Marc Robert Bulger (; born April 5, 1977) is a retired
American
American(s) may refer to:
* American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America"
** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America
** American ancestry, pe ...
football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...
quarterback
The quarterback (commonly abbreviated "QB"), colloquially known as the "signal caller", is a position in gridiron football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive platoon and mostly line up directly behind the offensive line. In modern Ame ...
who played in the
National Football League
The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...
(NFL) for eleven seasons, primarily with the
St. Louis Rams
The St. Louis Rams were a professional American football team of the National Football League (NFL). They played in St. Louis from 1995 to the 2015 season, before moving back to Los Angeles, where the team had played from 1946 to 1994.
The arri ...
. He was drafted by the
New Orleans Saints
The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans. The Saints compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. Since 1975, the te ...
in the sixth round of the
2000 NFL Draft
The 2000 NFL Draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur U.S. college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 15– 16, 2000, at the Thea ...
and was also a member of the
Atlanta Falcons
The Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta. The Falcons compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. The Falcons joined th ...
and
Baltimore Ravens
The Baltimore Ravens are a professional American football team based in Baltimore, Maryland. The Ravens compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. The team plays its ...
, but played the entirety of his regular season career with the Rams.
College career
Bulger played
college football
College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States.
Unlike most ...
at
West Virginia University
West Virginia University (WVU) is a public land-grant research university with its main campus in Morgantown, West Virginia. Its other campuses are those of the West Virginia University Institute of Technology in Beckley, Potomac State College ...
. He was a sport management major.
College statistics
Professional career
New Orleans Saints/Atlanta Falcons
Bulger was selected by the
New Orleans Saints
The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans. The Saints compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. Since 1975, the te ...
in the sixth round of the
2000 NFL Draft
The 2000 NFL Draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur U.S. college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 15– 16, 2000, at the Thea ...
, 168th overall, and spent training camp with the team before being waived. He was the fifth quarterback taken in the draft and one of the six taken before
Tom Brady.
Bulger then spent two weeks on the
practice squad
In sports, the practice squad, also called the taxi squad or practice roster, is a group of players signed by a team but not part of their main roster. Frequently used in gridiron football, they serve as extra players during the team's practices, ...
of the
Atlanta Falcons
The Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta. The Falcons compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. The Falcons joined th ...
during the
2000 season.
St. Louis Rams
After spending time on the
St. Louis Rams
The St. Louis Rams were a professional American football team of the National Football League (NFL). They played in St. Louis from 1995 to the 2015 season, before moving back to Los Angeles, where the team had played from 1946 to 1994.
The arri ...
practice squad late in the 2000 season, Bulger was re-signed by the Rams on January 12, 2001. Bulger did not see action in any contests during his first season with the Rams; he was inactive as the third quarterback for 16 regular season games and all three postseason contests.
2002 season
In 2002, after the Rams started 0–5, Bulger filled in for an injured
Jamie Martin, who had been filling in for the injured
Kurt Warner. Bulger finished the season with a 6–0 record in games that he both started and finished, but he was injured early in a game against the
Seattle Seahawks
The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle. The Seahawks compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) West, which they rejoined in 2002 as ...
, and the Rams ended the season at 7–9.
2003 season
Bulger entered the 2003 season as Warner's backup, but was promoted to No. 1 on the depth chart after Warner committed five turnovers and suffered a concussion in an opening week loss to
the New York Giants
The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East ...
. Bulger then led the Rams to a regular-season record of 12–4, securing the
NFC West
The National Football Conference - Western Division or NFC West is one of the four Division (sport), divisions of the National Football Conference (NFC) in the National Football League (NFL). It currently has four members: the Arizona Cardinal ...
title and a first-round bye. The Rams went on to lose a double-overtime thriller to the eventual NFC Champion
Carolina Panthers
The Carolina Panthers are a professional American football team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Panthers compete in the National Football League (NFL), as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. T ...
in the divisional round of the playoffs. Bulger made the Pro Bowl where he was the game's MVP.
2004 season
Bulger's performance in 2003 solidified his position as the Rams' starting quarterback. Warner was released in June 2004, and the Rams signed Bulger to a four-year, $19.1 million contract. The Rams went 8–8 in 2004, narrowly losing the division to the heavily favored
Seattle Seahawks
The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle. The Seahawks compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) West, which they rejoined in 2002 as ...
, but earned a wild-card berth in a mediocre NFC.
The Rams defeated Seattle for a third time in the wild-card round, but lost the following week at the hands
of the Atlanta Falcons in the Divisional Round by a wide 17–47 margin.
2005 season
On October 17, against
the Indianapolis Colts, Bulger injured his right shoulder. After missing two games, he returned to the field on November, 20 against the
Arizona Cardinals
The Arizona Cardinals are a professional American football team based in the Phoenix metropolitan area. The Cardinals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) West division, and play t ...
where he re-injured his shoulder. He was then placed on IR on Christmas Day in 2005. He finished the 2005 season with 14 Touchdowns, 9 Interceptions and a 94.4 passer rating.
2006 season
On September 10, 2006, in a game against
the Denver Broncos
The Denver Broncos are a professional American football franchise based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The team is headquarte ...
, Bulger reached 1,000 completions faster than any quarterback in NFL history. Bulger achieved this in 45 games, two games less than ex-Rams QB
Kurt Warner.
