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St. Louis Rams Have What KC Chiefs Have Never Seen

ST. LOUIS, MO - AUGUST 13: Sam Bradford #8 of the St. Louis Rams looks to pass during the first half of the NFL preseason game against the Indianapolis Colts at Edward Jones Dome on August 13, 2011 in St. Louis, Missouri. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images)

The Kansas City Chiefs will meet the St. Louis Rams in Friday's night's preseason game and they'll see something those in KC have never really seen -- a homegrown quarterback. Indeed, the Chiefs have basically never drafted their own winning quarterback.

They've drafted their own guys -- just not successful, winning quarterbacks.

The Rams, however, appear to have found their guy. QB Sam Bradford is one of the best young quarterbacks in the game and has the markings of a player who will be good if not great for years to come.

Star-divide

Because we've never drafted a franchise quarterback in KC, I wanted to ask our Rams blog, Turf Show Times, what the process was like. Were you nervous before drafting Bradford? How do you feel about him now?

GM Billy Devaney cut his teath as a personnel man in the NFL with the team that drafted Ryan Leaf, so, yeah, seeing him draft a quarterback was more than a little worrisome. On the other hand, you have to take a risk on some things to be a winner in the NFL. What else would they have done? Brought in Donovan McNabb to make his career just a little worse in its twilight? The front office rolled out with this very wise, Sensei reponse that they'd also learned some thing from drafting Ryan Leaf...like how to draft the next Ryan Leaf.     

Really, the Rams only option was to take Bradford. It was a no-brainer at that point and I think that was the move many thought would happen months before the draft took place. Obviously, that's what I say now...in hindsight. Back then, as Turf Show Times says, it had to be more than a little nervous for Rams fans. 

Maybe one day Chiefs fans will know what that feels like.

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As awesome as this is...

I doubt he falls to the late teens, which is were we will probably be this year.

Preparing to welcome a future Chiefs fan in December... football season and fatherhood somehow go together.

by Falcon58 on Aug 24, 2011 11:38 AM CDT via mobile up reply actions  

Love the enthusiasm

*When we blitz, have the LB's do a KC Strip. Do this in remembrance of DT.
*Dear David Glass, as a lifelong Royals fan, I beg you to please sell the team. You have always been the problem; you will never be the solution.

by mistamic on Aug 24, 2011 5:35 PM CDT up reply actions  

Technically, Bradford isn't "a homegrown...successful" quarterback yet

I certainly think that he looks promising after his rookie year, but he didn’t have a winning season last year, and it’s very possible that the Rams don’t have a winning season next year. In fact, Bradford could still turn into a bust. Players with good rookie starts have fallen off before, and it could certainly happen to Bradford.

by wustl_chiefs_fan on Aug 24, 2011 10:09 AM CDT reply actions  

Colts signed Kerry Collins.

Shouldn’t we have done that?

Gator don't play no shit. Gator ain't never been about playin no shit!

by Chiefs447 on Aug 24, 2011 10:16 AM CDT reply actions  

Yes, and that doesn't look good as far as Manning's health.

They have always been content with garbage backups before today.

The views expressed by craig in calgary do not necessarily represent the views of all Canadians.

by saskwatch on Aug 24, 2011 10:28 AM CDT up reply actions  

Colts about to be exposed

as a junk team that happens to be lucky enough to have an elite QB capable of pushing a pop-warner club to the playoffs

by SillyHatDay on Aug 24, 2011 10:29 AM CDT up reply actions  

How funny would it be if they were just as solid with Collins?

All along we thought it was Peyton, but it was just that they had tons of amazing WR’s that just made him look awesome.

The Chiefs and I have mutually agreed on this decision and although I look forward to continuing my career, I’ll always have a special place in my heart for Kansas City.

by TRSChief on Aug 24, 2011 10:30 AM CDT up reply actions  

watching another qb run that offense

would be an absolute disaster

"You guys line up alphabetically by height."
--Bill Peterson

by Big_Chief on Aug 24, 2011 10:52 AM CDT up reply actions  

I like the Texans in that division this year with or without a healthy Manning...

It's great to finally trust the men making the important decisions at 1 Arrowhead Drive.

by OnlyKCFanNVA on Aug 24, 2011 10:35 AM CDT up reply actions  

If they can get their secondary consistently shored up

They’re definitely a more complete team.

