What makes Bulger a success in 2009?
THE WATERCOOLER
QUESTION: A rebuilt offensive line and a healthy Steven Jackson should take some pressure off of QB Marc Bulger this season. However, Bulger has been given a very young WR corps to work with. Taking all those factors into account, what would a successful season for Bulger look like this year?
JIM THOMAS
Bulger must work the ball more to his backs and tight ends as the young wide receivers develop. He must cut down on mistakes, and get back in the habit of throwing the ball away when nothing’s there. An incompletion is always better than a sack or an interception. Accuracy remains one of Bulger’s biggest assets, so he needs to make the Rams’ new West Coast scheme — which generally relies on timing and shorter passes — play to that strength.
BERNIE MIKLASZ
More touchdown passes than interceptions, a passer rating that gets him back up to around 80, 85. Those are the tangibles. He can do a lot better job of competing and not letting the adversity sap his spirit. It’s a bad example for young Rams players when Bulger is on the sideline rolling his eyes or smirking or laughing when the team is getting its backside kicked.
BRYAN BURWELL
Statistically, getting that completion percentage back up into the 60s is going to be the first indicator that things are on the right track for Bulger, who when given time is one of the most accurate passers in the NFL. But the ultimate statistical barometer will still come down to number of victories. If he looks strong and comfortable in the pocket and this team wins six or seven games, you’d have to judge that as a successful season.
BILL COATS
Something like the season he put together in 2006, when he threw for more than 4,000 yards and 24 TDs, with just eight interceptions. A healthy Randy McMichael at tight end should help in that regard. And, yes, the wideouts are young and largely inexperienced, but there’s some talent there. It’s not a bare cupboard.
JEFF GORDON
Successful year for Bulger: Take charge of the offense for a change. Recognize pass pressure. Step up into the pocket, step into throws. Make good decisions with the ball, especially in the red zone. Get the ball out quickly. I’m more interested in how he looks in the pocket than what sort of numbers he puts up. If his receivers run around confused and they drop passes, he can’t control that. But there is a lot he CAN control — and there is a lot he did wrong the last two years.
KATHLEEN NELSON
The picture of a successful season would be vertical, rather than horizontal: an upright Bulger, rather than Bulger sprawled on the ground. The TV commentators often use the phrase “managing the offense” with a negative tone in their voices, meaning that the quarterback isn’t responsible for big plays. Effective management is a positive, not a negative. So, for the Rams this season, an efficient performance from Bulger would be an improvement over last year.
KEVIN WHEELER (Host of “Sports Open Line” on KMOX)
Two statistical measures come to mind immediately — completion percentage and touchdown-to-interception ratio.
To have a “successful” season Bulger needs to get back above the 60 percent completion rate and turn the TD/INT ratio upside down from the past two seasons. If he doesn’t have more touchdown passes than picks then he’s not doing his job, great receivers or not.
One of Steve Spagnuolo’s former teams, the Eagles, went on a 46-18 run from 2000-2003 and did so without any impact receivers on the roster. In those four seasons only two wide receivers caught 60 or more passes (James Thrash had 63 in 2000; Todd Pinkston had 60 in ’02) yet they got it done because they ran the ball, they threw it to the running backs a ton and because Donovan McNabb threw twice as many touchdowns as interceptions during those years.
Bulger doesn’t need to win a lot of games or put up Pro Bowl numbers to have a “successful” season in ’09, in part because the team is in a rebuilding season. He just needs to look like he’s not overmatched. Minimizing turnovers and completing a high percentage would do a lot for him in that regard.
Have more #10 Jersey’s in the stands than any other. Rather than Wins, stats, etc., that would be the true measure of a successful Bulger season.