Marshall Faulk

Marshall William Faulk (born February 26, 1973) is a former American football running back who played in the National Football League. He is currently an analyst for NFL Total Access on the NFL Network. He played football in college for San Diego State University, before drafted to the Indianapolis Colts in the 1994 NFL Draft. Following the 1998 season Faulk was traded to the St. Louis Rams. Marshall is one of the few players to reach at least 10,000 rushing yards and 5,000 receiving yards in his career. His seven two-point conversions are an NFL record. Marshall Faulk is the only player to have 100+ rushing touchdowns and 30+ receiving touchdowns. Due to a knee injury, Faulk did not play in the 2006 season. During the season he became an analyst for the NFL Network. Faulk announced on March 26, 2007 that he had officially retired from football at the annual NFL Owners meeting. Faulk had his #28 jersey retired by the St. Louis Rams on December 20, 2007, during a halftime ceremony with NBC anchor Bob Costas.

College Career

Marshall Faulk was a stand-out back at San Diego State University, compared to Gale Sayers, Roger Craig and Thurman Thomas with his ability to rush and receive. In one of the most prolific performances of his entire career, he ran all over the University of the Pacific in just his second collegiate game. In 37 carries, he racked up 386 yards and scored seven touchdowns, both NCAA records for freshmen, and built on this performance throughout the year. He compiled one of the greatest freshman seasons in NCAA history, gaining 1,429 yards rushing, with 23 total touchdowns (21 rushing), and 140 points scored. Although in the next two seasons, he would not replicate the success of his freshman year, he showed in his final season at SDSU he was still an all-purpose back, catching 47 passes for 640 yards, which aided him in ranking 3rd in all-purpose yardage that year and 2nd in scoring. Faulk left San Diego State University with many of the school's offensive records, amongst them 62 career touchdowns, which is the 8th most in NCAA history. Many experts still consider Faulk one of the greatest all around athletes in Professional Sports.


NFL Career

Indianapolis Colts (1994 - 1998)

Faulk was drafted 2nd overall in the 1994 NFL Draft by the Indianapolis Colts, who were in desperate need of a running game. Faulk ran a 4.28 forty-yard dash time at the combine. On March 31, 1994, Faulk ran a 4.35 forty-yard time at the San Diego State Pro Day. Faulk responded by rushing for 1,282 yards, 11 touchdowns, and one receiving touchdown. The Colts improved to 8-8. Marshall Faulk would later that season would become the first NFL player to win both the Offensive Rookie of the Year Award and the Pro Bowl's Most Valuable Player Award in the same season.

The next season Faulk rushed for 1,078 yards and 14 total touchdowns. The Colts made the postseason, going 9-7, and narrowly missed the Super Bowl after a close loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers in the AFC Championship Game which Faulk missed due to a nagging toe injury.

The next year was a miserable one for Faulk. Because of a toe injury he suffered earlier in the season, he only rushed for 587 yards, with a paltry 3 yards-per-carry average. He recovered from the injury and rushed for 1,000+ yards in each of the next two seasons, setting a new personal high with 1,319 in 1998. He also caught 86 passes for 906 yards that year and was the NFL's leader in total yards from scrimmage with an astounding 2,227, beating out Denver's MVP running back Terrell Davis by 2 yards, while also finishing 4th in the league in receptions. It would also be the first of an NFL-record 4 consecutive 2,000+ total-yard seasons.


St. Louis Rams (1999 - 2005)

Faulk was traded to the St. Louis Rams the following season due to problems he referred to as "misunderstandings." Faulk had missed practices and was considered holding out for a new contract. Colts president Bill Polian did not want his young team's chemistry damaged, so he traded Faulk for second- and fifth-round picks in the upcoming draft (used to draft LB Mike Peterson and DE Brad Scioli). The Colts moved on at the position, drafting Edgerrin James in the first round.

