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Bulger finds no positives for the offense
By Bill Coats
Of the Post-Dispatch
Tuesday, Aug. 24 2004
KANSAS CITY - Desperately seeking a silver lining despite the turbulent skies
that swirled over Arrowhead Stadium on Monday night, Rams quarterback Marc
Bulger said: "The only good thing that comes out of tonight is, it doesn't
count against our record. Besides that ... I don't think anything good came out
of it."
Although storms didn't hit until after the Kansas City Chiefs had completed a
24-7 victory that dropped the Rams' preseason record to 0-2, the climate
already had turned sour for Bulger and rest of the first-team offense.
Going against the Chiefs' No. 1 defense proved to be a mismatch for Bulger and
his crew. Running back Marshall Faulk, seeing his first action of the
preseason, left early in the second quarter, but the rest of the 'ones'
completed the first half. The score at that point was 24-0, and the Chiefs had
built a total-offense edge of 200 yards to 68.
"As quarterback, your job is to get points," Bulger said. "I didn't do my job
tonight." Bulger completed eight of 15 passes for 67 yards, with an
interception that linebacker Shawn Barber took 60 yards for a touchdown.
Bulger's quarterback rating was a woeful 37.4.
Bulger had several factors working against him: a patchwork offensive line; a
blitz-heavy defensive plan by Kansas City; and consistently poor field
position. The Rams' six first-half drives had an average starting point of just
past the 20-yard line, and they produced a mere 73 total yards.
The Rams crossed the 50-yard line just once in the first half - and only when a
15-yard penalty took them to the Chiefs' 45. Bulger was sacked three times,
though his indecisiveness while searching for receivers was at least partly to
blame.
Coach Mike Martz tried to soak up the culpability, saying he did a "very poor
job" of preparing his outfit. But Bulger was having none of that.
"As players, we all know it's our job to go out there and play well," he said.
"And if we'd executed the game plan the way we should have, there's no reason
why we couldn't have won. It's definitely on the players; I don't think it's on
the head coach."
At least the Rams' reserves could claim superiority: St. Louis mustered 210
yards in the second half to Kansas City's 57. Not that it mattered much.
"Everyone knows it was our 'ones' vs. their 'ones'" when the Chiefs took
control, Bulger said.
Gunther Cunningham, the Chiefs' new defensive coordinator, called blitz after
blitz, with obvious success. "You've got a quarterback in Marc that's still
relatively young in the league, so why not blitz?" Faulk said. "They know our
offense pretty well, and they kind of know if they do blitz us some of the
basic things we'll do as far as adjustments go."
That probably was the case, Bulger said, when Barber picked off his pass
intended for running back Arlen Harris. The Chiefs brought both safeties, and
when Bulger hurried his throw, Barber was waiting for it.
"That's our adjustment, to throw it out there," Bulger explained. "And
obviously they have that play in their playbook. So maybe they game-planned
it."
Excessive blitzing used to be frowned upon in preseason games, but that
unwritten rule apparently doesn't apply anymore.
"We didn't expect that much pressure, but we got it," Bulger said. "It wasn't
completely out of the ordinary, though. It was working, and they stuck with it.
... When you play Kansas City it's almost like a regular-season atmosphere."
By Bill Coats
Of the Post-Dispatch
Tuesday, Aug. 24 2004
KANSAS CITY - Desperately seeking a silver lining despite the turbulent skies
that swirled over Arrowhead Stadium on Monday night, Rams quarterback Marc
Bulger said: "The only good thing that comes out of tonight is, it doesn't
count against our record. Besides that ... I don't think anything good came out
of it."
Although storms didn't hit until after the Kansas City Chiefs had completed a
24-7 victory that dropped the Rams' preseason record to 0-2, the climate
already had turned sour for Bulger and rest of the first-team offense.
Going against the Chiefs' No. 1 defense proved to be a mismatch for Bulger and
his crew. Running back Marshall Faulk, seeing his first action of the
preseason, left early in the second quarter, but the rest of the 'ones'
completed the first half. The score at that point was 24-0, and the Chiefs had
built a total-offense edge of 200 yards to 68.
"As quarterback, your job is to get points," Bulger said. "I didn't do my job
tonight." Bulger completed eight of 15 passes for 67 yards, with an
interception that linebacker Shawn Barber took 60 yards for a touchdown.
Bulger's quarterback rating was a woeful 37.4.
Bulger had several factors working against him: a patchwork offensive line; a
blitz-heavy defensive plan by Kansas City; and consistently poor field
position. The Rams' six first-half drives had an average starting point of just
past the 20-yard line, and they produced a mere 73 total yards.
The Rams crossed the 50-yard line just once in the first half - and only when a
15-yard penalty took them to the Chiefs' 45. Bulger was sacked three times,
though his indecisiveness while searching for receivers was at least partly to
blame.
Coach Mike Martz tried to soak up the culpability, saying he did a "very poor
job" of preparing his outfit. But Bulger was having none of that.
"As players, we all know it's our job to go out there and play well," he said.
"And if we'd executed the game plan the way we should have, there's no reason
why we couldn't have won. It's definitely on the players; I don't think it's on
the head coach."
At least the Rams' reserves could claim superiority: St. Louis mustered 210
yards in the second half to Kansas City's 57. Not that it mattered much.
"Everyone knows it was our 'ones' vs. their 'ones'" when the Chiefs took
control, Bulger said.
Gunther Cunningham, the Chiefs' new defensive coordinator, called blitz after
blitz, with obvious success. "You've got a quarterback in Marc that's still
relatively young in the league, so why not blitz?" Faulk said. "They know our
offense pretty well, and they kind of know if they do blitz us some of the
basic things we'll do as far as adjustments go."
That probably was the case, Bulger said, when Barber picked off his pass
intended for running back Arlen Harris. The Chiefs brought both safeties, and
when Bulger hurried his throw, Barber was waiting for it.
"That's our adjustment, to throw it out there," Bulger explained. "And
obviously they have that play in their playbook. So maybe they game-planned
it."
Excessive blitzing used to be frowned upon in preseason games, but that
unwritten rule apparently doesn't apply anymore.
"We didn't expect that much pressure, but we got it," Bulger said. "It wasn't
completely out of the ordinary, though. It was working, and they stuck with it.
... When you play Kansas City it's almost like a regular-season atmosphere."
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