Marc Bulger (1 Viewer)

[Bob_Magaw]

tied for first with dan marino - fewest games (38) to 10,000 passing yards in NFL history...

its important to get a good backup (handcuff may be a good option again for a change, which it wasn't in recent seasons, & the cement wall head-butter can be gotten cheap)... but when healthy, he is a difference maker...

past two seasons he would get knocked out of game early, which skews passing yards per game average... he has been between 280-290 passing YPG in 2004-2005 DESPITE those early exits, otherwise would have been around 300 YPG... in 16 games, he would have eclipsed #1 in passing yards brady by 500 yards (about difference between brady's 4,100 yards & #8 bledsoe's 3,600)...

linehan will be far more conscious to reduce his exposure to hits, so a full 16 game season becomes more feasible & realistic...

he struggled in red zone at times in the past, & also had bigger problem with INTs his first few years... but in 2004 he had like 21-14 TD-INT ratio, & had 14 TDs last season in 8 games... if healthy, he has some upside, imo...

 

[(HULK)]

tied for first with dan marino - fewest games (38) to 10,000 passing yards in NFL history...

its important to get a good backup (handcuff may be a good option again for a change, which it wasn't in recent seasons, & the cement wall head-butter can be gotten cheap)... but when healthy, he is a difference maker...

past two seasons he would get knocked out of game early, which skews passing yards per game average... he has been between 280-290 passing YPG in 2004-2005 DESPITE those early exits, otherwise would have been around 300 YPG... in 16 games, he would have eclipsed #1 in passing yards brady by 500 yards (about difference between brady's 4,100 yards & #8 bledsoe's 3,600)...

linehan will be far more conscious to reduce his exposure to hits, so a full 16 game season becomes more feasible & realistic...

he struggled in red zone at times in the past, & also had bigger problem with INTs his first few years... but in 2004 he had like 21-14 TD-INT ratio, & had 14 TDs last season in 8 games... if healthy, he has some upside, imo...

Mike Martz isn't his coach anymore.

 

[Chase Stuart]

After seeing what Brady did without Weis last year, I think that should provide some optimism for Bulger fans.

 

[diesel7982]

tied for first with dan marino - fewest games (38) to 10,000 passing yards in NFL history...

its important to get a good backup (handcuff may be a good option again for a change, which it wasn't in recent seasons, & the cement wall head-butter can be gotten cheap)... but when healthy, he is a difference maker...

past two seasons he would get knocked out of game early, which skews passing yards per game average... he has been between 280-290 passing YPG in 2004-2005 DESPITE those early exits, otherwise would have been around 300 YPG... in 16 games, he would have eclipsed #1 in passing yards brady by 500 yards (about difference between brady's 4,100 yards & #8 bledsoe's 3,600)...

linehan will be far more conscious to reduce his exposure to hits, so a full 16 game season becomes more feasible & realistic...

he struggled in red zone at times in the past, & also had bigger problem with INTs his first few years... but in 2004 he had like 21-14 TD-INT ratio, & had 14 TDs last season in 8 games... if healthy, he has some upside, imo...

Mike Martz isn't his coach anymore.

He'll just have to live with the coach who produced one of the best passing offenses in NFL history in 2004.

 

[HMH]

tied for first with dan marino - fewest games (38) to 10,000 passing yards in NFL history...

its important to get a good backup (handcuff may be a good option again for a change, which it wasn't in recent seasons, & the cement wall head-butter can be gotten cheap)... but when healthy, he is a difference maker...

past two seasons he would get knocked out of game early, which skews passing yards per game average... he has been between 280-290 passing YPG in 2004-2005 DESPITE those early exits, otherwise would have been around 300 YPG... in 16 games, he would have eclipsed #1 in passing yards brady by 500 yards (about difference between brady's 4,100 yards & #8 bledsoe's 3,600)...

linehan will be far more conscious to reduce his exposure to hits, so a full 16 game season becomes more feasible & realistic...

he struggled in red zone at times in the past, & also had bigger problem with INTs his first few years... but in 2004 he had like 21-14 TD-INT ratio, & had 14 TDs last season in 8 games... if healthy, he has some upside, imo...

Hey Magaw,Check your stats, isn't Kurt Warner the fastest to reach 10,000 yards?

