Sam Bradford Does Not Deserve AP Offensive Rookie Of The Year Honors

Like with so many other end of the season awards, the AP voters got it terribly wrong when they gave St. Louis Rams quarterback Sam Bradford their Rookie of the Year award. That Bradford won is bad enough, but that he won in such a landslide with 44 out of a possible 50 votes shows an excruciatingly high level of ignorance from the AP voters.

Based on Bradford's college career, eventually he will be a star NFL quarterback, but that time was definitely not in the 2010 season. In the regular season that just ended, Bradford was one of the worst starting quarterbacks in the NFL by multiple measures.

According to Football Outsiders, of the 48 quarterbacks who attempted at least 100 passes in 2010, Bradford ranked 34th in DYAR, which measures total value, with 81 DYAR and 34th in DVOA, which measures value per play, with a -9.1 percent DVOA.

Bradford's negative DVOA had everything to do with his pathetically low 5.95 yards per pass attempt. Not only did Michael Vick and Jamaal Charles have higher yards per rush averages, 6.8 and 6.4 respectively, but of the 31 qualifying NFL quarterbacks, those who attempted at least 14 pass attempts per team's game, Bradford ranked 30th in yards per pass attempt. Only Jimmy Clausen of the Carolina Panthers was worse.

Bradford's Rookie of the Year candidacy was further weakened by the fact he was not even the best rookie quarterback to play in 2010. Even the most ardent Bradford supporter has to admit that Bradford could not possibly be the best rookie in the NFL if he was not even the best rookie playing his position.

Cleveland Browns quarterback Colt McCoy was superior to Bradford in both total value with 235 DYAR and value per play with a 3.7 percent DVOA. The advantages McCoy holds in those two statistics become even greater when one remembers he appeared in eight fewer games and threw 380 fewer passes (246 to 626) than did Bradford; Football Outsiders count sacks and aborted snaps as passes in addition to regular pass attempts.

Even with 60.7 percent fewer pass attempts, McCoy's quarterbacking was still more valuable than Bradford's.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver Mike Williams, who received four of the six votes Bradford did not get, was also unworthy of his Rookie of the Year votes because he was outplayed by a fellow rookie wide receiver.

Colt McCoy's former college teammate, current Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Jordan Shipley, had more total value than Williams with 156 DYAR compared to Williams' 65 DYAR and more value per play with 14.1 percent DVOA to Williams' -6.6 percent DVOA.

Shipley put up those more impressive numbers despite being targeted for 54, or 42.7 percent, fewer passes than Williams (74 to 128).

The true Rookie of the Year was New England Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski. Gronkowski was more than just a great rookie. He was the second-most productive tight end in the entire NFL in total value with 249 DYAR and the third-most productive tight end in value per play with 53.2 percent DVOA. Only San Diego Chargers tight end Antonio Gates had more total value, and only Antonio Gates and Green Bay Packers tight end Jermichael Finley had more value per play.

Additionally, having Gronkowski on the field made Tom Brady a better quarterback. Gronkowski's dominant play this season is what one should really be looking for when choosing a Rookie of the Year, and the award should be his.

The fact that the AP voters voted for two rookies, Sam Bradford and Mike Williams, who were completely unworthy of them while at the same time completely ignoring the one player, Rob Gronkowski, who most deserved the Rookie of the Year award essentially eliminates all credibility of the honor this season.

Garrett Gilbert and John Brantley Demonstrate How Not To Follow A Legend

Following a legend is no easy feat as University of Texas quarterback Garrett Gilbert and University of Florida quarterback John Brantley can now attest to after equally disastrous seasons. Gilbert and Brantley were tasked with replacing Colt McCoy and Tim Tebow, respectively, who were two of the most prolific and efficient passing quarterbacks in recent history and failed miserably at doing so. In fact, Gilbert and Brantley played so poorly that not only does it solidify McCoy's and Tebow's greatness as college quarterbacks, but it also calls into question whether or not Gilbert and Brantley should be allowed to continue in their roles as starting quarterback.

After Colt McCoy was injured in the first quarter of the 2009 BCS National Championship game, Garrett Gilbert received his first opportunity to be the Longhorns' primary quarterback and he completely squandered it. Gilbert only completed 37.5 percent of his 40 pass attempts (15 of 40), gained a measly 4.7 yards per pass attempt, and threw twice as many interceptions (four) as touchdowns (two), but he had built-in excuses of having only thrown 26 collegiate passes before that game, being a true freshman quarterback who had not planned on playing in the game, and going against the best defense in college football.

There was prevalent thinking that under more favorable quarterback conditions where Gilbert was the unquestioned number one quarterback and would be able to prepare fully to play that he would be a very good college quarterback. However, Gilbert's play over the course of the season disabused people of that notion, as he completed just 59.0 percent of his passes, gained a paltry 6.2 yards per attempt and 4.9 yards per attempt, and threw 17 interceptions (3.9 interception percentage) to 10 touchdowns (2.3 touchdown percentage). Compared to Colt McCoy's time at Texas, Gilbert's already abysmal statistics look even worse.

