What’s Bulger shown so far?
THE WATERCOOLER
QUESTION: How would you assess the play of Rams quarterback Marc Bulger so far this season?
BERNIE MIKLASZ
With Bulger, I’ve learned that people see what they want to see in him so it’s virtually impossible to have a reasonable discussion about him. The Bulger apologists will blame any of his shortcomings on the coaches, receivers, offensive line, visitors from Mars, global warming, media, etc. Anything except actually hold Bulger accountable. And the haters won’t cut him any slack whatsoever; they want us to believe that Bulger should be playing like Kurt Warner no matter what he’s surrounded with.
Here are the stats: after two games, Bulger ranks 32nd among NFL quarterbacks in yards per passing attempt, 31st in completion percentage, and 27th in passer rating. Are all of those numbers on him? No, only a wingnut would conclude that. So far offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur hasn’t displayed much flair in his passing game, the offensive line is shaky in pass protection, and the Rams arguably have the worst set of receivers in the NFL. But Bulger shares a big piece of the responsibility. According to film review done by STATS LLC, eight of his incompletions in the Washington loss were the result of poor, inaccurate throws. He has to make more plays when the opportunities are available to be made. And he hasn’t done that. For example: only 4 of 9 completions in the red zone. On the plus side, Bulger has done pretty well on third down, completing 12 of 19. And I have no problem with how he is competing.
Again, I know that answer isn’t what the extremists on opposite sides want to hear. The Bulger lovers want him babied by the media, and the Bulger haters want him savaged at every turn.
JIM THOMAS
I’d give him about a C or a C-minus. Receivers have left a lot of yards on the field, either through outright drops or balls that they at least got their hands on. He has not thrown any interceptions, and it seems pretty clear that offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur is stressing minimal mistakes and throwing the ball away when nothing’s there. But Bulger has missed on some throws, and a 50 percent completion rate isn’t going to take you very far in 2009.
BRYAN BURWELL
Bulger has once again proven how tough a competitor he is, even if his stats don’t reflect it. Both Sonny Jurgensen, a Hall of Fame QB, and Joe Theismann, a QB who won a Super Bowl, told me that Bulger’s performance through two weeks has been admirable. “I don’t know how Bulger will last through Week 8 with the sort of protection he’s gotten,” Theismann said.
But football is a bottom-line business , and 0-2 is 0-2 and Bulger will have to make some plays to win the game.
BILL COATS
Mediocre, at best. When an offense produces just seven points in two games, the quarterback takes the lion’s share of the heat, and deservedly so. Still, other factors have entered in, such as dropped passes, dubious play-calling, and sporadic breakdowns in blocking. Bulger hasn’t thrown with his usual accuracy, but he improved significantly overall from Week 1 to Week 2.
JEFF GORDON
Marc has been OK. He hasn’t been great, obviously, but he showed signs of improving over last year’s fiasco. He stood in, took big hits and delivered some nice throws in Washington. This offense is limited schematically and the WR corps is not great. But he will need to find ways to lead the Rams to victories or he, too, will move on. His contract gave him one more shot here. He has to do more with it. Just OK, at the dollars he is earning, is not good enough.
KATHLEEN NELSON
Bulger’s performance at the same level for 16 games won’t lead the Rams to postseason glory, but I can’t separate it from the play of the offensive line and the receivers. The line hasn’t given him as much protection as he needs, and the young receivers have made few (if any) game-changing plays in the Rams’ favor.
KEVIN WHEELER (Host of “Sports Open Line” on KMOX)
In a word, meh. Let’s just call it the “south side of average” and say he hasn’t exactly been the kind of player that lifts people up around him. It’s not Bulger’s fault the high-priced offensive line doesn’t keep the heat off of him with any consistency. He had no say in putting together this no-name receiving corps either. At the same time, Bulger is missing throws he should be completing and, at least from where I’m sitting on Sundays (my couch), he doesn’t appear to be playing with any confidence. I’m not saying it’s easy to be a cocky gunslinger out there when you’re not getting much help, I’m just saying Bulger’s performance brings out the “meh” in me.


My $.02:
The only reason Marc Bulger has the contract he has is because Kurt Warner’s hand went bad for a bit. Does that mean he’s a horrible QB? Not at all. But he was very much a product of a system which, at that time, was working on all cylinders: great O-line, the best receiving tandem in the NFL, and (temporarily at least) the most versatile player in the NFL in Marshall Faulk. Three (four?) head coaches later, Bulger is a product of a poor offensive scheme, a lack of talent, and horrible mismanagement by a front office more concerned with a sale than with hiring scouts, coaches, and coordinators. Bulger can’t be held completely responsible for the team’s downfall, no matter how much the wingnuts want to blame him. But he’s had his part to play in their descent, and unfortunately, he simply doesn’t have the individual talent or personality to change this team all by himself.
The focus on Bulger’s struggles helps nobody but the pundits, who then have something like this article to write.