The Chiefs and I have mutually agreed on this decision and although I look forward to continuing my career, I’ll always have a special place in my heart for Kansas City.

by TRSChief on Aug 24, 2011 10:44 AM CDT up reply actions  

Letting Pollard walk is a good start.

The views expressed by craig in calgary do not necessarily represent the views of all Canadians.

by saskwatch on Aug 24, 2011 10:46 AM CDT up reply actions  

Yeah. He needs to be relegated to special teams gunner so he can lay big hits

But not have responsibilities as far as containment, coverage, taking good angles, etc.

The Chiefs and I have mutually agreed on this decision and although I look forward to continuing my career, I’ll always have a special place in my heart for Kansas City.

by TRSChief on Aug 24, 2011 10:48 AM CDT up reply actions  

Makes me happy for several reasons.

One being my first fantasy game would have been against Manning.

But I hope Manning the IRL person does get better.

by bossmanham on Aug 24, 2011 12:35 PM CDT up reply actions  

One borderline successful rookie season does not a "winning, successful" QB make

He could still end up like Ryan Leaf…or Peyton Manning. Too early to tell.

To make a bad day worse, spend it wishing for the impossible.

I've had the same dream every night this week. I think it means that the spring season flopped and my subconscious has gone into reruns.

by chiefsandcigars on Aug 24, 2011 10:16 AM CDT reply actions  

sound like

common sense, and not the Thomas Paine version!

by jrcnc on Aug 24, 2011 11:20 AM CDT up reply actions  

Drafting our own QB!

Oh, we know what it feels like to draft a QB in the first round, Steve Fuller and Todd Blackledge, we just don’t know what it is to draft a successful one! How about round two, Mike Elkins and Matt Blundin!

by kckid59 on Aug 24, 2011 10:24 AM CDT reply actions  

Re: 'Successful, winning quarterbacks.'

I’m not saying that Sam Bradford doesn’t have the makings of a perennial Pro-Bowl calibre QB, but …

Before we go labelling him a ‘successful, winning quarterback,’ let’s remember that he had the opportunity to take his team to the playoffs and promptly marched them into Seattle and lost the NFC West division title to a team that was, at that point, a 6 win team.

by JacinB on Aug 24, 2011 10:28 AM CDT reply actions  

And?

Bradford finished the game 19-for-36 with 155 yards and an interception (‘successful, winning quarterback’?), and Seattle didn’t need a fluke-y, should’ve-been-tackled-seven-times run from Marshawn Lynch to win.

by JacinB on Aug 24, 2011 11:16 AM CDT up reply actions  

Popquiz

Quick, name 1 Ram Wide reciever.

"He that hath a beard is more than a youth, and he that hath no beard is less than a man" - Bill Shakespeare

by craig in calgary on Aug 24, 2011 11:00 AM CDT up reply actions  

Amendola, Alexander

And uh…

The Chiefs and I have mutually agreed on this decision and although I look forward to continuing my career, I’ll always have a special place in my heart for Kansas City.

by TRSChief on Aug 24, 2011 11:01 AM CDT up reply actions  

Is Sims-Walker still around?

The Chiefs and I have mutually agreed on this decision and although I look forward to continuing my career, I’ll always have a special place in my heart for Kansas City.

by TRSChief on Aug 24, 2011 11:01 AM CDT up reply actions  

Wow, I remembered more about the Rams than I figured I would, then.

The Chiefs and I have mutually agreed on this decision and although I look forward to continuing my career, I’ll always have a special place in my heart for Kansas City.

by TRSChief on Aug 24, 2011 11:18 AM CDT up reply actions  

Just because he's the only player on the team you can name ...

… doesn’t make him an outstanding player.* It just means that they have a team full of nobodies.

You could’ve asked the same thing of a non-Chiefs fan about the 2008 Chiefs. ‘Name someone other than Larry Johnson that plays in Kansas City.’ How many names do you think they’d’ve come up with?

(* – And, again, keep in mind that that’s prefaced with ‘I’m not saying that Sam Bradford doesn’t have the makings of a perennial Pro-Bowl calibre QB, but …’)

by JacinB on Aug 24, 2011 11:11 AM CDT up reply actions  

You are right, no it doesn't make him an outstanding player.

My point is for a rookie to have a pretty good year with very little talent around him is quite remarkable.

