In his first preseason start Thursday night, quarterback Sam Bradford lit up the New England Patriots defense and went a long way to winning the St. Louis Rams starting quarterback job. Bradford, the number one overall pick in the 2010 NFL Draft, threw two short touchdown passes to help the Rams jump out to a 17-7 lead on the Patriots.  Bradford finished completing 15 of 22 passes for 189 yards.

The rookie from Oklahoma admitted he enjoyed it, and sounded awfully confident, if not a little cocky. “Tonight was the first time I had fun,” said Bradford. “I had fun doing what I’m used to doing, which is moving the offense up and down the field and scoring points. Anytime you can do that, it’s a blast.”

In his first two preseason games, Bradford was a combined 12-for-27 for just 81 yards. Bradford said in his first two pretend games, he “felt like I was always trying to rush through things.” Apparently all he needed was some breathing exercises and affirmations. “Tonight before I went out there I just took a deep breath and said, ‘stay in rhythm and do what you do,’” Bradford said. “I knew I was capable of it.”

Tom Brady put up better stats, tossing the last of his three touchdown passes at the start of the fourth quarter.  Brady completed 18 of 22 passes for 273 yards.  But Brady doing well against one of the worst teams in the league should be expected.  Bradford’s performance has to increase his confidence and his entire team’s.

It certainly impressed Bradford’s head coach. “It was the velocity that got there,” said Rams coach Steve Spagnuolo. “It was the fact that it beat some guys that were in real close coverage and that’s a sign of a good quarterback.”