Best NFL Players of All Time: Marshall Faulk. Ranking the Top Players in History. Place a bet on an NFL football game now.

Best NFL Players of All Time: Marshall Faulk

When Marshall Faulk came out of San Diego State and was selected with the second choice in the 1994 NFL draft by the Indianapolis Colts, evaluators throughout the league were nearly unanimous in their assessment of his possibilities for success. His speed, ability to run with the football, and talent as a pass catcher made him a standout player.

The data show that Faulk was just that as a rookie. He rushed for 1,282 yards and 11 touchdowns, averaging 4.1 yards per carry, and caught 52 passes for 522 yards and one touchdown. Faulk soon established himself as a dual threat, something he would continue to do throughout his career.

But he also developed a reputation as a sel sh player. Some of it could have been jealousy from his teammates, but Faulk is the first to acknowledge that he was concerned about his personal stats. “It wasn’t that I was sel sh,” Faulk stated.

“But I was always a really goal-oriented person. Achieving on the football field was essential to me, and others may have interpreted it incorrectly. I always wanted to win, and that was my first focus, but I also wanted to fulfill my obligations.”

During his five seasons with the Indianapolis Colts, Faulk carried for at least 1,000 yards four times. He was also a dominant receiver, catching 86 passes in 1998, his final season with the organization. Faulk took pride in all aspects of the game and was an excellent blocker.

However, after a game against the Baltimore Ravens in 1998, Faulk recognized he was playing with the incorrect attitude. In the Ravens’ 38-31 victory over the Colts, Faulk ran for 192 yards and grabbed seven catches for 75 yards. He grabbed a 34-yard touchdown pass from Peyton Manning in the first quarter then raced for a 68-yard touchdown on the Colts’ next drive.

However, Faulk made an error during the Colts’ late fourth-quarter drive, which would have tied the game. He went out for Manning’s pass and lost concentration as the ball flew towards him and glanced off his hands. The Ravens won the game after intercepting the ball.

Faulk felt quite good after the game since he had 192 rushing yards, which was a career high. He clearly had a monster statistical game, but it did not impress head coach Jim Mora. The deflected pass had transformed into the game-winning play, and Mora made Faulk hear it in front of the team.

That moment marked a turning point in Faulk’s career. He recognized he wasn’t as team-oriented as he could be and resolved to rectify that. After being traded from the Colts to the St. Louis Rams, Faulk demonstrated to both the Rams and himself the importance of contributing to the team’s success rather than just accumulating numbers.

“Jim Mora was correct.” “I dropped the pass, and it was my fault,” Faulk explained. “I could have done more to support my squad. I made it clear that everything I did from that moment on would benefit my team.

During their first season in St. Louis, the Rams won the Super Bowl. Talk about instant results. “We knew we were getting an outstanding football player,” St. Louis head coach Dick Vermeil stated. “We knew Marshall was a great runner and receiver who could make a difference in any game.” But we didn’t realize how good he was. His preparation and dedication demonstrated a willingness to go above and beyond for the success of his team.

In his debut season with the Rams, Faulk rushed for 1,381 yards and seven touchdowns. He also grabbed 87 receptions for 1,048 yards, making him only the second player in NFL history (Roger Craig being the first) to run for 1,000 or more yards and catch at least 1,000 yards in a single season. Faulk’s best numbers came in the 2000 season. He carried for 1,359 yards and 18 touchdowns, while catching 81 receptions for 830 yards and eight scores.

It was one of the most memorable seasons in league history, and Rams head coach Mike Martz, who had replaced Vermeil following the Super Bowl victory, was astounded by Faulk’s mastery of the game. “You hear the phrase ‘coach on the field,'” Martz said. “That’s exactly what Marshall was to us. He not only could tell you what happened on a play, but he could also come up with a quick repair if it went wrong.

That’s the mindset and determination with which Faulk would play the rest of his career. It was something Faulk was really proud of, but few people outside the locker room knew about. “I always felt I got tagged with this attitude of being a natural athlete,” Faulk told me. “But I was a gaming student, and nobody recognized how much technical expertise I have. I take great pride in that.”

When he retired at the end of the 2005 season, the seven-time Pro Bowler had ran for 12,279 yards and averaged 4.3 yards per carry. He also grabbed 767 passes for 6,875 yards, averaging 9.0 yards per catch. As of the publication of this book, Faulk’s 19,154 yards from scrimmage are fourth-best in league history, and his 136 total touchdowns rank sixth all-time.

Those figures were enough to satisfy a “goal-oriented” performance, but he had evolved into one of the league’s most team-oriented players during his time in St. Louis.

