Let’s talk about Sam Bradford.

In my PE.com column, I focused on Bradford’s intelligence. I think that is the number one thing Chip Kelly wants in a QB…brains. For the up-tempo offense to be at its best, you need a good decision-maker and someone that thinks very quickly. The sooner the ball gets out, the better. Hurry, hurry, hurry.

Read the piece and you’ll see that Bradford is one smart dude. Beyond natural intelligence, he’s driven and hard working. Here is something written from his rookie year.

From the beginning, Bradford was an eager student.

“He wants to learn, so he’s very willing to listen,” Curl said. “This is important to Sam; he’s a proud individual. And because of that he spends the time and does what’s necessary in order to, down the road, become the player that he wants to be.”

Curl started at the bottom, literally. Because Bradford played mostly in the shotgun formation at OU, his footwork needed to be refined so that he could take snaps from under center, drop back smoothly and deliver passes using the proper technique.

“You start from his feet and work up,” Curl said. “It was all about getting the feet in the proper position, the idea of shuffling forward — is it two shuffles, is it one shuffle, or do you slide sideways? And then through your hips all the way up.”

Curl continually preaches fundamentals.

“I know he gets tired of me saying it all the time, some of the stuff,” Curl said. “But I just constantly talk to him about his balance, get your feet in position, where’s your toe, where’s your knee, where’s your belly button going, is your back hip coming through?

“It’s just all those little things. And he’s pretty good. … The kid is just a worker.”

That’s the easy part, Curl stressed.

“The mental part in the NFL for a young quarterback is the toughest thing, because there are so many things being thrown at you,” he said. “Every week it’s something different: a different blitz, a different look, all of sudden they want to do this, they want to do that.”

Curl and Bradford spend hours at Rams Park dissecting film together. During games, they huddle between possessions, reviewing the previous series and preparing for the next.

“He gets it; he understands what has to be done to get to where he wants to get to,” said Curl, adding that Bradford’s comprehension is aided by a healthy skepticism.

“I call it ‘the Bradford look,'” Curl said. “Every once in a while I’ll say something and he’ll give me that look. I’ll say, ‘Sam, no, no, no. Don’t give me that look.’ He’s going to test you a little bit, in a good way, to make sure it makes sense. He’s very smart that way.”

Doesn’t that sound just like someone Chip Kelly would love?

This is even better.

The December morning after Sam Bradford returned to campus from New York, a Heisman Trophy in tow, he stopped by to chat with associate athletic director Gerald Gurney, who runs OU’s student life center and academic services.

Bradford’s first question was how his offensive line did academically. Did Bradford need to talk to anyone?

A picture of leadership. Yes, a quarterback is expected to command the huddle and walk tall in the locker room and keep his nose clean. But a quarterback who plays truant officer and academic monitor is working overtime.

“He’ll go and drag ’em in here,” Gurney said. “His teammates, if they’re not doing something correctly, he’ll personally make sure they’re handling their responsibilities.”

Teams that self-police are priceless to their coaches. More than 30 years after the Selmons’ era at OU, stories of their leadership still ring around the program. Lucious standing up on a rowdy bus and ordering his teammates to put on their game faces. Lee Roy and Dewey quietly taking a malcontent to the bus station, letting him know his services no longer were needed.

Bradford has taken on such a role, a guy who not only takes care of his own business but looks out for his teammates.

“I just kind of try to lead by example,” Bradford said, downplaying his actions. “I value my education. When guys see that, they may take their schoolwork more seriously.”

Bradford values his education all right. He’s scheduled to graduate in 3 1/2 years with a finance degree; he’s made one grade less than an A, a B in Calculus II.

That is the kind of leadership any coach would love, but it fits in perfectly with Kelly and his desire to establish the right culture. Not only does Bradford do the right thing, he wants to make sure everyone else does the right thing.

Sam was a great player at Oklahoma. He won the Heisman Trophy. He led them to the national title game. He helped them set an NCAA record by scoring 60 or more points in 4 straight games. That is one of the greatest offenses that I’ve ever seen in college.

Watch these OU highlights and you can see what a good fit Bradford is for Kelly’s offense.

He is at home playing from the shotgun. Bradford can make quick throws. He is very good at getting the ball out to receivers close to the line of scrimmage. Those quick routes can require unique footwork and arm angles. Bradford can throw from a variety of platforms.

Onto the NFL.

Here is an interesting video of Bradford wired for a game.

He comes off to me as a natural leader. I think that is hugely important for a QB.

And now a video a few of you have already likely seen. Some Rams fan put together all of Bradford’s throws over 15 yards from a certain period.

The number one thing that jumps out at me is pocket presence. Bradford stays locked in on his receivers, even when rushers get near him. One of Nick Foles issues was dealing with pressure. He would do that well at times, but other times drifted backward, which led to problems. Bradford’s instinct is to move up in the pocket. You can tell he’s been well-coached and he listened.

The other thing that stood out to me…Chip Kelly must be one phenomenal play-caller. We’re used to seeing Eagles players wide open at least a few times a game. Guys are covered for this entire video. Even play-action passes aren’t freeing anyone up.

And Bradford’s skill players were very unimpressive. A couple of WRs made circus catches, but there were also drops and guys falling down while running routes. You don’t see anything special.

Bradford does make some bad throws, but I think you can see his talent. He has a good arm. He can make some really impressive throws.

If you don’t want to watch that whole video, check out this one highlight from it.

I'm watching some Sam Bradford today, and came across a gorgeous throw and catch over Cary Williams: https://t.co/gGsYBOwx27 — Patrick Wall (@ByPatrickWall) March 14, 2015

That is one impressive throw. Did you happen to notice the CB who was beat?

I don’t know if Kelly’s great gamble will pay off, but am excited to see how Bradford plays in this offense and with some weapons. If he fails here, that’s all on him.

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