Bulger not responsible for Rams' loss

There is something about Marc Bulger's personality that doesn't let him hang his head. He doesn't get down on himself. You don't see a frustrated face when Mike Martz lays into him for making a bad read. He just shrugs it off and throws a touchdown on the next drive.

The kid is resilient.

In 17 career starts, he's led the Rams to six come-from-behind victories. He's good when he has to be.

Except Sunday against the lowly Lions.

But no one is blaming Bulger. Even John Elway could not have led the Rams back in that game, not with that offensive line.

(Apparently, it's too difficult to remember what number the snap count is walking back from the huddle. I know how hard it is to remember one number for more than 10 seconds.)

I'll admit it, just like you I was dreaming of Kurt Warner's valiant return in yesterday's game. And I was hoping he could lead the Rams to victory.

And then into the playoffs.

And then to the Super Bowl.

And then he would become a two-time Super Bowl MVP.

And then Warner ran out of downs.

Bulger may be leading the league in interceptions, but he's still the man because of his 63.5 percent completion rate, which is seventh best in the league.

And Bulger has the quickest release in football. The ball comes out his hand as if it were shot from a gun. Earlier this year in the Monday Night Football game against the Falcons, Bulger's release was timed at 0.3 seconds.

But Bulger's quick release is only useful if his receivers are open and the offensive line gives him protection to throw.

There is hope in San Francisco's performance last week when they beat Philadelphia on the road. And these two notes: the last time the Rams lost their season finale was 1999 (the last year the Rams won the Super Bowl). They also lost on the road to Detroit that year.

Maybe losing never hurt so good.

The Rams have two weeks to get their offensive line woes together, meanwhile, here's your week ahead:

Today

The semifinals of the Southeast Missourian Christmas tournament are tonight at 6 and 7:30 p.m. One of the semifinals will feature Derek McCord coaching against his old school Scott City.

Tuesday

The third-place game for the Southeast Missourian Christmas Tournament begins at 6 p.m. and the championship will follow at 7:30. Here's hoping it's a rematch of the Sikeston Tournament finals between Charleston and Central. If it is, it will be Central's third appearance in the finals of a tournament already this season.

Thursday

The Blues host the Rangers and it's Student Night again. If you haven't taken advantage of Student Night yet this season, I reccomend you do. With a valid student ID you can get Club Level seats for just $30. Rangers at Blues at 7 p.m.

Saturday

Hubie Brown stumbled and almost fainted last Saturday in the Grizzlies' loss to the Spurs. The guy is 80,000 years old; of course he's going to have some lapses every now and then. I think I would faint too if my team had lost five straight after being five games over .500 for the first time in franchise history. Well, at least they didn't lose nine straight like their opponents for the night. Magic at Grizz at 7 p.m.

David Wilson is a sportswriter for the Southeast Missourian and a student at Central High School. His column appears every Monday.