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Ram tough Faulk wins MVP
Updated: Thursday December 28, 2000 11:04 AM
It's been quite a year for the Rams Marshall Faulk. The St. Louis running back overcame an injury and helped lead his team to the playoffs. And now Faulk can add MVP to his collection. He was named to that award Wednesday and he took time to talk about the prestigious honor with CNNSI.com's Josie Karp. Josie Karp: Marshall, there was so much talk at the beginning of the season after you started out 6-0 about the fact that you might win the MVP. And then on November 6, you have surgery. At that point in time, did you think this award would be possible? Marshall Faulk: At that point in time, I kind of forgot about it. At that point in time I felt like getting back and being healthy was the most important thing, to make sure that we got into the playoffs. Karp: Do you keep one of those lists where you set out goals either at the beginning of the season or over time? And was NFL MVP on it, and you can go home and check it off? Faulk: I never set individual goals. Everything that I set out to do has to deal with the team and what we want to accomplish. What seems to happen, when we set team goals, all those individual things sort of keep stacking up because you're not worried about them. You don't think about them. Karp: I want to talk again about the injury, because you've come back so strong now. Is it possible that you are getting better as these playoffs start?
Faulk: I think so. I think coming back when I did, it allowed me to test my knee and see where it was. It kept me in the game, it kept me with my reads. I'm not rusty now that I'm healthy. Although I wasn't 100 percent and I was out there playing, it kind of kept me up to game speed. Karp: One of the things that everyone keeps talking about when we ask them, "What is so special about Marshall Faulk?" is your smarts, your intelligence. I know at some point earlier in your career that you dedicated yourself to studying. When did that happen and how did that make this award possible? Faulk: I think I was tested a lot. When I was in Indianapolis, my coach Gene Huey who's the running backs coach over there, he tested me, pushed me to be a better player, a more professional player with studying the game. Not just going out there and playing off athletic skills. And when I bought into it and understood how it could help me as a player, I just couldn't resist. It made the game fun because I didn't have to go out there and think. I could just go out and play. Karp All right Marshall, again, congratulations and thanks so much for your time. And if you are looking for some more numbers to explain why this guy just won this award, try 11 touchdowns in the last three games of the regular season.
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