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  • #1

    Bruce may play final game in St. Louis

    SANTA CLARA, Calif. -- Isaac Bruce's final NFL game might be back in the very place that he spent his most productive years.

    Mike Singletary said Bruce's fellow San Francisco ***** wide receivers approached the coach to say they wanted the 16th-year veteran to play Sunday at St. Louis in the team's last game.

    Bruce has been inactive the past five contests and for six in all for San Francisco. He said it would be special to play, but he doesn't want it to be an honorary thing.

    Singletary called it a "very good chance" that Bruce would be on the field. While Bruce said he hasn't decided for sure whether he will retire after the season, he expects to make an announcement soon.

    Bruce was a four-time Pro Bowl pick in his 14 seasons with the Rams.

    Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press

    NFL.com
    Tags: None
  • #2
    Re: Bruce may play final game in St. Louis

    We should retire his number 80 in honor of his greatness in 1994-2007?


    ♪ R.I.P. Nujabes ♫

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    • #3
      Re: Bruce may play final game in St. Louis

      Originally posted by fliptalianstallion View Post
      We should retire his number 80 in honor of his greatness in 1994-2007?
      Henry Ellard would like a word with you in the parking lot.

      Comment

      • #4
        Re: Bruce may play final game in St. Louis

        Originally posted by shower beers View Post
        Henry Ellard would like a word with you in the parking lot.
        lol kay then, no need to for an ass-whoopin in these forums plz
        :|
        Last edited by Flippin' Ram; -12-30-2009, 01:29 PM. Reason: typo


        ♪ R.I.P. Nujabes ♫

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        • #5
          Re: Bruce may play final game in St. Louis

          Here's more:

          12.30.2009 2:13 pm
          Farewell to Isaac? Bruce “75 percent” sure he’s retiring
          By Jim Thomas
          St. Louis Post-Dispatch


          For those in attendance Sunday at the Edward Jones Dome, say goodbye to Isaac Bruce. It looks like Sunday will be the final NFL game for the St. Louis receiving icon. Bruce, who ranks second in NFL history in reception yards (15,208) and fifth in receptions (1,024), told St. Louis reporters on a conference call Wednesday that he’s “75 percent” sure he’s retiring following Sunday’s game. Those who know Bruce, 37, say it’s closer to 100 percent than 75 percent.

          Bruce has played the past two seasons for San Francisco, the Rams’ opponent Sunday. But Bruce has been replaced in the lineup (for Josh Morgan) by ***** coach Mike Singletary since midseason. Bruce hasn’t even dressed in six of the past seven games, and originally Singletary indicated that Bruce would be inactive the rest of the season.

          But Singletary apparently has had a change of heart, hinting strongly that Bruce will play Sunday during his conference call.

          About 8,000 tickets remained for the game at the start of the week, so it looks like Bruce’s probable NFL finale will be blacked out on local television in the St. Louis area.

          Comment

          • #6
            Re: Bruce may play final game in St. Louis

            I used to hear that Ike wanted to get into coaching when he retired. I'd love to see the Rams bring him in, in the same capacity that Henry Ellard was in. This is a young group, so they could use someone with game experience to make them into a workable unit.

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            • #7
              Re: Bruce may play final game in St. Louis

              Originally posted by laramsfan73 View Post
              I used to hear that Ike wanted to get into coaching when he retired. I'd love to see the Rams bring him in, in the same capacity that Henry Ellard was in. This is a young group, so they could use someone with game experience to make them into a workable unit.
              I love the idea of Ike coming in as receiver coach.

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              • #8
                Re: Bruce may play final game in St. Louis

                That would be so fitting and nice! To see Sir Isaac retire among the (quite different current) Rams.

                Comment

                • #9
                  Re: Bruce may play final game in St. Louis

                  Man, if only he could wear our uniform for his last game.

                  Well, I hope he becomes our wide receiver coach! The guy has so much talent.

                  Hope to see 80 with Bruce's number up there. I'm a young fan, so I know next to nothing about Ellard. =/

                  Comment

                  • #10
                    Re: Bruce may play final game in St. Louis

                    Rams fans have been spoiled by the play of Ellard and Bruce. Together, they spanned almost 20 years of Ram receiving excellence. A player like Ike comes around exceedingly rare. No fancy TD dances or any other BS just play the game and help the team. Ike IS the man.

