Bernie: Bulger On The Spot

[Azul e Oro]

Hunker down,folks; the Hatfields and the McCoys are gettin' fired up again!

[r8rh8rmike]

The last two years, Bulger was not only sacked a lot, he was hit and got the snot knocked out of him multitudes of times, with broken ribs for nearly an entire season no less. Maybe I'm just an apologist, but I see the pocket break down around Big Ben while it completely collapses around Bulger.

Bernie's right about one thing, Bulger has got to make plays, regardless of the circumstances. There are simply no more excuses, legitimate or not. I'm sure Bulger knows this too.

[RamsInfiniti]

Bernie pretty much proved one of two things here:

1. His football knowledge is lacking
2. His eyes are shot

And fact is, I will create an argument for these two things against anybody that compares Bulger's situation to Ben's ...

Bulger gets sacked alot by free blitzers, and delayed blitzes. Frequently this happens when Bulger is trying to let a big play develop downfield. The thing people say is, why doesn't he go to his dump offs? What dump offs? There haven't been any the past two years, as the majority of the time we have to keep RB's and TE's in to block. Why do you think McMichael's numbers were down in 2007? He was blocking more than ever ...

Does Bulger hold onto the ball too long sometimes? Of course he does, and there is a reason for this in my opinion. Bulger always feels like he has to make a big play. Who wouldn't playing behind that, well, um, Defense????, we've had the past couple of years. In the Martz system, Bulger always through the ball downfield. That mentality has stuck with him, and naturally so. We stood little or no chance to hang in any game the past few years unless we got a ton of turnovers on defense or made big plays downfield, as we did against Washington and Dallas last year, and even the Pats to some extent ...

Finally, I don't care how close the sack numbers are on Bulger and Ben. Ben holds the ball WAYYYYYY longer than Bulger does. In that game last night, there were times when Ben held the ball for 7 or 8 seconds, and some of these he didn't even have to scramble to get the time. No way in hell Bulger could hold the ball that long behind our line the past couple years no matter how much he scrambled. This argument about the Pitt O-line being bad is a load of crap, Ben even admitted it in a recent interview. He took the blame for the majority of the sacks because of his propensity to make big plays downfield. Why can he do this? Because he is playing behind one of the best defenses in the league. Ben had 14 fumbles last year and they didn't even miss a beat, because that D was always ready to stand up for him ...

There is no comparison between Ben and Bulger. In all actuality, Ben's numbers weren't that much better than Bulger's last year. I guarantee you that Ben would not have had much more success here. These QB's both get beat up, but for different reasons. I don't buy for a second that Pittsburgh has the worst offensive line in the league as I have heard ...

And I'd argue to with anybody ...

[RamsInfiniti]

The difference between Bulger and most great QBs, is the fact that he needs everything to go right in order to be successful.

While others can rely on their own abilities to overcome certain situations on the football field, Marc Bulger is almost totally dependent on the players around him.

This too is a pretty poor stance ...

First, what do you define as a great quarterback?

There is no QB in the league that could have been successful on this team the past two years. Bad line, bad defense, bad scheme, bad coaching. This equals no success ...

Tom Brady is very immobile, so is Peyton Manning. All these guys have to do on a regular basis is step up in the pocket and they are good to go. What exactly do they do back there that makes them special?

I remember Brady looking like a deer in the headlights when the Spags led Giants whipped the crap out of him in the Super Bowl. This will happen to any QB ...

Watch Peyton's production, I guarantee it is down this year behind a very suspect line ...

Teams win Super Bowls, thats why guys like Trent Dilfer can win one. You put an average QB on a team with a great line and a good defense, and he'll be good. You put a great QB on a team with a horrible line and bad defense, he'll be mediocre ...

[PeoriaRam]

What a load of crap. Are you telling me Big Ben wasn't reliant on that defense last night? You people talk like Big Ben dominated last night when he actually threw 2 ints and took needless sacks trying to make things happen. I've made this comparison of Bulger and Ben before. If Ben was on the Rams the last two years his stats would b just as bad. Last year his stats were almost as bad on a far better team. This is a team game and all qbs are reliant on the team mates around them. If they didn't rely on their team it would be called golf. Everyone praises Big Ben even when his play is far from superb because the Steelers win games. Yet again he only needed to help drive his team to score a whopping 13 points to win,how many points would Bulger have to put up with how our d played the last few years?

Indeed.

When's the last time the Rams held a team to 10 points or fewer? (Answer: Week 11, 2007) It also happened twice in 2006 (Raiders and Broncos games). So for those keeping track at home, the Rams have only held teams to this point threshold 3 out of the last 48 games. By comparison, Pittsburgh did this 8 times last season and 18 times over the last 3 years.

No quarterback, with our offensive pieces the last few years, could score 25-30 points a week. And yet, that is what Bulger has to do in order to win because of the Rams defense. Again...the Rams putrescence the last two years is a result of incompetence at ALL phases of the game.

[RamsInfiniti]

The biggest problem I have with these articles is they don't tell the whole story. For face value, it makes Bulger look extremely bad because both players have apparently taken similar abuse ...

However, watching the games tells a different story ...

[NJ Ramsfan1]

It's obvious that Ben Roethlisberger is surrounded by better personnel than Marc Bulger, but it's equally obvious that anyone who thinks Roethlisberger stinks doesn't understand football, because nothing could be further from the truth. He's a winner. He finds ways to get the job done even if sometimes it ain't pretty. He overcomes adversity (some by his own hand) and plays well when he has to. He has many of the intangibles I want to see in Bulger.

