- Joined
- Jun 20, 2010
- Messages
- 35,576
- Name
- The Dude
Nick Wagoner
<a class="postlink" href="http://www.stlouisrams.com/news-and-events/article-1/Jackson-Closing-in-on-Elite-Company/a1b10105-ff97-419a-a895-9cece00b0bbd" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://www.stlouisrams.com/news-and-eve ... ece00b0bbd</a>
If you’re a St. Louis sports fan, this might sound familiar given what’s taken place in recent weeks.
But in eight years as the Rams running back, Steven Jackson has always been able to speak his mind and turned his words into action. The things he’s passionately believed in have generally come true.
So when Jackson says he’d like to spend the rest of his career as a Ram, he means it. Whether that plays out or not remains to be seen, because let’s face it, this is a business and the decision isn’t going to be entirely on Jackson.
“I would love to,” Jackson said last week. “I would love to remain, retire, not a one day retirement, one of those kinds of deals, but I would love to finish my career here. Whoever the next guy is to come in and fill in for me and take over, teach him the ropes and teach him the legacy and the things that have been taught to me. I would take pride in that. I would love to do that.”
Upon the completion of the next two games, Jackson will have put in eight seasons of blood, sweat, tears and prayers as a member of the Rams. In that time, he’s grown up and matured right before everyone’s eyes. He’s blossomed into a team leader and remained one of the most consistently productive running backs in the league.
For proof, one need only to look at the accomplishment Jackson is almost sure to reach on Saturday against Pittsburgh. He is on the brink of reaching some extremely elite company by getting to 1,000 rushing yards for the seventh consecutive season.
“Durability is the first thing that sticks out in my mind,” coach Steve Spagnuolo said. “You have got to stay pretty durable to get 1,000 yards in this league and certainly a lot of talent. And I’m sure Steven would say this: that means a lot of guys in front of him have done a good job.”
The Steelers boast the league’s sixth-ranked rush defense, allowing just 97.2 yards per game on the ground which could make it hard on Jackson but he needs only 34 yards to reach the mark.
“From top to bottom, they have playmakers on all three levels,” Jackson said. “It’s one of the defenses that I enjoy watching weekly whenever I can catch their game on television. They play the game the right way. They play with passion and consistently they play well as unit.”
While 1,000 rushing yards doesn’t carry the same cache it once did because of the longer season, doing it on such a consistent basis is very rare if for no other reason than the propensity for injuries at that position.
Ever the historian of the game and the running back position, Jackson is well aware of the company he’d keep should he reach the mark.
“Only five others have done it, so yeah,” Jackson said. “Oh, now I’m on the spot. LaDainian Tomlinson, Emmitt Smith, Marcus Allen, Curtis Martin and Barry Sanders.”
Close. Actually, six others have done it, subtract Allen from Jackson’s list and add Eric Dickerson and Thurman Thomas and you have the half-dozen players in league history to have done it.
That’s right; it’s a group that is so exclusive it doesn’t even include players like Allen, Jim Brown and Walter Payton.
Smith, Allen, Dickerson and Thomas are in the Hall of Fame. Martin is in his second year of eligibility and almost certain to gain entrance sooner than later and Tomlinson is a surefire electee when he retires and his time comes.
Jackson differs from many of those backs in that he hasn’t been a part of a winning team in his time in St. Louis and has faced defenses geared entirely to stop him. That makes what he seems destined to accomplish all the more impressive.
“To be in that group I think it’s a special group to be a part of,” Jackson said. “I think it shows that not only are you productive, but that you can sustain season after season. I’m pretty sure those guys have played through injuries and it just marks that you’re a tough guy, a gritty guy, that a franchise can hang their hat on.”
Jackson’s desire to stay in St. Louis may sound similar to what fans in the city heard from star first baseman Albert Pujols before he took a 10-year, $254 million contract from the Los Angeles Angels.
Football is an entirely different animal than baseball though and players rarely stay with the same franchise for their entire career. Without guaranteed contracts, a team is every bit as likely to let a player go as the player is to choose to leave.
Jackson is actually relatively close to reach some statistical barriers that would void his contract and make him a free agent in the coming offseason. One of those barriers is related to receiving yards and Jackson would need major production in that area in the final two games for that to fall.
Regardless, that’s not something Jackson is too concerned with in an era where even if he were to become a free agent, the Rams would still retain the franchise and transition tags to help ensure he doesn’t go anywhere.
“To be honest with you it’s not something that’s important to me,” Jackson said. “That part of the business is that itself and even if I was to hit those milestones, the Rams still own my rights. They have the decision to retain me if they wanted to. My main focus is always to be the best player on this team and go from there. By doing that I think that puts me among the elite.”
There’s little doubt that both sides would like to keep Jackson in a Rams uniform for the foreseeable future and hopefully put him in a position to win and get back to the playoffs for the first time since his rookie year in 2004 before he calls it a career.
For all of his accomplishments, from the anticipated streak of 1,000-yard seasons to owning nearly every major rushing record in franchise history, Jackson would gladly trade them in for more team success.
When it comes to staying in St. Louis, one might wonder why Jackson wouldn’t be in a hurry to leave and try to win before it’s too late.
Jackson says he’s asked himself before why he’s been put in such an adverse situation.
“That was a question I asked myself about three or four years ago I guess,” Jackson said. “At this point now I think it’s clear that my legacy will be defined by me having dealt with these hard situations and watching me grow, you guys watching me grow and understanding that now I have become a pillar of strength more so than just a running back. It’s hard to be a great running back when you have guys like (RB) Marshall (Faulk) and (RB) Eric Dickerson that were in this franchise. My legacy will be defined by the things that I have overcome and the adversity.”
