poked and prodded by doctor after doctor, the two sprains make teams wonder if Bradford is fragile and injury-prone. A team would be taking a gamble drafting Bradford over a healthy passer like Jevan Snead, Zak Robinson or Colt McCoy.

Bradford earned a lot of respect for his decision to return to school in hopes of winning the national championship. Hindsight is always a 20/20 endeavor, but it must be tough for Bradford now that his plans fell apart.

Bradford’s experience will be on the minds of numerous collegians if they must wrestle with the same decision: play another year or strike when the iron is luke warm. USC quarterback Matt Barkley, while still two years away from that decision, understands a football player’s fragility. He was knocked out of the Ohio State game and missed the next game against the University of Washington. If Barkley’s prospects are good when he’s draft eligible, what’s the chance he will stick around? Trojans head coach Pete Carroll better have Barkley’s replacement ready.

Carroll was critical of Mark Sanchez when he announced he wouldn’t return for his senior season. Does Carroll still feel that way while observing Bradford’s situation?

Read more by Randolph Charlotin at his New England Patriots blog at . He can be reached at talktome@randolphc.com.