Former St. Louis Rams QB Marc Bulger is likely to get a starting job for the 2011 season...if there is a 2011 season. Bulger is scheduled to be a free agent this year - another "if." One team thought to be very interested in Bulger is the Arizona Cardinals. You kinda see where I'm going with this, right?
Kurt Warner had a magnificent rebound in Arizona. Of course, that followed two injury-shortened season with the Rams and an unremarkable one-year stint with the New York Giants. Chalk that up as recovery time. His wounds healed and a good team in place around him with the Cardinals, he took a 9-7 Cardinals team all the way to the Super Bowl.
Can Marc Bulger do the same? Bulger didn't see a single snap backing up Joe Flacco in Baltimore last year. Recovery time...and much needed recovery time. During his stint with the Rams, Bulger was sacked 254 times. In 2006, his last season of any consequence and the only 16 game season of his career, Bulger was sacked an astounding 49 times. He finished that season with a rating of 92.9, but he was never the same. From 2007-2009, Bulger seemingly had more injuries than wins. His 27-34 TD-INT ratio over that span underscores the decline. Of course, it wasn't entirely Bulger's fault. The Rams decayed around him, with the lone exception of Steven Jackson, making it even harder to be a successful QB.
Bulger and Warner both played their final seasons with the Rams at the age of 32. Warner's early days in AZ were marked by inconsistent play, injuries and Denny Green's QB yo-yo. A poor start to the 2006 season put Matt Leinart front and center, but Warner was back in the last two weeks of the season, looking like the former Rams QB that took his team to the Super Bowl.
I don't think many Rams fans, who should know, would argue with the statement that Warner was a better QB than Bulger. If the Cardinals, or whatever team, decide to take a chance on another former Rams QB, the biggest question for them will be whether or not Bulger can overcome his recent injury history. He was healthy in 2010...when he didn't play a snap. Does he have enough to get back into the swing of a full season in a starting role? Will the residual effects of being shell shocked as the Rams QB all those years have worn off? If so, Bulger's age, like Warner's at the time of his rebound, might be enough to make him a useful transition QB for a team in need.
And just how much fun would it be to unleash Chris Long on him twice a season in the NFC West? For some reason, I don't see Bulger doing what Warner used to do to the Rams.