SportsOctober 21, 2002
ST. LOUIS -- Two games of handing the ball off to Marshall Faulk makes St. Louis Rams quarterback Marc Bulger think his teammate belongs in the Hall of Fame right now. "They should put him in already, the first active player," Bulger said Sunday after Faulk ran for 183 yards and scored four touchdowns in the Rams' 37-20 victory over Seattle. "He's like Superman out there. I'm just glad he's on our side."...
R.b. Fallstrom

ST. LOUIS -- Two games of handing the ball off to Marshall Faulk makes St. Louis Rams quarterback Marc Bulger think his teammate belongs in the Hall of Fame right now.

"They should put him in already, the first active player," Bulger said Sunday after Faulk ran for 183 yards and scored four touchdowns in the Rams' 37-20 victory over Seattle. "He's like Superman out there. I'm just glad he's on our side."

The Rams reached the 30-point mark for the first time this season behind Faulk's fifth career four-touchdown game, as well as another consistent performance from the third-string Bulger.

"Too much Marshall Faulk today," Seahawks coach Mike Holmgren said. "He got off to a good start, and we had a heck of a time slowing him down."

The defending NFC champions (2-5) have won their last two games after an 0-5 start. Bulger, elevated to the starting job by injuries to Kurt Warner (broken finger) and Jamie Martin (knee), was 22-of-40 for 265 yards and one interception.

Bulger was tough on himself, however, giving himself a B-minus.

"I didn't win the game for us, by any means, but at the same time I didn't lose it for us," Bulger said. "I didn't make any big mistakes, and I think I got us in position to make big plays, and that was my goal."

The Seahawks (1-5), who had three key turnovers, are off to their worst start since 1992, when they began the season 1-10 and finished 2-14. It's also the worst career start for Holmgren.

"We're going through a bit of a learning curve," Holmgren said. "When you get knocked down, you've got to get back up. When it all clicks, it'll be a wonderful thing."

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The Rams averaged 31 points last season, but they'd averaged 17 points over their first six games. They scored 28 last week, when Faulk ran for 158 yards in a surprising win over the Raiders.

On Sunday, he matched his career high for attempts and touches (39), adding seven receptions for 52 yards.

"You've got to make adjustments in this business," said Faulk, who became the 15th NFL player with 10,000 yards rushing. "The teams that make the adjustments the quickest succeed, and they have success a lot longer."

The Rams also got another strong game from their defense, which allowed two huge plays but little else. The Seahawks scored in the first half on a 79-yard pass from Trent Dilfer to Koren Robinson, when St. Louis got caught in a blitz, and Robinson had an 80-yarder off a quick slant in the fourth quarter.

But Robinson was run down at the 2 by rookie cornerback Travis Fisher, and Kim Herring perhaps clinched the victory when he intercepted an underthrown pass from Dilfer in the end zone three plays later.

"I should have scored," Robinson said. "I've never gotten caught from behind, ever. I did today, and I'm mad at myself."

Robinson finished with three catches for 166 yards.

Maurice Morris returned a kickoff 97 yards for a TD with 16 seconds left in the first half to give Seattle a 14-13 lead.

Dilfer was 8-for-25 for 232 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions and left after a helmet-to-helmet hit by Adam Archuleta on a 2-point conversion attempt that followed a recovered fumble for a touchdown by Chad Eaton with 3:28 to go. Matt Hasselbeck finished the game for Seattle.

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