Let's Go Blues

I agree with what he's saying. In my opinion, along with running Warner out of town in favor of a chump-ass Marc Bulger, letting Fletcher walk was the biggest mistake in Rams history.

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Warner was just as bad as Bulger is now when he left town.

OS wrote:Warner was just as bad as Bulger is now when he left town.

Yeah, a messed up thumb will do that to you. I'm not sure if any starting QB in the NFL is as bad as Bulger is now.

It's not possible defend Bulger's play right now, so I won't even try. I just am tired of hearing people say we made a mistake with the decision because at the time Bulger was a better player and Warner was not only perpetually injured but he was suffering from Battered QB Syndrome (as Bulger is now).

OS wrote:It's not possible defend Bulger's play right now, so I won't even try. I just am tired of hearing people say we made a mistake with the decision because at the time Bulger was a better player and Warner was not only perpetually injured but he was suffering from Battered QB Syndrome (as Bulger is now).

Your point is valid because Warner had trouble in NY as well. However, I don't think Bulger was EVER better than Warner, and a lot of that has to do with mechanics and other various little things that I've always noticed. This season, commentators have started pointing out that Bulger is throwing off of his back foot, but he's always done that. He's never really learned to check down receivers, even though he throws to the pacifier a lot (TE's). While the O-Line is to blame for a lot of things, Bulger carries some of that responsibility as well. I like pocket quarterbacks, and I'm not saying that he should scramble, but he's so slow in the pocket and he always takes a sack rather than getting throwing the ball out of bounds (when he has the time to do so). It's true that you don't need a cannon arm to be a good NFL QB...look at Joe Montana. Bulger was the wrong quarterback for the Rams when he took over, because they were built around speed and deep timing routes. It's hard to watch guys like Holt repeatedly torch d-backs only to either have the QB not even look at him or underthrow the ball by 5 yards. Of course, Holt has lost a step, but he was at the top of the league when Bulger took over. One of Warner's strong suits is that he is the best timing-route QB that I've ever seen, and he could complete those passes 10 yards or 50 yards downfield.

But really, how do you feel about Fletcher's comments? I think he was right in being frustrated.

OS wrote:It's not possible defend Bulger's play right now, so I won't even try. I just am tired of hearing people say we made a mistake with the decision because at the time Bulger was a better player and Warner was not only perpetually injured but he was suffering from Battered QB Syndrome (as Bulger is now).

I agree with this statement 100%. The same people that bash Bulger today were the same ones were trumpeting him for the starting QB job when he went 6-0 after Warner went down. It's the same type of people who bash the Mark Mulder trade AFTER calling for Jocketty to make the move when our starting pitching got raped in the '04 World Series.

As for Fletcher, I agree with him. The guy has done nothing but show up and play since he's been in the league. I loved Fletcher and hated seeing him go. I'm not sure he's a Hall of Famer, like he calls himself, but one Pro Bowl appearance is more than overdue.

The Rams roster bungles and horrific drafting mistakes are too numerous to enumerate. Now that the incompetents at the top are leaving the long rebuilding can start. Hopefully they learned the lesson that dumping most of your salary cap on skill positions is the surest road to demise in the NFL. No they should not have kept Warner, whose resurgence in Arizona is almost as amazing as his rise here, but they compounded the problem by grossly overpaying Bulger. Bad drafts plus bad cap management yields the Lions and the Rams.

Bulger could be lighting it up in Arizona too, Warner has Boldin and Fitzgerald to throw to while Marc has about 2 seconds in the pocket max to find an aging Holt or young Avery. The answer to this team is solid drafting at the line (and I think Long was a good start) and picking up talented DBs. Bulger is still in his huge contract so I doubt he's going anywhere, but if he was I would consider making a push for McNabb if the price is right. He can survive in a shitty O-line which is what we have and Philly "fans" are insane for blaming this all on him. What happened the years McNabb was given a legitimate WR to throw to? Super Bowl visit. I just wish we hadn't beaten one of the Skins or Cowboys so we would have a better draft pick but still avoid the dreaded 0-16 that Detroit will be enjoying (hopefully).

BoxCar wrote:Bulger could be lighting it up in Arizona too, Warner has Boldin and Fitzgerald to throw to while Marc has about 2 seconds in the pocket max to find an aging Holt or young Avery. The answer to this team is solid drafting at the line (and I think Long was a good start) and picking up talented DBs. Bulger is still in his huge contract so I doubt he's going anywhere, but if he was I would consider making a push for McNabb if the price is right. He can survive in a shitty O-line which is what we have and Philly "fans" are insane for blaming this all on him. What happened the years McNabb was given a legitimate WR to throw to? Super Bowl visit. I just wish we hadn't beaten one of the Skins or Cowboys so we would have a better draft pick but still avoid the dreaded 0-16 that Detroit will be enjoying (hopefully).

Warner does have good WR's in Arizona. Leinart has the same receivers. There are a lot of teams that have good WR's. He's still great at throwing the deep ball, and throwing into timing routes, which is what makes that offense tick. Bulger had Holt in his prime, as well as a still-effective Bruce, and you can count the playoff victories on 0 fingers. You said that Bulger has no time in the pocket, and I'll give you that...to an extent. When he DOES have time, he doesn't do anything with it. He's too slow in the pocket, and he is still unable to recognize blitzes. If you have to throw the ball out of bounds, it's better than taking a sack. Does he have time to do this on every play? Of course not, but to say that he isn't at fault, or that he's nothing but a good backup QB on most teams is insane.