 

[GregR_2]

tied for first with dan marino - fewest games (38) to 10,000 passing yards in NFL history...

its important to get a good backup (handcuff may be a good option again for a change, which it wasn't in recent seasons, & the cement wall head-butter can be gotten cheap)... but when healthy, he is a difference maker...

past two seasons he would get knocked out of game early, which skews passing yards per game average... he has been between 280-290 passing YPG in 2004-2005 DESPITE those early exits, otherwise would have been around 300 YPG... in 16 games, he would have eclipsed #1 in passing yards brady by 500 yards (about difference between brady's 4,100 yards & #8 bledsoe's 3,600)...

linehan will be far more conscious to reduce his exposure to hits, so a full 16 game season becomes more feasible & realistic...

he struggled in red zone at times in the past, & also had bigger problem with INTs his first few years... but in 2004 he had like 21-14 TD-INT ratio, & had 14 TDs last season in 8 games... if healthy, he has some upside, imo...

Hey Magaw,Check your stats, isn't Kurt Warner the fastest to reach 10,000 yards?

Did a quick count and I come up with 37 for Warner, including his 1 game his first season where he had 39 yards.

 

[Bob_Magaw]

tied for first with dan marino - fewest games (38) to 10,000 passing yards in NFL history...

its important to get a good backup (handcuff may be a good option again for a change, which it wasn't in recent seasons, & the cement wall head-butter can be gotten cheap)... but when healthy, he is a difference maker...

past two seasons he would get knocked out of game early, which skews passing yards per game average... he has been between 280-290 passing YPG in 2004-2005 DESPITE those early exits, otherwise would have been around 300 YPG... in 16 games, he would have eclipsed #1 in passing yards brady by 500 yards (about difference between brady's 4,100 yards & #8 bledsoe's 3,600)...

linehan will be far more conscious to reduce his exposure to hits, so a full 16 game season becomes more feasible & realistic...

he struggled in red zone at times in the past, & also had bigger problem with INTs his first few years... but in 2004 he had like 21-14 TD-INT ratio, & had 14 TDs last season in 8 games... if healthy, he has some upside, imo...

Hey Magaw,Check your stats, isn't Kurt Warner the fastest to reach 10,000 yards?

Did a quick count and I come up with 37 for Warner, including his 1 game his first season where he had 39 yards.

pulled from below bryan burwell article... i indeed mis-read/remembered... he tied marino not for first but second... which doesn't conflict with finding that warner is #1... at any rate, tied with marino for second in NFL history is good company... if i'm not mistaken, they went to same high school in PA...http://www.ramsrule.com/theoriginalherd/dc...id=152275&page=

Facing skeptics is nothing new for Bulger

By Bryan Burwell

ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH

06/14/2006

As he walked the quiet hallways of Rams Park on Saturday afternoon during a break between the grinding, two-a-day minicamp workouts, Marc Bulger noticed a rather odd sight tucked in a corner behind one of the upholstered chairs in the facility's back lobby.

It was a rather large, unidentified body lying on his side, nestled firmly against the wall. Whoever it was - and Bulger naturally assumed it was an exhausted rookie trying to steal away a quickie nap before another two-hour practice session - his body was coiled in a fetal position, sound asleep on the carpeted floor.

"That should be me," Bulger chuckled. "But I'm the starting quarterback, and I guess we're not allowed to sleep."

In his sixth season with the Rams and his fourth as a full-time starter, Bulger doesn't have time to sleep. He has a new offense to master, a new head coach to impress and a few misperceptions to dispel. Bulger has spent the last six months healing from a chronic shoulder injury, devouring Scott Linehan's new playbook and wondering whether his new boss holds him in high regard.

Just before the NFL draft, the Rams floated the notion that they might use their first-round draft choice to pick a strong-armed quarterback, even though Bulger is a former Pro Bowl passer with the sixth-highest career passer efficiency rating in NFL history. He heard Linehan talking glowingly about Vanderbilt QB Jay Cutler, and Bulger wondered whether this was a legitimate courtship or merely a pre-draft bluff.

"At first I didn't care what (Linehan) was saying," Bulger said. "Because even if they drafted him, I didn't care because no rookie's going to come in here and beat me out. I've been through stuff like this every step of the way in my career. Someone's always underrating me. Someone's always devaluing me. Maybe it's because I'm not flashy enough. Maybe it's because they think I'm not tall enough, strong enough, fast enough. I don't know.

"In college (West Virginia), the entire time I was there, they kept bringing people in to try and replace me. Eleven guys were recruited at quarterback while I was there. ... One year, they even tried to convert (Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker) Joey Porter into a quarterback."

