Steven Jackson didn't want committee role

[-X-]

Mike Sando
<a class="postlink" href="http://espn.go.com/blog/nfcwest/post/_/id/93277/steven-jackson-didnt-want-committee-role" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://espn.go.com/blog/nfcwest/post/_/ ... ittee-role</a>



Steven Jackson voided his 2013 contract with the St. Louis Rams because the team wanted him to accept a lesser role in the future.

The big question at this point is whether or not any other team will make him its featured back.

Jackson, 29, has topped 1,000 yards rushing for eight consecutive seasons. I think he could continue to produce at that level for another season, most likely. But the Rams are heading in another direction with younger players. They would presumably like a more explosive runner. They drafted two backs last year.

Jackson, speaking Thursday with Sirius NFL Radio, had this to say about his decision to test free agency:

[textarea]"It wasn’t about money at this point. I've been able to have a successful career, especially dealing with some hard times as an individual. But it’s more at this point of my career want to be a part of something, chasing a Lombardi Trophy. I want to be a part of something special. And at this point where I’m at, and where the Rams are right now, we had a very open discussion, very heart-to-heart, about what my role would be going forward from now. And that’s where the disagreement comes in. It wasn’t about salary. ...

"It would be more of a running back by committee kind of agreement [with the Rams] going forward. I embrace the fact that I took in Daryl [Richardson] and Isaiah Pead and taught them a lot and hopefully they’ll go on to not only excel, but be very good athletes and good professionals in this league. But for where I’m at going into Year 10, I’m not ready to step back and just become a primary backup or reduced-role guy, to be a part of a running back by committee.

"I still have a lot left in my tank. I still have a lot to offer a team. We're not talking about someone that is in year 12 or 13. But I understand. I understand the business side of it. I still have a great relationship with the organization and one day I’ll be going back there."[/textarea]
Sounds like Jackson has moved on emotionally from the Rams. He's looking to contend for a championship this season. Perhaps a team like Atlanta or Denver will give him that opportunity. I tend to think he's going to take a reduced role either way. But if he wins a championship in the process, good for him.

 

[-X-]

Balzer: Jackson As Good as Gone; Doesn't Want to be in Job Share

To hear what Steven Jackson said on SiriusXM NFL Radio Thursday, it sounds like his career in St. Louis is probably over.

Jackson voided the final year of his contract with the Rams this week, officially making him an unrestricted free agent on Tuesday. Now, Jackson will seek a team that not only has a chance to win a championship, but one that wants him as the “bell cow.”

Said Jackson, “I’ve opted out of my position of being with the team and being comfortable because I want to continue to still be the bell cow. So that’s how I want teams to look at me. That’s how I’m going to shop myself.”

Jackson said not coming to agreement with the Rams wasn’t related to finances.

“It wasn’t about money at this point,” he said. “I’ve been able to have a successful career, especially dealing with some hard times as an individual. But it’s more at this point of my career (I) want to be a part of something, chasing a Lombardi Trophy. I want to be a part of something special. And at this point where I’m at, and where the Rams are right now, we had a very open discussion, very heart-to-heart, about what my role would be going forward from now. And that’s where the disagreement comes in. It wasn’t about salary.”

In 2012, Jackson started ceding carries to rookie Daryl Richardson at the beginning of the season. However, Richardson’s role decreased in the second half of the season as Jackson’s carries increased. Second-round pick Isaiah Pead had very few attempts.

However, Jackson said it became clear in talking with the Rams that his role would be very different in 2013.

He said, “It would be more of a running back by committee kind of agreement going forward. I embrace the fact that I took in Daryl and Isaiah Pead and taught them a lot and hopefully they’ll go on to not only excel, but be very good athletes and good professionals in this league. But for where I’m at going into year 10, I’m not ready to step back and just become a primary backup or reduced role guy, to be a part of a running back by committee.

“I still have a lot left in my tank. I still have a lot to offer a team. We’re not talking about someone that is in year 12 or 13. But I understand. I understand the business side of it. I still have a great relationship with the organization and one day I’ll be going back there.”

But that day doesn’t appear to be anytime soon.


<a class="postlink" href="http://howardbalzer.lockerdome.com/articles/106638107" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://howardbalzer.lockerdome.com/articles/106638107</a>

 

[CGI_Ram]

Ouch.

SJ is probably moving on STL.

Still love the player.

Icon.

Sent from my GT-N7100 using Tapatalk 2

 

[Selassie I]

Aloha SJ39

 

[Stranger]

Ugh, I didn't really enjoy reading that. Certainly seems like they could have figured something out. I think the Rams FO is making a mistake by not keeping SJ as a featured RB. I agree with him that he can still fill that role, and create matchup problems for DC's.

I've resisted saying anything earlier, but I'm not comfortable with the apparent cockiness that I believe I see from Snead. Quite frankly, I think he needs a few more gray hairs and a little more humility.

