[Blogs] Ravens Agree To Terms With QB Bulger

[BR News]

PLEASE NOTE: The opinions, analysis and/or speculation expressed on BaltimoreRavens.com represent those of individual authors, and unless quoted or clearly labeled as such, do not represent the opinions or policies of the Baltimore Ravens’ organization, front office staff, coaches and executives. Authors’ views are formulated independently from any inside knowledge and/or conversations with Ravens officials, including the coaches and scouts, unless otherwise noted.

The Ravens agreed to terms with veteran quarterback Marc Bulger on a one-year contract Wednesday, pending a physical.

Bulger, 33, should provide the Ravens with a solid veteran backup to compete for the No. 2 job behind Joe Flacco with Troy Smith and John Beck.

Smith, last year’s backup, has spent the past three years in the Ravens’ system while Beck is entering his second. Smith – whose agent publicly lobbied for a trade this offseason – has two career starts under his belt while Beck has four, all of which came back in 2007.

Bulger has 95 career starts on his resume in eight years with the St. Louis Rams.

Bulger was a two-time Pro Bowler, in 2003 and 2006, when he threw for 3,845 and 4,301 yards, respectively. He replaced Kurt Warner in 2001, the year after Warner brought St. Louis a Super Bowl title.

The Rams continued to have a prolific offense in Bulger’s early years, but dropped off the past three in which the team has posted a 5-32 combined record.

After posting a quarterback rating over 92.0 in four of his first five years as a starter, Bulger dropped below 72.0 the last three seasons.

Last year, Bulger suffered a fractured leg in Week 11 and sat out the rest of the season. According to Pro Football Talk, he was scheduled to make $8.5 million in 2010 and he was released in early April.

Flacco played through injuries at the tail end last year, but has never missed a start during his two years in Baltimore.

[url=http://blogs.baltimoreravens.com/2010/06/23/ravens-agree-to-terms-with-qb-bulger/]View the full article[/url]

[ravennutcase]

is there a chance that troy is getting traded

[DBOWSRAVENS]

what the heck, why did oz give this guy 3.8 mil plus incentives. that is alot of money for a back up, so smith and beck, good luck on the number three quaterback. what the heck

[Ray27Rice]

I like this pick up...Marc is a veteran guy now he had his ups and downs but hey hes a 2time pro bowlers with 95 starts he has more experience then john beck and troy smith soo i think hes gonna be the 2nd qb and john beck will be a 3rd and trade troy for a decent cb

[loverj86]

what did we get this guy for.he proved in st.lou that he is not the answer.
we have two more than capable backups and this guy is just a waste of money.
bad move.

[The Negotiator]

Nice I love the move good insurence for the Ravens,

[ravennutcase]

@Ray27Rice i agree we need a cb more than a qb

[DBOWSRAVENS]

(1Ray27Rice
A minute agoI like this pick up...Marc is a veteran guy now he had his ups and downs but hey hes a 2time pro bowlers with 95 starts he has more experience then john beck and troy smith soo i think hes gonna be the 2nd qb and john beck will be a 3rd and trade troy for a decent cb)
what team with a average corner will be desperate enough to trade for troy???? if he is traded it will be for picks and then maybe we use that pick and another for a good corner which i doubt.

[RavenROC]

Weird, but I like having a vet here

[The Negotiator]

Troy Smith and Gaither for picks make a package deal with the picks and get a good CB Bills could give us Whinfield I would take him for a year or 2.

[DBOWSRAVENS]

@ the negotiator well who plays right tackle, not sold on cousins

[ravensfan2424]

i think this shows that one of the two back ups are going. wonder which

[scraaw]

no quarterback would've looked good with the rams - but for us, on our team, i think he would be very effective. i feel more secure with him as back-up than the other guys.

[djaramillo09]

i still dont understand why ppl want to get rid of gaither, sure the guy has some character issues but he is a franchise tackle, so why get rid of him?

[BmoreRavens201044]

@The Negotiator

Having Gaither here for a year is better than having winfield here for 2.

[scrock]

This move kind of surprised me, it's good to have a veteran on the depth chart though. I'm all for this move, they know what they are doing in the front office.

....and Gaither is the man I hope he sticks around.

[mtgpmarshall]

I come home from work and it's like Christmas. A proven QB for a backup who will share his experience like a team player and if Flacco goes down in comes Bulger. What a pick up. Like John says, "Anything to make our team better". The great and powerful OZ is not done yet.

[BmoreRavens201044]

@mtgpmarshall

Isn't that the best coming home after a long grind at work and seeing some good news about your favorite team. Perhaps I'm just happy that my house is air conditioned however.

[Keller Wolfe]

blew my mind... but hey... i wondered why they picked up Ray Rice when we seemed deep at RB so I don't care to second guess anymore.

[Clutch Ravens]

Bulger hasn't had weapons like our offense has since he was part of the latter years of the Greatest show on turf. We just made our QB position one of the best in the league with a back-up as experienced and reliable as Murc Bulger. Not to mention he'll still be able to give Flacco numerous tips and pointers.

[mtgpmarshall]

Man I can't wait for the Jets game!!!

[Ravenseconbeast]

What...? I'd rather keep our backup. Bulgar, no thanks

[BoominRaven]

we need gaither to make this super bowl run this year.

i am really confused i just woke up from a nap and now we're signing bulger, i mean im glad we're getting a veteran experienced qb but at the same time id rathher have seen that money spent on ken lucas. guess it could be good to give joe some solid time off when we're done beatin up on teams by 20 points after 3 quarters :P

[mtgpmarshall]

We have all of training camp and pre-season to get hooked up at cb. Don't worry guys and girls.

[ed.s52]

The only reason why Bulger was ever bad was because the Rams FO refused to protect him... causing him to develop the infamous "Marc Bulger Syndrome", which was pretty much throw it up and hope you get lucky instead of taking a billion sacks.

Bulger could do good, or at least decent if given the right weapons and a line.

Although this is a questionable move, it gives Troy someone that is real competition (we all know he will beat Beck for the #2 spot) and if Flacco ever is injured we have very reliable options in a vet Qb like Bulger and Troy if he proves to be better than Bulger.

[The Negotiator]

I hope the Hee Reed is ready that is what I worry about

[Footballfreak]

Hmmm I find this interesting, I had no clue we were looking for a another experienced QB, but I think I see what the mind set might be for a DEEP DEEP playoff run I'm gonna say it "Super Bowl Baby".

[The Negotiator]

I want to just say hoe FAT it will be to see Anquan Boldin at trainning camp this year truly amazing!

[ravens0614]

I don't blame Mark for his St. louis bluders cause they have no receivers...

[Tyrone Jones]

Hopes Troy Smith stays we can use him in the wildcat formation