And so it was the tibia. The St. Louis Rams truly have experienced the end of an era with Marc Bulger and his broken tibia. The last, most visible connection to the Chaplin-esque Martz/Zygmunt/Shaw/Linehan era has now likely played his last game as a Ram. That administration, synonymous with Brezhnev era levels of bumbling incompetency, signed Bulger to a massive contract after a fine 2006 season. That was also the same season he was sacked 49 times. The team's ham-fisted moves to upgrade the offense around him failed as well with Drew Bennett, Randy McMichael, Joe Klopfenstein, releasing Isaac Bruce, and neglecting the offensive line in front of Bulger as they moved forward with some hybrid of the Martz offense and whatever unformed notion it was that Scott Linehan brought to the team. It's over now.
The breadth and scope of Bulger's injury history foretells the likelihood of the full six weeks of recovery, if not more. And even if it's only five weeks, why bring him back to take a few more punches from an offense he never paired with well. The whole thing is really kind of merciful for all sides. Fans no longer have to suffer the ups and downs, we can officially accept the rebuilding of the team. Coaches, front office guys now have every reason to cut his contract, when everyone will have just watched him into memory. And Bulger can just fade away.
We all walk away with best possible outcome.
Whether or not Bulger was the right QB for this system, didn't have the right players, had too little left to give or a combination of all three, it just wasn't working. He'll probably get another job somewhere else next season, backing up a QB in a more established offense. There's plenty of time to speculate on that. Now the Rams can officially turn their eyes toward the future, remaking this team as they see fit.
Some links for you to ponder...
Chris Long credits knowing the system with his late improvement...knowing the system after 10 games and a summer of work outs.
It's diagnostic day at Rams Park! Jason Smith & Chris Chamberlain will undergo neurological exams, Mike Karney will have an MRI on his neck, and Chris Massey has his surgery, which really isn't diagnostic at all.
Here's the first future QB watch article.