And, perhaps, by his unrelenting loyalty and dedication to one town and one team.
<a class="postlink" href="http://www.stlouisrams.com/news-and-events/article-1/Jackson-Closing-in-on-Elite-Company/a1b10105-ff97-419a-a895-9cece00b0bbd" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://www.stlouisrams.com/news-and-eve ... ece00b0bbd</a>
If you’re a St. Louis sports fan, this might sound familiar given what’s taken place in recent weeks.
But in eight years as the Rams running back, Steven Jackson has always been able to speak his mind and turned his words into action. The things he’s passionately believed in have generally come true.
So when Jackson says he’d like to spend the rest of his career as a Ram, he means it. Whether that plays out or not remains to be seen, because let’s face it, this is a business and the decision isn’t going to be entirely on Jackson.
“I would love to,” Jackson said last week. “I would love to remain, retire, not a one day retirement, one of those kinds of deals, but I would love to finish my career here. Whoever the next guy is to come in and fill in for me and take over, teach him the ropes and teach him the legacy and the things that have been taught to me. I would take pride in that. I would love to do that.”
Upon the completion of the next two games, Jackson will have put in eight seasons of blood, sweat, tears and prayers as a member of the Rams. In that time, he’s grown up and matured right before everyone’s eyes. He’s blossomed into a team leader and remained one of the most consistently productive running backs in the league.
For proof, one need only to look at the accomplishment Jackson is almost sure to reach on Saturday against Pittsburgh. He is on the brink of reaching some extremely elite company by getting to 1,000 rushing yards for the seventh consecutive season.
“Durability is the first thing that sticks out in my mind,” coach Steve Spagnuolo said. “You have got to stay pretty durable to get 1,000 yards in this league and certainly a lot of talent. And I’m sure Steven would say this: that means a lot of guys in front of him have done a good job.”
The Steelers boast the league’s sixth-ranked rush defense, allowing just 97.2 yards per game on the ground which could make it hard on Jackson but he needs only 34 yards to reach the mark.
“From top to bottom, they have playmakers on all three levels,” Jackson said. “It’s one of the defenses that I enjoy watching weekly whenever I can catch their game on television. They play the game the right way. They play with passion and consistently they play well as unit.”
While 1,000 rushing yards doesn’t carry the same cache it once did because of the longer season, doing it on such a consistent basis is very rare if for no other reason than the propensity for injuries at that position.
Ever the historian of the game and the running back position, Jackson is well aware of the company he’d keep should he reach the mark.
“Only five others have done it, so yeah,” Jackson said. “Oh, now I’m on the spot. LaDainian Tomlinson, Emmitt Smith, Marcus Allen, Curtis Martin and Barry Sanders.”
Close. Actually, six others have done it, subtract Allen from Jackson’s list and add Eric Dickerson and Thurman Thomas and you have the half-dozen players in league history to have done it.
That’s right; it’s a group that is so exclusive it doesn’t even include players like Allen, Jim Brown and Walter Payton.
Smith, Allen, Dickerson and Thomas are in the Hall of Fame. Martin is in his second year of eligibility and almost certain to gain entrance sooner than later and Tomlinson is a surefire electee when he retires and his time comes.
Jackson differs from many of those backs in that he hasn’t been a part of a winning team in his time in St. Louis and has faced defenses geared entirely to stop him. That makes what he seems destined to accomplish all the more impressive.
“To be in that group I think it’s a special group to be a part of,” Jackson said. “I think it shows that not only are you productive, but that you can sustain season after season. I’m pretty sure those guys have played through injuries and it just marks that you’re a tough guy, a gritty guy, that a franchise can hang their hat on.”
Jackson’s desire to stay in St. Louis may sound similar to what fans in the city heard from star first baseman Albert Pujols before he took a 10-year, $254 million contract from the Los Angeles Angels.
Football is an entirely different animal than baseball though and players rarely stay with the same franchise for their entire career. Without guaranteed contracts, a team is every bit as likely to let a player go as the player is to choose to leave.
Jackson is actually relatively close to reach some statistical barriers that would void his contract and make him a free agent in the coming offseason. One of those barriers is related to receiving yards and Jackson would need major production in that area in the final two games for that to fall.
Regardless, that’s not something Jackson is too concerned with in an era where even if he were to become a free agent, the Rams would still retain the franchise and transition tags to help ensure he doesn’t go anywhere.
“To be honest with you it’s not something that’s important to me,” Jackson said. “That part of the business is that itself and even if I was to hit those milestones, the Rams still own my rights. They have the decision to retain me if they wanted to. My main focus is always to be the best player on this team and go from there. By doing that I think that puts me among the elite.”
There’s little doubt that both sides would like to keep Jackson in a Rams uniform for the foreseeable future and hopefully put him in a position to win and get back to the playoffs for the first time since his rookie year in 2004 before he calls it a career.
For all of his accomplishments, from the anticipated streak of 1,000-yard seasons to owning nearly every major rushing record in franchise history, Jackson would gladly trade them in for more team success.
When it comes to staying in St. Louis, one might wonder why Jackson wouldn’t be in a hurry to leave and try to win before it’s too late.
Jackson says he’s asked himself before why he’s been put in such an adverse situation.
“That was a question I asked myself about three or four years ago I guess,” Jackson said. “At this point now I think it’s clear that my legacy will be defined by me having dealt with these hard situations and watching me grow, you guys watching me grow and understanding that now I have become a pillar of strength more so than just a running back. It’s hard to be a great running back when you have guys like (RB) Marshall (Faulk) and (RB) Eric Dickerson that were in this franchise. My legacy will be defined by the things that I have overcome and the adversity.”
And, perhaps, by his unrelenting loyalty and dedication to one town and one team.