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Jim Thomas
http://www.stltoday.com/sports/football ... cbece.html
Rams tight end Matthew Mulligan has done more than just set single-season highs in catches and reception yards this season. He has exceeded his entire career totals in catches and reception yards in just 12 games.
Then again, the bar wasn’t set very high. In three seasons with the New York Jets, encompassing 34 regular-season games, Mulligan logged a total of six catches for 60 yards. This season with the Rams, he has seven catches for 74 yards, including his first career touchdown grab in Game 2 against Washington.
“To be honest, I haven’t kept track,” Mulligan said. “That’s not my forte.”
No, it’s blocking. Always has been. And that’s why the Rams brought him here as a free agent from the New York Jets last March with a two-year, $1.6 million contract — a deal that included a $200,000 signing bonus.
Mulligan, 27, is living proof that you can find serviceable, productive players in free agency without giving up an arm and a leg.
“He’s really a powerful blocker,” offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer said. “He knows his role. He plays physical and hard, and to the whistle.”
He doesn’t mind being called a blocking specialist, either. When people ask him about it, or ask if he’d like to get more passes thrown his way, Mulligan has a stock answer. “Am I still playing? Am I still on the 53-man roster?”
The answer, of course, is yes.
“So it doesn’t matter to me,” Mulligan said. “To be honest, if you’re thinking that way, it’s a little selfish because you should be trying to do whatever you can to help the team. Lance (Kendricks) is our pass-catcher, and he does a really good job with that. So I’m fine with filling a role that they ask me to do — whatever that might be.”
Mulligan also is a regular contributor on special teams, with a blocked punt against Washington to his credit.
Listed at 6-4, 265, Mulligan has been teased by his offensive line teammates that he’s a biscuit away from joining their ranks. Back in September, his wide receiver teammates called him a touchdown machine and the team’s secret weapon after that TD grab against the Redskins.
Mulligan isn’t the fastest tight end; he said he ran a 4.75 in the 40 coming out of Maine. But he seems to have a knack for getting open.
“When you don’t go out much on passes, (defenders) can forget about you at times,” Mulligan said.
The presence of Schottenheimer, his former offensive coordinator with the Jets, has made St. Louis a good fit for Mulligan. For one, he knew the offense coming in, so there was no transition period in terms of learning the playbook.
For another, Scottenheimer likes to use multiple tight end sets. That has kept Mulligan busy, mainly as an on-the-line blocker, but occasionally lining up in the backfield or going in motion. He is averaging about 25 plays a game on offense.
Mulligan was in for exactly 25 snaps in Sunday’s 16-13 overtime thriller over San Francisco, and enjoyed the victory as much as any Ram. But it was a tough weekend for him because of the murder-suicide by Kansas City linebacker Jovan Belcher.
Mulligan and Belcher were teammates for three years at the University of Maine and knew each other well. About the only time they spoke in the NFL was when their teams played each other. At the Chiefs-Rams preseason game this August in St. Louis, Belcher talked about visiting Mulligan in the offseason in Maine — which is where Mulligan maintains his permanent residence.
“He was a really good player in college,” Mulligan said. “A hard worker. A lot of things going for him. So it was definitely a tragic thing. It was gut-wrenching for me. I had no words to describe how I felt.”
http://www.stltoday.com/sports/football ... cbece.html
Rams tight end Matthew Mulligan has done more than just set single-season highs in catches and reception yards this season. He has exceeded his entire career totals in catches and reception yards in just 12 games.
Then again, the bar wasn’t set very high. In three seasons with the New York Jets, encompassing 34 regular-season games, Mulligan logged a total of six catches for 60 yards. This season with the Rams, he has seven catches for 74 yards, including his first career touchdown grab in Game 2 against Washington.
“To be honest, I haven’t kept track,” Mulligan said. “That’s not my forte.”
No, it’s blocking. Always has been. And that’s why the Rams brought him here as a free agent from the New York Jets last March with a two-year, $1.6 million contract — a deal that included a $200,000 signing bonus.
Mulligan, 27, is living proof that you can find serviceable, productive players in free agency without giving up an arm and a leg.
“He’s really a powerful blocker,” offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer said. “He knows his role. He plays physical and hard, and to the whistle.”
He doesn’t mind being called a blocking specialist, either. When people ask him about it, or ask if he’d like to get more passes thrown his way, Mulligan has a stock answer. “Am I still playing? Am I still on the 53-man roster?”
The answer, of course, is yes.
“So it doesn’t matter to me,” Mulligan said. “To be honest, if you’re thinking that way, it’s a little selfish because you should be trying to do whatever you can to help the team. Lance (Kendricks) is our pass-catcher, and he does a really good job with that. So I’m fine with filling a role that they ask me to do — whatever that might be.”
Mulligan also is a regular contributor on special teams, with a blocked punt against Washington to his credit.
Listed at 6-4, 265, Mulligan has been teased by his offensive line teammates that he’s a biscuit away from joining their ranks. Back in September, his wide receiver teammates called him a touchdown machine and the team’s secret weapon after that TD grab against the Redskins.
Mulligan isn’t the fastest tight end; he said he ran a 4.75 in the 40 coming out of Maine. But he seems to have a knack for getting open.
“When you don’t go out much on passes, (defenders) can forget about you at times,” Mulligan said.
The presence of Schottenheimer, his former offensive coordinator with the Jets, has made St. Louis a good fit for Mulligan. For one, he knew the offense coming in, so there was no transition period in terms of learning the playbook.
For another, Scottenheimer likes to use multiple tight end sets. That has kept Mulligan busy, mainly as an on-the-line blocker, but occasionally lining up in the backfield or going in motion. He is averaging about 25 plays a game on offense.
Mulligan was in for exactly 25 snaps in Sunday’s 16-13 overtime thriller over San Francisco, and enjoyed the victory as much as any Ram. But it was a tough weekend for him because of the murder-suicide by Kansas City linebacker Jovan Belcher.
Mulligan and Belcher were teammates for three years at the University of Maine and knew each other well. About the only time they spoke in the NFL was when their teams played each other. At the Chiefs-Rams preseason game this August in St. Louis, Belcher talked about visiting Mulligan in the offseason in Maine — which is where Mulligan maintains his permanent residence.
“He was a really good player in college,” Mulligan said. “A hard worker. A lot of things going for him. So it was definitely a tragic thing. It was gut-wrenching for me. I had no words to describe how I felt.”