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The suddenly powerful Steven Jackson


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In the last two weeks, we Rams fans have started to see the Steven Jackson we have been longing for. As has been discussed at length in this forum, he has always been a solid open-field threat, with good burst for a big man and above average elusiveness for his size. The Rams have begun to exploit this in the passing game in recent weeks as well as relying on his impressive yardage totals. He remained an enigma in short yardage, though, eventually getting to a point where he got almost no goal line carries anymore because he wouldn't run physical enough and still ran too upright.

 

Well, he may have gotten the message, because in the last two games he has carried the ball in short yardage like he never has before (and yes, I have seen EVERY pro carry the man has made.) Most impressive were two TD carries in two weeks where he looked like the beast we have all believed he could be. This week he ran angry for the first time in his pro career, and it was impressive.

 

We still lost to a better team, and his personal numbers wouldn't seem to stand out above other performances from this year if you just looked at the stats, but SJax appears to be making a real change in how he does his business.

 

It's too late for us this year, but if we can figure out how to play defense and special teams, watch out next year. (That's a big if, I know.) Bulger has recovered from a shaky start and is looking great, our receivers are still excellent, and the last piece of the puzzle on offense, Jackson, is finally showing a glimpse of the elite back he can be. Rams in '07-'08 anyone?

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Two comments/questions:

 

1. They are not done yet. They lose next week at Carol but then have SF and Zona at home. That makes them 6-6. Loss vs Chic so 6-7. Win at Oak and vs Wash and they are 8-7 heading into Minny. Don't tell me they can't/won't beat SF, Zona, Oak, and Wash especially when only Oak is on the road. Then 8-7 into Minny with maybe a playoff spot on the line at 9-7.

2. Can you explain to me as a Rams fan why Linehan thought it was best to pass 40 times when Bulger was at best avgerage and run Jax only 18 times when he was at 5 YPC? Do Rams fans have any answers on that today? Seems like a terrible job coaching. They should have won that game. Early in the year Jax got 22 or 23 carries a game. They were winning. Now he gets 18 a game. They are losing. Why the drop of 5 carries or so?

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Excellent questions, I'll do my best.

 

1. Yes, I believe there are a few wins left on the Rams schedule, but Seattle's schedule is also favorable, and we are essentially three games behind them with the tiebreaker. A wildcard spot is a real longshot, since we are currently behind at least six teams for a wildcard. It's possible, but not likely.

 

2. Linehan is facing a lot of criticism locally for decisions in games, especially in the second half. His decision to essentially take 3 points off the board yesterday, and then go for it on a terrible 4th & 1 call arguably cost us the game. I agree that his going away from the run is curious, especially as I noted, most observers here believe Steven Jackson is finally showing signs of being the stud we all believed he can be. Should we have won that game yesterday? Probably, but it's tough to win when you can't play special teams at all, and the defense seems to get worse every week.

 

Another valid question - Why did Holmgren abandon what was working against the Rams in the first half? Curious.

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Excellent questions, I'll do my best.

 

1. Yes, I believe there are a few wins left on the Rams schedule, but Seattle's schedule is also favorable, and we are essentially three games behind them with the tiebreaker. A wildcard spot is a real longshot, since we are currently behind at least six teams for a wildcard. It's possible, but not likely.

 

2. Linehan is facing a lot of criticism locally for decisions in games, especially in the second half. His decision to essentially take 3 points off the board yesterday, and then go for it on a terrible 4th & 1 call arguably cost us the game. I agree that his going away from the run is curious, especially as I noted, most observers here believe Steven Jackson is finally showing signs of being the stud we all believed he can be. Should we have won that game yesterday? Probably, but it's tough to win when you can't play special teams at all, and the defense seems to get worse every week.

 

Another valid question - Why did Holmgren abandon what was working against the Rams in the first half? Curious.

 

Good answers. At 9-7 a WC would be a question mark I agree but they can get to 8-7 into Minny week 17 for sure, actually they should be 8-7 into that game, and they'll still be alive I bet at 8-7 into week 17. Although maybe barely alive.

VERY happy to hear he is taking criticism locally, he should. Not only do you not kick the FG but you pass? Come on. You have a maybe stud RB and he is at 5 YPC and he gets 18 carries while your QB is struggling some and throws 40 passes and ZERO TD's. That is bad coaching and Lineham deserves criticism today so happy to hear he's getting it. Maybe he'll run more now which is good for them. Just 22 or so carries that's all.

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Hmmm....I thought maybe the reason Steven was getting so many looks in the passing game was because the coverage down field has been good and the d-line getting pressure on Bulger...I know in the KC game Bulger was just slinging it out to Jackson cause that's all he had time for...not sure if those were by design...but I thought that it was more for those two reasons.

 

 

Doesn't the loss of PACE hurt him pretty badly?

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Jackson has been pretty darn good from day 1 IMO. He wasn't scoring TD's but has always been piling up plenty of total yards. Plus I'm in a PPR league so he's really turning into a beast now with the TD's. I'm concerned about the loss of Pace but think it will have more of an adverse affect on Bulger with the pass protection. S-Jax will still get his touches.

