Sam Bradford: a hard standard to meet
Published: 11/25/2009 5:06 PM
Last Modified: 11/25/2009 5:06 PM
Attention Sooner fans: Do not expect Landry Jones to win one of these (at least not in 2010).
He's right, of course.
"Because Sam had a year to prepare for it with all those snaps when he goes in as a starter," Stoops said, "where Landry is thrust into it after going through spring and summer (as the backup). . . . he gets snaps but usually the No. 1 guy gets more. But in the end, it's usually the backup doesn't have the experience that the starter does."
Stoops had to be reminded — at the moment, anyway; it's not like he forgot — that Bradford's supporting cast in 2007 was quite a bit better than Jones' supporting cast in 2009.
"I should have brought that up too, the circumstance in which you're playing," Stoops said. "All the changes that we've had through the year, particularly offensively, is a lot to deal with. They're not on the same playing field. It's not fair to compare them for those reasons."
It's still perplexing how Jones can be so good at home and so bad on the road. It's not like he's having to play left-handed when the Sooners hit the road.
Offensive coordinator Kevin Wilson intimated there might be an unrealistic pressure or expectation level on Jones just because of the standards the Bradford set. And that, apparently, could be amplified by the discomfort of playing away from home.
"You never want to be the guy following coach Switzer, right?" Wilson said. "Well, it's kind of hard to follow Sam. As well as you play, it's hard to be as accurate as that guy. He's unbelievable. You'd look at him when he'd miss and say, 'How'd you do that?' Because he made every shot it seemed.
"Number one, (Jones) is following a standard that's unbelievably high. He's following a standard where the quarterback looked really great because the complementary parts were really strong. As a young guy, Sam had a solid group. As a second-year player he really improved and that group around him really took off.
"Now we're having injuries and a lack of continuity. We're still rough around the edges, our timing's off. So the complementary parts haven't made (Jones') stats look as good. But for a young guy in this situation, he's handled it well."
For Jones' part, he said he sees new things each time he turns on the film — new things about himself that can improve, and new things about defenses.
For one, defenses are taking advantage of his inexperience by changing a little of how they attack from what Jones would see on film from past games.
"Yeah, they're mixing it up quite a bit out there," he said. "I just have to be better at that, better at recognizing coverages and get it quicker. Little bit better each game."
— John E. Hoover
Written by
John E. Hoover
Sports Columnist