"I'm used to it. I can handle it," he said. "But the only problem I have is when it starts eroding the confidence that my teammates might have in me. If they read it in the papers, if they see it on TV, when do they start questioning if I'm their quarterback?"

Sure enough, on draft day, there was Torry Holt, Bulger's Pro Bowl partner in crime, the Rams' top receiver and the quarterback's favorite target, sitting on an ESPN set raving about the prospects of his team drafting a passer with the first pick.

"I got at least 10 phone calls from friends who told me, 'Hey, man, did you see that Torry just sold you out on ESPN?'" Bulger said. "But Torry and I talked about it, and everything is cool between us."

I still don't understand why Bulger has found himself in this predicament, but the reality is, sports is a "what have you done for me lately" business. So even though he became the second-fastest quarterback in NFL history to reach 10,000 passing yards (tied with Hall of Famer Dan Marino at 38 games), even though he's thrown for the second-most passing yards in the first 40 games in NFL history, even though he has been a Pro Bowl MVP and has won nearly 64 percent of his 44 starts, Bulger finds himself in a familiar situation entering training camp.

He has to prove himself again.

"I know that throughout the league I have respect," Bulger said. "But I also know that you have to keep earning that respect, and the only way to do that is to win. I can play the whole season without being hurt, throw for 4,000 yards and 35 touchdowns, but if we don't win, do you think anyone will respect me? Winning gets you the respect."

 

[bostonfred]

After seeing what Brady did without Weis last year, I think that should provide some optimism for Bulger fans.

I don't know what to disagree with here. Are you comparing Weis' passing offense with Martz, or Bulger with Brady?

 

[Bob_Magaw]

they don't have martz anymore...

but with weapons like holt (one of best WRs in game), bruce (#1 active receiving yards leader with smith retirement?), jackson & reloads klopfenstein & byrd at TE, i don't see them reverting to circa chuck knox emphasis on run...

a more balanced attack isn't all bad... the fact that they ran up & down between 20s like showtime era lakers but then stalled in red zone may have been connected... the rams with martz were too one dimensional in recent seasons... its hard enough to pass if defense knows it is coming, but their signature deep ins weren't relevant inside the 20, where things became more squeezed...

if more balance = more sustained drives, overall plays, red zone opps, scores, this could easily be an acceptable tradeoff...

as has been noted above, it wasn't like linehan was averse to passing when OC in MIN with c-pepp & moss...

 

[Chase Stuart]

After seeing what Brady did without Weis last year, I think that should provide some optimism for Bulger fans.

I don't know what to disagree with here. Are you comparing Weis' passing offense with Martz, or Bulger with Brady?

I'm saying Brady never had any success without Weis, one of the best offensive minds in the game. Bulger never had any success without Martz, one of the best offensive minds in the game. Brady still had a career year last year. Therefore, the departure of Martz doesn't have to hurt Bulger.

 

[Blackjacks]

Linehan made Gus Ferotte look good last year.

that's all I need to say

 

[bostonfred]

After seeing what Brady did without Weis last year, I think that should provide some optimism for Bulger fans.

I don't know what to disagree with here. Are you comparing Weis' passing offense with Martz, or Bulger with Brady?

I'm saying Brady never had any success without Weis, one of the best offensive minds in the game. Bulger never had any success without Martz, one of the best offensive minds in the game. Brady still had a career year last year. Therefore, the departure of Martz doesn't have to hurt Bulger.

A couple significant differences. 1) I think Martz is generally considered more of a passing numbers guy than Weis was.

2) The Martz offense is largely getting thrown out in favor of the Linehan offense. The Weis offense was largely retained, with Belichick making situational tweaks.

3) Stephen Jackson appears to be an up and comer who is prepared to take on a bigger load than Martz allowed. Corey Dillon came off a year where he had a ton of carries and appears to be on the back 9 of his career.

 

[LHUCKS]

Therefore, the departure of Martz doesn't have to hurt Bulger.

It doesn't have to, but I'd put my money down that it does on a ppg basis.

 

[Chase Stuart]

After seeing what Brady did without Weis last year, I think that should provide some optimism for Bulger fans.

I don't know what to disagree with here. Are you comparing Weis' passing offense with Martz, or Bulger with Brady?

I'm saying Brady never had any success without Weis, one of the best offensive minds in the game. Bulger never had any success without Martz, one of the best offensive minds in the game. Brady still had a career year last year. Therefore, the departure of Martz doesn't have to hurt Bulger.

