Question for Colts fans - Marshall Faulk

[IlliniRacer]

Showing that idiots come in all shapes, sizes, and fandom colors, this guy suggests that the Rams made a mistake by trading for Faulk. Basically saying we could have drafted James instead
http://forums.stltoday.com/viewtopic.php?t=319180


How was Faulk perceived in Indy at the time of the trade?

Without Faulk the Rams don't go to two Super Bowls and win one. As a matter of fact, if the ******* son of Moe Howard would have given him the ball a little more in Super Bowl XXXVI, they would have two Super Bowl victories. No offense to James and the Colts, but until they have a Super Bowl ring, I don't see how the Rams made a mistake.

As a matter of fact, the Rams really need to thank the Bears for their Super Bowl Championship - Pre 1998 Draft, Dick Vermeil is going on and on about how Curtis Enis is the second coming of Earl Campbell and how he can't wait to draft him. Lo and behold, his plans are foiled when the Bears take Enis with the pick right before the Rams. The Rams "settle" for Grant Wistrom and trudge through the the 98 season with Amp Lee. If the Rams draft Enis, the Faulk trade never happends. So, for the only championship team I've ever rooted for (Illini, Rams, Cubs, Blackhawks fan) - Thank You Bears!

[PDC]

As I recall, Faulk was very well liked by Colts fans. I remember the thinking was that they had lost their minds to trade him for a draft pick. To me, the trade worked well for both teams and neither should complain.

[Coyote]

I remember Faulk getting turf toe and some complaining going on from the fans. Wondering if he was going to become injury prone.

Then they trade him and he goes on to have a bunch of great years.

[athos1172]

Wasn't the fact that Faulk was hinting at a new contract and Polian wasn't going to have any of that a factor in the trade?
Just relying on memory there (and that's far from accurate).

His value couldn't have been higher following his '98 season:
324 carries, 1319 yds, 4.1 avg, 6 TDs
86 rec, 908 yds, 10.6 avg, 4 TDs

The only 3 games he missed during his first 5 years came in the '96 season.

I was sorry to see him go and happy for his success in St. Louis. A class act on the field and a certain Hall of Famer.
But I also never dreamed Edge would be as good as he is.

[Coyote]

That was probably a big part of it athos. I do remember that there was some ill-feelings supposedly. I never understood why, since Faulk had only played great for us.

I guess my memory of him missing some games due to a toe is off.

On the original post. That guy must be an idiot if he doesn't realize the Rams made out like bandits in that trade. Faulk was awesome for them, and they won big. What more does he want?

[Truth Detector]

Faulk was pretty well perceived to be the best double threat in the league. He was very well liked by the fans but he was coming up on a new contract that the Colts didn't seem willing to pay. IIRC we only got a 4th rounder for him. I thought at the time it was one of the worst trades ever but it seems to have worked out okay.

As to whether the Rams would have drafted Edge had they kept their pick...remember that Edge was a very controversial pick. Conventional wisdom said the Colts should have taken Ricky Williams.

[Media Boy]

I remember a lot of compaining from Faulk at the end. I think he wanted out and the Colts were ok with letting him go. But as someone already said, they never dreamed of what they would be getting with Edge--who was picked right before the Saints grabbed Ricky Williams and after Tim Couch (#1), Donovan McNabb (#2) and Akili Smith (#3).

However, I was very glad to see him do so well in St. Louis, just as I was happy to see Tony Siragusa win a Super Bowl in Baltimore.

[Coyote]

According to this Faulk bio the Colts got a second and fifth round pick. Not as bad as I remember.

Ok the following is long, swiped from http://www.jockbio.com/Bios/Faulk/Faulk_bio.html


As the draft approached in the spring of 1999, Jim Mora and Bill Polian considered ways to improve the team. The defense needed difference-makers and depth, but the two most dynamic players available were Ricky Williams and Edgerrin James—a pair of running backs viewed as potential game-breakers. With the fourth pick, Mora and Polian figured one of the runners would still be on the board. They began talking to teams about Marshall. By dealing him, the duo thought they could pick up help on defense.

Some argue that the Colts had laid the groundwork months earlier to trade Marshall. Never one to make waves, Marshall was benched late in the 1998 campaign against the Seahawks after a misunderstanding over a team meeting. By this time, Indianapolis was publicly questioning its star’s commitment to the club. His agent, Rocky Arceneaux, had approached management about renegotiating his contract. The incident in Seattle helped cast doubt over his attitude. While rumors that Marshall was a problem in the locker room wouldn’t enhance his trade value, they certainly would ease fan backlash when he was shipped away. And so magically the rumors found their way into the papers.

