Canidate becomes forgotten man in Rams' potent offense

ST. LOUIS -- Trung Canidate, the St. Louis Rams' first-round pick in 2000, doesn't have much to do these days.

He's Marshall Faulk's backup, but Faulk never seems to leave the field. And coach Mike Martz isn't big on getting the second-teamers game action, especially now. He left Faulk and Kurt Warner in to the finish when the Rams clinched the NFC West last week.

"This is the time of the year we're making the run for the gold, so to speak, and No. 28 needs to get everything," Martz said. "Trung's had an awful lot of reps in practice and if he has to play he's fine."

Kickoff returns used to be Canidate's outlet. Now, he doesn't have that anymore.

Martz suddenly switched to Yo Murphy last week against the Colts, and Murphy again will get that duty in the season finale on Sunday against the Falcons. Murphy had five returns for a 21-yard average, just a bit better than Canidate's 20.8-yard average.

"I like what he did," Martz said. "He's gotten some experience at it now. He's a courageous guy that will run up in there pretty good and he's got plenty of speed."

Martz suggested that Murphy, who made the team as an undrafted free agent, was more enthusiastic about kick returning than Canidate.

"Part of doing that is getting real excited about doing it, and it's not that Trung isn't excited about doing it, but you tell Yo that and he thanked me for about two hours, 'Thanks coach, thanks coach."'

That leaves Canidate fresh and ready.

"I wouldn't say I've got nothing," Canidate said. "I'm on punt returns, blocking and whatnot, and I'm contributing in any way I can."

Of course, that's not much.

"It's definitely a little frustrating," he said. "Anytime you've been a player, you want to get on the field."

The Rams made Canidate their top pick after they won the Super Bowl in 1999. They wanted him to keep the offense clicking when Faulk, the NFL's MVP last year, needed a breather. Canidate missed almost all of his rookie season due to injuries and has 436 yards rushing and a 5.8-yard average, almost all of it in two games, this year.

A capable replacement

Canidate had 195 yards on 23 carries and two touchdowns against the Jets while Faulk was sidelined with a knee injury. He had only 19 yards on 12 carries the following week against the Saints with Faulk still out, but racked up 145 yards on 16 carries in the second half of a 48-14 blowout over Carolina the week after that.

Since then, Canidate has totaled 30 yards on 10 carries in seven games. The last four games, he's had zero attempts.

"Marshall's Superman, and I'm just here trying to back up," Canidate said. "I just work all week and Lord willing, I get an opportunity."

Canidate has 36 kickoff returns with a long of 40 yards. Martz figured it was just a matter of time before he broke one, but it never happened.

"Pretty much he was just looking for a change-up," Canidate said. "We have not had a punt returner or a kick returner take it to the house. That's what I was looking forward to and it hasn't been done, so it is what it is."