Sam Bradford’s career with the St. Louis Rams thus far has been dominated by the need to pick himself up off of the turf and a constant revolving door of offensive coaches. 2012 will be his third season in the league and also the third offensive scheme that he will need to learn in that period of time.
One thing that has been lacking for Bradford since being selected first overall in the 2010 NFL Draft is a quarterback coach. Most teams have one on hand just so the guys under center have an extra set of eyes and ears to bounce ideas off of or right the ship when things aren’t going so well. Finally that vacancy will be filled for the former Oklahoma Sooner this coming season as the Rams have hired Frank Cignetti, former Rutgers offensive coordinator, to provide Bradford with that added comfort.
After the Tampa Bay Buccaneers hired Rutgers head coach Greg Schiano to the same position in Tampa, it seemed only a matter of time before his staff would each go their separate directions and find new gigs of their own. Cignetti won’t be a newcomer to the NFL though as he served as the New Orleans Saints’ quarterbacks coach in 2000 and also oversaw the progression of another former number one overall pick with the San Francisco 49ers’ Alex Smith in 2007.
With the demoralizing year that both Bradford and the Rams dealt with in 2011, the need for a quarterbacks coach may be more a mental health move than anything for the man under center in St. Louis. Clearly the lockout as well as a depleted receiving corps and offensive line greatly hindered Bradford a year ago, but the team is attempting to provide its young signal caller with all of the necessary resources to promote success in the coming season.
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