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                    • #11
                      Re: Bruce may play final game in St. Louis

                      IIRC, early in his career, he stated in an interview that he wanted to go to Seminary when he retired from the game. While I would love to see Ike coach the WR group, I don't think he has it in him. Ike has always been a lead by example type person. I don't believe he has it in him to be an instructor/teacher. As a matter of fact, I remember there being some post (here or in the Rampagers) that people were upset that Ike wasn't a more demonstrative leader to young guys like JT Thomas, Hakim, Kennison, and Holt.


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                      • r8rh8rmike
                        Bruce Likely To Say Farewell to NFL On Sunday
                        by r8rh8rmike
                        Bruce likely to say farewell to NFL on Sunday

                        BY JIM THOMAS
                        ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH
                        31.12.2009


                        There were times when Kurt Warner's or Marshall Faulk's star shone more brightly in St. Louis. The contributions of Rams players such as Torry Holt and Orlando Pace won't soon be forgotten, either.

                        But if you had to pick just one player who truly exemplified the "St. Louis" Rams — the incredible highs and lows, and everything in between — how could it be anyone but Isaac Bruce?

                        He was the last "LA" Ram to survive the franchise move to St. Louis — by years. He was the team's first Pro Bowler in St. Louis and only star in the early years here. And when the team's fortunes changed dramatically at the turn of the millennium, Bruce was in the thick of things.

                        He always seemed to show in the big games. Be it his four-touchdown day when the Rams snapped their 17-game losing streak against San Francisco. Or his dramatic game-winning touchdown against Tennessee to win Super Bowl XXXIV.

                        Bruce ran amazing routes. And even in his later years, his change-of-direction skills were unsurpassed. He was a fierce yet graceful competitor. But time catches up with even the most gifted athletes, and Bruce's time has come.

                        It is all but a certainty that Sunday's game at the Edward Jones Dome will be Bruce's last as an NFL player. Bruce, 37, basically conceded as much Wednesday on a conference call with St. Louis reporters.

                        "As far as this being my last game ... I'm probably about, I'll say, 75 percent sure," Bruce said. "But there's that 25 percent though."

                        But those close to Bruce say he's much closer to 100 percent sure than 75 percent. How fitting, then, that in the 10th anniversary of the Rams' Super Bowl championship season, it looks like Bruce will close his career in the city where he spent 13 of his 16 NFL seasons.

                        "I'm always excited to go back to St. Louis," Bruce said. "To go back to the dome. Be on that turf again. The fans. And see the employees that work for the Rams right now, that run that building. Just being in that atmosphere again. Seeing the banners that hang from the rafters, that's always exciting to me."

                        Obviously, Bruce played a big role in many of those banners. All eight of his 1,000-yard seasons, all four Pro Bowl campaigns, and all but a relative handful of his catches and yards came playing for the blue and gold.

                        When he saw highlights of the Rams wearing their '99 throwback uniforms earlier this season, Bruce said: "I got chills all over. ... Those were the colors I came in with. I think we should've never changed 'em."

                        He has spent the past two seasons playing in San Francisco, but yes, Bruce still refers to the Rams as "we" on occasion. He still has...
                        -12-31-2009, 12:05 AM
                      • r8rh8rmike
                        Bruce, St. Louis Share Special Bond
                        by r8rh8rmike
                        Bruce, St. Louis Share Special Bond

                        By Nick Wagoner/Senior Writer
                        Posted Oct 27, 2010

                        The love affair between Isaac Bruce and St. Louis started nearly from the day the Rams arrived in the Gateway City.

                        In the 14 years that followed, that love only became more passionate, mutual and ultimately enduring.

                        “I felt like the city adopted me and drafted me into their family,” Bruce said. “I kind of did the same thing with them. I felt like I was home for the second time in my life. We kind of had that mesh. We meshed together early in that 1995 season and it only grew from there.”

                        On Sunday, that relationship becomes eternal when the Rams raise Bruce’s No. 80 jersey to the rafters of the Edward Jones Dome for reasons that go beyond his prodigious and prolific production on the football field.

                        See, the bond between Bruce and the city of St. Louis goes well beyond first downs, touchdown catches and even Super Bowl victories.

                        THE FIRST MEETING

                        The initial meeting between Bruce and St. Louis came in 1995, the first year the Rams played in the city after moving from Los Angeles.

                        Bruce was drafted by the Rams in 1994 and had spent one year with the team in Los Angeles. But Bruce knew, like many of his teammates, that a move was in the offing.

                        Even as a rookie, Bruce had prepared himself for a new start elsewhere. While Bruce felt bad for the diehard Rams fans that were still around in the team’s final days in Los Angeles, the move to St. Louis had him excited about the opportunities it could provide.