Drew Bledsoe and
Peyton Manning
Peyton Williams Manning (born March 24, 1976) is an American former football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 18 seasons. Nicknamed "the Sheriff", he spent 14 seasons with the Indianapolis Colts and four with th ...
needed 48 games, and it took
Dan Marino
Daniel Constantine Marino Jr. (born September 15, 1961) is an American former football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 17 seasons with the Miami Dolphins. After a successful college career at Pittsburgh and be ...
49.
2007 season
On July 28, 2007, Bulger signed a six-year, $62.5 million contract extension with the Rams, making him the highest-paid player in Rams history. The contract included $27 million in guaranteed money and put him in a group of six quarterbacks making $10 million a year or more. Bulger had one year remaining on a four-year, $19.1 million contract, which would have paid him $4 million in 2007. In
the 2007 season, Bulger was plagued with injuries through the entire season as was the entire team. Injuries on the offensive line took effect as he threw more interceptions than touchdowns for the first time in his career. He was considered one of the biggest disappointments of the season, which saw the Rams slump to 3–13.
2008 season
On September 23, 2008, after starting 0–3, Bulger lost his starting role to
Trent Green. However, seven days later, new head coach
Jim Haslett named Marc Bulger the starting quarterback for the rest of the season.
On November 9, 2008 vs the Jets, Haslett replaced Bulger with Green after halftime after the Jets took a 40–0 lead in the first half, cued by four first half Rams turnovers.
A week later he was put back in as starting quarterback. His performances improved slightly as the year went on, but he still turned in another lackluster season with more interceptions than touchdowns and continuously declining completion percentages.
2009 season
Bulger was placed on season-ending
injured reserve
The injured reserve list ( IR list) is a designation used in North American professional sports leagues for athletes who suffer injuries and become unable to play. The exact name of the list varies by league; it is known as "injured reserve" in th ...
on December 26, 2009, as
the Rams slumped to a franchise-worst 1–15 record, and a 6–42 record for the three seasons from 2007 to 2009. He had thrown just five touchdown passes during the 2009 season, although his statistics remained where they had been in 2007 and 2008, apart from an improved
interception
In ball-playing competitive team sports, an interception or pick is a move by a player involving a pass of the ball—whether by foot or hand, depending on the rules of the sport—in which the ball is intended for a player of the same team b ...
percentage of 2.4 percent vis-à-vis 4 percent.
Bulger asked for, and was granted, his release by the Rams on April 5, 2010, his 33rd birthday.
Baltimore Ravens
On June 23, 2010, Bulger reached an agreement with the
Baltimore Ravens
The Baltimore Ravens are a professional American football team based in Baltimore, Maryland. The Ravens compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. The team plays its ...
on a one-year, $3.8 million deal that also had the possibility of increasing to $5.8 million through incentives. However, Bulger spent the entire season backing up
Joe Flacco
Joseph Vincent Flacco (born January 16, 1985) is an American football quarterback for the New York Jets of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Delaware after transferring from Pittsburgh and was drafted by the Baltim ...
and never played a single snap.
Retirement
Although several teams were interested in signing him, Bulger announced his retirement from football on August 2, 2011.
NFL career statistics
Personal life
Bulger was born in
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...
and graduated from Sacred Heart Middle School and
Central Catholic High School in
Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...
. He comes from a family of collegiate athletes. His father, Jim, was a quarterback for
Notre Dame from 1970–73. His brother Jim was on the Notre Dame
golf
Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a course in as few strokes as possible.
Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standardized playing area, and coping wi ...
team, sister Kate was drafted into the
WNBA, and youngest sister Meg was a standout guard for his alma mater,
West Virginia
West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian, Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States.The Census Bureau and the Association of American Geographers classify West Virginia as part of the Southern United States while the Bur ...
. Bulger married Mavis Armbruster and has two daughters. His mother is of Irish descent. , he now lives in Brentwood, Tennessee.
Since retirement, Bulger has picked up the sport of
curling
Curling is a sport in which players slide stones on a sheet of ice toward a target area which is segmented into four concentric circles. It is related to bowls, boules, and shuffleboard. Two teams, each with four players, take turns sliding ...
. He played in the 2018
Curl Mesabi Classic
The Curl Mesabi Classic (previously known as the Curl Mesabi Cash Spiel (2007, 2010-2011), Iron Trail Motors Shoot-Out @ Curl Mesabi (2012) and the Super One Shoot-out @ Curl Mesabi (2008)) is an annual bonspiel, or curling tournament, that takes p ...
, which is an event of the
World Curling Tour. He threw
lead
Lead is a chemical element with the symbol Pb (from the Latin ) and atomic number 82. It is a heavy metal that is denser than most common materials. Lead is soft and malleable, and also has a relatively low melting point. When freshly cu ...
rocks for the
John Benton team, which included fellow former football player
Jared Allen
Jared Scot Allen (born April 3, 1982) is a former American football defensive end who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 12 seasons. He played college football at Idaho State and was drafted by the Kansas City Chiefs in the fourth ...
.
CurlingZone
/ref>
References
External links
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bulger, Marc
1977 births
Living people
American football quarterbacks
Atlanta Falcons players
Baltimore Ravens players
National Conference Pro Bowl players
New Orleans Saints players
Players of American football from Pittsburgh
Players of American football from St. Louis
St. Louis Rams players
West Virginia Mountaineers football players
Central Catholic High School (Pittsburgh) alumni