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I am hearing that we have brought back Martin for the rest of the year, who will be backing up Chandler. Still no word on Bulger's arm, but this sounds like they are preparing for the worst.
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Last edited by RamWraith; -12-06-2004, 04:59 PM. -
Re: Don't sound good
OFFICIAL!!
Jamie Martin signedLast edited by RamWraith; -12-06-2004, 05:00 PM. -
Re: Don't sound good
It sounds as if they realize Chandler isn't the most durable QB in the league, and don't quite feel as if Smoker is ready to see time on the field. I wouldn't be too concerned with Bulger's long-term injury status just yet.Comment
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Re: Don't sound good
KFFL Breaking NewsOriginally posted by NickSeiler
Chandler to Start for Rams; Bulger Out for Week 14
St. Louis Rams head coach Mike Martz said QB Marc Bulger (shoulder) has a bruised shoulder, which has him quite sore. There is also swelling in the joint. This is the same type of injury he suffered earlier this year before the team went on a Bye week. He will not be able to start during Week 14.
Martz said QB Chris Chandler will start at quarterback in place of Bulger during Week 14.This space for rent...
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Re: Don't sound good
I don't think any of us were really anticipating him starting this weekend, so that's not surprising news. Hopefully Marc's back for Week 15 though.Comment
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Re: Don't sound good--Martain signed
It's gonna be gut-check time for several on this team. Chris Chandler has to show that he can still lead a team to victory. The O-line has to realize there isn't another Chris Chandler waiting in the wings. If they screw up, it's 6th round rookie time. The Defense has to buckle down and make it happen. They had a good tune-up week, now they have to prove themselves.The more things change, the more they stay the same.Comment
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Re: Don't sound good
So who is this guy? Surely you're not referring to Jamie (scatter-shot) Martin are you? SAY IT AIN'T SO WRAITH!!!!!Originally posted by RamWraith
WHAT SAY YE?Comment
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Re: Don't sound good--Martain signed
Sorry...but it's so.SAY IT AIN'T SO WRAITHClannie Nominee for ClanRam's Thickest PosterComment
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Re: Don't sound good--Martain signed
Please, anyone would be better than..."Vanilla Martin!" Surely, there's someone else out there. I'd rather see Vanilla back up Smoker! You could always pull Smoker in the event of a tragedy.Originally posted by Yodude
"...and don't call me Shirley."Comment
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Re: Don't sound good--Martain signed
Bulger getting hurt really sucks!The only positive I can see coming out of this is that Martz may become a little more run oriented and we will see some more of what the future holds for Steven Jackson.I really like what we are seeing from this kid so far.ST.LOUIS RAMS:THE MOST FRUSTRATING TEAM IN THE NFL!!!Comment
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Re: Don't sound good--Martain signed
Jackson is now the focal point, hopefully Martz builds the game plan around him this week. Arizona is gonna be real hungry to prove they have gotten better.Comment
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Re: Don't sound good--Martain signed
Bulger, seriously, get well soon. Work with Chris to bring him up to speed. Thanks.
Chandler, do your thing -- please put your vast experience to good use. :helmet:
Martin, have we learned from our mistakes?
Smoker, start warming up in the bullpen.Comment
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BY JEFF GORDON
STLtoday.com Sports
12/06/2004
Marc Bulger is out, Chris Chandler is in and Jamie Martin is back.
The Rams quarterback situation will be in flux for a week, anyway, due to Bulger’s shoulder injury. Although Bulger suffered no structural damage to his shoulder -– he has another bone bruise, like the one he suffered against Miami -– he will be unable to go this week.
So Chandler will start at Carolina and Martin will back him up, assuming he holds up this week at practice. Rookie Jeff Smoker will remain the No. 3 quarterback.
In other news, coach Mike Martz said Blaine Saipaia will start at right tackle for Grant Williams and that Marshall Faulk may see some action at running back.
“Chandler will start,” Martz told reporters at his Monday news conference. “I’m excited about what he could do for us this week.”
Why did he bring back ex-Ram Martin as the back-up, rather than promote Smoker?
“We’re still in this thing,” Martz said. “I don’t want to leave anything to chance.”
Would Smoker be up to the challenge if he had to play?
“I don’t want to find out,” Martz said.-12-06-2004, 04:56 PM -
By Jim Thomas
Of the Post-Dispatch
12/06/2004
No one had more fun Sunday at the Edward Jones Dome than quarterback Chris Chandler, who guided the Rams to a 16-6 victory over San Francisco in relief of the injured Marc Bulger.
"To a certain degree, I think it's more fun as the time runs out in someone's career," Chandler said. "As the sand runs through the hourglass, and you know that (retirement) is not 10 years away anymore."
