Faulk retirement articles and comments

[RamWraith]

Multitalented Faulk one-of-a-kind in St. Louis

By Jeff Gordon
ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH
03/22/2007

Marshall Faulk is the greatest professional football player St. Louis has ever employed.

This claim is not meant to disparage the football Cardinals, a proud franchise that sent one tremendous player after another to the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Larry Wilson, Jackie Smith, Dan Dierdorf and Roger Wehrli stand among the greatest to ever play their sport.

It’s a shame they never had a owner who measured up.

I don’t want to overlook contemporary Rams stars like Isaac Bruce, Torry Holt, Orlando Pace and Kurt Warner -– four other stalwarts from “The Greatest Show on Turf.” At least a couple of those Super Bowl heroes also will be enshrined in Canton, Ohio, some day.

But Faulk was the Next Level of competition. He was one of the elite talents in NFL history, but that is just the start of his story. We’ve seen a lot of highly gifted football players come and go without making much of an impact.

Faulk offered so much more.

TOUGHNESS: He took a beating. He played hurt. He willed himself forward despite needing one operation after another to repair his battered knees.

Faulk’s career highlight might have come at the end of the difficult 2000 season. With the Rams facing a must-win situation at New Orleans, his hometown, he led the Rams into the playoffs with a remarkable 220-yard, three-TD performance.

Plowing into the teeth of the physical Saints defense, Faulk refused to let the Rams lose. He single-handedly kept his team alive.

Faulk and his teammates couldn’t repeat that performance against the Saints in the playoffs, but his stand that afternoon was memorable.

SMARTS: Faulk knew the “Air Martz” offense as well as Warner did. He knew all the plays. He understood the intent of the plays. He got the philosophy behind them. He studied defenses, too, so he could read them on the field and made adjustments accordingly.

His command of this revolutionary scheme allowed him to attack defenses every way possible. He lined up all over the field. He often went in motion. His receiving skills matched his running ability. He blocked blitzing linebackers when needed, too.

In their heyday, the Rams dared opponents to blitz -– trusting their ability to counter-attack, typically by getting the ball to Faulk.

LEADERSHIP: On the field, Faulk barked out commands and policed his teammates. If a player didn’t get the concept of the “hurry up” offense, Faulk would pick him up off the turf and direct him to his spot in the formation. On the field, he was a second quarterback.

Off the field, he had maintained his teammates’ respect. If Faulk could take game tapes home for additional review, shouldn’t lesser players do the same?

When a team’s best player is also its hardest-working player, great things can happen. Just ask the baseball Cardinals.

We saw a final example of Faulk’s leadership at the end of his playing career. When the knee injuries took their toll and finally knocked him into a back-up role, Faulk took great pride in helping Steven Jackson flourish as his successor.

He was a class act until the end.

ACCOMPLISHMENT: On Faulk’s watch, the Rams won two NFC Championships and one Super Bowl. He helped bring football titles to a city that had none.

This is Marshall’s ultimate resume' point. Some of his individual records have already been eclipsed, but nobody can ever take away the titles the Rams earned with him as their offensive focal point.

It’s a shame his career couldn’t last longer. It’s too bad he couldn’t stage one more comeback and help the Rams -– or another team -– make one more playoff run.

But he is a smart man, as we said, and reason finally prevailed over emotion. In his heart, he still wants to compete. In his mind, he knows this is no longer possible.

His retirement doesn’t come as a surprise, but it does stir some wistful reflection about what once was.

We may never see another team like the 1999-2001 Rams and we may never see another pro football player like Marshall Faulk

[RamWraith]

It's official at last
By Jim Thomas
ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH
03/23/2007


It was almost a foregone conclusion last year, when he underwent additional knee surgery and informed the Rams he would not play in 2006, that Marshall Faulk had played his final football game in the NFL.

Next week it will become official. Faulk plans to announce his retirement Monday at the NFL owners meetings in Phoenix, where he will be working as an analyst for the NFL Network.

"He's one of the greatest players of all time and clearly a future Hall of Famer," Rams president John Shaw said Thursday. "He was one of the key ingredients that took our team from a team that won four games (in 1998) to a Super Bowl champion."

Faulk, who turned 34 last month, had been coy in various interviews this offseason about the possibility of returning to the NFL in 2007. But multiple knee surgeries over the course of his 12 NFL playing seasons have taken their toll, and Faulk finally decided to call it a career.



