Was Steven Jackson behind his time?

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http://www.101espn.com/category/rkarrak ... -his-time/



Our colleague Bernie Miklasz had an interesting and compelling column in Sunday’s Post-Dispatch discussing the possibilities of Rams’ running back Steven Jackson someday making the Hall of Fame. It’s an interesting thought, and brings to mind an interesting question.

If Bernie and other Hall of Fame voters are having trouble coming to grips with what Hall of Fame receiving numbers are in this era, what about coming to grips with what great running backs are? We just came out of an era in the last five or six years in which, between 1990 and 2005, seven of the top eleven rushers of all-time played a good portion of their career in that time frame. Emmitt Smith is the league’s all-time leader, Barry Sanders is third, Curtis Martin fourth, LaDanian Tomlinson fifth, Jerome Bettis sixth, Marshall Faulk tenth and Edgerrin James eleventh. Hall of Famers Thurman Thomas and Marcus Allen also played a good portion of their careers in that era. And, Terrell Davis, whose career was scuttled prematurely because of knee injuries, is third all-time behind Jim Brown and Sanders in yards per game.

There are other guys who played the majority of their careers between 1990-2005 who might get consideration. Maybe Warrick Dunn, who’s sixteenth on the all-time yards from scrimmage list, maybe Jamal Lewis, who had 10,607 yards including 2,066 in one year, Maybe Fred Taylor, who is 15th all time.

As Bernie noted, Jackson leads the NFL is rushing yards since 2005. Tomlinson was great in ’05, ’06 and ’07, but fell off the cliff in ’08. Adrian Peterson has been great since 2007, but is coming off a severe knee injury.

But what running back playing right now is a surefire Hall of Famer? As the season starts, Jackson is the active rushing leader with 9,093 yards. That’s 32ND all-time! In pretty much every year since I can remember, there’s been a single, dominant back. Going all the way back to O.J. Simpson and Franco Harris, then Walter Payton, Tony Dorsett, Marcus Allen, Eric Dickerson, Sanders, Smith, Bettis, Faulk, Martin and Tomlinson.

That’s some pretty clear-cut Hall of Fame material. As the season starts, Jackson will be the top active rusher in the league, because Tomlinson and Ricky Williams have retired, and Thomas Jones doesn’t have a job. In THIS day and age, Jackson could be a Hall of Fame candidate because he’s the best of his era. But his numbers don’t stack up to the players that are already in.

In an interesting paradox, Hall of Fame voters can’t figure out which great numbers should allow a receiver into the Hall, and probably will have trouble with running backs before too long. Nine of the top twelve receiving yardage leaders of all time (eleven of whom are wide receivers) have played the majority of their careers in the last twenty years, and three of those have already been eligible for the Hall but haven’t made it. Only the all-time greatest, Jerry Rice, has gone in. In the next two years, Isaac Bruce, Torry Holt and Marvin Harrison will join Tim Brown, Cris Carter and Andre Reed in eligibility, with Randy Moss, Terrell Owens, Hines Ward and Derrick Mason not far behind.

Meanwhile, when Bettis goes in, the top ten rushers will either be in, or in Tomlinson’s case, be a lock to get voted in. The top ten rushers are or will be in, but only one of the top ten receivers will be, even though three are eligible but haven’t gotten enough support.

The landscape has changed in the NFL. Receivers are the main guys now, and they’re putting up Hall of Fame numbers. The numbers for running backs are changing dramatically, too. It’ll be interesting to see how long it takes for the Hall of Fame committee to determine that guys like Carter and Brown were ahead of their time, and if a guy like Steven Jackson was behind his.

 

[Thordaddy]

JMO ,but IF Fisher could do for SJ what Caughlin did for Tiki,IOW teach him to carry the rock the right way,he's still capable of a 2k season.
IF HE would keep the ball in his left hand running left and avail himself of the same sort of bone jarring stiff arm going that way,his numbers would explode.

TOO MANY backs refuse to come out of their comfort zone in that regard and coaches who don't force them to are kissing their ass.

SJ running left with a stiff arm would be nearly unstoppable.

 

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JMO ,but IF Fisher could do for SJ what Caughlin did for Tiki,IOW teach him to carry the rock the right way,he's still capable of a 2k season.
IF HE would keep the ball in his left hand running left and avail himself of the same sort of bone jarring stiff arm going that way,his numbers would explode.

TOO MANY backs refuse to come out of their comfort zone in that regard and coaches who don't force them to are kissing their ass.

SJ running left with a stiff arm would be nearly unstoppable.

Good point. I noticed that too about his other direction. It just shows that even the most experienced and productive vets can still refine their game a little. Maybe he's just never going to do that, but at least it's not necessarily a fatal flaw. Just run the guy up the gut or to the right and let him eat.

