Rams quarterback Bulger absorbs unfair criticism
By Bryan Burwell
ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH
11/03/2008
In victory or defeat, Marc Bulger and Steven Jackson are always the most interesting guys in the Rams locker room. Bulger, the quarterback, is the conservative, calculated introvert; Jackson, the power running back, is the definitive swashbuckling extrovert. Bulger often dishes details in quiet moderation, dodging around controversy like a nimble dancer. Jackson often hurls himself directly into the teeth of a maelstrom with bold proclamations.
But in the eyes of some St. Louis Rams fans, these two conflicting personalities will always be one and the same. In good times and bad, in victory or defeat, Bulger and Jackson wear the dreaded labels of The Replacement Players, never to be judged for who they are, but always for who they are not.
Bulger isn't Kurt Warner.
Jackson isn't Marshall Faulk.
On Sunday afternoon at the Edward Jones Dome, they both heard and felt the wrath of those unsatisfied fans throughout the course of a 34-13 loss to Warner's Arizona Cardinals. Any time the Cardinals come to town, Bulger knows what to expect. He is going to be measured (and drawn and quartered, too) by the scoreboard and the stat sheet comparison with the Super Bowl hero he replaced six seasons ago.
"If you want to put the blame on me (for why the offense struggled), well, I don't care," Bulger said in a quiet but combative voice. "Oh, I know everyone's going to say it's my fault. They're going to say I'm throwing off my back foot or crap like that. But you know what? I don't care what people say. All I care about are what my teammates and my family says. Everyone else? I don't give a damn."
After seven years of this never-ending Bulger vs. Warner saga, the Rams QB no longer concerns himself with trying to win an unwinnable public debate. Those who love Warner will always love Warner, and bash Bulger. He gets that better than most. He knows that nothing shy of five Super Bowls and a Hall of Fame induction will get the haters off his back. He also knows that games like this will supply ammunition to those who always seek to praise his good friend at his expense.
So as he stood in front of his locker stall, he prepared for the barrage because he knew there was no question that the former understudy was outplayed by his old mentor. Warner threw for more yards (342 to 186), had a better completion percentage (67 percent to 48 percent), a higher pass-efficiency rating (120.0 to 60.9), and was never harassed or frustrated by the pass rush like Bulger was. Warner is running one of the NFL's most potent offenses, and Bulger is laboring with one of the league's worst outfits (28th).
On Sunday, that Rams offense turned from bad to worse. Within the first few minutes, Bulger was stuck with no running...
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