"It has been an honor and a pleasure to play in the National Football League," Faulk said in a statement. "I'd like to thank all my teammates and coaches with whom I've been associated with ... as well as the fans who supported me throughout the years."

The Rams were very patient with Faulk over the course of this process. Instead of releasing him or forcing him into retirement, the club paid him a $1 million salary in 2006. In addition, the club is believed to have paid him a $225,000 roster bonus due earlier this month.

"It was the view of our owners, and clearly the whole front office, that what he brought to us was something that was really unique," Shaw said. "And something that St. Louis has never had before in football — a world championship. He had the type of stature and significance that we felt he deserved the leeway to make the decision on his own terms."

On the football field, the Rams moved on last season, with Steven Jackson taking over in the backfield and earning his first Pro Bowl berth.

During a career that included five seasons with Indianapolis, Faulk established himself as one of the greatest running backs in league history.

"You've got to take it a step further," former Rams coach Mike Martz said Thursday. "I think he's got to be one of the best overall football players in the history of the game. In the 80 years or so of the game, you've got to put him in that group, regardless of position."

In St. Louis, Faulk was the centerpiece of the Greatest Show on Turf, leading the high-scoring Rams of Dick Vermeil, and then Martz, to Super Bowls following the 1999 and '01 seasons. With Faulk, Isaac Bruce, Torry Holt, Az-Zahir Hakim and two-time NFL MVP Kurt Warner, the Rams simply had too many options for most defenses to handle.

"He will forever go down in my mind as the greatest player I have ever seen play," Warner said. "Not only because of his gifted physical ability, but also because of his dedication to and knowledge of every area of the game."

Faulk leaves the game ranking ninth on the NFL's career list for rushing yards (12,279), fourth in touchdowns (136) and fourth in yards from scrimmage (19,154).

Acquired in a 1999 trade with the Colts for second- and fifth-round draft picks, Faulk compiled three straight seasons of 2,000-plus yards from scrimmage with the Rams, earning NFL most valuable player honors in 2000. He was a seven-time Pro Bowler and was named the NFL's offensive player of the year for three consecutive seasons (1999-01).

[RamWraith]

As always, Faulk knew just what to do


(March 22, 2007) -- For 12 NFL seasons, all the way up until his retirement from the game became official today, running back Marshall Faulk had all the right moves.

We watched feet that moved as if he were dancing with the stars. We watched hands so dependable, it was as if they were drenched with stick-um. We watched plays that no other running back in the game could make.


Faulk got his start in Indianapolis -- a far cry from his current gig on NFL Network.
Yet for all the yards he gained, for all the passes he caught, for all the touchdowns he scored, what fans couldn't see was one of the primary reasons -- maybe the primary reason -- Faulk should be taking up residence in Canton four years from now.

It was what was under the helmet.

Faulk didn't just have a beautiful mind, he had a football mind.

Outside of quarterbacks, and maybe even including quarterbacks, there weren't any players any smarter than Faulk. He was the proverbial Smartest Guy in the Room. To this day, his former head coach Mike Martz thinks Faulk might just be the smartest player he has ever coached.

With his vision and awareness, Faulk understood the game in a way others did not. He knew where each player was supposed to be on each play.

Especially himself. Faulk knew when it was safe to leave the backfield to go out for a pass, and he knew when he had to step behind to pick up a blitzing safety, as he did in Super Bowl XXXIV, on the play in which Kurt Warner threw a 9-yard touchdown pass to Torry Holt to give the Rams a 16-0 lead.

Of all his attributes, this was Faulk's greatest: the centerpiece of the Greatest Show on Turf could beat you with his brawn or his brains.

The same brains that made him so effective on the football field made him a great analyst in his rookie season at NFL Network. He saw things other analysts did not. He made comments few others could. Few have ever started their TV careers with as much success as Faulk had over the past year. He was, unquestionably, the TV Rookie of the Year.

And now, Faulk has used that same brain to make his latest and last intelligent football decision. Instead of taking another hit, Faulk has dished one out himself. He has informed the Rams, and the football world, that he's retiring.

Faulk, who grew up on the streets of New Orleans before going on to star in Indianapolis and St. Louis, is smart enough to recognize that this is the right time to go.

One more time, Faulk is scampering away, unable to be brought down.

