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Recently, some fans have questioned whether Marc Bulger is better suited than Joe Flacco to start at quarterback for the Ravens.
Bulger, a two-time Pro Bowler in his time with the Rams, hit his stride Saturday against the Redskins, going 13-of-16 for 130 yards, while Flacco struggled to get into a rhythm and went just 9-of-16 for 72 yards.
But while Bulger says he's starting to feel more comfortable in offensive coordinator Cam Cameron's scheme, he knows that he signed with the Ravens to back up Flacco, and preseason performances won't change that.
"I've been around the league a long time and I've had and probably will have a lot of bad games in the preseason," Bulger said. "I've never done particularly well in the preseason, so I've heard that talk before. I've been in Joe's situation, and he's doing fine. We watched the film, and we know why certain things happened.
"So there's no talk of that here. That's just what fans do, and it's fun."
Bulger has nine years of NFL experience under his belt, six of which were as the Rams' full-time starting quarterback. He brings a wealth of knowledge with him to Baltimore, which the Ravens hope he will be able to pass on to Flacco throughout the season.
There's one area where Bulger is still looking to Flacco for guidance, however - learning the Ravens' offensive system.
Cameron's offense is similar to one that Bulger ran with Mike Martz in St. Louis, so he doesn't have to pick up everything from scratch. But the terminology and finer points of the Ravens' offense are new to the 33-year-old, which means he's had to spend the last month trying to get up to speed.
"I'm getting there," Bulger says. "I'm definitely not there yet. I'm just learning the verbiage so it comes out a little bit better, and all the nuances that they put in in the spring I'm still catching up on. I get hit with one or two of those a day. I'm not there yet, but I'm going in the right direction.
"I was in the West Coast system last year, and I had nothing to reference back to. So with this offense, at least I can reference back to coach Martz's system. That's made it a lot easier."
Bulger was able to put it all together during his three drives on Saturday night, when he led the Ravens to a late field goal at the end of the first half and then a long 95-yard touchdown drive in which he went 8-of-8 and moved the Ravens down the field with relative ease.
It showcased the reason that the Ravens signed Bulger to a one-year, $3.8 million contract this season - he can step in if Flacco gets injured and the offense won't miss a beat.
"I was just happy that the group I was in there with, we got to show something for our work," Bulger said of Saturday's performance. "The week before, we didn't get down far enough and we missed a field goal because we left too far a field goal attempt.
"But to be able to put a field goal in and then put a nice drive together from our own five[-yard-line], I was happy for the guys that against a pretty good team we were able to do that."