A couple significant differences. 1) I think Martz is generally considered more of a passing numbers guy than Weis was.

2) The Martz offense is largely getting thrown out in favor of the Linehan offense. The Weis offense was largely retained, with Belichick making situational tweaks.

3) Stephen Jackson appears to be an up and comer who is prepared to take on a bigger load than Martz allowed. Corey Dillon came off a year where he had a ton of carries and appears to be on the back 9 of his career.

Certainly. And that's the type of analysis that's needed. I wanted to start the ball rolling by saying the loss of Martz doesn't have to result in a downgrade; there is precedent on the other side. Your others points have some validity.

 

[bostonfred]

After seeing what Brady did without Weis last year, I think that should provide some optimism for Bulger fans.

I don't know what to disagree with here. Are you comparing Weis' passing offense with Martz, or Bulger with Brady?

I'm saying Brady never had any success without Weis, one of the best offensive minds in the game. Bulger never had any success without Martz, one of the best offensive minds in the game. Brady still had a career year last year. Therefore, the departure of Martz doesn't have to hurt Bulger.

A couple significant differences. 1) I think Martz is generally considered more of a passing numbers guy than Weis was.

2) The Martz offense is largely getting thrown out in favor of the Linehan offense. The Weis offense was largely retained, with Belichick making situational tweaks.

3) Stephen Jackson appears to be an up and comer who is prepared to take on a bigger load than Martz allowed. Corey Dillon came off a year where he had a ton of carries and appears to be on the back 9 of his career.

Certainly. And that's the type of analysis that's needed. I wanted to start the ball rolling by saying the loss of Martz doesn't have to result in a downgrade; there is precedent on the other side. Your others points have some validity.

Fair enough. Personally, I think Bulger's in for a down year, but a healthy one. The main reason he was getting sacked is that teams were attacking the heck out of the spread offense. I think Pace and co. are a very solid O line, and will be much better in pass protection with Linehan's offense in place. I also think they'll run more often, and that Jackson's in for a good year. But I think that Bulger's attempts will dip significantly, and I think it's hard to predict what will happen to his YPA - Bulger's been one of the best in YPA over the last few years, but it's hard to tell if that's a factor of his receivers, his own talent, or the system. All in all, I expect a dip across the board in St. Louis with the exception of Jackson.

 

[gang-wars]

After seeing what Brady did without Weis last year, I think that should provide some optimism for Bulger fans.

I don't know what to disagree with here. Are you comparing Weis' passing offense with Martz, or Bulger with Brady?

I'm saying Brady never had any success without Weis, one of the best offensive minds in the game. Bulger never had any success without Martz, one of the best offensive minds in the game. Brady still had a career year last year. Therefore, the departure of Martz doesn't have to hurt Bulger.

A couple significant differences. 1) I think Martz is generally considered more of a passing numbers guy than Weis was.

2) The Martz offense is largely getting thrown out in favor of the Linehan offense. The Weis offense was largely retained, with Belichick making situational tweaks.

3) Stephen Jackson appears to be an up and comer who is prepared to take on a bigger load than Martz allowed. Corey Dillon came off a year where he had a ton of carries and appears to be on the back 9 of his career.

Certainly. And that's the type of analysis that's needed. I wanted to start the ball rolling by saying the loss of Martz doesn't have to result in a downgrade; there is precedent on the other side. Your others points have some validity.

Fair enough. Personally, I think Bulger's in for a down year, but a healthy one. The main reason he was getting sacked is that teams were attacking the heck out of the spread offense. I think Pace and co. are a very solid O line, and will be much better in pass protection with Linehan's offense in place. I also think they'll run more often, and that Jackson's in for a good year. But I think that Bulger's attempts will dip significantly, and I think it's hard to predict what will happen to his YPA - Bulger's been one of the best in YPA over the last few years, but it's hard to tell if that's a factor of his receivers, his own talent, or the system. All in all, I expect a dip across the board in St. Louis with the exception of Jackson.

I'm not a big fan of PPG. PPG stats usually mean the guy has yet to finish a full season.So a "down year" but "healthy year" is a better year in my books. I don't need Bulger to put up top 3 PPG. I need him to put up top 5-6 PPG and play 16 games.

The Rams are still loaded. Holt, Bruce, Curtis, McDonald can match up with most teams best 4 WRs. Jackson is solid, and some fresh TE play will help.

