Playboy's 20Q: Marshall Faulk

When he dons the blue-and-gold Rams uniform with number 28 on it, Marshall Faulk is transformed into our newest superhero--Total Yardage Man, a bolt of lightning and a rumble of thunder. The NFL's Most Valuable Player in 2000 and its Offensive Player of the Year for the past three seasons, Faulk is at times a sylph, at other times a battering ram. Last year the six-time Pro Bowler became the first player in NFL history to gain more than 2000 yards from scrimmage four straight seasons. In 1999, he compiled a record 2429 total yards. In 2000, he set another record, for touchdowns, with 26.

Faulk's career numbers have grown fat and sassy after nine seasons (the past three with the Rams): 9442 yards rushing, 5447 yards receiving and 110 touchdowns, the ninth most in history. Among running backs who have gained 9000 yards or more, Faulk's 548 career pass receptions coming into this season were second only to Marcus Allen's 587, a figure he should exceed by early December. How unique is the 29-year-old Faulk? Last year he caught 83 passes--the most for any running back in the league.

Now if only his coach, Mike Martz, would remember that Faulk can do all this. After the Patriots' last-minute field goal gave them a 20--17 upset victory over the heavily favored Rams, the main question for Martz was why he didn't call more plays for Faulk. It's a question Martz still hears, and probably will forever.

Faulk grew up in the notorious Desire Housing Project in New Orleans' Ninth Ward. His parents divorced when he was four and his mother had to work hard to support a large family. Faulk played in streets teeming with crime and guns. One of his five older brothers went to jail for armed robbery; a similar fate might have been Marshall's had not a high school coach encouraged him to continue to play football, which kept him in school and off the street. Heavily recruited as a defensive back, Faulk chose to go to San Diego State in 1991, where he set scads of records as a running back in three all-American years: Faulk was the first freshman to lead the nation in rushing and scoring and, in his second college game, he rushed for an NCAA-record 386 yards and scored seven touchdowns.

Faulk turned pro after his junior year and was drafted with the second overall pick by the Colts in 1994. In Indianapolis he won offensive Rookie of the Year honors and went on to break most team records for total yardage. At the same time he acquired a reputation as a me-first, team-second player, a reputation that was worsened by run-ins with coaches and with the front office over money. A change was inevitable. After the 1998 season he was dealt to the Rams, who rewarded him with a seven-year, $45 million contract. It turned out to be the fork in Faulk's road. In 1999 he helped the Rams go from worst to Super Bowl champs, and his bad reputation evaporated. But the episode made him wary of fame and success. In fact, Faulk is wary of most people and most things. Writer Mark Ribowsky asked about last year's showdown with the New England Patriots.

1

[Q] Playboy: Are you still angry about the Super Bowl?

[A] Faulk: It's over with. Media people always think players are ruined for life when they lose. No, it's just another game. It was a great opportunity for us, but we fucked up. It was over, and we moved on to this season.

2

[Q] Playboy: Kurt Warner said that the Patriots didn't win, you guys lost. Would you agree?

[A] Faulk: We were the better team, but being the better team on paper doesn't mean you're going to win anything. They won that game because they executed better and made more plays than we did. They made adjustments quicker and did some things differently from the first time we played them last year. And they followed the oldest rule in football: Do everything you can to win, whether it's by the book or not. They held me, grabbed me, pushed, shoved and tackled, and the only time it was called was when we were down near their end zone and the playing area was smaller, so everybody saw it. I don't begrudge that. That was their plan, and 100 million fans don't give a shit if I got held. It's who's the champ that counts.

3

[Q] Playboy: Were you pissed about not running enough?

[A] Faulk: I don't second-guess. I was OK with the game plan. It just didn't work. No, it's not that it didn't work, we just didn't execute. How about that?

4

[Q] Playboy: Not very convincing. Did you go to Mike Martz during the game and say, "Run me more"?

[A] Faulk: It doesn't work that way. I don't call the plays. I just try to make things happen when it comes to me. It's Mike's ball. He gets to shuffle it around to who he wants. And when things don't go right, he'll say, "If you want to fault me, then fault me." It takes balls for a coach to do that and not point blame at the players. I thought I was doing enough. What fans don't see is that when I'm not in the play I'm doing other things. In my first Super Bowl, three years ago against the Tennessee Titans, I ran only 17 yards on 10 carries, but I did a lot of little things that nobody noticed. I study this game, I work at it. I'm already prepared for most of the things that happen during a game. I see the whole field, know the tendencies of the linebackers and defensive backs, and if my number isn't called I'm going to make myself useful. So when defensive end Jevon Kearse broke into the backfield late in that game, I got a piece of him [giving Warner time to hit Isaac Bruce with the 73-yard touchdown pass that clinched the 23--16 victory]. That was one of the biggest plays I've ever made, and nobody knows it.