Saying "well, if so and so played on the Rams, he'd do no better than Bulger" is as silly as it is hypothetical. It can't be proven or disproven, so why bother? And if I got 1600 on my SAT's, I'd have gone to Harvard. It's irrelevant and who cares??

And shame on those who "because they watched the game last night" feel compelled to offer a critical analysis of Roethlisberger's career as a whole. If you're gonna' do that, at least be objective. Tennessee is not a good defensive team, they are an OUTSTANDING defensive team and well coached. Roethlisberger overcame a slow start in the 1st game of the season against a very good defense and shredded them for nearly 370 yards in the air. Oh yeah- and Pittsburgh's running game was non-existant last night. Roethlisberger put this team on his back and gutted out a win, to say nothing of the absence of Troy Polamalu, their best defensive player, who was out for most of the game.

I don't want to hear anymore excuses about the horrific conditions Marc Bulger's had to deal with. For the umpteenth time, yes, he hasn't been helped. But he shares plenty of blame. He's had Steven Jackson, Isaac Bruce and Torry Holt in the recent past- guys other quarterbacks would kill to have on offense- and he hasn't performed to the level a guy who was given a 63 million dollar contract should perform at.

Marc Bulger has a veteran tackle (Barron), a top tier talent (Brown), a promising, talented #2 draft pick (Smith) and one of the 4 or 5 best backs in football (Jackson) to take the presure off him having to win games by himself. GO OUT THERE AND PRODUCE.

[itsguud]

I fell asleep from boredom two sentences into Bernie's post.

If anyone made it to the end, let me know how it turned out.

On second thought, don't bother.

Agree with you on this av. I read it all and wow what a pathetic comparison. I could talk about the fact that the differences in state were minute at best... Or the age difference... Or the OL... Or the differences in style of play. But instead ill just leave it up to everyone else to decide why ot didn't fit.

[Fortuninerhater]

What a load of crap. Are you telling me Big Ben wasn't reliant on that defense last night? You people talk like Big Ben dominated last night when he actually threw 2 ints and took needless sacks trying to make things happen. I've made this comparison of Bulger and Ben before. If Ben was on the Rams the last two years his stats would b just as bad. Last year his stats were almost as bad on a far better team. This is a team game and all qbs are reliant on the team mates around them. If they didn't rely on their team it would be called golf. Everyone praises Big Ben even when his play is far from superb because the Steelers win games. Yet again he only needed to help drive his team to score a whopping 13 points to win,how many points would Bulger have to put up with how our d played the last few years?

First of all, who is "you people"?

Second of all, I wasn't referring to Ben Rothliesberger. I was referring to a host of great QBs, both past and present.

And thirdly, there isn't any real arguement here, only excuses for Marc Bulger. So I respectfully decline to get into this debate at this time.

[Fortuninerhater]

This too is a pretty poor stance ...

Why, because you disagree with it?

From my standpoint it is dead on, and I doubt that even Marc Bulger would dispute it if he were honest with himself.

[Bar-bq]

When you examine the excuses made for Bulger they don't hold up under much scrutiny.

Sure, you can definitely throw a few unsubstantiated claims together, polish off your bottle of vodka, and continue to pretend you have something cohesive to argue.

I personally think it's a great idea.

[evil disco man]

2008 stats from nfl.com

ben: comp:281 attempts: 469 yards:3301 td's:17 int: 15

bulger comp: 251 attempts:440 yards:2720 td's:11 int: 13

yes yes that is an amazing difference in stats right there, i can see why people think ben is miles ahead of bulger

/sarcasm

Well, that pretty much says it all. Rep to you.

I won't waste anymore words on drama queen's "article."

[Fortuninerhater]

2008 stats from nfl.com

ben: comp:281 attempts: 469 yards:3301 td's:17 int: 15

bulger comp: 251 attempts:440 yards:2720 td's:11 int: 13

yes yes that is an amazing difference in stats right there, i can see why people think ben is miles ahead of bulger

/sarcasm

How does 2 Superbowls in 5 years, to 0 in 9 years grab you?

And for those of you arguing Big Ben benefits from a great defense, How about the list Hall of Famers and great complimentary players Bulger has played with.

To say nothing of one of the premiere offensive minds this game has ever seen.

And exactly what does he have to show for it? That's right... a big fat 0.

Even at the height of his career, Bulger has come up empty.

So like I've said before, there's really no arguement here, just excuses.

[CaliGirlRamsFan]

Two words: Pro Bowl.

[01d 0rd3r]

How does 2 Superbowls in 5 years, to 0 in 9 years grab you?

And for those of you arguing Big Ben benefits from a great defense, How about the list Hall of Famers and great complimentary players Bulger has played with.

To say nothing of one of the premiere offensive minds this game has ever seen.

And exactly what does he have to show for it? That's right... a big fat 0.

Even at the height of his career, Bulger has come up empty.

So like I've said before, there's really no arguement here, just excuses.

You cant be serious about crediting ben with winning superbowl 40 can you?
Yes i completely agree the man with a qb rating of 23 9/21 attempts 123 yards and 2 int won that game for pit, what would they ever do without him.
Hell randle el was the only one to throw a td in that game because he played a little in highschool and college.

As cali has said he does have 2 probowls and are you going to sit there and tell me that the fastest person to reach 1000 completions in league history is a bad qb because he had 2 down years?

Fine lets quite making excuses and put you on the spot. 06 season dawns and you are the starting qb for the rams you get sacked 49 times, now lets go to the 07 season in which you get sacked 37 times. now the 08 season dawns and you have broken ribs, tell me how often are you going to be flinching when a 300 pound dl comes running at you?