Again, if he plays 16 games, it will be a welcome change.

 

[GregR_2]

I'm not a big fan of PPG. PPG stats usually mean the guy has yet to finish a full season.

So a "down year" but "healthy year" is a better year in my books. I don't need Bulger to put up top 3 PPG. I need him to put up top 5-6 PPG and play 16 games.

The Rams are still loaded. Holt, Bruce, Curtis, McDonald can match up with most teams best 4 WRs. Jackson is solid, and some fresh TE play will help.

Again, if he plays 16 games, it will be a welcome change.

I did a quick back of the envelope calculation to see where the combined Bulger + backup would finish if he's top 3. Bulger was the 3rd highest QB in PPG in one of my leagues last year (6 pt TD, -3 INT).If he played 2/3 of the season and you had the QB13 as your backup, your QB output would have been rated as QB6 (and 0.1 FPG behind QB5). If you had QB18, your team would still have scored as QB6. If you had the worst backup, QB24, your team would have been QB7.

Of course, if he plays more than 2/3 of the games you are even better off, as you are if you can platoon your backups and play the guy who has the weaker schedule.

I think it's easy to underestimate just how effective it is to have a top player at his position even if he misses a few games. And while he did miss 8 games last year (which would make the results a lot worse if you didn't have a top back up), the previous years he only missed 1 and 2 games.

 

[Bob_Magaw]

another point is it looks bad that bulger missed eight games... he could have returned by the end of the season, but the rams shut him down as they were so far out of the playoffs...

he didn't even get hurt when he reinjured shoulder how you would expect... on a sack... it was in the aftermath of an INT, where he led with his shoulder, possibly against a blocker...

hopefully he will be more careful with future INTs...

BTW, excellent point, greg...

 

[gang-wars]

I'm not a big fan of PPG. PPG stats usually mean the guy has yet to finish a full season.

So a "down year" but "healthy year" is a better year in my books. I don't need Bulger to put up top 3 PPG. I need him to put up top 5-6 PPG and play 16 games.

The Rams are still loaded. Holt, Bruce, Curtis, McDonald can match up with most teams best 4 WRs. Jackson is solid, and some fresh TE play will help.

Again, if he plays 16 games, it will be a welcome change.

I did a quick back of the envelope calculation to see where the combined Bulger + backup would finish if he's top 3. Bulger was the 3rd highest QB in PPG in one of my leagues last year (6 pt TD, -3 INT).If he played 2/3 of the season and you had the QB13 as your backup, your QB output would have been rated as QB6 (and 0.1 FPG behind QB5). If you had QB18, your team would still have scored as QB6. If you had the worst backup, QB24, your team would have been QB7.

Of course, if he plays more than 2/3 of the games you are even better off, as you are if you can platoon your backups and play the guy who has the weaker schedule.

I think it's easy to underestimate just how effective it is to have a top player at his position even if he misses a few games. And while he did miss 8 games last year (which would make the results a lot worse if you didn't have a top back up), the previous years he only missed 1 and 2 games.

And if your backup for Bulger last year was Leftwich, you no doubt took home the money! You can toss out PPG stuff all you want. But when you have to draft QB13 instead of drafting QB20, the value of RB/WR you could have had is immense. Instead of drafting QB13 (Bledsoe) I could draft WR30 Rod Smith. And when I grab McNair at QB23, you'll be drafting Lloyd at WR48.

It's like drafting Fred Taylor. Exactly how many other JAX RBs are you going to have to draft? 2? 3? I've seen people draft Foster, then Williams, then Taylor, then Jones, then Drew, then Volek, then Young. You could convert those 7 roster spots into 3. When you start drafting backup RBs because you took DD, backup QBs because you took Bulger, you end up sacrificing in other areas for those extra PPG. And the fact your PPG drops in the playoffs? So you outscored a guy week 2 by 40 points. Doesn’t really do much for you.

People are going way overboard with handcuffs, multiple backups. There are advantages to guys like Brady, Manning, Bledsoe, Delhomme, Green. Those guys have 3-4-5-6 year streaks of playing 16 games.

Not to mention, I personally focus quite a bit of time on FF playoff matchups. Doesn't do much good if they guy doesn't finish the season. So you drafted McNabb, Bulger, DD, Westbrook, TO. Don't worry, your PPG was awesome! Now that it's playoff time, just go sub in your 5 backups. Your PPG will still be awesome.