                        “I think when we first came to town in ’95; a lot of expectations were placed on us,” Bruce said. “Most of them were placed on us by ourselves. But just kind of knowing the history of the St. Louis Cardinals - the Big Red - that was there before we got there and football had gone away from that city for a long time so they were hungry. They were hungry for football and when we got there, it was a perfect match. It was our chance to stake our place and put roots down and we found what I believe was the perfect place.”

                        St. Louis had been without football since the Cardinals picked up and moved to Arizona after the 1987 season. In the eight years that followed, St. Louis had endured numerous misfires in attempts to draw an expansion team.

                        Football in the city was becoming a distant memory until team owner Georgia Frontiere teamed with local businessman Stan Kroenke and a host of others to build the Edward Jones Dome and bring the Rams to St. Louis.

                        Finally, on Sept. 3, 1995, the Rams made their debut under the St. Louis banner at Green Bay. In one of the world’s most famous football venues, Bruce announced his presence with a sequence so scintillating that Rams fans couldn’t help but feel like it was love at first sight.

                        In the second quarter...
                        -10-28-2010, 12:38 PM
                      • RamWraith
                        Bruce: 'I could play 3 or four more years'
                        by RamWraith
                        ASSOCIATED PRESS
                        11/16/2007

                        The last original Ram from Los Angeles, Issac Bruce, says he has no plans to retire any time soon. Bruce, who turned 35 on Sunday, is in his 14th year with the Rams. He's under contract through next year.

                        "I could (play) three or four more (years) easily," Bruce said.

                        St. Louis finally broke into the winning column last week, beating the New Orleans Saints 37-29. Bruce strained his hamstring, forcing him to leave in the third quarter. Hamstring injuries caused him to miss two games earlier this year. Bruce has practiced all week for the Rams.

                        "Isaac doesn't surprise me," Rams coach Scott Linehan said. "He defies a lot of the odds.

                        Now Bruce and the Rams are poised to play their archrival Sunday. Bruce and the 1-8 Rams will play at San Francisco against the 2-7 *****, who have lost seven consecutive games and switched quarterbacks this week. Alex Smith has been benched and Trent Dilfer will start.

                        However, the *****' last win was a 17-16 decision in St. Louis on Sept. 16. Overall, San Francisco has won four of the last five meetings.

                        "See, I didn't even know that," Bruce said. "They've had our number the last two I can remember so they have gotten us pretty good."

                        Bruce is poised to move up several NFL lists. He likely will pass Rams receivers coach Henry Ellard for sixth place on the career receiving list. Bruce has 13,763 yards and needs 15 to top Ellard.

                        "In passing, we've mentioned it to each other," said Bruce, who has 910 receptions in his career. "It's a pretty big deal for me. So, I'm looking forward to it. "I'm one catch away. I'm more focused on James Lofton right now." Lofton, who retired in 1993, has 14,004 yards.

                        "The guys ahead of me are there to be caught," Bruce said. "I'm going to push it as high as I can. I'm thinking 17 to 18. Thousand yards that is, not seasons."

                        Ellard wore No. 80 before Bruce so the number has been worn by just two Rams players since 1983.

                        "I always said if we retire the No. 80 jersey, you've got to give Henry the eight and me the zero," Bruce said. "He did a lot of great work in that jersey."

                        Bruce also needs 28 yards from scrimmage to pass Chris Carter (13,940) for 20th place on the NFL's scrimmage yards list.
                        He needs one touchdown to pass Art Powell (81) for sole possession of 17th place on the NFL's touchdown receptions list.

                        He likely will get them this week considering Bruce's success against San Francisco. This will be Bruce's 26th game against the *****. In Week 2, he had eight catches for 145 yards. In his career, he has 123 receptions for 1,871 yards and 10 touchdowns.
                        -11-17-2007, 07:14 AM
                      • RamWraith
                        Will this be Bruce's last home game for Rams?
                        by RamWraith
                        By Jim Thomas
                        ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH
                        Thursday, Dec. 20 2007

                        On a night when the Rams honor running back Marshall Faulk, Rams fans might be
                        saying goodbye to wide receiver Isaac Bruce.

                        The longest-tenured current pro athlete in St. Louis, Bruce has been the face
                        of the franchise since the Rams moved here from southern California in 1995.

                        Bruce is the lone remaining "L.A. Ram" on the roster, and has held that
                        distinction for years, having broken into the NFL in 1994 — the franchise's
                        last season on the West Coast.