At age 39, Chandler realizes his days in the NFL are numbered. But he'll get at least one more start - Sunday in Carolina. With Bulger still a week or two away from being ready to play, coach Mike Martz named Chandler the starter against the Panthers.
Bulger has a bone bruise on his throwing shoulder at the top of his collarbone. The good news is, it's not a shoulder separation.
"The AC (joint) separations that are so typical for quarterbacks was not there," Martz said. "There is a little bit of swelling in the joint, but there's no damage evidently to the ligaments that hold the joint together."
The bad news is, Bulger's in a lot of pain.
"He's awfully sore today," Martz said at his Monday news conference. "It's very tender. When you have a bone bruise like that, it can be very painful. So we'll just have to see how he deals with it."
Meanwhile, the outlook on rookie running back Steven Jackson's bruised right knee was more clouded Monday.
"I don't know if he'll be available this week or not," Martz said. "I suppose he will be, but who knows?"
Jackson apparently suffered the injury on the last of his 26 carries against the *****. He was replaced for the final two Rams offensive plays by Arlen Harris. If neither Jackson nor Marshall Faulk is able to play against the Panthers, Harris would get the start.
The Rams plan to hold Faulk out of practice most, if not all, of this week. As to Faulk's availability against Carolina, Martz said, "It's all based on Marshall, on his health and how he feels and how he's going. When he's healthy, he's feeling good, there's no reason to diminish what he does."
According to team officials, Jackson complained of soreness in the knee when he reported for treatment Monday - more soreness than expected. But Jackson has another day to rest the knee before the team's first practice of the work week on Wednesday.
The team will have a new backup quarterback on the field Wednesday in Jamie Martin.
That's right, Jamie Martin. The Rams are bringing in Martin, who has been out of football since October 2003, as quarterback insurance while Bulger is sidelined. Tight end and fullback Nick Burley, promoted to the active roster from the practice squad last week, will be released to free up a roster...-12-07-2004, 04:39 AM -
Shaky Chandler to get another start ahead of injured Bulger
R.B. FALLSTROM
Associated Press
ST. LOUIS - Marc Bulger can't get healthy fast enough for the St. Louis Rams.
Bulger, who missed Sunday's 20-7 loss to the Panthers with a sprained shoulder, resumed light throwing on Monday, but the team is aiming for him to return to the lineup next week against the Eagles.
"He's a little sore, but who knows?" Martz said Monday. "We may have him, but I'm not going to count on it."
That means another week with 39-year-old backup Chris Chandler, whose first start of the season was forgettable: a career-worst six interceptions. Chandler has played for seven teams, and Martz said at times it appeared his quarterback was running another offense.
At one point in the second half, the frustrated coach showed his lack of trust in Chandler by calling nine straight runs for third-string running back Arlen Harris.
"He got a little rattled," Martz said. "He's a guy that's been in a lot of systems and had a lot of different coaching, and when you get under pressure like that sometimes you revert back to another system or how you were doing things in the past.
"He's just devastated."
The alternatives are not very enticing for the Rams (6-7). The backups are rookie Jeff Smoker, who's still learning the offense, and Jamie Martin, who's not physically ready after being out of the NFL since October 2003 before signing last week.
So Martz knows better than to beat down Chandler. He blamed himself for not preparing Chandler better, and he blamed poor pass protection for getting Chandler off to a shaky start that became the shakiest of games - he was only one off the franchise record for interceptions.
"Chris is our starter," Martz said. "I can help him a lot more and we need to help him up front."
Martz said fill-in right tackle Blaine Saipaia, who made his second career start, was the best of the bunch on an offensive line that features five-time Pro Bowl left tackle Orlando Pace and guard Adam Timmerman (two Pro Bowls).
"I think he played better than the rest of them and you can draw your own conclusions about the rest of it," Martz said. "I'm embarrassed about it, to be honest with you.
"We're going to look very hard at this."
Saipaia did a good job against Julius Peppers. He had the best game of the three reserves playing in high-profile spots against the Panthers. The tailback was third-stringer Harris, who had 19 carries for 62 yards in his first real action of the season because both Steven Jackson and Marshall Faulk were sidelined with bruised knees.
Faulk, who has missed two games, told Martz he'd like to be available on a limited basis this Sunday...-12-13-2004, 09:09 PM -
By Jim Thomas
Of the Post-Dispatch
Thursday, Dec. 09 2004
Rams coach Mike Martz isn't a big fan of the Chris Chandler age jokes.
"He's not 500 years old," Martz said Wednesday. "I think he's 38. It doesn't
matter how old he is. He can play."
