FanHouse MarquesHagans

One of the most intriguing prospects in this weekend's NFL draft is West Virginia quarterback Pat White. A sensational athlete, White dominated the Big East during his college career and enters this weekend as a man without a position. Can he overcome his lack of size and succeed as a quarterback in the NFL? Will he became the latest quarterback-to-wide receiver project and follow in the footsteps of players like Antwaan Randle-El? Or will he bring back the "Slash" position, combined with the recent fad that is the wildcat offense, and become a unique weapon that gives opposing defensive coordinators fits?

Marc Bulger passed a neurological test after suffering a concussion that forced Gus Frerotte into starters duty last week. But that test wasn't designed to see if he would play Sunday. That was just to get out on the practice field.

"Believe me, I'm the No. 1 person - I'm hoping I get cleared this week to play. (But) it will be premature to say on Wednesday, after one practice ... that I'm the starter."

The Rams better hope he can go on Sunday -- Frerotte is now hurt, and third-string quarterback Brock Berlin didn't take any snaps with the team this week. When asked about the possibility of Bulger missing the game this Sunday, Scott Linehan got testy, confidently reminding the media that the Rams have Marques Hagans and Drew Bennett -- two college quarterbacks converted to wide receiver. Great contingency plan there, coach.

But he's not that stupid. If Bulger was seriously in doubt, the team would have given more work to Berlin or signed Todd Bouman, as was rumored, for depth. Should Bulger play though? Concussions are being treated more and more carefully by the league, and if Bulger still has doubts to his availability he can't be completely cleared. It's not as if the Rams have anything left to play for, so why the Rams and Bulger are risking his long-term health is beyond me.

To get you ready for Week 6, FanHouse is previewing all of this week's NFL games. Here is the St. Louis Rams/Baltimore Ravens preview.

2007 Record:
St. Louis Rams: 0-5 (4th in NFC West)
Baltimore Ravens: 3-2 (2nd in AFC North)

Last Week:
Cardinals 34, Rams 31
Ravens 9, 49ers 7

When the Rams have the ball: Marc Bulger is the superior quarterback, but Gus Frerotte has one thing on him -- knowledge of Scott Linehan's no-huddle offense. Linehan utilized it often with the Vikings and Dolphins, but in a little over a season Bulger has yet to fully grasp it, restricting the ability to use it. With Frerotte at the helm, however, the Rams can open the playbook. Injuries continue to mount, as the team will be shorthanded at receiver, but new slot receiver Marques Hagans and Frerotte have chemistry, and the team moved the ball much better last week than they have at any point with Bulger under center this season. With the Ravens only allowing 66 yards on the ground per week, and Steven Jackson still out, the no-huddle will be a good way to keep the Ravens on their toes.

Welcome to another successful installment of Five Questions with an Enemy Blogger, where each week, via email, I will be exchanging hot questions and [sometimes] answers with a rival blogger about their team and the upcoming matchup.

This week I sat down with Brett Knight of RAMblings, a Most Valuable Network column that covers the St. Louis Rams.

Dan Benton: "For many, the Rams offseason expectations were extremely high. How frustrating has it been to watch your team struggle for the first quarter of the season?"

Brett Knight: "Obviously, with so many pundits picking the Rams as a darkhorse playoff team, it's been difficult to watch the team stumble thus far, with no end in sight. But I don't know what's been harder to deal with: all the forces that have been out of our control or all the blown opportunities. It's one thing to watch your offensive line crumble and your Pro Bowl backfield taken out of games by injury - it's tough, sure, but there's really nothing you can do about it. It's a whole different story, though, to sit through the sloppy play this team has been exhibiting this year: penalties, turnovers, blown coverages, missed tackles, awful play-calling. For all the talk of the talent on this team, it's really been a shock to see such a lack of fundamentals. It's been said that the mark of a good team is how it responds to adversity; with that in mind, I'm not sure how to respond to this team."

Virginia quarterback Christian Olsen has but one fleeting season to define his college career. Highly recruited out of Wayne, N.J., Olsen committed to Notre Dame but transferred to Virginia in 2003 when it became apparent Brady Quinn would be Notre Dame's next quarterback.

Since that transfer, he's patiently waited behind Marques Hagans, finally earning a starting opportunity in his final collegiate season. A mediocre 2005 season that saw the Cavaliers go 6-5 and a tumultuous offseason have dampened expectations at UVA, but it's unknown how Olsen will handle his own expectations after all the hype coming out of high school.

Two Sunday articles (link + link) in The Roanoke Times paint Olsen's picture as a jumpy drama major, something worth monitoring as quarterbacks often ruin themselves when they try to do too much on the field.

The word on Olsen is that he's a little bit hyper.

"Maybe that's why we had the conversation," [coach Al] Groh said.

That conversation was about not trying to make up for three years of playing in his one season at the helm.

We obviously won't know how Olsen will handle his own expectations, but he's on a fairly talented team that is flying under the radar after recent tumult and transfers within the program. Olsen's proven he can act, having completed his drama degree. This season we'll see if he can play.