5

[Q] Playboy: Colts running back Edgerrin James--who's been called a young Marshall Faulk--has said, "Marshall has the game figured out to where it's easy." Is it easy?

[A] Faulk: It is when I work at it, when I'm focused, which I usually am. When I get to the game I know what I'm looking for, so when I'm out there I'm not thinking at all. I'm totally relaxed. Before the game I listen to music on headphones and I'm just running to that groove in my head. I'm having fun. People talk about my eyes being bionic or my physical abilities, but that's not it. We all have talent in this league. I'm nothing special. I just want it more, so I work at it. It's not that other guys can't do what I do. They're just too lazy to do it. Like taking game film home at night and being clued in, so that if a linebacker lines up in a certain way, you know he won't be physically able to play a deep, outside coverage. One time I saw [49ers safety] Lance Schulters hiding behind an official, so I figured that he was going to blitz and I changed up on my pass route and was wide open for a touchdown. You even get to the point of giving fake reads, to throw a guy off, screw with his head. That's when it's fun. And easy.

6

[Q] Playboy: Your offense uses a lot of space-age gobbledygook, like "Max Q performance arcs." What the hell is that?

[A] Faulk: Mike once brought in a NASA scientist to explain how a spacecraft gets off the ground and into space. A lot of things have to happen to clear the g forces and reach critical mass. What it meant for us is that each guy has to do his part and not worry about doing anybody else's job. Then everything comes together. It made me wonder: If it takes all that to get a rocket to the moon, how can it get off the moon without the same forces it has on earth? I asked the guy about it and he had no explanation. But then, I don't think we've been to the moon. Things just don't add up. Look at the pictures of those guys walking on the moon. Astronauts wear helmets with these big-ass UV reflective masks. Look at the mask of one astronaut looking into the camera. Why can't we see the guy who took the picture? Why is that flag they planted on the moon flapping in the wind when there's no wind on the moon? I don't know if they staged it for propaganda like in the movie Capricorn One. I just don't think it happened, any of those moon landings.

7

[Q] Playboy: What else is the government lying about? UFOs?

[A] Faulk: Well, I've never seen one. But we're talking about the government. Why would they tell us the truth? Have they lied to us before? Why believe anything they say? Why would they tell the truth about UFOs? There's a definite evil side to the government. They've got to have an evil side to deal with countries who want to harm us. We can't be a doormat. But that attitude carries over. They do pretty much what they want to do. They've been tapping people's phones for a long time, not just recently. They might even be tapping mine. That's OK, I've got nothing to hide.

8

[Q] Playboy: Were you influenced more by your mother or father?

[A] Faulk: My mother. My father was a good guy, but my mother worked her ass off for me and my brothers. When my parents divorced, my mother told my father, "If you leave, I don't want a thing from you. I'm going to raise these kids on my own." I think she passed that attitude on to me, because I don't want a thing from anybody. All I want is to play, then to be left alone. Also, my high school coach, Wayne Reese, was very important in my life. He got me off the street and made me focus on the big picture of life earlier than most kids do. He had to because it was touch and go with me. He didn't give me a chance to keep making mistakes. And when I got into schoolwork, that was my sanctuary, along with football. I used to sit in the bleachers in the gym after school doing homework until eight o'clock, when they closed the doors. My house was right across the street, but I knew if I went home I'd never do the work, because I'd be right back on the street again, doing the same shit, like busting windows and taking stuff to sell. It wasn't pretty. I'd do things like hit a girl in my class in the face for no reason. That got me suspended. If I hadn't cleaned up my act, they would have expelled me.

9

[Q] Playboy: Were you ever arrested?

[A] Faulk: I'm here. That's all I'll say. If I'd done anything really terrible, I would have gone to jail and I wouldn't be here. Or maybe I just got away with it.

10

[Q] Playboy: Was Jim Mora, your last coach with the Colts, fair with you?