Two days before the draft, Polian struck a deal with the Rams. Marshall was sent to St. Louis for picks in the 2nd and 5th rounds, numbers 36 and 138 overall. The Colts then took James with their top selection.

The trade to St. Louis took Marshall by surprise. But he eventually viewed the move as a fresh start for his career, and embraced his new surroundings. He liked the personnel, the staff, and the game plan. In August, Marshall signed a seven-year deal worth just over $45 million.

St. Louis coach Dick Vermeil saw Marshall as the perfect running back for offensive coordinator Mike Martz’s high-octane attack. He was a threat both running the ball and catching it out of the backfield. The St. Louis staff soon learned that their new back’s greatest asset was his desire to learn and ability to process information on a high level.

Marshall had come to a realization midway through the 1998 campaign that he had developed into a selfish player. He decided to change his approach to the game. The St. Louis offense was extremely complicated, and Marshall wanted to understand his position inside-out. He rededicated himself to film study, spending hours early every morning and late every night watching game tape. Along the way, Marshall gathered a savant-like knowledge of football on both sides of the ball. To this day, Martz considers him the smartest player he’s ever coached.

St. Louis’ 1999 season will go down as one of the NFL’s biggest shockers for so many reasons. Vermeil, criticized just a year before for being out of touch with a new generation of players, was hailed as a genius for whipping the Rams into shape. After a pre-season injury felled starting quarterback Trent Green, Kurt Warner stepped in and became the most famous former grocery store stock boy in history. Like Marshall, the ex-Arena League star could read the field and make decisions quickly—giving the offense that half-beat advantage it needed to succeed. On defense, the Rams didn't scare anyone, but they had an incredible knack for returning fumbles and interceptions for touchdowns.

The Rams rolled to wins in their first six games of the year. Three times Marshall rumbled for more than 100 yards. He also caught 31 passes. Martz called his number all the time, and Warner—who was also logging a lot of time in the film room—was happy to have such a talented and knowledgeable backfield mate. Following two losses to the Titans and Lions, St. Louis rattled off seven consecutive wins before closing out the regular season with a loss to the Eagles. That left the Rams with a record of 13-3—good for first place in the NFC Central and home-field advantage throughout the playoffs.

The Rams continued to roll in the post-season. First they manhandled the Vikings in a 49-37 romp, then inched past the Buccaneers to advance to Super Bowl XXXIV against Tennessee. The matchup was compelling. The Titans had dealt the Rams one of their three losses during the regular season, a nail-biter decided on a missed field goal by Jeff Wilkins.

Tennessee’s plan for the Super Bowl was to stuff the Rams’ rushing game. By preventing Marshall from running wild, the Titans believed they could force Warner into mistakes, then convert those turnovers into scores. The strategy worked in the first half. Marshall had no room to maneuver, and the Rams stalled every time they entered Tennessee’s red zone. Though St. Louis took a 9-0 lead into the locker room, its offense was unable to hit paydirt.

The contest heated up in the second half, as both teams put together long touchdown drives. Marshall made several key receptions, including a 52-yard catch and run. Tennessee tied the game at 16-16 on a field goal by Al Del Greco with just over two minutes left. When the Rams got the ball back, Warner called receiver Isaac Bruce’s number. Jevon Kearse, the Titans’ monster pass-rusher, hit the quarterback just as he released the ball. Bruce adjusted on the fly to the underthrown pass and broke loose for a breathtaking 73-yard touchdown. Replays revealed a chip block Marshall put on Kearse, which gave Warner enough breathing room to get off the pass. When the Titans came up a yard short in their effort to knot the score, St. Louis held on for a memorable 23-16 victory.

[Media Boy]

Here's what the Colts got in 1999 with the 36th and 138th picks in the draft:

36 - Mike Peterson - MLB -Florida

138 - Brad Scioli - DE - Penn State

[Kurt Cobain]

Marshall did all right in Indy. I remember they had a banner under his picture after he was traded thanking him for the memories.

[StatMan]

As I recall, Faulk was very well liked by Colts fans. I remember the thinking was that they had lost their minds to trade him for a draft pick. To me, the trade worked well for both teams and neither should complain.

I agree, it was one of the few win-win trades in sports.

[Media Boy]

Ok, I'm confused here. I didn't think we traded Faulk for the draft pick to get Edgerrin. I thought we already had that as a result of our record. We went 3-13 during the '98 campaign and then 13-3 in '99. Someone help me out.

[athos1172]

You are correct, MB.