Marshall Faulk, #28, St. Louis Rams
Rams Nations Ed Andresen
“I'm not a running back. I'm not a receiver. I'm not a specialist. I'm
a football player.”
For the past several weeks I have tried to come up with a strong opening statement
for the article I wanted to write about Marshall Faulk. I found this quote from
an interview prior to the start of the 2000 season. It was a season where Marshall
missed two complete games with a knee injury and a third game was played with
huge limitations in his running and cutting ability due to the same knee injury/surgery.
He scored a league record 26 TD’s in 2000 and he did it in only 13 and
half games. I have yet to read any nationally published articles that do justice
to this amazing feat. He averaged 2 touchdowns a game. He deserved to be and
was voted as the NFL's MVP for his performance in 2000. His 26 touchdowns carried
the Rams into the playoffs that year.
“I don't think we have found his limitations”, Rams Head Coach
Martz says, “because he doesn't have any.”
He is the smartest football player I have ever seen. He knows where everyone
is supposed to be on every play, and when he sees a mismatch in the defense
he always takes advantage of it. Last season when the Rams played the Falcons
in Atlanta and the Falcons had a rookie linebacker trying to cover Marshall,
he ran wild. When they played the 9ers they had a cornerback covering him on
a pass pattern in the end zone and he still caught the pass for a TD because
he ran his route like a WR, not a running back.
Marshall had one of the greatest runs for a touchdown I have ever witnessed.
It came against the Cleveland Browns in 1999. He was handed the ball, but a
defensive lineman had penetrated into the backfield. He sidestepped the lineman,
started to move forward and stopped as another Cleveland player tried to tackle
him. He changed directions, juked another player and outran the last player
for a TD. Coach Vermeil was being taped in that game and as Marshall came out
of the game after the run, Coach Vermeil jokingly said to Marshall “we
didn’t block anybody for you”. It may have been said in jest, but
it was the truth. Great vision, tremendous body control, explosive quickness,
going from accelerating to a dead stop in one step, instant speed and determination
all in one run. It was pure Marshall. It was as dynamic a run as you will ever
see.
I can repeat these kinds of stories over and over, but that is not what this
man is all about. He is not about his numbers, or even his God given talent
or his self-developed talent; he is a team player, first and foremost. His focus
is on the team and it’s future performance. His last season with the Colts
he had a great day racking up huge numbers but he missed a critical third down
pass that cost the Colts a chance to win the game. Even though he had amassed
huge numbers in the game, afterwards in the locker room, the coach singled him
out for not making that one play. Marshall said later that in that moment he
had an epiphany. It is not about the numbers you put up in a game, it is about
whether your team wins or loses. It starts with the team’s success or
failure and ends with the team’s success or failure. Before he came to
the Rams, one of the raps against Marshall was that he was not the best he could
be as far as being a team player, that he was more concerned with himself. Don’t
get me wrong, I don’t believe there is a single pro football player that
only cares about their performance and doesn ’t care about winning or
losing. But, there are not many players that understand what the statement of
being a team player truly means. Since his career with the Rams started, he
has been the definition of what it is to be a team player. We as fans, see it
differently, we just see the most exciting football player currently playing
in the NFL.
My previous article was on the great Eric Dickerson and how I thought he was
the best running back of his era and maybe of all time. Marshall is the best
“football player” in his era and any other era you care to list.
Right now he is the game’s greatest offensive threat. He brings to each
Ram offensive play the concentration of at least two defensive players and sometimes
as many as three. If he goes into motion, the defensive signal caller for the
opposition has as tough a job as there is in football. There are other great
players in the league, Kurt Warner, Randy Moss, Jerry Rice, etc., but Faulk
is different. These players play one position. He plays like he is playing every
offensive position. He may not quarterback the Rams, but he knows what the quarterback
knows and sees and there are not too many running backs that can make that claim.
“I study the game; I understand it," Faulk says. An understatement;
he sees the game as if it was being played in slow motion. Pro athletes refer
to this as being in the “zone”. It comes from hours of studying
film, finding weaknesses or tendencies that opposing teams/players have when
they play either the Rams or another team that has a great running back. He
learns what a defensive player will do when confronted with a certain situation.
He translates all of this study and preparation into performance on the field.
While playing for the Colts, Marshall put up outstanding offense numbers. The
Colts thought he was expendable and traded him to the Rams. He brought these
incredible football skills to the Rams for a 2nd and a 4th round draft pick.
Without question it was the best trade the Rams have ever made.
Since Marshall has been with the Rams, Kurt has been our QB and with Coach
Martz running the offense, our team has been the most exciting team in the NFL.
We have gone from an idiotic sorry assed group of players to a team that has
made NFL history. We have witnessed this history being made and I wonder if
we even believe it ourselves. I believe we will see even more history being
made from this year’s Ram football team if for no other reason than that
we will have #28 lining up behind #13.
My next article will be on what we can expect when we play the 49ers this year.