SB Nation St. Louis - Sam Bradford, St. Louis Rams Beat Jacksonville Jaguars To Close Preseasonhttps://cdn.vox-cdn.com/community_logos/49009/stl-fave.png2011-09-02T08:30:34-05:00http://stlouis.sbnation.com/rss/stream/21636262011-09-02T08:30:34-05:002011-09-02T08:30:34-05:00Lance Kendricks, Sam Bradford Continue To Dominate St. Louis Rams Offense
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<p>The St. Louis Rams' rookie tight end Lance Kendricks has become Sam Bradford's favorite target.</p> <p><span>Lance Kendricks</span> continued to serve as <span>Sam Bradford</span>'s favorite target in the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="http://www.sbnation.com/nfl/teams/st-louis-rams">St. Louis Rams</a>' new offense Thursday, catching three balls for 73 yards and his third touchdown of the preseason to consolidate his position as the Rams' top receiving option. The Rams rookie, who was seen by some as an overdraft when he went in the second round of the 2011 NFL Draft, has looked like a perfect fit for Josh McDaniels's offense so far. He's got 11 receptions for 155 yards and three touchdowns in four games; only <span>Brandon Gibson</span>, whose 83-yard touchdown reception sort of skews things, and <span>Donnie Avery</span> have accrued 100 receiving yards. </p>
<p>Kendricks's performance comes as McDaniels seems ready to emphasize the role of the tight end in the Rams' offense, and with <span>Michael Hoomanawanui</span> fragile at best and <span>Fendi Onobun</span> not ready to start by any stretch of the imagination a strong start will be crucial for McDaniels's plan to work. </p>
https://stlouis.sbnation.com/st-louis-rams/2011/9/2/2399591/lance-kendricks-sam-bradford-st-louis-ramsDan Moore2011-09-02T08:01:02-05:002011-09-02T08:01:02-05:00Sam Bradford's Preseason And The St. Louis Rams' New Offense
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<p><span>Sam Bradford</span> had his best game of the 2011 preseason Thursday, going 7-for-11 and averaging 12 yards per attempt to go with his touchdown pass to <span>Lance Kendricks</span> on an outstanding play-action fake to Steven Jackson. The boost in numbers puts his preseason totals to 31-for-54 for 411 yards, five touchdowns, and two interceptions. The quarterback rating goes to well over 90 with that performance, but the major change is in his Y/A, which had been a disappointing 6.5 over the first three games. Now: 7.7. </p>↵<p>That's considerably better than rookie-season Bradford, but it's worth comparing this small sample size to his last small sample size, the 2010 preseason that saw him win the job from <span>A.J. Feeley</span> in the first place. </p>↵<p>And the good news is that Bradford's been much better than <i>that </i>debut, too; he was 33-53 then, for just 338 yards and three touchdowns. No interceptions, but you can see already the conservatism that paralyzed the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="http://www.sbnation.com/nfl/teams/st-louis-rams">Rams</a>' offense in 2010. And that will hopefully be exorcised forever with Josh McDaniels around. </p>↵
https://stlouis.sbnation.com/st-louis-rams/2011/9/2/2399616/sam-bradford-st-louis-ramsDan Moore2011-09-01T23:00:43-05:002011-09-01T23:00:43-05:00St. Louis Rams Cap Perfect Preseason, Beat Jaguars 24-17
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<p>The St. Louis Rams win their last preseason game of the season against the Jacksonville Jaguars. Bradford goes 7-for-11 with 133 yards and a touchdown pass to Lance Kendricks.</p> <p>A brilliant performance from <span>Sam Bradford</span>, strong games from bubble players like <span>Donnie Avery</span>, and a pass-heavy Josh McDaniels offense put the <a href="http://www.sbnation.com/nfl/teams/st-louis-rams" class="sbn-auto-link">St. Louis Rams</a> over against the <a href="https://www.bigcatcountry.com/" class="sbn-auto-link">Jacksonville Jaguars</a> Thursday by a score of 24-17. Bradford's 7-for-11, 133 yard night was his best preseason showing yet, while Avery caught two balls for 42 yards to provide the Rams with a downfield threat they had lost in his absence. <span>Danario Alexander</span> continued his baffling ways with a performance that Turf Show Times <a target="_blank" href="http://www.turfshowtimes.com/2011/9/1/2399359/st-louis-rams-Jacksonville-jaguars-recap#storyjump">calls blah</a>—except for his tantalizing 43-yard reception. </p>
<p>With Steven Jackson out of the picture in the last week of the preseason the Rams went through the air, with Bradford, <span>A.J. Feeley</span>, and third-stringer <span>Thaddeus Lewis</span> combining for 36 attempts and 358 yards through the air. Lewis continued to make a case for the backup role ahead of veteran Feeley, going 12-for-15 with 164 yards while Feeley threw an interception on a ball he probably should have held. </p>
<p>The Rams finish the preseason 4-0 heading into their Week 1 opener against the Philadelphia Eagles at the Edward Jones Dome. </p>
https://stlouis.sbnation.com/st-louis-rams/2011/9/1/2399566/st-louis-rams-scoreDan Moore