By Jim Thomas
ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH
Thursday, Oct. 20 2005
ST. LOUIS --
Marc Bulger's latest shoulder injury isn't quite as bad as the
one he suffered last December.
"He says he feels a lot better than a year ago ... with a similar injury,"
interim head coach Joe Vitt said Thursday.
Nonetheless, the shoulder doesn't feel good enough to have Bulger on the
field Sunday against New Orleans. When asked if there was any chance Bulger
could play against the Saints, Vitt gave a one-word answer: "No."
Bulger took a cortisone shot in the shoulder Wednesday to aid the healing
process, and might try to throw later in the week. He just won't be throwing
this Sunday.
"I'm going to come back as quick as possible," Bulger said. "Obviously, the
bye week is going to help."
Bulger said "there's no way" his down time will prevent him from returning
for the Rams' first game after their bye week -- a Nov. 13 contest in Seattle.
"So at the worst-case scenario, it'll be this week and next week," Bulger
said.
Bulger said the pain isn't as bad, and his range of motion is a little
better, than when he suffered a similar injury last Dec. 5 against San
Francisco and missed two games.
"It's really not one of those things that aches or hurts when you're not
doing anything," Bulger said. "It's just certain movements, when you cross your
body or throw a football, that bother it a lot.
"If it was my left shoulder, like I said last year, it wouldn't be an issue.
But since it's my throwing shoulder, it's kind of tough."
Unlike the injury suffered against the *****, an MRI exam of the latest
injury showed no bone bruise.
"Which is good," Bulger said. "So it's just swelling in the joint. Some
fluid. So I don't think it'll be quite as bad as last year."
Bulger also suffered a shoulder injury last Oct. 24 against Miami, but
didn't miss a game. The Rams had their bye week following that contest, which
gave him enough time to recover.
After the latest injury, Bulger spoke with team physician Matt Matava about
the possibility of a cumulative effect on his shoulder.
"He said that eventually there could be some arthritis," Bulger said. "I
think he told me Jim Edmonds (of the baseball Cardinals), and some other guys
had some surgery--they just take a little bit of your collarbone off. It's not
a big deal, but that's not something you can prevent. But from the MRI and the
X-rays, everything's stable right now."
Bulger suffered the latest injury--a sprained AC joint--in the second
quarter of the Rams' 45-28 loss Monday to Indianapolis. After reviewing tape of
the play, Bulger still wasn't ready to call the hit by Colts linebacker David
Thornton a cheap play, although it's clear Thornton gave him a little something
extra. While in pursuit of linebacker Cato June on an interception return,
Bulger was flattened by Thornton.
"He definitely hunted me down like that," Bulger said. "But it's football. I
could've easily avoided him and ran away. But those things happen."
So for the fourth time since midway through the 2002 season, Jamie Martin in
essence will step in for an injured Bulger.
Last season, Chris Chandler got the first shot at playing in place of
Bulger, but after a meltdown in the first quarter against Arizona, Martin
stepped in and finished the game. When Martin was signed last Dec. 7, he had
been out of football for the better part of two seasons.
This time around, Martin has been with the club since fairly early in the
offseason, having re-signed with the Rams on April 20. He had the benefit of
the full-squad minicamp, the light spring practices known as OTAs (organized
team activities), as well as training camp and the preseason.
"It's helped a lot," Martin said. "It takes away a lot of the uncertainty.
I'm familiar with everything we have in the offense, as opposed to having
something put in before I was here, and not knowing the reason why and the
exact reads.
"I know where to go with the ball. I know why. I know what to do. I just
have to get on the field and react, and make the right decisions."
Although he completed 17 of 21 passes against Indianapolis, there were two
decisions--on two throws--Martin would like to have back:
A third-quarter pass intended for Brandon Manumaleuna was picked off by June.
"I think Brandon thought he was going to go backside (with the pass), and he
didn't," Bulger said.
But Martin offered no excuses. "I kind of made a bad decision there. I
really shouldn't have thrown that one."
In the fourth quarter, a pass intended for Kevin Curtis was intercepted by
Nick Harper. Curtis was getting held on the play, but Martin said, "I just
threw a bad ball. That was really my only bad throw of the day."
Both interceptions came in Rams territory and led to Indy touchdowns.