                        Bruce was the first "St. Louis" Ram to earn a Pro Bowl berth, doing so in 1996.
                        And he caught the winning touchdown pass from Kurt Warner in the Super Bowl
                        against Tennessee, to conclude the 1999 season.

                        But Bruce, 35, is due $5 million in 2008 — the last year of his current Rams
                        contract. Of that $5 million, $3 million is base salary, and $2 million comes
                        in the form of a roster bonus due the first day of the league year in March.

                        Two years ago, the Rams did what was then the unthinkable, releasing Bruce when
                        unable to reach agreement on a contract extension before a $1.5 million roster
                        bonus was due.

                        After just four days without a contract, Bruce returned to St. Louis by signing
                        a five-year, $15 million deal. The new contract came at a cost, however,
                        because Bruce received $6 million in 2006 instead of the $8.1 million he was
                        due under the old contract.

                        With the $2 million roster bonus due this March, Bruce and the Rams are fast
                        approaching another crossroads.

                        There's no doubt that coach Scott Linehan, who inherited the aging remnants of
                        the "Greatest Show on Turf" when he replaced Mike Martz, respects Bruce as a
                        person and a football player.

                        "It's incredible what Isaac's been able to do in his career," Linehan said.
                        "I've always said it's because he is a true professional. He takes care of
                        himself. He gets himself ready to play each week. ... He shows up for work
                        every day. He works extremely hard — as if he were in his first year, not his
                        14th."

                        But as the 2007 season has progressed, the steady signal from Rams Park is that
                        the team wants to get bigger, faster, and younger at wide receiver. As a
                        result, tonight's game against the Pittsburgh Steelers could be Bruce's last
                        home game as a Ram.

                        When the topic was brought up a few weeks ago, Bruce laughed and shrugged off
                        the possibility of this being his last season in St. Louis.

                        "Then, I'll just go play for Mike Martz" in Detroit, Bruce said.

                        But surrounded by a surprisingly large number of reporters and television
                        cameras Tuesday, Bruce...
                        -12-20-2007, 06:05 AM
                      • ramsbruce
                        Bruce Still Hoping Rams Stay Put In St. Louis
                        by ramsbruce
                        By Jim Thomas

                        Isaac Bruce's heart remains in St. Louis. He hopes the team remains there as well.

                        "I like St. Louis a lot," Bruce said Sunday, during a training camp visit to Rams Park. "It became a second home. I do have ties in Los Angeles; I'm sure they're hungry for football. But St. Louis is where it is. We have roots here in St. Louis, so it's hard to dig up those roots."

                        Bruce was in town on business, and when that happens this time of year he makes it his business to show up in Earth City.

                        "This is just me checking in, scratching my football itch," Bruce said.

                        Twenty years ago, Bruce was a member of the Los Angeles Rams when they made the move to St. Louis in 1995. He doesn't recall much fan support back then, nothing comparable to what he saw Sunday at Rams Park.

                        "When it was totally in reverse, when they were talking about going to St. Louis when I was there, our training camps didn't look like this," Bruce said, looking around at the crowd of 1,263 taking in practice at the intimate Rams Park setting. "We didn't have fans coming out and supporting and anticipating a great team. And neither did we have a team of this magnitude on paper."

                        Not unlike many of those fans, Bruce is looking for good things from the 2015 Rams.

                        "We still have to play the games," Bruce said. "But we didn't have guys that were expected to play at a very high level before we were transferred out to St. Louis.

                        "Hopefully, it'll change for us in a better way than it has been in the last couple years. You know what? I'm looking forward to an awesome year. An awesome year would be winning the division, which is always goal No. 1, and going to the playoffs."

                        Bruce expects the defense, particularly the front seven, to be the "bread and butter" of the team, helping the offense by getting takeaways and forcing punts, and helping the secondary by pressuring opposing quarterbacks.

                        He was not so much surprised that the Rams cut ties with Sam Bradford, than he was that Nick Foles came here via trade.

                        "I saw him last year playing a couple times, I was kind of impressed," Bruce said. "I think the biggest thing we need right now is just for the guy to be there for 16 games. Some continuity there, some consistency there, that helps us."

                        The Rams haven't had a 1,000-yard receiver since Torry Holt in 2007, and the Bruce-Holt tandem has proven very difficult to replace. But Bruce does like what he sees in Brian Quick.

                        "Honestly, I think Brian's well on his way," Bruce said. "I'm sure the guy's gonna see a lot of one-on-one coverage this year considering our approach to offense _ we want to run the ball, pound the ball. So you get a lot of opportunities one-on-one,...
                        -08-10-2015, 11:56 AM
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