[RamWraith]

You are going to want to watch this video on NFL.com

http://www.nfl.com/teams/story/STL/10080719 ---Click video link

[BigDaddyPace]

Originally Posted by RamWraith

LEADERSHIP: On the field, Faulk barked out commands and policed his teammates. If a player didn’t get the concept of the “hurry up” offense, Faulk would pick him up off the turf and direct him to his spot in the formation. On the field, he was a second quarterback.

He actually did that one time. I think it was Az Hakim. He got hurt inside of the 2 min warning and fualk ran up to him, picked him up off the turf, and ran him up to the line so he didn't cost the team a timeout.

[Keenum]

Originally Posted by BigDaddyPace

He actually did that one time. I think it was Az Hakim. He got hurt inside of the 2 min warning and fualk ran up to him, picked him up off the turf, and ran him up to the line so he didn't cost the team a timeout.

If I remember it correctly, it was during the Rams-Titans game during the 1999 regular season. Warner was driving us downfield for the game-tying FG or game-winning score. Hakim was hurt, so Faulk ran over there and held him up until Warner could spike the ball. I think it was DeMarco Farr who said that may have been the smartest play he has ever seen Faulk make.

Watch on NFL Network for some kind of Faulk-highlight video to pop up. It's almost sure to have that play on there. On America's Game with the one about the 1999 Rams, that play is on there.

[RealRam]

Marshall!
Marshall!!
Marshall!!!

:l

Thanks Wraith. 'Seen that Sabol interview six times but watching it a 7th was good!

[bruce4life]

Originally Posted by RealRam

Marshall!
Marshall!!
Marshall!!!

:l

Thanks Wraith. 'Seen that Sabol interview six times but watching it a 7th was good!

i'm gonna miss chris berman saying that....

[GreatestShow99]

It was Hakim:

http://espn.go.com/nfl/s/991101trend.html

[RamWraith]

Marshall The Great
Monday, March 26, 2007

By Duane Lewis
Director/New Media

As a running back, his style was very fluid and graceful, yet powerful.

As a receiver, his route-running was as good as the best in the league with outstanding hands to match.

Marshall Faulk's arrival in the Gateway City made Rams' football must-see TV. His acquisition on April 15, 1999, gave this team a Pro Bowl running back on the field, one complete with a home run threat as a runner or a receiver.

What he gave the organization and the city was a winning attitude. Marshall had been a three-time Pro Bowler and four-time 1,000-yard rusher in his first five NFL seasons. At the time, the Rams had one player who had been to the Pro Bowl in WR Isaac Bruce.

Simple put, Marshall Faulk was a great football player before he became a Ram.

In the Gateway City, he became a Hall of Famer.

In seven seasons on the field in the Golden Horns, he was the engine that made the Greatest Show on Turf as explosive as it was. He elevated his play on the field, and of those around him in both sides of the ball.

Kurt Warner pulled the trigger, no doubt, throwing to a pair of future Hall of Famers in Bruce and Torry Holt. But Marshall was Faulk-tacular, equally dynamic as a runner from a handoff or as a receiver out the back field, the slot, or where ever he lined up.

He once said special players make special plays on special days. Every time he took the field it seemed, you were bound to see something special. In consecutive weeks in his first season in St. Louis, Faulk showed the wide range of his ability. In week 5 at Atlanta, he showed his big-play skills in averaging 10.1 yards per carry in racking up 181 rushing yards and one touchdown at Atlanta. The following week at home against Cleveland, Faulk seemingly eluded every Browns' defender from the backfield to the end zone on an electrifying 33-yard touchdown run.

In a comeback attempt that came up short at Tennessee in week 7, Faulk showed his moxie. As we tried to get in position for a game-tying field goal, Faulk single-handedly picked up an injured Az-Zahir Hakim off the ground to get him lined up for a Warner spike to stop the clock and save a timeout.

There was an aura about Marshall that made teammates gravitate toward him and opponents fear him. Every time he touched the ball, he was a threat to score – whether it was taking a screen pass on the left side of the field, taking the ball upfield, weaving across the field dodging and eluding defenders en route to the right side of the end zone, or as simple as taking a handoff off left tackle and racing 70 yards untouched.

In his Most Valuable Player season of 2000, his 11-touchdown barrage over the final three games of the regular season literally and figuratively pushed the team to the playoffs. The season-ending flurry was capped on Christmas Eve in his native New Orleans. Faulk's 39-touch-261-yard-3-TD effort in the Superdome to me remains his masterpiece, as he single-handedly willed the Rams to the playoffs, as he just would not let us lose. He finished the year with a then-NFL record 26 touchdowns – in just 14 games.

