St. Louis Rams QB Marc Bulger is taking snaps directly under center today in the Rams practice.
Big deal, right? Most of the time, yeah, so what, but the Rams starting QB is coming back from a broken pinkie, a finger he broke on a bad snap, and his ability to take snaps under center was in question as the Rams get ready to open their season in Seattle this weekend. Bulger had been taking snaps out of the shotgun and making throws without problems in the days prior.
Now, the real question is how well can Bulger perform after missing most of the preseason (he injured his finger in practice after the Rams preseason opener against the Jets). In the Jets game, Bulger looked sharp, and reports from Rams practice before that had the QB looking like a man who knows his career his on the line, which it is.
Don't forget to register your prediction for Bulger's 2009 season here.
In other news, Jason Smith practiced with the first team. Yawn. Is this really news? Sure, the Rams being coy about whether or not he's the starting LT, but at this point, after days of practicing with the starters, NOBODY expects Smith to start the season on the bench. Besides, his contract would be too heavy for even the sturdiest of benches.
There's more than just economics in the decision to start Smith. The rookie has looked solid in pass protection. Not flawless, but clearly the Rams best option. The Seahawks have a woeful secondary, especially since they'll be without CB Marcus Trufant. You can be sure that Pat Shurmur and the game planners at Rams Park are walking through plans to exploit that unit. They do, however, have a pretty good pass rush, led by Patrick Kerney, and we'll need air tight pass blocking to keep Bugler upright and picking apart the secondary.