By Jim Thomas
Of the Post-Dispatch
Wednesday, Sep. 07 2005
When last seen against San Francisco, Rams quarterback
Marc Bulger was being
helped off the field of the Edward Jones Dome after getting crumpled by *****
defensive tackle Bryant Young.
With 1 1/2 minutes remaining in the opening quarter that day, Young eluded Rams
offensive tackle Grant Williams, sacking Bulger for a 10-yard loss.
"Bryant Young just had my hand, held it to my side, and I landed on my right
shoulder," Bulger recalled Wednesday. "It was in an awkward position (for) the
AC joint. ... I couldn't really brace my shoulder for the fall, and it just
kind of slid out, or whatever those joints do."
Bulger knew right away that his throwing shoulder was messed up.
"With the shoulder, those ligaments get stretched and it's just nearly
impossible (to throw)," he said. "You can fight through the pain, but you're
still flinching, and you won't put the ball where you want."
Strange as it sounds, that game proved to be a watershed moment in Bulger's
career. Although Chris Chandler got the Rams through the rest of that Dec. 5
contest for a 16-6 victory, he was a disaster in losses the following weeks at
Carolina and Arizona.
Bulger's importance to the team was painfully underscored in those defeats.
Just as eye-catching was how he played once he returned. In the Rams' final two
regular-season games of the 2004, plus their two playoff contests, Bulger
completed 67.6 percent of his passes for 1,287 yards, with eight touchdowns,
four interceptions and a stellar passer rating of 106.3.
According to wide receiver Isaac Bruce, that has led to a greater air of
confidence in Bulger this training camp and preseason.
"I think he realizes what he means to this team, and what he means to this
offense now," Bruce said. "That was very evident when he went down last year
vs. the ***** here at home, and we missed him for those two games. Things
didn't go as well as they should have when he was in there. I believe just
having him in the offense makes everything a whole lot smoother."
This preseason, Bulger and the entire starting offense looked scraggly in
limited duty in the opener against Chicago. But against San Diego and Detroit,
Bulger was on fire. In those two games, he completed 74.2 percent of his passes
for 348 yards with three TDs, two interceptions, and a passer rating of 110.1.
No wonder coach Mike Martz, when asked about Bulger's play this preseason,
said: "I think he's probably pretty close to where he was when last season
ended, to be honest with you. He's really playing at a high level."
Bulger was so good against Detroit that Martz decided to put him in mothballs
in the exhibition finale, against Kansas City.
"We did not play him, obviously, because we feel like he's ready to play and
start the season," Martz said. "Didn't see the risk in playing him."
Sitting out the exhibition finale is more the norm than the exception for a
Martz team. In four of Martz's six preseasons as Rams head coach, the starting
quarterback has sat out the exhibition finale. There was one additional reason
to sit Bulger against Kansas City: He came out of the Detroit contest with a
puffy throwing wrist.
"It just got hit with a face mask early in the first half," Bulger said. "It's
not even an issue during the regular season, but probably contributed to me not
playing in the final (exhibition) game."
In typical Bulger fashion, he doesn't read too much into his performances
against San Diego and Detroit.
"It's preseason," he said. "I really take it with a grain of salt. I don't get
too upset if I play bad. And can't get too excited if I play good. So pretty
much, you get through it."
Bulger said it took him until late March or early April until his throwing
shoulder began feeling right. Were the Rams not fighting for a playoff berth,
he probably would've sat out another week or two following the injury against
San Francisco.
"I was supposed to take three or four weeks off," Bulger said.
He settled for a couple of weeks off, plus a cortisone shot.
"It wasn't too bad in the playoffs because the cortisone was working, but that
started to wear off," Bulger said. "And after the Atlanta (playoff) game - I
took a pretty good beating down there."
But the shoulder now feels good. Bulger's wrist is fine. He threw the ball very
well in practice Wednesday and is not listed on the team's injury report.
With more depth on the offensive line, and what looks like an improved corps of
skill-position players, expectations are high for the team's offense. Higher
than they've been in a few years.
"For me personally, this is as happy as I've been going into the year," Bulger
said. "Being confident in the line. Being confident in all my receivers, and
not just the first two. Being confident in the tight end.
"It all looks good right now on paper. We should be scoring a lot of points.
But we have to go out and get it done."
Of course, keeping Bulger in an upright position as often as possible will help
make that happen.
Or as defensive lineman Tyoka Jackson put it: "If we keep his jersey clean, I
see a guy who has MVP-type potential."
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