Marc Bulger: Why He Isn't the Answer for the Struggling Indianapolis Colts

After a disappointing home loss against the Pittsburgh Steelers, the Indianapolis Colts have fallen to 0-3 with no solution in sight.

The Kerry Collins Experiment hasn't worked out. Curtis Painter was never meant to be a starter and he certainly didn't look like one last night.

With recent reports that Peyton Manning could miss the rest of the reason, the Colts are desperate.

According to Rich Smith's Twitter, that desperation has apparently turned rather ugly. The Colts reportedly contacted Tom Condon about the availability of quarterback Marc Bulger.

Yes, the same Marc Bulger that last played in the NFL when he was starting for the St. Louis Rams. 

The same Marc Bulger that went 5-30 in his last three years with the Rams. 

The same Marc Bulger that has said he doesn't want to return to the NFL.

Sure, Bulger might actually represent an upgrade over Kerry Collins, but that speaks more to how bad Collins has been rather than to how good Bulger might still be. Is signing him really worth it?

You can't just bring in a quarterback who hasn't played in two years and expect him to be able to run a timing-based offense.

Heck, certain Colts (I'm looking at you, Reggie) weren't all that accepting of Kerry Collins in the first place because he supposedly wouldn't be able to learn the offense fast enough. Three mediocre games later and that assumption seems to be right.

Would the team be any more accepting of Bulger?

If the Colts were to make this move, they'd be doing the exact same thing with a guy who's even more rusty. Bulger might be able to get it down the field better than Collins, but that's not really the point here.

He's just not game-ready and the Colts need someone who can go right away. Someone like David Garrard. 

There's no point for the Colts to fork over their money to sign a quarterback if that quarterback can't contribute right away.

It appears that Manning's injury isn't career threatening at this point, so by all signs he'll be back by next year. The Colts don't need to groom someone or sign someone who will be able to run the offense in three to four weeks when they are out of the playoff race. 

They need someone who has a chance to turn this offense around now and Marc Bulger isn't that guy.