He spent his first season as a reserve safety and special teamer. He soon found his way into the lineup when Bob Sanders was felled by injuries. Bullitt started 24 of 48 games in his first four years, but he missed the last 12 games in 2010 with a shoulder injury. He returned to the field briefly Saturday night in St. Louis, and he was happy to get to play.
"It felt good to get my feet wet," said Bullitt. "Unfortunately, I was a little rusty in the game. I hadn't played since October. It was a little different, but I'm looking forward to next week already. It definitely felt good. We do have a number of things to work on to get ready for next week. I have my eyes set on next week already."
Bullitt was among the defensive starters who opened the game. He had an early pass defensed and exited with most of the regulars during the first quarter. Bullitt and the veterans have worked with the younger players in training camp for the last couple of weeks. Along with the coaches, they were able to see the younger performers in live action for the first time. Bullitt generally liked what he saw, and he knows what he witnessed is typical for preseason games.
"I think they played well," he said of the younger performers on defense. "I think they ran to the ball well. Of course, there were mistakes made. This is preseason. We will look at the tape, correct it and go from there. There were a lot of nerves, but I thought the effort of the young guys was good. They were moving to the ball, playing hard and doing what they can to make the roster."
Bullitt knows the coaches will see the game tape first and they will analyze the play against the Rams. He knows the coaches will lay out the week's work as the team reports back to Anderson University to finish the last few days of training camp.
"Obviously, there is a lot of improvement we need to make, and we will use our practice time this week to correct the mistakes," said Bullitt. "Coach Caldwell will lay out the plan, and we will take it from there.
While the coaches will plot the course, some of the teaching will come from the brotherhood of players. Bullitt was one of those players receiving instruction a few years ago, and he will help pass along advice this week as the team prepares to face Washington next Friday at Lucas Oil Stadium.
"We will tell them this was just the first game and there are three more to play," he said. "We'll tell them they will get another chance, just stay focused and get ready for next week."
