Memo to Trent Green: Duck!
Since the start of the 2003 season, Marc Bulger has been sacked 201 times, more than any NFL quarterback. He’s been battered, beaten, bloodied for 1,494 yards in losses via sack.
Pardon my boxing analogy, but on any given Sunday, Bulger usually hit the canvas more times than Joe Frazier did in the fight against George Foreman.
“Down goes Bulger! … Down goes Bulger!”
Bulger has been rag-dolled so frequently, he’s no longer comfortable or confident in the pocket even when afforded the luxury of protection. That was the case Sunday in Seattle; Bulger looked like a guy who expected to get walloped, even when he had all the room he needed to step up and fire the football with authority. He’s locking onto one receiver and the ball is slow coming out of his hand. He’s throwing off his back foot. He’s feeling pass-rush ghosts.
As one former All Pro player told me on Tuesday: when the No. 1 thing on a quarterback’s mind is the anxiety over being clobbered, he can’t function effectively and needs to sit for a spell and mentally regroup.
Bulger is at that point.
The heat has gotten to him.
The heat has also gotten to the extremely unpopular head coach, Scott Linehan, who benched Bulger in part to shake up the team and send a message to snarling fans and media that he’s capable of being a bold, assertive leader.
It’s a valid benching … but also a convenient one.
Surely the coach wouldn’t have us believe that Bulger is the only problem … if he’s going to make a change, then make a bunch of them and really scramble the depth chart.
Anyway …
Now it’s Trent Green’s turn to line up behind the pylons that form the Rams offensive line.
Best of luck to a proud, stout-hearted quarterback who has a history of concussions.
As a potential quick fix, Green should be able to boost the offense (at some level) for several reasons.
1. Green is fresh. He’ll play with energy, and will have a strong presence in the huddle. He will give the other players confidence. The other Rams’ offensive players will, at least for a while, play hard for Green.
2. Green knows the Al Saunders offense and guided it with cool-hand expertise in Kansas City. The rhythm of this offensive should improve.
3. Unlike Bulger, Green will be decisive, he’ll get the ball out of there, and can quicken the tempo of a sluggish attack.
The downside?
The imminent threat to Green’s health and safety.
If you are so inclined, say a little prayer for the dude. Mrs. Green thanks you in advance.
Green is 38, his last two seasons have been ended by concussions, and he doesn’t have very good bodyguards.
Kansas City’s offensive line was a crucial factor in Green’s success with the Chiefs.
I worked some numbers, courtesy of STATS LLC, and here’s where the Chiefs ranked in the 32-team NFL during Green’s peak seasons of 2002 through 2005 in the category of percentage of sacks allowed per pass attempt:
* 2002: sacked on 5.2 percent of passing attempts, 9th in the NFL.
* 2003, sacked on 3.8 percent of passing attempts, 4th in the NFL.
* 2004, sacked on 5.4 percent of passing attempts, 7th in the NFL.
* 2005, sacked on 5.9 percent of passing attempts, 13th in the NFL.
For purposes of comparison, let’s take a look at the Rams’ pass protection since Linehan became head coach in 2006:
* 2006, sacked on 7.6 percent of passing attempts, 23rd in the NFL.
* 2007, sacked on 7.7 percent of passing attempts, 23rd in the NFL.
* 2008, three games, sacked on 11 percent of passing attempts, 30th in the NFL.
Big difference. And the numbers don’t include the times Bulger was rocked by hits that weren’t sacks.
Unfortunately for Green and his cranium, he doesn’t have Willie Roaf, Brian Waters and Will Shields to serve as his security detail in St. Louis.
Roaf (now retired) was an 11-time Pro Bowl left tackle for New Orleans and KC. Waters made three Pro Bowls as KC’s left guard, all during the Green years. And Shields (retired) was one of the league’s all-time best right guards — a 12-time Pro Bowl honoree.
From 2002-2005, with Green as the QB, Roaf, Waters and Shields combined for 10 Pro Bowl appearances over the four seasons. That’s right: Green was operating behind a wall that featured three Pro Bowl lineman. And the center, Casey Wiegemann, was a fine player. Underrated.
And the Rams?
Orlando Pace has returned to left tackle after two injury-torn seasons, and his last Pro Bowl citation was 2005.
As for the other laborers on the current Rams’ offensive line, they wouldn’t get anywhere near the Pro Bowl unless they paid their way to Hawaii and bought tickets to the game.
That said, the pass protection was better on Sunday against the Seahawks. The only sack occured when fullback Dan Kreider missed a block.
The big guys buckled up in Seattle. They did pretty well in pass protection.
Now they have to do even better.
Green won’t make a difference unless this O-line improves dramatically to give this old-but-new QB the kind of reinforced insulation once provided by Roaf, Shields and Waters in KC.
Do it for Mrs. Green.
Thanks for reading …
-B
Bulger also is as one dimensional as your consistent analysis, Bernie. All you talk about is how often he’s been sacked. Why don’t you stretch yourself and talk about how slow he is in the pocket, and how he just might be too worried about making a mistake to let it loose down field? This has been a problem his whole career. Ask Martz. Or discuss his lack of leadership skills? He shakes his head, has complained Bruce was too big a presence in the huddle to argue with, etc. he’s got the leadership personality of a bank teller.
You get sacked if you hold onto the ball too long also.
The Pittsburgh QB got destroyed by that same Philly defense Sunday, but I bet he gets back up this week and fires for 300 yards.
“They did pretty well in pass protection.” But what about where Bulger’s passes went?
Come on, Bernie. Stretch yourself. You consistently get great pass protection at the Post, hit 65 million now sitting on the Bench.