One season later, he missed repeating as MVP by one vote to Warner in what arguably was finest season. Among the milestones set by Marshall was a career high in rushing yards, the first player in NFL history with four straight 2,000-yard seasons, and the only second player ever (Emmitt Smith) with consecutive 20-touchdown seasons.

In addition, Faulk posted five 100-yard rushing games (including one 200-yard game), one 100-yard receiving game, nine 150-total yard games, two 200-total yard games, three multi-touchdown rushing games, two multi-touchdown receiving games, three-two touchdown games, two three-touchdown games, and one four touchdown game – again, in just 14 games.

His preparation to win was exceeded only by his will to win. A fierce competitor, he backed downed from no one, and would take on anyone who challenged or questioned his teammates. If statistics are the standard by which greatness is measured, Marshall Faulk is greatness personified and one of the best ever.

[RamWraith]

FAULK BY THE NUMBERS

1–NFL Most Valuable Player Award (2000)
2–Number of times Faulk posted back-to-back 200 total yards games (Oct. 17, 1999 - 213
@ Atlanta; Oct. 24, 1200 vs. Cleveland) (Oct. 20, 2002 – 235 vs. Seattle; Nov. 3, 2002 – 236
@ Arizona).
3-–Consecutive Offensive Player of the Year Awards (1999 – 2001)
4--Highest number of consecutive 100-yard rushing games, accomplished twice (Nov. 21,
1999 – 21-126-0 @ San Francisco; Nov. 28, 1999 – 18-102-2 vs. New Orleans; Dec. 5, 1999
– 22-118 @ Carolina; Dec. 12, 1999 – 29-154-1 @ New Orleans) (Nov. 16, 2003 – 20-103-0
@ Chicago; Nov. 23, 2003 – 24-100-1 @ Arizona; Nov. 30, 2003 – 17-108-3 vs. Minnesota;
Dec. 8, 2003 – 24-102-0 @ Cleveland).
4.8--Career average per carry with the Rams, third highest franchise history
5--The number of four-touchdown games in his career (tying a team record): @ San
Francisco 10/29/00 (2r, 2p); vs. Minnesota 12/10/00 (4r); @ Tampa Bay 12/18/00 (3r, 1p);
vs. Indianapolis 12/30/01 (3r,1p); vs. Seattle 10/20/02 (3r, 1p)
6--Career playoff rushing touchdowns with the Rams, a franchise record
7--The number of two-point conversions scored in his career (NFL record)
8--Career playoff touchdowns scored with the Rams, a franchise record
10--The number of 200 total yards games with the Rams (14 in his career)
11--The number of touchdowns scored in the final three games of the 2000 season: 4 vs.
Minnesota 12/10; 4 @ Tampa Bay 12/18; 3 @ New Orleans 12/24.
25--Consecutive wins by Rams when Marshall gained at least 150 total yards (27-1 record
overall)
26--Number of touchdowns scored in 2000, then an NFL record
27--Number of wins by the Rams (with no losses) when Faulk rushed for at least 100 yards
49--Playoff receptions with the Rams, most in franchise history
58--Rushing touchdowns as a Ram, most in franchise history
85--Touchdowns as a Ram, most in franchise history
99--Number of games played with the Rams
100--The number of career rushing touchdowns scored, tied for 6th in NFL history
136--Career touchdowns, fourth in NFL history
159--Total rushing yards (on 31 attempts) vs. Philadelphia 1/27/02 in NFC Championship
game, third most in franchise history
204--Career high receiving yards total (on 12 receptions) vs. Chicago 12/26/99, the most by
an NFL running back since 1965.
286--Career-high total yards gained vs. Atlanta on Oct. 15, 2000 (25-208-1 rushing, 7-78-0
receiving)
509--Career playoff receiving yards with the Rams, fourth in franchise history
519--Three-game rushing yards total vs. Oakland (10/13/02), vs. Seattle (10/20/02) and @
Arizona (11/3/02), the highest three-game rushing total of his career. He joined Hall of
Famers Jim Brown, O.J. Simpson, and Earl Campbell as the only players to have at least
three consecutive 150-yard rushing games.
561--Playoff rushing yards with the Rams, third in franchise history
767--Career receptions, second in NFL history among running backs
1,070--Total yards in playoffs with Rams, most in franchise history
1,918--Number of combined attempts with the Rams (rushing/receiving/kickoff returns),
most in franchise history
6,875--Career receiving yards, most by a running back in NFL history.
11,031--Total net yards with Rams, third in franchise history
12,279--Career rushing yards, ninth in NFL history
19,154--Career yards from scrimmage, fourth in NFL history

