Posted on Fri, Oct. 22, 2004
BY STEVE KORTE
skorte@bnd.com
ST. LOUIS - The bomb is back in the St. Louis Rams' offense.
Rams quarterback
Marc Bulger, often criticized over the past year for his inability to connect with his receivers on the long pass, has thrown eight passes of 30 or more yards in six games this season.
He threw only two passes of 30 or more yards in the final five games of the 2003 season, including the Rams' overtime playoff loss to the Carolina Panthers.
"For a while, he wasn't throwing it as well," Rams coach Mike Martz said of Bulger being able to go deep. "I think he is very confident right now about throwing the deep ball, very confident. He started out that way, and then he got to the point where -- and this is Coach Martz's interpretation of what had happened, I'm sure not Marc's -- he was a little tentative with the deep ball.
"You get a guy running down the field, and he didn't want to miss him. He's very confident right now, and he's putting that ball right where he wants to."
Bulger has thrown three passes of 40 or more yards over the last two games after throwing only six passes of 40 or more yards all of last season. He had a 52-yard game-winning touchdown pass to Shaun McDonald in overtime in a 33-27 win over the Seattle Seahawks two weeks ago and a 52-yard touchdown pass to
Torry Holt in a 28-21 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Monday night.
"I haven't done anything different, but we're hitting them, and that's all that matters," Bulger said. "So I'll keep winging it."
Bulger said that completing a deep pass is actually much more difficult than just winging it.
"People think throwing the deep ball is just taking five steps and throwing it 50 yards down the field, but it's not that easy," Bulger said. "I'm throwing it way before they cut, and it's all depending on the coverage. It's a different landing point every time."
Bulger said the Rams also have several different kinds of deep balls in their playbook that call for him to throw the ball at different trajectories.
Martz said Bulger was one of the most accurate deep passers he'd seen when the former West Virginia standout first stepped into a starting role during the 2002 season.
"Initially, his first year in '02, he was very good on the deep ball," Martz said. "He was like Trent Green in that respect, and I thought Trent was as good as there was throwing the deep ball. He was like that."
Martz said Bulger's struggles with the deep pass last season prompted extra attention on that aspect of his game during training camp.
"Throughout camp and the preseason there were days where that is what we did," Martz said. "We took part of our hook-up period and just threw the deep ball. When you get into the game, hey, you just have to put it out there."
Bulger said completing the deep pass has more to do with the opposing defense than how much you work on it during practice.
"We have a lot of deep balls called throughout a game, and you only get that certain look you want about once out of every five times you call the deep ball," Bulger said.
Wide receiver Isaac Bruce said opposing defenses having to respect the Rams' running game with Marshall Faulk and rookie
Steven Jackson has opened up the deep pass this season.
"I don't think it ever left," Bruce said. "I think sometimes defense dictates that; they don't want to get beat by a deep pass. They take it away, but they give up other things. I think we take what the defense gives us."
Against the Buccaneers, Bulger said he wasn't bothered by the sore shoulder that caused him to be listed as probable on the Rams' injury report for the game.
"It was sore before, but once the game starts the adrenalin kicks in," Bulger said.
That was evident as he put a block on Tampa Bay cornerback Ronde Barber that sprung Kevin Curtis for a key first down in the fourth quarter.
"I was hoping he didn't see me, but he saw me at the last minute, so I had to brace myself rather than go for the kill shot," Bulger said of his block. "I was just hoping not to get knocked back into Kevin."
After the play, Barber shook his head like he was surprised to be blocked by a quarterback.
"I told him when we put that play in, 'You have to fall down in front of him and bite him in the ankles,'" Martz said. "He didn't take me to heart. He took his throwing shoulder and threw it into the (cornerback) and stopped him cold."
Martz was impressed with Bulger's tackling form.
"He sunk his hips and raised up that big arm of his -- that No. 2 pencil he has got -- and put the wood on him so to speak," Martz said.
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