St. Louis Rams RB Marshall Faulk will be having major reconstructive knee surgery, effectively ending his season before it’s even started.  However, it could be possible that this will swing the pedulum towards retirement, which Faulk was considering during the offseason. 

Faulk did not revolutionize the running back position by being effective in running the ball, as well as catching it as that honor probably belongs to former San Francisco 49ers RB Roger Craig, however, Faulk did take it to another level becoming the first running back to gain 2,000+ yards from scrimmage in four consecutive years from 1998-2001.

Because of Faulk’s devastating effectiveness being able to line up in the backfield and split out, many offensive coordinators tried to design plays for their own running backs, if they felt that they had the talent.  It’s worked for the New York Giants with Tiki Barber, the San Diego Chargers with LaDanian Tomlinson, and the Indianapolis Colts, Faulk’s first and only other team, with Edgerrin James who will be playing with the Arizona Cardinals this season.

In the end, there is/was only one Marshall Faulk, a player scary to face, and even more difficult to strategize against.  It’s true that Faulk isn’t walking into the sunset the way he probably deserves to, but if you watched him play in his prime, you’ll never forget that he was one of the best to play the game.  Whether he comes back to play in the 2007 season or not, Faulk has nothing else to prove on the field.