Hall of Famer Faulk talks life after football

ST. LOUIS Marshall Faulk entered a small room at Rams Park with a new status but said he felt very much the same. On Friday, he smiled and tilted his palms after he was asked what life has been like after enshrinement in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. It was an achievement the former St. Louis Rams running back never made his goal during a 12-year career. But the honor was something he treasured when he stood on a stage thirteen days earlier at Fawcett Stadium in Canton, Ohio, and gave a 4,009-word speech that began, Boy, this is pretty special. So on Friday, in a news conference, Faulk was asked how special slipping on his golden jacket made him feel. A career that produced more than 12,200 yards rushing will be remembered as one of the NFLs best. Not much has changed, he said from a podium. Still the same old me. The same player who was a versatile part of the Rams Greatest Show on Turf still has a presence at his former facility more than four years into retirement. As Faulk spoke, a poster of him cutting in the open field hung on a wall on the opposite side of the room. To his left, four newspapers commemorating the Rams 2000 postseason run were framed. Faulk relived the weekend that was the result of all those memories. He said enshrinement night was special, but the dinner the evening before was the moment when he understood how far he had come. During that time, he was in the presence of Hall of Famers. He was their peer. The boy who sold popcorn in the Superdome because he couldnt afford New Orleans Saints tickets had come a long way. The night before is really, for me, the time with the jacket ceremony and all the Hall of Famers that are there, Faulk said. They come up to you, they greet you, they embrace you. Its surreal. Faulk has spent the time since talking football. It is a game he considered his escape from the death and drugs that claimed many around him as a boy growing up in New Orleans Ninth Ward. He enters his fifth season as an NFL Network analyst, and he will be a color commentator for the Rams final three preseason games. Faulks enshrinement was memorable, but life has continued on as it did before the ceremony. On Friday, after Faulk addressed his induction, talk turned to the upcoming season. To Faulks left, Rams general manager Billy Devaney stood with both hands folded over a chair. Faulk is eager to see how the Rams offense will perform with second-year quarterback Sam Bradford and new coordinator Josh McDaniels. He said the Rams have collected talent he approves of guard Harvey Dahls signing and the acquisitions of running backs Jerious Norwood and Cadillac Williams and Faulk is excited to see how the roster will develop with time. You look at the offensive line, and you look at the depth that this team has, and it starts to impress you what Billy and them have been able to do at collecting talent, Faulk said. (Theyre) raising that talent level up to where you start to expect a team to get into the playoffs and make a run and do some things when you have a young quarterback. A little later, toward the end of the news conference, Faulk shared a laugh. Someone asked him what a starter wants in a backup, given the signings of Norwood and Williams to help prolong Steven Jacksons career. The moment was a chance for Faulk to look back on his time in St. Louis. He recalls how motivated he was when younger players were signed to push him. Faulks time in the NFL has passed, but his memories have not. He grew as a professional at Rams Park after the Indianapolis Colts traded him for second- and fifth-round draft picks in April 1999. The moments captured on the poster and framed newspapers Friday in the small room represent pieces of a larger picture that make him who he is today. You want a guy to be just good enough that you keep your job, Faulk said, grinning. He doesnt hurt the team, but you want to keep your job. Understand that Steven understands the two guys that are behind him. Cadillac, hes put up numbers in this league. Norwood has been a very serviceable number two. In hindsight, like for me when I was here, I think I had two number ones and a number two drafted behind me. Those things are motivating. Soon after, Faulk stepped away from the microphone. He slipped a black backpack over his shoulder and put on sunglasses. He turned around and left the room. The former running back is now a Hall of Famer, but his life in football hasnt changed.