This guy is on nobody’s radar and rightly so.  He has killed fantasy teams the last two years as he was awful.  Maybe he killed your team in 2007 when he was going around the 4th to 6th best QB.  Maybe it was last year when he was being drafted as the 8th to 10th best QB.  Well, in 2007 and 2008 Mark Bulger was absolutely awful.  In the last 2 seasons Mark Bulger has thrown for a TOTAL of 22 TDs (11 per year) and threw 28 interceptions (14 per year).  However, Bulger will be the Rams’ QB as he signed a large 6-year deal two seasons ago, and his stats were not entirely his fault, because generally he couldn’t throw the ball without getting absolutely crushed as his O-line was one of the worst in the league.

The good news for the health of Mark Bulger is that the Rams got some O-line help.  They signed who is probably the top center in this year’s free agent crop:  Jason Brown.  Brown played for the Ravens last year and was one of the reasons for the Ravens’ dominance in the run game.  Plus, as most of you know, the Rams drafted Jason Smith, a tackle from Baylor with the second overall pick in this year’s draft.  Those should be significant upgrades for a weak line.  Will it make the line elite?  No, I doubt it, but certainly better.

The main reason for Bulger’s success should be the healthy return of Steven Jackson. Bulger has proven he can throw touchdowns when Jackson is playing or when he has a decent run game.  From 2002-2007 he was very consistent.

2002:  7 Games:  1826 yards, 14 tds, 6 ints

2003:  15 Games:  3845 yards, 22 tds, 22 ints

2004:  14 Games:  3964 yards, 21 tds, 7 ints

2005:  8 Games:  2297, 14 tds, 9 ints

2006:  16 Games:  4301, 24 tds, 8 ints

Those are fairly solid numbers.  If you do the math, that is 1.58 touchdowns per game (95 tds over 60 games).   Bulger lost Torry Holt and there is no dispute his weapons are not going to scare many defenses.  Donnie Avery the speedster and Steven Jackson are about it.  The basic idea is that with more time Bulger can be effective.  He plays in a dome, in a weak defensive division, and the Rams have an extremely weak defense themselves who just cut last year’s leading tackler Pisa Tinoisamoa.  Expect Bulger to have more time in the pocket and have lots of opportunities in garbage time to get you those cheap fantasy points.  Guess what- fantasy doesn’t differentiate between points in the first half and garbage points when the game is over.  I don’t think any of us expect the Rams to be in too many situations where they are trying to run out the clock in the fourth.

Is Bulger going to be a 30 touchdown, 4000 yards guy?  I highly doubt it.  I don’t think he will be reborn like Kurt Warner, and if you are swinging for the fences you are better off trying a Trent Edwards, Brady Quinn, or maybe even a Matt Stafford.  Although, if you want a player who has performed and produced in the past who should provide consistent stats that you can get late in the draft, I recommend grabbing Bulger.  Most people don’t even have him in the top 20.  I think he finishes the season somewhere between the 10th and 15th best QB.

Projection:  14 Games:  3000 yards, 20 tds, 15 ints.