[A] Faulk: He got on me harshly in 1998 when I didn't make a catch because I was in the wrong place and the ball went through my hands and was intercepted and cost us a game. He said, "You gotta run the right fucking route, Marsh!" Maybe he was out of line, maybe he wasn't. Maybe he should have said it to me in private instead of in front of the whole team. But the thing about it was that he was right. I remember sitting in the assistant coach's office that day and crying because I realized I was accountable, I'd let down my teammates. I'd probably done that in the past but didn't realize it. I mean, I don't accept that mistakes are made. I'm harder on myself than anybody else is. I get paid to run the right route and make the catch. But before that day I would have gone right back at the coach, because I came into this league as a hothead. I wanted the ball all the time, and if I didn't get it I wouldn't accept it. All that has changed. It's not about me anymore. It's all about the team.

11

[Q] Playboy: You may be the NFL's most eligible bachelor. You can get laid any day of the week, can't you?

[A] Faulk: Probably. But that's for when you're 21, 22. Now I'm pushing 30, when you start to think about seriously dating a woman. You look for intelligent conversation. Like this thing about moon landings. It would be nice to find someone who knows there is a moon.

12

[Q] Playboy: Pamela Anderson or Jennifer Lopez?

[A] Faulk: Pamela. That video with Tommy Lee put her on top, so to speak.

13

[Q] Playboy: Are you a porn watcher?

[A] Faulk: Well, I watched that one. I have no problem with porn. Porn is part of your freedom, if that's what you want. And it's not like I'm gay, man.

14

[Q] Playboy: Who else do you find sexy?

[A] Faulk: Mariah Carey. A lot of guys don't like her because she's skanky. But all women have that in them. Hers is just out-front. It's like, "You know I'm a skank, so you can't be mad at me for it."

15

[Q] Playboy: Would you rather have a 200-yard game or sex with Halle Berry?

[A] Faulk: [Long pause] Are we talking about a playoff game? Man, Halle Berry! You had the wrong choices because Halle Berry rules. I recently saw her on television, just back from doing the new (concluded on page 156)Marshall Faulk(continued from page 124) James Bond movie. That is sweet stuff. She would make me enjoy missing a 200-yard game. I think she's done with athletes after David Justice, but if she isn't, my door is open.

16

[Q] Playboy: Speaking of not being gay, Mike Piazza had to call a press conference to deny that he's gay. Are there guys in the league you're suspicious about?

[A] Faulk: Uh-huh. I'd have nothing against anybody if they were gay, but really, I don't want to know. I don't want to know what so-and-so did with his wife last night, so why would I want to know if he's smoking the pole? Just keep it quiet. What's coming out going to prove? Is it going to make you catch the ball better or throw it any better? The only thing it would do is bring a team down, because the media would have a feeding frenzy. Someone would need attention really bad to do that. I mean, I could see coming out to make a statement if the league had a rule that gays couldn't play or something like that. But that's not the case. So just shut up.

17

[Q] Playboy: When you're not wearing your football pads, you look more like a sports-writer than a player.

[A] Faulk: That's low. But it's true. I'm not the typical football player. You'd think a guy who runs as much as me and takes the punishment I do would be a monster. I can't explain it. I work out in the gym, but only as much as I have to. I save everything I have for the game.

18

[Q] Playboy: Nobody would accuse you of using steroids, but do other football players?

[A] Faulk: You can't do it in football. This isn't baseball. They'll catch you. It can be anytime. They'll call you at home or when you're on vacation and say, "We have a place 20 minutes from where you are. How soon can you be here to piss in a cup?" It's good they do that, but they also banned ephedrine after [Minnesota Viking lineman] Korey Stringer died in training camp last summer, like that was really the cause. That didn't kill Korey. Some coaches push guys and they don't know when to stop. I'm not going to take a shot at Mike Tice, but he was Stringer's line coach and when Tice played back in the old days, linemen were maybe 260 pounds. Now guys go 320, 330, and they're not equipped to be out there in the heat without rest or water. In a game we might have the ball two or three minutes, on a good drive four minutes. You have to have some of that, you have to get out in the heat and mix it up. But there's a fine line between mixing it up and killing a guy. So it wasn't ephedrine--that was a cover. I use ephedrine and don't have a problem with it.

19

[Q] Playboy: You use it? It's banned.

[A] Faulk: Well, I used it, I should say, and never had a problem with it.

20

[Q] Playboy: What do you use now?

[A] Faulk: My mind. The mind is the greatest stimulant of all. Especially if I'm thinking about Halle Berry.