Former University of Texas quarterback Colt McCoy completely spoiled Longhorn fans during his four years as the starting quarterback. In games where he either attempted the most passes or threw for the most passing yards, McCoy completed an otherworldly 70.2 percent of his passes, gained 8.0 yards per attempt and 8.2 adjusted yards per pass attempt, and posted a 6.8 touchdown percentage and a 2.7 interception percentage, establishing himself as the best quarterback to ever play for former Texas offensive coordinator Greg Davis.

McCoy also set an almost impossible standard for his successor, but one would have expected Gilbert to come closer to matching McCoy than he did. Instead, he forced Longhorn fans to witness a passing game that decreased dramatically, and statistically significantly, in production. The transition from McCoy to Gilbert saw the Texas passing game decrease by 16.0 percent in completion percentage, 22.5 percent in yards per attempt, 40.2 percent in adjusted yards per attempt, and 66.2 percent in touchdown percentage; in terms of interception percentage, Gilbert was 30.8 percent better at throwing interceptions than McCoy. In every positive category, Gilbert was incredibly less proficient than McCoy and in the one negative category, he showed himself to be much more proficient, which is the opposite of what you want to see from a quarterback successor.

Gilbert could not even match Colt McCoy's worst season, his sophomore campaign, as a starting quarterback for the Longhorns. During that season, McCoy completed 65.1 percent of his passes, gained 7.8 yards per attempt and 6.9 adjusted yards per attempt, and threw 22 touchdowns (5.2 touchdown percentage) and 18 interceptions (4.2 interception percentage). McCoy's completion percentage and yards per attempt were still impressive, but his high number of interceptions kept the season from being as valuable as it could have been.

Even so, Gilbert's season represented a decrease of 9.4 percent in completion percentage, 20.5 percent in yards per attempt, 29.0 percent in adjusted yards per pass attempt, 55.8 percent in touchdown percentage, and 7.1 percent in interception percentage. Gilbert was better than McCoy at avoiding interceptions, but does not even come close to making up the advantage McCoy had over him in touchdown percentage.

The decrease in production from McCoy's career to Gilbert's season was so drastic Greg Davis no longer has a job as an offensive coordinator. That is the danger when your team transitions from the best quarterback to ever play for you to one where if he were to continue the trend he set this past season would be the worst quarterback you ever coached.

The nightmare Texas football experienced as Gilbert took over for Colt McCoy was mirrored at another football powerhouse university, the University of Florida, as John Brantley replaced Florida's favorite son, Tim Tebow. As much as Tim Tebow was revered for the value he provided to the Florida offense, Brantley might be equally reviled for the value he did not provide for the Florida Gators.

John Brantley had a reputation as an effective pocket passer, an attribute never bestowed upon Tebow, and even I was guilty of thinking Brantley would put up even better passing numbers than Tebow. Instead, Brantley posted paltry numbers across the board, completing 60.8 percent of his passing, gaining 6.3 yards per attempt and 5.4 adjusted yards per attempt, and throwing nine touchdowns (2.7 touchdown percentage) to 10 interceptions (3.0 interception percentage).

Contrast that to what Tim Tebow did over his tenure at the University of Florida in games when he either attempted the most passes or threw for the most passing yards for his team as he completed 66.6 percent of his passes, gained 9.4 yards per attempt and 10.4 yards per pass attempt, and posted a 8.7 touchdown percentage and a 1.5 interception percentage.

The statistically significant difference between the years Florida fans enjoyed with Tebow as the primary quarterback and what the Brantley-led passing offense just subjected them to was a decrease of 8.7 percent in completion percentage, 33.0 percent in yards per attempt, 48.1 percent in adjusted yards per pass attempt, and 69.0 percent in touchdown percentage; Brantley was 50.0 percent better than Tebow in interception percentage, not a feat of which any quarterback should be proud.

As Tebow was remarkably consistent over his time as Florida's primary quarterback, there was no season where he was definitively at his worst so Brantley cannot even gain a reprieve by claiming he was at least better than Tebow at Tebow's worst since he was not.

With Charlie Weis arriving as the new offensive coordinator for the University of Florida with what Brantley should hope is an offense more suited to his strengths, there is a good chance that he could see an improvement in his production. It would certainly be difficult for him to play any worse.

Even if Garrett Gilbert and John Brantley had arrived on their respective campuses at different times, times where two great college quarterbacks had not just finished wrapping up their careers, their seasons would still have been disappointments due to their meager yards per attempt averages, but they might not have been viewed as the unmitigated disasters they are in light of what we have come to expect from the Texas and Florida football programs over the past few seasons.

That is what happens when you attempt to follow a legend and their inability to do so led to coaching changes at each university.