In his first year in St. Louis, Faulk was the catalyst for "The Greatest Show on Turf", a nickname given to the Rams' spread offense formation, innovated by Dick Vermeil and Mike Martz.In this offense he put up some of the best all-purpose numbers in the history of the NFL. Faulk's patience and diligence in learning the Rams' offense paid off when he totaled an NFL record 2,429 yards from scrimmage, eclipsing Barry Sanders's record of 2,358 yards set in 1997. With 1,381 yards rushing (5.5 yards-per-carry average), 1,048 receiving yards, and scoring 12 touchdowns, Faulk joined Roger Craig as the only men to total 1,000+ yards in each category in a season. The Rams eventually went on to win Super Bowl XXXIV. In the game, Faulk was contained on the ground by Tennessee Titans head coach Jeff Fisher's defensive scheme, limiting him to just 17 rushing yards. This was perhaps due to the Titans' inability to stop the Rams' passing game, of which Faulk was a major part, recording 5 receptions for 90 yards. His 90 receiving yards were the second highest total by a running back in Super Bowl history. At the end of the season, he received the NFL Offensive Player of the Year Award and also the leading rusher in NFL, with 1,389 yards and starter for the NFC squad in the 1999 Pro Bowl.

The following year, Faulk became the first running back in NFL history to lead his team in receptions five separate seasons (three in Indianapolis and twice in St. Louis). In addition, he was the NFL MVP and again the Offensive Player of the Year in 2000. He had 1,359 yards rushing in fourteen games and set a new NFL record with 26 total touchdowns, (a record that would soon be broken by Priest Holmes and then later by Shaun Alexander and LaDainian Tomlinson), despite missing two games due to injury. He also averaged 5+ yards per carry again, this time with 5.4. The Rams, however were not able to replicate the record they had the year prior. Even with the offense scoring the most points and yards during the "The Greatest Show on Turf" era, the defense gave up 470 points.

The Rams returned to the Super Bowl the next year against the New England Patriots (to whom they lost), 20-17, in one of the biggest upsets in NFL history, as their defense returned to form, allowing only 273 points, and the offense once again scored over 500 points, with 503. Faulk had another excellent season, rushing 260 times for a career-high 1,382 yards (5.3 yards per carry), and catching 83 passes for 765 yards, for an NFC-leading total of 2,147 yards from scrimmage (second in the NFL only to Priest Holmes, who totaled 2,169 yards) and scoring 21 touchdowns despite once again missing 2 games to injuries. Faulk won, for the third year in a row, the NFL's Offensive Player of the Year award, but finished second in a close vote to teammate Kurt Warner in the MVP vote. These years would be the climax of Faulk's career.

Faulk's injuries and age would soon catch up to him; 2001 was the last of his 1,000-yard rushing seasons, and though he was still employed as the Rams' primary running back for several years following the 2001 season, he was no longer the player he had been in his prime, despite remaining a respected and effective player.

On July 21, the Rams announced the Faulk would undergo reconstructive knee surgery and miss the entire 2006 NFL season. During the season Faulk served as an analyst for the NFL Network's NFL Total Access.

On an edition of CBS's "NFL Gamecenter" on November 20, 2006, Faulk was the center of controversy when he stated that a "quarterback 'makes' the offensive line" and that he could pass-rush against his former teammate Orlando Pace, one of the league's premier pass-protectors, with success given enough attempts, belittling the importance of a good offensive line to a team. Immediately after the commercial break that ensued, he was nowhere to be found on the set.

During an NBC Sunday Night Football halftime show, Faulk was asked by one of the announcers, "So are you retired or not?" Faulk said that he was still a Ram, and would be a Ram for the rest of his life. He then said that if the Rams would have him back, he would play next year, as he was able to run full speed on his re-built knees, however on March 26, 2007, Faulk announced his retirement from football.

On November 29, 2007, the Rams announced that they would be retiring Faulk's number. The ceremony was during halftime of the Thursday night game against the Pittsburgh Steelers on December 20, 2007.

Career Stats

Faulk currently resides in San Diego, California and has also moved his charitable foundation there.

In 2009, Faulk was also inducted by the San Diego Hall of Champions into the Breitbard Hall of Fame honoring San Diego's finest athletes both on and off the playing surface.