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Topic: Who is Marshall Faulk's backup? (Read 5092 times) |
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Head Coach
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Re: Who is Marshall Faulk's backup?
« Reply #2 on: Sep 1st, 2002, 7:13am » |
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From Jim Thomas in the St. Louis Post Dispatch, Sept 1:
Trung Canidate may have lost another fumble Friday against Kansas City, but he hasn't fumbled away the top backup job behind Marshall Faulk at running back.
Not only has Canidate claimed the No. 2 job in the Rams backfield, coach Mike Martz said it wasn't even close.
"Oh, there's no comparison right now between the two," Martz said Saturday. "Truthfully, to be honest with you, there never really has been. Trung's light years ahead of Lamar in a lot of respects -- in just being able to deal with all the things that you've got to deal with at this level."
Canidate finished the preseason with 49 carries for 147 yards, and 11 receptions for 107 yards. Lamar Gordon, a rookie from North Dakota State, gained 89 yards on 26 carries, and had a team-high 16 catches for a team-high 137 yards. He scored two touchdowns to zero for Canidate. But like Canidate, Gordon's play tailed off in the final two preseason games.
"Lamar still gets a little big-eyed about what's going on out there," Martz said. "It's a little bit big for him right now. Lamar's going to be a terrific player in this league eventually. Lamar's where Trung was when he first came in."
Given Canidate's three lost fumbles in the preseason, it's hard to imagine Martz having much faith in Canidate, particularly with the game on the line in the regular season. But he does. Martz's strong vote of confidence Saturday was surprising given the criticism he directed Canidate's way after the Aug. 22 San Diego game.
"Trung's fine," Martz said. "I'm on him an awful lot, trying to press him. I put a lot of pressure on him, because if we have to do like we did a year ago for a game or two, he's going to have to play at a high level. And that's where we're trying to get him. But Trung's a good player."
Canidate replaced an injured Faulk for two games last season. He put on an eye-popping performance last Oct. 21 against the New York Jets, rushing for 195 yards on 23 carries. But the following week at home against New Orleans, Canidate lost a critical fumble in a 34-31 Rams loss.
Martz conceded that Canidate's fumbling problems remain a concern.
"Obviously, he got hit right on the ball (against Kansas City), and it pops out," Martz said. "But still, you need to protect that ball. At that point, the ball's in one arm, and he just didn't cover it up well enough."
But for now at least, Martz feels Canidate is a better option behind Faulk than Gordon. In opting for Canidate at No. 2 running back, Martz has decided one of the last unsolved issues of the preseason. Even though the Rams went 0-4 in the preseason, Martz said he's very pleased with the team's state of readiness for the regular season.
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Philosopher King
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Re: Who is Marshall Faulk's backup?
« Reply #3 on: Sep 1st, 2002, 11:37am » |
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paulinstl,
Yea, I read that article, too... off "the Gridiron Newsstand" (Shameless opportunist  )!
To me, when you read through it/read between the lines, it just says BRBBC (Backup Runnng Back By Committee) all over it. Doesn't that wishy-washy rhetoric say the same thing to you too... or anyone out there for that matter?
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Re: Who is Marshall Faulk's backup?
« Reply #5 on: Sep 1st, 2002, 12:54pm » |
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on Sep 1st, 2002, 11:37am, StegRock wrote:paulinstl,
Yea, I read that article, too... off "the Gridiron Newsstand" (Shameless opportunist )!
To me, when you read through it/read between the lines, it just says BRBBC (Backup Runnng Back By Committee) all over it. Doesn't that wishy-washy rhetoric say the same thing to you too... or anyone out there for that matter? |
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I don't get any wish-washy talk from those quotes at all. That is the clearest expression of lack of confidence in a rookie I have ever heard from Martz. Seeing it any different may be caused by the fact that I have Trung in the CBFL, and you are in denial about the advantage this gives me if Faulk ever goes down! 
I don't see any RBBC if Marshall goes down. It will be business as usual with Canidate. Gordon would fill the role that Trung does while Faulk is healthy.
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Philosopher King
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Re: Who is Marshall Faulk's backup?
« Reply #7 on: Sep 1st, 2002, 3:41pm » |
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on Sep 1st, 2002, 12:54pm, paulinstl wrote:
I don't get any wish-washy talk from those quotes at all. That is the clearest expression of lack of confidence in a rookie I have ever heard from Martz. Seeing it any different may be caused by the fact that I have Trung in the CBFL, and you are in denial about the advantage this gives me if Faulk ever goes down!
I don't see any RBBC if Marshall goes down. It will be business as usual with Canidate. Gordon would fill the role that Trung does while Faulk is healthy.
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As my message icon says, "Oh brother!"
I just think that, with regards to this issue, if you look at the fine print, so to speak, there is a lot to read in between the lines both in that article and throughout this offseason.
But, Paul, you know my bias here. How did I put it again? "I don't want that piece of junk." or something like that! 
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