If I'm Marc Bulger, I'm more than relieved. I'm confident I can -- and will -- be the starting quarterback for the St. Louis Rams for now and the foreseeable future.
Here's why: When the Rams passed on USC's Mark Sanchez with their first draft pick and went for tackle Jason Smith instead, they basically pledged their allegiance to Bulger. They could have had the next-best quarterback to Matthew Stafford -- and maybe a franchise quarterback for the next 10 years -- with the second overall choice. But they declined because they liked Smith more and because they believe they can win with Bulger.
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| With Smith watching his back, Bulger should get more protection and time to throw. (Getty Images) |
When Billy Devaney took over as the team's general manager, the first thing he noticed was its offensive line -- it was deplorable. So he promised to do what he could to improve it, and he started with the acquisition of free agent Jason Brown. Brown is young, a three-year starter -- and good. Real good. I don't care what the Rams paid -- they got the best free-agent offensive lineman and the cornerstone to their redevelopment up front.
Next, they looked to the draft where they knew they would have a choice of tackles, Smith or Virginia's Eugene Monroe. When Detroit signed Stafford, they tilted to Smith because -- well, because the Rams thought he was a better player than Monroe. But it's not who won that contest that intrigues me -- it's who lost, and I'm talking about Sanchez.
There were reports that there was last-minute interest in the USC quarterback and that the Rams were poised to make him their choice. However, Sanchez was out of the conversation by last Saturday, and the decision was not whether it was Sanchez or the two tackles -- with Smith winning in a photo finish.
Devaney conceded there had been a "deep consideration" for Sanchez but that, in the end, the decision came down to Smith for a couple of reasons: He was among the highest-rated players on their board, and there was a significant drop-off in tackles when the Rams chose in the second round with the 35th overall pick.
But there was another factor in there that tells you all you need to know about the Rams and where they stand on Marc Bulger: Head coach Steve Spagnuolo did not believe he needed to make a change at quarterback. So if the Rams think they can win with the quarterback they have, and Spagnuolo does, why would they use their first pick on Sanchez?
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I know, I know, Bulger has more interceptions (28) than touchdowns (22) the past two years. He had fewer scoring passes in that time than eight quarterbacks had last year, too. And the Rams are 5-27 the past two seasons, finishing last in the NFC West each time. None of that mattered to Spagnuolo, who took into consideration a porous offensive line, the decline of star receiver Torry Holt and injuries to back Steven Jackson when assessing Bulger.
"All I know," he told Devaney, "is every time we played [the Rams] I was scared to death of Marc Bulger."
So the Rams took the best offensive lineman on the board, and you can understand why. Their quarterbacks were sacked 93 times the past two seasons. The way St. Louis looked at it, it didn't matter who was under center, Sanchez or Bulger -- if the Rams couldn't protect him, he had no shot to be successful. That was the thinking that had St. Louis make tackle Orlando Pace the first choice of the 1997 draft, and the decision worked out all right.
So could this -- especially if you believe you can win with Bulger.
"When we interviewed people for the head coaching position and we were going over the roster the last four or five finalists all said the same thing -- and that was: 'When it comes down to quarterbacks, we can win with Marc Bulger,' " Devaney said.
The Rams just underscored that message with a draft that did not include a quarterback until the sixth round, when they took West Texas A&M project, Keith Null. If I'm Bulger, I exhale. Then I promise to do everything I can to prove to management and coaches they knew what they were doing.
"He needs the support of the players around him," Devaney said, "but we're confident he can play winning football."
They just proved it.
