Null not discouraged

[BM_Face]

BY JIM THOMAS
ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH
12/15/2009

Five interceptions or not, Keith Null wants to get back on the horse.

"Yeah, I would love to get out and play again," Null said Monday in his west Texas drawl. "The more experience I get, the better."

He just might get another chance. For the final three games of this season, it's either Kyle Boller or Null at quarterback. That's because Marc Bulger is still on crutches three weeks after he was diagnosed with a fractured shin bone.

Bulger underwent a followup MRI exam Friday. According to Rams coach Steve Spagnuolo, the exam "showed that (the fracture) was healing, that the swelling was down. It's not completely healed. He still has a little pain there, so (doctors) want him to stay on the crutches."

Bulger did not accompany the team to Nashville, Tenn., or Chicago because medical officials want him to stay off his feet as much as possible and avoid putting weight on the leg. So it's all but certain that Bulger is finished for the season. It's just a matter of whether the team wants to put him on the injured reserve list.

As for Boller, a last-minute scratch against the Tennessee Titans because of a thigh injury, there's no guarantee at this point he will be healthy enough to play Sunday against Houston.

Does Boller start if he is?

"I would tend to lean that way," Spagnuolo said. "But I'm not going to commit to that 100 percent. Kyle's been a competitor for us. If he's healthy, I think he can help us win a football game."

The Rams have won only one of their past 23 football games dating back to October 2008. Sunday's 47-7 shellacking at LP Field in Nashville was among the most lopsided losses in franchise history — the fourth-worst margin of defeat.

Null had a rhythm going early against Tennessee. But four early penalties by the offensive line, including two personal fouls against right guard Richie Incognito, made a tough situation worse for a rookie quarterback playing in his first NFL regular-season game.

At least Null could joke Monday about his debut. After reviewing game film, he was asked what he did well.

"Got in and out of the huddle," he said. "Called the plays right. Directed traffic. Those things that you could easily mess up on in your first start, I did well. I made some good throws. Good reads. I threw the ball to the right read most of the time. I had a lot of completions."

Then came the punch line.

"If you count the interceptions, even more completions," Null said, drawing laughter from the media at Rams Park.

Spagnuolo is a firm believer in silver linings, and one of them Sunday was Null's poise and composure. Null didn't get dispirited. He didn't panic. And he kept competing.

"You look for that when you send a rookie out there in that situation at any position," Spagnuolo said. "You always want to see the look in their eye. And I thought he had a good look. He wasn't frazzled by anything, really."

One of the concerns with using rookie quarterbacks, particularly ones who played at the NCAA Division II level, is that their confidence may take a big hit if they are thrown into the fray too early. That was one of the reasons Spagnuolo preferred not to play Null this season. But when Boller was a no-go Sunday, Spagnuolo had no choice.

He had to throw Null to the wolves, or in this case, the Titans. Even with all those interceptions, and plenty of other rough spots, Null's psyche came out of the game in good shape.

"Now, I'm going to go way out on a limb here," Spagnuolo said. "I'm not comparing Keith to Peyton Manning, but I think in his first year (Manning) had a bunch of interceptions. Now again, please don't be writing down that I'm comparing Keith. I mean, that's what they go through. And he'll learn from that. I know he will."

Null said watching the game film helped him pinpoint his mistakes and learn how to avoid them in the future.

"After sitting on it last night and watching the tape, I did some things and I know I can play at this level," Null said.

And after five interceptions and a passer rating of 37.8, no less. So, no, Null's confidence didn't take a hit Sunday.

"Absolutely not," he said. "I'm going to go out and play with confidence no matter what happens each week. Even watching the game, I threw a pick, threw another pick, threw another one, I was still coming out and slinging it around. So I didn't let that stop me. I'm going to go out in confidence and the ability that God's given me."

[Bralidore(RAMMODE)]

i really like to hear that in a quarterback. He's not discouraged, and he's in good mental shape after his first start was a smackdown. I really hope this guy gets to start for the rest of the season. You know what you get in boller and bulger. And you HAVE to know they arent the future. The rookiee is the only question mark. Let him get the go.

[Mooselini]

It's good to see the guy not be discouraged by this. I hope he gets the rest of the year to start.

[Dwight Frye]

"Got in and out of the huddle," he said. "Called the plays right. Directed traffic. Those things that you could easily mess up on in your first start, I did well. I made some good throws. Good reads.

I don't really care if 'Kyle can help us win a game or two', 1-15 or 3-13 what's the difference? It's obvious he (Kyle) is not the answer. After watching Null bounce back time and time again, then make a great throw to RMac, I say let him play. What better way to learn? I didn't think he looked that bad ... picks aside, of course. He IS a D2 qb making his first start. I don't know how many years Kyle has been around, But I'll bet Keith is much better at that point in his career.

[laram0]

I mean really at this point in the season and seeing how we have been mathematically eliminated from the playoffs. What's the sense in playing Boller? healthy or not?

WE WANT NULL!
WE WANT NULL!
WE WANT NULL!

Oh and by the way we want a WIN too!!!!!

GO RAMS!

[PeoriaRam]

I want Suh more than I want a win. We're dropping $70 million in the first round regardless of our record, so we might as well try to secure the guy with fewest risks (by far).