First of all, some housekeeping. I apologize for being out of pocket since Sunday. My wife and I had our first child early (really, really early) on Monday morning, so we're at the hospital until tomorrow afternoon. I have a couple short posts set to go between now and then as we get ready for the Cardinals game this week. I would encourage everyone to take full advantage of the fanposts; there's still plenty to discuss about the Rams, two wins or not.
Anyway, back to football, and with what else, a Marc Bulger post. (Sometimes I wonder if we shouldn't change the name of this site to the Marc Bulger Times...gives you an idea of how central a QB is to a team's personality. So let's just go ahead and make this the official Marc Bulger answers thread.
Like it or not, the Rams are stuck with Bulger at least through the 2009 season. His contract is just too big to give them any kind of flexibility through a trade or even an out and out cut. The only possibility would be a renegotiation, and I just can't imagine that would be as easy as it sounds. Through 2006 Bulger was one of the best QBs in the league, earning his contract. The Rams neglect for the o-line made him into a shell-shocked punching bag, good for three INTs a game since then.
His performance Sunday made it clear that he's part of the problem. The o-line has taken, deservedly, it's fair share of criticism, but they were solid last week, giving Bulger every chance to make things happen. Steven Jackson's return to significance in the offense also took away a canned excuse for Bulger's performance. Now what about the rest of the season? There are four games left and Rams fans, to say nothing of the ownership, would like to see the team at least make it interesting.
The solution I'm most fond of is benching Bulger, forcing some recovery time. Understanding of course that neither Trent Green or Brock Berlin offer the Rams much more in the way of a field general. What should the Rams do with Bulger for the rest of the season?
And what about 2009? it's clear they need to start grooming a QB for the near future, but they've got several options. The Rams can pursue a fill-in free agent to compete with Bulger and draft a first rounder in 2010. Or they can draft a QB in April, at the expense of other key needs like OT and MLB. What options make the most sense? What options give the Rams the best chance of turning things around in 2009?