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Jackson has been pretty darn good from day 1 IMO. He wasn't scoring TD's but has always been piling up plenty of total yards. Plus I'm in a PPR league so he's really turning into a beast now with the TD's. I'm concerned about the loss of Pace but think it will have more of an adverse affect on Bulger with the pass protection. S-Jax will still get his touches.

 

I agree with that also. Of course losing Pace hurts the whole O but they can just run to the other side. I think the passing will suffer more.

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Hmmm....I thought maybe the reason Steven was getting so many looks in the passing game was because the coverage down field has been good and the d-line getting pressure on Bulger...I know in the KC game Bulger was just slinging it out to Jackson cause that's all he had time for...not sure if those were by design...but I thought that it was more for those two reasons.

 

No question some of the passing to Jackson was a result of coverage downfield, but Linehan was adamant teh last couple weeks that they were trying to increase Jackson's presence in the passing game. He is a great receiver and it gets him in the open field with the ball, which is a good thing.

 

Losing Pace will definitely hurt this offense this year, that's part of the reason my original post was talking optimistically about next year.

 

Jackson has been pretty darn good from day 1 IMO.

 

True, as I said he has gotten yardage, but did not get the TD's or short yardage required to be truly elite. The point of the whole post was that he appears to be serious about adding that last dimension to be an elite back. The sky's the limit if he continues to improve.

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Well, he may have gotten the message, because in the last two games he has carried the ball in short yardage like he never has before (and yes, I have seen EVERY pro carry the man has made.) Most impressive were two TD carries in two weeks where he looked like the beast we have all believed he could be. This week he ran angry for the first time in his pro career, and it was impressive.

 

We still lost to a better team, and his personal numbers wouldn't seem to stand out above other performances from this year if you just looked at the stats, but SJax appears to be making a real change in how he does his business.

 

It's too late for us this year, but if we can figure out how to play defense and special teams, watch out next year. (That's a big if, I know.) Bulger has recovered from a shaky start and is looking great, our receivers are still excellent, and the last piece of the puzzle on offense, Jackson, is finally showing a glimpse of the elite back he can be. Rams in '07-'08 anyone?

 

 

There's your problem. You've only been watching him since he turned pro? And you call yourself a St. Louis fan? :D I've been scouting Jackson for the Rams since 2002 (disguised as a student). I watched him run around, through, behind, under, and over anyone we played against. We all saw signs of his future dominance last year, but he was still adjusting to the game, imo. This year he is a beast and I am glad he is finally starting to show it by getting into the endzone. The Rams have a gold mine in this kid, he will be good for years to come. He is 100% class and hard work.

 

I would not call the Seahawks the better team (despite their records this year...). I was at the game last night and both teams played like crap. The Seahawks got the lucky breaks and won the game by a field goal... a repeat of the first game the two teams had earlier in the season. Maybe I am just too bitter to admit a silly Seahawk team can be better than the Rams. Whatever. I have not been impressed with any of the Hawks' games this year.

 

I'm also not ready to give up just yet on this year. I won't be ready to pull the plug until week 17. Next year should be a good year to be a Ram though. Have you heard or do you know Linehan's philosophy on the defense and special teams?

 

The Rams need to take care of business next year and get two wins over the Hawks. It's tough to be a Ram living in Seattle these days. If someone is talking about the Seahawks on the citybus I can't tell them that their team is owned by the Rams anymore. I have to tell them their team is owned by the refs now. This usually causes them to get excited and tell me how the refs cheated them. I generally will be polite and tell them that they are wrong while asking which player broke loose for that 75 yard touchdown run. The usual response is "Shaun Alexander!" I've heard this response more than once, seriously. It's always fun to see their reaction after I tell them they don't know what they are talking about and that it was actually Willie Parker. The ignorance is rich in this city.

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I would not call the Seahawks the better team (despite their records this year...).

 

There's no question that having Hass and SA missing hurts them, so the Rams probably have the advantage on offense if you compare teams, though with Hass and SA back you would have to give the Rams a nod by the slimmest of margins. (I'd give the Rams the checkmark for QB and receivers, give SA the nod over SJax for sure, and call the O-lines about a wash when everyone's healthy.)

 

As for the other facets of the game - defense, special teams, and coaching - the 'Hawks get the nod over the Rams with no questions asked. It's not even close.

 

As for Linehan's defensive style, it appears to be "Let Haslett handle it." Haslett has installed a gap-style defense, similar to last year's and he appears to just not have the personnel to run it. They keep talking about "missing assignments and missing gaps" but when it comes right down to it, they need more talent.

 

Aside from Leonard Little, who is a real playmaker on defense? Adeyanju had a nice day yesterday, and Pisa is a serviceable linebacker, but there is little else, unfortunately. The Rams need at least one offseason to continue to add players. We're last or near last in every major defensive category, and you can't make noise in the playoffs that way. It's that simple.

 

As for special teams, it seems clear he has no more of a plan than Martz and it is not the priority he claimed in the preseason. They are inept.

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In tems of fantasy football alone, I've been saying it since last June and July that Steven Jackson will finish the year a top 3 fantasy back. If by chance he does not finish this year as the #3 or better fantasy back I have no doubt that next year he will be one of the highly sought after top 1-3 pick in most fantasy drafts.

 

Steven Jackson is an amazing running back with the talant to be the best back in the league (besides of course Tomlinson, and L.J.)

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