On Thursday, Rams players and coaches voted on team captains for the 2011-2012 season.

SF @ STL 2010 (Courtesy of STL Rams)

I heard the Rams’ announcement on 101ESPN in my car but missed the offensive captain.

I assumed it was Sam Bradford.  I’d venture to guess most clubs have their starting QB as one of their captains.  Right?

Not so fast.

So who are the three Rams captains?

Representing the defense: 12-year veteran DE James Hall who has been with the team since 2007.

Here’s what his head coach had to say.

James Hall has been doing a lot of good things for a long time with a number of different teams. I think he’s earned the respect of his teammates and his peers here.

Representing the special teams: 9-year veteran K Josh Brown who was a free agent pick up in 2008.

No surprise here.  With the rather sudden departure of long time long snapper, Chris Massey, it seems natural that Brown takes his place.

Now this is where I think it gets interesting.

Representing the offense: 8-year veteran RB Steven Jackson, Rams first round draft pick back in 2004.  (Steven Jackson was a team captain last season.)

Steven Jackson’s reaction to being voted offensive captain:

It’s an honor to be voted captain of this team. I wear it with pride and hopefully I can continue to do so and continue to show these guys the way.

Spags on the trio of captains:

The three guys that were voted in the three phases, Josh Brown, Steven Jackson, and James Hall were all voted by their teammates and coaches and that’s a great statement about those three guys.

Yup, you read that right.  The coaches and players voted SJ and NOT Sam Bradford.

Here I was under the impression that torch was being passed from Jackson to Bradford – especially with how Sam handled himself and the team during the lockout.

Am I the only one who thinks this is a bit off?  Did I miss something?  Obviously, I must have.

Who was it that organized and ran the summer off-season work outs?  Who’s been teaching the offense to the other players?  Who is the new face of the Rams franchise?

The answer to all three questions is Sam Bradford.

Yet, they vote the player who did his own thing and not join the rest of the team.  This was something I questioned over the summer.

With Sam emerging (or so I thought) as the undoubted leader of the team I would think it’s only natural to have him as the offensive captain, is it not?

Does that say more about Steven Jackson’s leadership and less about Sam Bradford’s?  Has Sam not fully earned the respect of the locker room?  And what does this mean, if anything, for team chemistry?

I can’t wait to get to the bottom of this.  I’m going to consult my inside sources and get back to you.

Meanwhile, I’d love to hear your thoughts on the matter.  Who would you have voted team captain?Please feel free to leave your comments below.