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Victory is beautiful to Bulger, even with flaws
By Bill Coats
Of the Post-Dispatch
09/12/2004
Rams rookie running back Steven Jackson called Sunday's 17-10 victory over Arizona "an ugly win." Quarterback Marc Bulger was quick to correct the youngster.
"No such thing," said Bulger, starting his fourth NFL season. "Having (the Cardinals) come in here and play that hard, it's nice to come out with a win."
Perhaps Bulger was conjuring year-old memories, when the Rams and their No. 1 quarterback then, Kurt Warner, were pounded 23-13 in a season-opening loss at Giants Stadium.
Bulger replaced Warner, his close friend, as the starter the next week and guided the Rams to 12 wins in the next 15 games. Although Bulger expressed hope that Warner would be back this season, Warner was released in June and signed by the Giants. So Bulger made his first regular-season start Sunday without the familiar No. 13 on the sideline at the Edward Jones Dome.
"We've moved on," Bulger said. "We know Kurt's not going to be here. You have to play with what you have."
Bulger put up respectable numbers, completing 23 of 34 passes for 272 yards and a touchdown. But his decision-making was questionable at times. He launched a badly misguided pass that was intercepted at the Arizona 2-yard line. Another unsightly interception was returned by Cardinals linebacker James Darling 95 yards to the end zone, but a defensive holding penalty nullified the play.
Bulger was in anguish before he spied the yellow flag on the carpet.
"I think there were probably three or four seconds when I thought ... you don't want to know what I was thinking," he said, laughing.
The Rams scored two plays later on an 8-yard toss from Bulger to diving wide receiver Isaac Bruce, who rolled across the goal line. That made it 17-10 just 33 seconds into the fourth quarter.
Bulger finished with a solid quarterback rating of 89.3, but he was disturbed that the Rams' first three drives ended with turnovers - two fumbles and an interception - and because the offense could muster only a single touchdown.
"I think it'd be more frustrating, though, if we couldn't get outside of our 30-yard line or something and we're just not moving the ball," Bulger said. "We knew if we just kept going at it, the ball is going down the field and eventually we're going to get in the end zone and score some points."
So, it might not have been a masterpiece, Bulger conceded, but it added up to a successful opening day.
"I played good at times, bad at times. But winning is the only thing that matters," he said. "I'm not going to ever sit here and say I don't have room for improvement. As long as we win, that's all I care about."
Hear that, rookie?
By Bill Coats
Of the Post-Dispatch
09/12/2004
Rams rookie running back Steven Jackson called Sunday's 17-10 victory over Arizona "an ugly win." Quarterback Marc Bulger was quick to correct the youngster.
"No such thing," said Bulger, starting his fourth NFL season. "Having (the Cardinals) come in here and play that hard, it's nice to come out with a win."
Perhaps Bulger was conjuring year-old memories, when the Rams and their No. 1 quarterback then, Kurt Warner, were pounded 23-13 in a season-opening loss at Giants Stadium.
Bulger replaced Warner, his close friend, as the starter the next week and guided the Rams to 12 wins in the next 15 games. Although Bulger expressed hope that Warner would be back this season, Warner was released in June and signed by the Giants. So Bulger made his first regular-season start Sunday without the familiar No. 13 on the sideline at the Edward Jones Dome.
"We've moved on," Bulger said. "We know Kurt's not going to be here. You have to play with what you have."
Bulger put up respectable numbers, completing 23 of 34 passes for 272 yards and a touchdown. But his decision-making was questionable at times. He launched a badly misguided pass that was intercepted at the Arizona 2-yard line. Another unsightly interception was returned by Cardinals linebacker James Darling 95 yards to the end zone, but a defensive holding penalty nullified the play.
Bulger was in anguish before he spied the yellow flag on the carpet.
"I think there were probably three or four seconds when I thought ... you don't want to know what I was thinking," he said, laughing.
The Rams scored two plays later on an 8-yard toss from Bulger to diving wide receiver Isaac Bruce, who rolled across the goal line. That made it 17-10 just 33 seconds into the fourth quarter.
Bulger finished with a solid quarterback rating of 89.3, but he was disturbed that the Rams' first three drives ended with turnovers - two fumbles and an interception - and because the offense could muster only a single touchdown.
"I think it'd be more frustrating, though, if we couldn't get outside of our 30-yard line or something and we're just not moving the ball," Bulger said. "We knew if we just kept going at it, the ball is going down the field and eventually we're going to get in the end zone and score some points."
So, it might not have been a masterpiece, Bulger conceded, but it added up to a successful opening day.
"I played good at times, bad at times. But winning is the only thing that matters," he said. "I'm not going to ever sit here and say I don't have room for improvement. As long as we win, that's all I care about."
Hear that, rookie?
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