I'll have to go back and watch Richardson (Daryl) now to see if he changes hands.

 

[Thordaddy]

JMO ,but IF Fisher could do for SJ what Caughlin did for Tiki,IOW teach him to carry the rock the right way,he's still capable of a 2k season.
IF HE would keep the ball in his left hand running left and avail himself of the same sort of bone jarring stiff arm going that way,his numbers would explode.

TOO MANY backs refuse to come out of their comfort zone in that regard and coaches who don't force them to are kissing their ass.

SJ running left with a stiff arm would be nearly unstoppable.

Good point. I noticed that too about his other direction. It just shows that even the most experienced and productive vets can still refine their game a little. Maybe he's just never going to do that, but at least it's not necessarily a fatal flaw. Just run the guy up the gut or to the right and let him eat.

I'll have to go back and watch Richardson (Daryl) now to see if he changes hands.

Been a pet peeve of mine forever, he HAS to drop his shoulder to protect his legs and the ball,it's just so funadamentally flawed,all sports you keep yourself between the defender and the ball, the year he had the broken left hand he had an excuse ,but not now,BTW he will switch hands AFTER he's out of traffic heading down a sideline ,but at the beginning when he really needs it, he's a right hand guy.
Larry Johnson was the same ,Bettis too thereare a lot of guys who've done well,but like you said,they could do better and IMO once that effort to improve is eschewed it relates to the whole.
I ALWAYS tell my kids nothing is ever good enough,once you say it is, then you've accepted a level of failure ,which you need to admit or keep fooling yourself,one or the other.

 

[Faceplant]

JMO ,but IF Fisher could do for SJ what Caughlin did for Tiki,IOW teach him to carry the rock the right way,he's still capable of a 2k season.
IF HE would keep the ball in his left hand running left and avail himself of the same sort of bone jarring stiff arm going that way,his numbers would explode.

TOO MANY backs refuse to come out of their comfort zone in that regard and coaches who don't force them to are kissing their ass.

SJ running left with a stiff arm would be nearly unstoppable.

Good point. I noticed that too about his other direction. It just shows that even the most experienced and productive vets can still refine their game a little. Maybe he's just never going to do that, but at least it's not necessarily a fatal flaw. Just run the guy up the gut or to the right and let him eat.

I'll have to go back and watch Richardson (Daryl) now to see if he changes hands.

D Rich does NOT change hands either. I noticed on a couple of his nice runs to the left against B-more. If I noticed it, you can be sure the coaches did as welk and will emphasize it in the future. As thordaddy said, that is fundamental stuff there. Football 101 type stuff.

 

[Thordaddy]

Now I'm curious, I thought I saw D R or Pead do it the "right way" now I gotta quit mowing and find out.

 

[Faceplant]

Now I'm curious, I thought I saw D R or Pead do it the "right way" now I gotta quit mowing and find out.

Watch him on that wheel route at about the 13:00 mark of the 2nd quarter......

 

[Faceplant]

And again at the 10:15 mark......

 

[RamFan503]

I'd have to wonder if there would be a trade off. SJ rarely gives up the rock. Would that change if he was trying to change hands as he goes through the line?

 

[Thordaddy]

I'd have to wonder if there would be a trade off. SJ rarely gives up the rock. Would that change if he was trying to change hands as he goes through the line?

It could and his rarely giving up the rock is WHY he isn't as effective as he could be running left, he gives up yard because he drops the shulder to protect the ball and has to give himself up to keep it.
But yeah IF he's running up the gut with R vs L as choices he needs to do what he needs to do , but he runs off tackle to the left with the ball exposed on the traffic side and that's bad technique.

Give him the ball tell him to run right with it in his left hand and he'd "get it " fast.
If I was his coach we'd have a test of wills and he'd do it my way,cuz I know it would make him better,he needs to adapt and adopt the better technique or he'll never be ALL he can be.

BTW THANKS for the discussion ,I bring this point up every year and I get the "he's a superstar leave him alone" routine all the time, but like previously stated ,it's football 101.

 

[Thordaddy]

And again at the 10:15 mark......

Yup saw those and it wasn't him I saw do it the correct way it was Pead, but only saw it once somewhere around 14:00 mark of the 2nd quarter of the Ravens game.
Pead made big strides in that game and IMO has decided he needs to take what is there and is running much better since he isn't trying TOO hard.
I read an article about trying too hard by I think it was Jon Carlos former Olympic sprinter he said when you try too hard you don't relax you "antagonizer " muscles and if you just run 90% you run faster. I think Pead relaxed and is letting his instincts take over and WHAT a difference, we are IMO as well off now at RB as we've been since Steven Davis was SJ's backup or since Marshal with PRE High ankle Trung C.
Gotta go mow