That doesn't do you much good when your studs are hurt, and you're out in the 1st round of the playoffs. There's only 3 weeks of the year I need my studs. Week 14, week 15, week 16. Making the playoffs usually isn't that hard. When the money is on the line, I need my studs.

Back to my original point, I don’t mind if Bulgers PPG drops. If he plays 16 games, he’s QB 4-8, I’m happy. And drafting a backup QB sooner then I’d like because of his injury history, doesn’t ensure great PPG from my QBs. It ensures my PPG from my WR/RBs will be worse. People have fallen in love with PPG stats and generally use it to ignore injury history. But in practice, when you factor in FF playoffs, taking backups earlier then you’d like, you don’t come out ahead.

(this assumes most people play H2H and not total points.)

 

[GregR_2]

I'm not a big fan of PPG. PPG stats usually mean the guy has yet to finish a full season.

So a "down year" but "healthy year" is a better year in my books. I don't need Bulger to put up top 3 PPG. I need him to put up top 5-6 PPG and play 16 games.

The Rams are still loaded. Holt, Bruce, Curtis, McDonald can match up with most teams best 4 WRs. Jackson is solid, and some fresh TE play will help.

Again, if he plays 16 games, it will be a welcome change.

I did a quick back of the envelope calculation to see where the combined Bulger + backup would finish if he's top 3. Bulger was the 3rd highest QB in PPG in one of my leagues last year (6 pt TD, -3 INT).If he played 2/3 of the season and you had the QB13 as your backup, your QB output would have been rated as QB6 (and 0.1 FPG behind QB5). If you had QB18, your team would still have scored as QB6. If you had the worst backup, QB24, your team would have been QB7.

Of course, if he plays more than 2/3 of the games you are even better off, as you are if you can platoon your backups and play the guy who has the weaker schedule.

I think it's easy to underestimate just how effective it is to have a top player at his position even if he misses a few games. And while he did miss 8 games last year (which would make the results a lot worse if you didn't have a top back up), the previous years he only missed 1 and 2 games.

And if your backup for Bulger last year was Leftwich, you no doubt took home the money! You can toss out PPG stuff all you want. But when you have to draft QB13 instead of drafting QB20, the value of RB/WR you could have had is immense. Instead of drafting QB13 (Bledsoe) I could draft WR30 Rod Smith. And when I grab McNair at QB23, you'll be drafting Lloyd at WR48.

You don't have to draft QB13. That was my point. If you drafted QB18 (a middle of the road backup) you still had QB play equal to the 6th best QB If everyone in your league knew the backup QB results ahead of time and you were the last to take one and got the worst backup QB inyour league with QB24, you'd still get QB7 points from having Bulger and QB24.

You're talking about wanting QB 5-6 numbers for 16 games. That's pretty much the same thing you would have got from having a top 3 QB 2/3 of the time and having most any backup 1/3 of the time.

 

[wannabee]

I'm not a big fan of PPG. PPG stats usually mean the guy has yet to finish a full season.

So a "down year" but "healthy year" is a better year in my books. I don't need Bulger to put up top 3 PPG. I need him to put up top 5-6 PPG and play 16 games.

The Rams are still loaded. Holt, Bruce, Curtis, McDonald can match up with most teams best 4 WRs. Jackson is solid, and some fresh TE play will help.

Again, if he plays 16 games, it will be a welcome change.

I did a quick back of the envelope calculation to see where the combined Bulger + backup would finish if he's top 3. Bulger was the 3rd highest QB in PPG in one of my leagues last year (6 pt TD, -3 INT).If he played 2/3 of the season and you had the QB13 as your backup, your QB output would have been rated as QB6 (and 0.1 FPG behind QB5). If you had QB18, your team would still have scored as QB6. If you had the worst backup, QB24, your team would have been QB7.

Of course, if he plays more than 2/3 of the games you are even better off, as you are if you can platoon your backups and play the guy who has the weaker schedule.

I think it's easy to underestimate just how effective it is to have a top player at his position even if he misses a few games. And while he did miss 8 games last year (which would make the results a lot worse if you didn't have a top back up), the previous years he only missed 1 and 2 games.

Good point, Greg. I also like the idea of taking Frerotte as the cheap handcuff for Bulger. He goes undrafted in many leagues. I would assume that Gus, in that offense, will probably produce about the same as another handcuff, but is a better value.

 

[Bri]

I'd attribute his red zone "struggles" to them not using the TE much in STL