St. Louis Today: Rams have no choice but to pay Bulger

[Sarge]

Pettigout missed the final 6 games -- McKenzie missed one game as did O'Hara. Snee and Diehl played every game.

McKenzie's missed game was against Houston -- both Petti and O'Hara played in that game. The Philly game in December was the only time 2 guys were out at the same time (O'Hara and Petti) - the protection might not have been great but he actually got sacked a lot less after Pettigout went out. Sure, they had trouble finding an LT but the entire line certainly wasn't hurt.

If you saw the last 5-6 games of the Rams season you could really see it. Bulger was a sitting DUCK. I was particularly interested in the Rams games as Bulger was my fantasy QB. He had absolutely NO TIME in the pocket towards the end of the season.

Bulger is a top 5-7 QB in this league, easily.

 

[lspain1]

Every team's players are nicked up. That's no excuse because it will be that way every season.

We didn't have a single OL player miss time and you can count on one hand the times that backups had to come in -- I can't recall anyone aside from Al Johnson ever come into a game. If Romo struggled because the line was hurting a tiny bit then I don't look forward to this year where we are bound to see at least a few missed games from the starters.

We were just as healthy as Philly on the OL. Are they deeper? Sure. But guys like Justice and Max Jean-Gilles didn't dress for a single game -- so that sort of depth didn't mean much.

I understand what you're sayin'.....but my conclusion is a little different.

While a player may not "miss time," that doesn't mean a drop off in performance hasn't occurred as players play through injuries. Barring a major injury, OL depth (and by depth I mean replacements who are close to the ability of the starter) matters late in the season because the starters are getting a collection of small injuries that may cause them to lose something. For example, I think Rivera definitely lost something as the season progressed last year. The fact we had no one (no one comparable anyway) behind him meant we couldn't replace him....AND....it meant we could not give him any rest during the season to keep him fresh during the stretch. Philadelphia had that ability...and we did not.

I'm not trying to make excuses for our players....but I think the depth on the OL impacted both the Giants and the Cowboys late in the season.

 

[AbeBeta]

If you saw the last 5-6 games of the Rams season you could really see it. Bulger was a sitting DUCK. I was particularly interested in the Rams games as Bulger was my fantasy QB. He had absolutely NO TIME in the pocket towards the end of the season.

Bulger is a top 5-7 QB in this league, easily.

But we were talking about Eli Manning.

 

[CrazyCowboy]

very good qb who deserves his pay

 

[AbeBeta]

I understand what you're sayin'.....but my conclusion is a little different.

While a player may not "miss time," that doesn't mean a drop off in performance hasn't occurred as players play through injuries. Barring a major injury, OL depth (and by depth I mean replacements who are close to the ability of the starter) matters late in the season because the starters are getting a collection of small injuries that may cause them to lose something. For example, I think Rivera definitely lost something as the season progressed last year. The fact we had no one (no one comparable anyway) behind him meant we couldn't replace him....AND....it meant we could not give him any rest during the season to keep him fresh during the stretch. Philadelphia had that ability...and we did not.

I'm not trying to make excuses for our players....but I think the depth on the OL impacted both the Giants and the Cowboys late in the season.

What does it matter if Philly had the ability -- they didn't substitute. Philly was better because they have better starters Andrews is a top 5 guard. Runyan and Thomas are very solid. Herremans is a good young player and Jackson would have been in the probowl had Gurode not got so much press for getting kicked by Haynesworth. They just have better players at just about every position.

Every team in the league has depth issues on the OL - you can't keep great backups on your team b/c there aren't enough quality starters to go around. Case in point -- our highest quality backup last year was Al Johnson. He'll be the starting center in Az next year.

 

[JackMagist]

The Rams are going to re-sign Bulger period. They will find a way to get it done. If that defense gets better (which it is) they are going to be a threat in a year or two. Bulger knows this and isn't going to leave for more dough since he would probably be going to a team that is worse off but has the cash to give him.

Unless he could hook up with Chicago...A very good team that will be in big time need of a QB unless Grossman really make the turnaround this year.

 

[AbeBeta]

Unless he could hook up with Chicago...A very good team that will be in big time need of a QB unless Grossman really make the turnaround this year.

Anyone know if Chicago was looking to move up in the draft to get Quinn when he was on the board? I was expecting either Cle or Chi to jump up when he passed 20 - to get ahead of KC who I expect would have taken him.

 

[JackMagist]

Anyone know if Chicago was looking to move up in the draft to get Quinn when he was on the board? I was expecting either Cle or Chi to jump up when he passed 20 - to get ahead of KC who I expect would have taken him.

I don't know if Chicago tried but Cleveland had a lot more to deal with since their 2008 #1 is very likely to be a high pick and Chicago could still be at the bottom of the order with their defense.

 

[tunahelper]

If the Lions were to add Bulger they would be an instant playoff caliber team.

 

[AbeBeta]

If the Lions were to add Bulger they would be an instant playoff caliber team.

I think they've have big plans for Drew Stanton