Bulger Wins Beats Bears, Rams 5-5

Bulger Wins Beats Bears, Rams 5-5
By Rams Nation's Oscar F Lopez

Monday Night Football has always had special moments throughout the years. But for the Rams, it was a sense of beginning. The win against the Bears was a milestone since the team starting 0-5. The loss of Kurt Warner early on left many to wonder if there was anyone suitable to take charge and get the team on track. The answer came in the form of Marc Bulger. A third string quarterback no doubt. Since his tenure at the helm of the St. Louis Rams, Marc is 5-0 and playing with Warner numbers to boot. His poise and toughness has set the tone for debate. With the 21-16 win over the Bears on Monday Night Football, Marc Bulger showed the world he was not ready to give up his quarterback slot just yet.

The debate as to whether Kurt is one hundred percent is still in everyone's mind. The fact that Marc has come through so well is a credit to the coaching staff and Kurt Warner himself. The first drive of the game was an example of how the Rams are back to playing with confidence. Marc threw for 347 yards and two touchdowns. The one yard touchdown catch by Ernie Conwell was the style of play that Martz expects.

But regardless of Marc's oustanding five game performance, Kurt Warner will get the call versus the Redskins. For Marc Bulger, he was not happy to be benched but as he stated, "I don't want to give it back to him, but Kurt Warner is an NFL MVP and I've known all along." As a third stringer Marc threw for 1,496 yards and 12 touchdowns. And at one point set an NFL record for most yardage in one day with Tommy Maddox of the Steelers.

For Isaac Bruce, Marc Bulger has been a blessing. Bruce has been more involved lately with more big plays when it counts. Bruce has six receptions for 141 yards and looked impressive.The first drive alone showed that Bulger has a lot of confidence with Isaac. The back to back completions of 21 and 22 yards to setup Ernie Conwell for the touchdown. The Rams were very solid in this game with blitzes and good zone coverages. Led by Archuleta, Wistrom, Whitley and Lewis. Coach Jauron commented on the Rams play by stating,"We weren't able to move the ball, which is a credit to the way they play defensively." Chris Chandler was sacked seven times. It was very horrible to see a veteran quarterback get sack consistenly.

Besides the Rosevelt Colvin sack that forced the fumble, the Rams looked very solid all around. With Lamar Gordon replacing Marshall, the Rams looked good enough to come up with a win to send off Bulger to the bench unbeaten in his last five. The Redskins game will determined whether Kurt Warner is truly back.

For the Bears, it was a different story. The loss sent shockwaves throughout with their eight straight loss. The only saving grace was the defensive front led by Brian Urlacher and Keith Traylor. They pretty much kept the Bears in the game. At one point it was 14-13. For Coach Dick Jauron, he claimed defensively they still allowed too many long plays. The only contributor to the Bears scoring was Paul Edinger with field goals of 37 and 48 yards.

The Rams only gave up a 13 yard touchdown to Anthony Thomas at the start of the second half. A big blow to the Bears was the loss of Marc Colombo when he dislocated his kneecap before the first half ended. The injuries just seem to hinder the Bears in 2002. The Rams are only the second team in history to win five straight games after beginning the season with five staright losses. The Redskins being the other team last season.

As for the progress after Monday Night coach Martz stated," We just feel like we're finally out of a hole and we can make progress to our goal of getting to the playoffs."He went on to further state," I'm not happy yet with where we are." Well ,coach you owe it all to Marc Bulger's great performances over five weeks. So why bench him now? Come Sunday if Warner does not play well, knowone will be surprised if Marc Bulger comes off the bench with another victory in Washington.