Best NFL Players of All Time: Marshall Faulk Stats

Regular Season

Year	Age	Tm	Pos	No.	G	GS	Att	Yds	TD	1D	Succ%	Lng	Y/A	Y/G	A/G	Tgt	Rec	Yds	Y/R	TD	1D	Succ%	Lng	R/G	Y/G	Ctch%	Y/Tgt	Touch	Y/Tch	YScm	RRTD	Fmb	AV
1994	21	IND	RB	28	16	16	314	1282	11	60	43.3	52	4.1	80.1	19.6	74	52	522	10	1	21	43.2	85	3.3	32.6	70.30%	7.1	366	4.9	1804	12	5	16
1995	22	IND	RB	28	16	16	289	1078	11	69	46.7	40	3.7	67.4	18.1	74	56	475	8.5	3	18	51.4	34	3.5	29.7	75.70%	6.4	345	4.5	1553	14	8	13
1996	23	IND	RB	28	13	13	198	587	7	42	39.9	43	3	45.2	15.2	80	56	428	7.6	0	18	47.5	30	4.3	32.9	70.00%	5.4	254	4	1015	7	2	8
1997	24	IND	RB	28	16	16	264	1054	7	64	48.1	45	4	65.9	16.5	73	47	471	10	1	15	35.6	58	2.9	29.4	64.40%	6.5	311	4.9	1525	8	5	12
1998	25	IND	RB	28	16	15	324	1319	6	62	43.2	68	4.1	82.4	20.3	106	86	908	10.6	4	44	58.5	78	5.4	56.8	81.10%	8.6	410	5.4	2227	10	3	18
1999	26	STL	RB	28	16	16	253	1381	7	70	48.2	58	5.5	86.3	15.8	103	87	1048	12	5	40	58.3	57	5.4	65.5	84.50%	10.2	340	7.1	2429	12	2	25
2000	27	STL	RB	28	14	14	253	1359	18	78	55.7	36	5.4	97.1	18.1	113	81	830	10.2	8	42	54	72	5.8	59.3	71.70%	7.3	334	6.6	2189	26	0	22
2001	28	STL	RB	28	14	14	260	1382	12	70	54.6	71	5.3	98.7	18.6	104	83	765	9.2	9	40	62.5	65	5.9	54.6	79.80%	7.4	343	6.3	2147	21	3	22
2002	29	STL	RB	28	14	10	212	953	8	54	50	44	4.5	68.1	15.1	102	80	537	6.7	2	23	44.1	40	5.7	38.4	78.40%	5.3	292	5.1	1490	10	4	9
2003	30	STL	RB	28	11	11	209	818	10	51	43.1	52	3.9	74.4	19	61	45	290	6.4	1	11	36.1	30	4.1	26.4	73.80%	4.8	254	4.4	1108	11	0	9
2004	31	STL	RB	28	14	14	195	774	3	46	46.2	40	4	55.3	13.9	65	50	310	6.2	1	12	40	25	3.6	22.1	76.90%	4.8	245	4.4	1084	4	2	6
2005	32	STL	RB	28	16	1	65	292	0	15	46.2	20	4.5	18.3	4.1	58	44	291	6.6	1	18	43.1	18	2.8	18.2	75.90%	5	109	5.3	583	1	2	4
Career					176	156	2836	12279	100	681	47.2	71	4.3	69.8	16.1	1013	767	6875	9	36	302	49.4	85	4.4	39.1	75.70%	6.8	3603	5.3	19154	136	36	164
7 yrs		STL			99	80	1447	6959	58	384	49.8	71	4.8	70.3	14.6	606	470	4071	8.7	27	186	50.2	72	4.7	41.1	77.60%	6.7	1917	5.8	11030	85	13	97
5 yrs		IND			77	76	1389	5320	42	297	44.4	68	3.8	69.1	18	407	297	2804	9.4	9	116	48.2	85	3.9	36.4	73.00%	6.9	1686	4.8	8124	51	23	67

Playoffs

Year	Age	Tm	Pos	G	GS	Att	Yds	TD	1D	Succ%	Lng	Y/A	Y/G	A/G	Tgt	Rec	Yds	Y/R	TD	1D	Succ%	Lng	R/G	Y/G	Ctch%	Y/Tgt	Touch	Y/Tch	YScm	RRTD	Fmb
1995	22	IND	RB	1	1	1	16	0	1	100	16	16	16	1					0								1	16	16	0	0
1996	23	IND	RB	1	1	9	25	0		33.3	7	2.8	25	9	5	3	10	3.3	0		20	4	3	10	60.00%	2	12	2.9	35	0	0
1999	26	STL	RB	3	3	38	82	1	5	36.8	11	2.2	27.3	12.7	16	13	175	13.5	1	6	43.8	52	4.3	58.3	81.30%	10.9	51	5	257	2	0
2000	27	STL	RB	1	1	14	24	0	0	14.3	4	1.7	24	14	8	7	99	14.1	1	4	75	35	7	99	87.50%	12.4	21	5.9	123	1	0
2001	28	STL	RB	3	3	64	317	3	18	53.1	38	5	105.7	21.3	18	14	114	8.1	0	4	38.9	23	4.7	38	77.80%	6.3	78	5.5	431	3	0
2003	30	STL	RB	1	1	19	53	1	3	36.8	8	2.8	53	19	9	9	78	8.7	0	4	66.7	25	9	78	100.00%	8.7	28	4.7	131	1	0
2004	31	STL	RB	2	2	20	85	1	4	60	13	4.3	42.5	10	6	6	43	7.2	0	2	66.7	14	3	21.5	100.00%	7.2	26	4.9	128	1	0
Career				12	12	165	602	6	31	44.2	38	3.6	50.2	13.8	62	52	519	10	2	20	50	52	4.3	43.3	83.90%	8.4	217	5.2	1121	8
5 yrs		STL		10	10	155	561	6	30	44.5	38	3.6	56.1	15.5	57	49	509	10.4	2	20	52.6	52	4.9	50.9	86.00%	8.9	204	5.2	1070	8
2 yrs		IND		2	2	10	41	0	1	40	16	4.1	20.5	5	5	3	10	3.3	0	0	20	4	1.5	5	60.00%	2	13	3.9	51	0

 

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