Actually, Chandler is 39. This is his 17th season in the National Football
League. He has played for seven NFL teams, including two stints with the Rams.
On Sunday he makes his 151st NFL start, 154th if you count playoffs, replacing
the injured Marc Bulger against Carolina.
When punter Sean Landeta was released two weeks ago, Chandler became the oldest
player on the Rams' roster. The "old man" jokes only intensified.
"You name it, I get all kinds of things," Chandler said. "We saw Steve Bono
walking off the field Sunday, and Marshall (Faulk) kept asking me if I came in
the league before Steve Bono did."
Bono, now an alumni coordinator for the San Francisco *****, came into the NFL
in 1985, just three seasons before Chandler's rookie season in Indianapolis.
"Actually, nowadays, I laugh at it," Chandler said. "A few years ago, it would
kind of bother me. But being as old as I am, and being in the league as long as
I have been, and playing at the level I'm playing at, I kind of hang my hat on
that now."
Despite spending much of his career with lousy teams, Chandler has made two Pro
Bowls and played in a Super Bowl. He has thrown more than 4,000 passes. At this
stage of his football like, he feels that he has nothing to prove. He no longer
worries about stats.
"Now I'm playing to have fun for myself," Chandler said. "But mainly, I'm
playing for all the other guys in this locker room. They're counting on me, and
the only thing I want to do is stand up for those guys."
The Rams certainly need Chandler to stand up and make something happen. Bulger
could miss a couple of games, and the team is in the thick of a playoff race
despite a 6-6 record.
"That's the best thing about it," Chandler said. "We're playing a meaningful
game in December, and there's a lot of teams who aren't. So that's what makes
it a lot more exciting."
Until Bulger went down with a bruised throwing shoulder late in the first
quarter against San Francisco, Chandler hadn't thrown a pass this season. He
served as Jeff Wilkins' holder against New England and Seattle early last month
when Dane Looker was sidelined with a sprained ankle. But that was it for
playing time.
After three months of serving as the scout team quarterback, running...-12-10-2004, 03:01 PM -
Martz says he won`t scale back Rams' offense for Chandler's start
BY STEVE KORTE
Knight Ridder Newspapers
ST. LOUIS - (KRT) - After 17 seasons in the NFL, quarterback Chris Chandler can fully appreciate the opportunity at hand.
Chandler will be the starting quarterback for the St. Louis Rams against the Carolina Panthers at 3:15 p.m. CST on Sunday at Bank of America Stadium.
Chandler is starting in place of Marc Bulger, who could be sidelined from 1 to 3 games because of a bruised throwing shoulder.
"I`m not going to play another 10 years," Chandler said. "When you`re younger, it seems like your future is infinite. As you get a little older, every opportunity you get you should really cherish, respect, and go out there and enjoy the heck out of them."
At 39, Chandler became the elder statesmen on the Rams` roster after punter Sean Landeta was released two weeks ago.
Chandler said he hears plenty of jokes about his age.
"You name it, I get all kinds of things," Chandler said. "We saw Steve Bono walking off the field Sunday, and Marshall (Faulk) kept asking me if I came in the league before Steve Bono did."
Bono, who serves as the alumni coordinator for the San Francisco *****, entered the NFL in 1985. Chandler arrived three years later in 1998 as a third-round draft pick of the Indianapolis Colts.
"We used to give it to Landeta because he was like 95 (years old) or something," Rams center Andy McCollum said. "I just like for them to give it to somebody other than me because I`m the oldest in our (offensive line) room. I`m the one who gets it."
Carolina cornerback Ricky Manning, 24 years old and playing in his second season in the NFL, even took a little shot at Chandler`s age this week.
"You know, I couldn`t even tell you. I don`t remember," Manning said when asked if he`d ever seen Chandler play. "I probably just played with him on Tecmo Bowl or something, one of those video games. And, if y`all don`t know Tecmo Bowl, it was one of the first Nintendo games."
Chandler said the age jokes don`t bother him anymore.
"Actually, nowadays, I laugh at it," Chandler said. "A few years ago, it would kind of bother me. But being as old as I am, and being in the league as long as I have been, and playing at the level I'm playing at, I kind of hang my hat on that now."
Rams coach Mike Martz wasn`t so amused with an Internet columnist who mocked Chandler because of his age.
"He`s not 500 years old," Martz said. "It doesn`t matter how old he is, he can play. He has terrific legs. Can any of you guys go at nine on the treadmill for 35 minutes? Maybe you can, but I know I can`t. That and the fact that his arm strength...-12-12-2004, 12:53 AM
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