"He that hath a beard is more than a youth, and he that hath no beard is less than a man" - Bill Shakespeare

by craig in calgary on Aug 24, 2011 11:50 AM CDT up reply actions  

Amendola, Alexander, and Sims-Walker have already been named.

I’m fairly certain they cut Laurent Robinson. I know they drafted Salas and Pettis. What about Gibson and Avery, are they still on the team?

"[Jamaal Charles] probably fights crime in his spare time while inhaling carbon emissions, exhaling oxygen, and crapping oil. That’s how awesome he is. Not just good for the Chiefs, but America."
- MNchiefsfan

by MtHammer on Aug 24, 2011 11:29 AM CDT up reply actions  

Bradford will be one of the top 5 QB's in the league for the next 10 years.

So who here would take their “borderline successful rookie” over our "borderline successful QB.

If I was Pioli I know which I am going with, and couldn’t make the call fast enough.

The views expressed by craig in calgary do not necessarily represent the views of all Canadians.

by saskwatch on Aug 24, 2011 10:31 AM CDT reply actions  

Stanzi

I for one hope Stanzi gets some time with the second unit to see more of what he’s capable of. Third string OL getting him killed.

by Nicoloco on Aug 24, 2011 10:35 AM CDT reply actions  

Completely agree, I liked him at Iowa and he has the size to be a good QB.

by Damn the Man on Aug 24, 2011 10:54 AM CDT up reply actions  

Agree

Should have just cut the entire line playing in the fourth quarter.

by #1Chief on Aug 24, 2011 10:58 AM CDT up reply actions  

Suh > Bradford

Could be the best 1-2 picks in NFL Draft history. Who holds the title now?

by HisDirkness on Aug 24, 2011 10:43 AM CDT reply actions  

Suh is definitely a manimal.

The Chiefs and I have mutually agreed on this decision and although I look forward to continuing my career, I’ll always have a special place in my heart for Kansas City.

by TRSChief on Aug 24, 2011 10:45 AM CDT up reply actions  

I would probably take the QB, because of the position.

But Suh looks like he could be the best defensive player in the NFL for the foreseeable future.

The views expressed by craig in calgary do not necessarily represent the views of all Canadians.

by saskwatch on Aug 24, 2011 10:47 AM CDT up reply actions  

I thought at the time that it was a toss-up between Suh and Bradford.

And while you can’t ignore the QB spot, you would’ve got essentially the same caliber of player. I really feel that Suh will develop into one of the best defensive lineman in the game. Bradford was still probably the right pick for the Rams though.

"Toby has been cruising for a bruising for years, and I am now his cruise director. And my name, is Captain Bruising."

by bobby sippio! on Aug 24, 2011 10:57 AM CDT up reply actions  

Bradford is way more valuable to his respective team, however.

Top 10 defense and another trip to the playoffs!
Tamba Hali, NFL Sack Leader, 2011

by ArrowSpread on Aug 24, 2011 11:42 AM CDT up reply actions  

bradford, suh, berry, perrenial pro-bowlers

That’s jus 3 outta the top five not to mention everyone else. This could end up bein one of the best draft classes ever.

by Dakota23 on Aug 24, 2011 10:51 AM CDT via mobile reply actions  

funny, people questioned bradford’s durability before the draft. i guess his shoulder is fine.

by kc571 on Aug 24, 2011 11:01 AM CDT reply actions  

Hunt brought in Pioli for this, didn't he?

Wasn’t drafting and developing our own franchise QB one of the things Hunt stressed after the Pioli signing? We want to not just build a complete team through the draft, but we want to draft franchise QBs that way too.

Never known what that feels like… obviously because I’m a 3rd generation Chiefs fan. My grandfather went to his grave without knowing what it felt like too…

by Chief-ologist on Aug 24, 2011 12:21 PM CDT reply actions  

and we drafted a guy in the 2nd Round, name of Cassel, Matt ...

that’s in essence what happened … we ever got a second pick in that round and took a guy named Vrabel along with Cassel

so, Cassel is being developed … I hope someday he’s almost as good as Bradford :-)

Winner: 2009 Nostradamus of Arrowhead Pride Award
"I shall conquer untruth by truth" - Mahatma Gandhi
"It's always easier to sell 'em some shit than it is to give 'em the truth" - Shel Silverstein, The Perfect High
hi, Mo! 5 minutes!!!

by upamtn on Aug 24, 2011 1:41 PM CDT up reply actions  

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