[RamWraith]

FUTURE HALL OF FAMER MARSHALL FAULK TO CONTINUE
COMMITMENT TO ST. LOUIS COMMUNITY
--Since joining the Rams in 1999, Marshall has provided more than $835,000 to
inner-city youth; and his efforts will continue –
ST. LOUIS – A future Hall of Fame running back, Marshall Faulk’s on the field
accomplishments have been matched only by his philanthropic efforts, which Marshall has
pledged to continue beyond his retirement from the game.
To date, Marshall has provided more than $835,000 in financial assistance as well as hands-on
involvement with inner-city youth and underprivileged children in St. Louis, New Orleans and
San Diego as well as a few other cities through the Marshall Faulk Foundation. As part of those
efforts, Faulk joined with the Rams Foundation to establish the Rams 28 Club, an incentivebased
program for children living in public housing that rewards them for making positive
choices in and out of the classroom.
“It’s important to me because I see myself as those kids,” said Marshall. “I grew up in an innercity;
I am a product of it. You just don’t have a lot of direction sometimes. I just try to give
them the beliefs and dreams and let them know that I was sitting in that chair some years ago
and you can make it.”
Since the Rams 28 Club’s inception in 1999, more than 1,000 inner-city youth have heard
Marshall’s message of hope and determination. Participants include children from St. Charles
Boys & Girls Club (St. Charles), Cochran Community Center (St. Louis), Beyond Housing
Castle Point Center (St. Louis), Jackie Joyner-Kersee Boys & Girls Club (East St. Louis) and
Christian Activity Center (East St. Louis).
In addition to his work with the Rams 28 Club, the Marshall Faulk Foundation has also
committed time and resources to organizations and programs including the Right Step shoe
program, a division of the St. Louis Public Schools Foundation; Lift for Life Gym; American
Liver Foundation and Berkeley North County Athletic Association.
Marshall has also been a long-time supporter of the Make-A-Wish Foundation by granting
wishes to sick children as well as assisting the Rams in raising more than $250,000 for the
organization.
Marshall’s generosity has extended to his hometown of New Orleans. A product of the Desire
Street Housing Projects 9th Ward, Marshall helped to fund a recreation center in his old neighborhood and contributed $40,000 to the Desire Street Ministries, an organization focused
on indigenous leadership development for the youth.
In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, Marshall hosted numerous fundraisers to assist with the
city’s rebuilding efforts and donated an additional $70,000 to the Desire Street area. He also
teamed up with Feed the Children, an international hunger relief organization, to distribute
food, personal care items and toys to hungry children and families.
Additionally, Marshall has been active in San Diego, where he attended college at San Diego
State. In San Diego, Marshall has partnered with Easter Seals of Southern California to
establish the Marshall Faulk Technology Center. The Center provides people with disabilities,
as well as the community at large, the opportunity to become computer literate and gain a
higher level of independence.
Now, as Marshall enters retirement, he will continue to add to his off the field legacy, within the
St. Louis community and beyond.

[RamWraith]

THEY SAID IT
Former Rams coach Dick Vermeil:
“Marshall Faulk set the standard for what is considered great at the running back position. The
term is loosely used, but Marshall defines it. You hear people talk all the time about ‘This guy
is a great player or that guy is a great player’. They are not all great players. Marshall Faulk
set the standard for what a great player is. For us, he was a difference maker. I’m not talking
about winning six or seven games. I’m talking about the difference between winning a NFC
Championship or a World Championship.”

New Orleans Saints coach Sean Payton, Faulk’s position coach at San Diego State:
“The first thing I think of about Marshall is what a smart player he was. He understood how
to take a game plan, study it and his opponents, and then have his success translated to success
on the practice field. He had a great feel for how to attack opponents and was so dangerous in
a variety of ways. But he also always had that toughness and dependability in running between
the tackles.”

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell:
“Marshall Faulk was one of the great players of his era and one of the most versatile running
backs in NFL history. We also know now that Marshall is a talented football broadcaster and