Remember when you were in grade school? There was a time that came in each of our lives where we attempted to blame our struggles on something that just wasn't there.
"A dog ate my paper."
"My cat pissed on the homework assignment."
"My sister destroyed the science project."
We have all been there at some point. Attempting to point fingers at others because we weren't fully ready to take responsbility for what we were doing wrong.
Sam Bradford has been in that very same situation. He received the last huge guaranteed contract for a NFL draft pick immediately prior to the new collective bargaining agreement. In doing so, Bradford "earned" a whopping $50 million in guaranteed money. That equates to about $1.1 million for every touchdown pass he has thrown to date.
The excuses were there.
He didn't have the coaching staff. Enter into the equation, Jeff Fisher. The former Titans' head man is one of the most accomplished coaches in the entire league today.
He didn't have the offensive line. Enter into the equation, former No. 1 overall pick Jake Long. He's a four-time Pro Bowl performer who is among the best left tackles in the NFL.
He didn't have a strong supporting cast. Hello, Jared Cook and Tavon Austin.
We are now at the point in his career where Bradford needs to step up and prove his worth. The top two teams in the NFC West, San Francisco and Seattle, possess talented young quarterbacks who will improve with more seasoning. Both Colin Kaepernick and Russell Wilson are said to be performing extremely well in offseason activities.
In order for St. Louis to even have a chance to compete in NFL's best division, Bradford will need to narrow the gap between himself and those two studs.
That's a pretty tall order.
As you can see, Bradford was nowhere near the level of quarterback as his two counterparts in the NFC West last season. That's disturbing for Rams' fans considering that Bradford has 19 more regular season starts under his belt than Wilson and Kaepernick combined.
The now veteran quarterback needs to be the REASON why St. Louis closes the gap in the NFC West. He wasn't even close to the reason St. Louis improved to 7-8-1 last year.
In fact, Pro Football Focus ranked him out as the 23rd-best quarterback in the NFL last season. To compare for a second, he ranked directly below Jake Locker in that category. Not exactly what St. Louis expects from its No. 1 overall pick of just a few years ago.
An improved offensive line coupled with more playmakers at skill-positions could lead to continued progression from the enigmatic starter. He doesn't have any excuses.
This leads me to believe that 2013 is a make-or-break season for Bradford.
Can he up his game? If not, will St. Louis look in another direction next April?