 

[Young Ram]

Worst. News. Ever.

 

[rams24/7]

:= Wake up! Wake up! It's just a nightmare.... No it's not...

I will comment more on this later. My all time favorite Ram growing up

 

[BuiltRamTough]

This is bs...come on coach let Pead and Daryll sit back and watch for a couple of years man WTF

 

[Memento]

I'll miss him on our team, that's for sure.

Hopefully, he'll get his time to shine on a winning team.

 

[BuiltRamTough]

I'll miss him on our team, that's for sure.

Hopefully, he'll get his time to shine on a winning team.

As long as he goes to an AFC team like the Pats or Broncos,I personally think Denver is he's best bet

 

[Speeps]

The full youth movement has begun. This is smart for both parties. Rams don't have money, nor snaps to invest in a RB that's 30. Face the facts, the Rams aren't one guy away from winning a superbowl. They need more pieces, and younger guys to develop. By the time that's all in to effect, Steven Jackson will be practically done. Steven wants to win a championship, that's unlikely to happen in STL right now.

Steven leaves, go to a contender.

Rams build and develop into a contender, plus save 7 mil. This is smart on every level.


These are the smart tough decisions that needs to be made to improve a football team. Kroenke loves the New England Patriots. He wants to mirror their success. This is a play out of their playbook.

Another positive that comes out of this is that this is now officially Sam's team (at least offensively). And in my opinion, that's how it should be.

Getcha ya Popcorn Ready!

 

[Stranger]

The full youth movement has begun. This is smart for both parties. Rams don't have money, nor snaps to invest in a RB that's 30. Face the facts, the Rams aren't one guy away from winning a superbowl. They need more pieces, and younger guys to develop. By the time that's all in to effect, Steven Jackson will be practically done. Steven wants to win a championship, that's unlikely to happen in STL right now.

Steven leaves, go to a contender.

Rams build and develop into a contender, plus save 7 mil. This is smart on every level.


These are the smart tough decisions that needs to be made to improve a football team. Kroenke loves the New England Patriots. He wants to mirror their success. This is a play out of their playbook.

Another positive that comes out of this is that this is now officially Sam's team (at least offensively). And in my opinion, that's how it should be.

Getcha ya Popcorn Ready!

Are we going to start video taping opposing team signals too? Freak the stupid cheatriots. I don't want to emulate a cheater who's success was BS.

 

[Speeps]

The full youth movement has begun. This is smart for both parties. Rams don't have money, nor snaps to invest in a RB that's 30. Face the facts, the Rams aren't one guy away from winning a superbowl. They need more pieces, and younger guys to develop. By the time that's all in to effect, Steven Jackson will be practically done. Steven wants to win a championship, that's unlikely to happen in STL right now.

Steven leaves, go to a contender.

Rams build and develop into a contender, plus save 7 mil. This is smart on every level.


These are the smart tough decisions that needs to be made to improve a football team. Kroenke loves the New England Patriots. He wants to mirror their success. This is a play out of their playbook.

Another positive that comes out of this is that this is now officially Sam's team (at least offensively). And in my opinion, that's how it should be.

Getcha ya Popcorn Ready!

Are we going to start video taping opposing team signals too? Freak the stupid cheatriots. I don't want to emulate a cheater who's success was BS.

Their success wasn't B.S. Their organization is ran very well, which explains why the always contend.


By the way, after Spygate, the Pats went 16-0 during the regular season. Just saying.

 

[Young Ram]

By the way, after Spygate, they haven't won a Super Bowl.

Fixed it for ya.

 

[-X-]

Yes, we all despise the Patriots, but the truth is, that's how Kroenke wants to model this Franchise.
Here's an old column by Burwell who spoke to Kroenke directly.

Burwell: Kroenke envisions new model for running the Rams

Bryan Burwell
<a class="postlink" href="http://www.stltoday.com/sports/columns/bryan-burwell/burwell-kroenke-envisions-new-model-for-running-the-rams/article_2e3436b4-c9d1-5d04-8f18-5bab6b69929c.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://www.stltoday.com/sports/columns/ ... 9929c.html</a>


It's hard to know the exact moment when Stan Kroenke began to envision how much different things would be once he took control of the St. Louis Rams. Maybe it's been quietly percolating in his imagination since the day he bought a minority share of this storied NFL franchise nearly two decades ago.

But on Monday morning, 17 months after he assumed official majority control of the Rams, Kroenke emphatically seized symbolic control of the helm with a rather powerful move. This was not a tweak, this was a seismic total renovation, firing both general manager Billy Devaney and head coach Steve Spagnuolo before immediately going about the significant task of reshaping the Rams into his own very specific image.

And what image is that?

"Well, the simple answer is we have to find a way to get this team back to where it wins," he said in an exclusive interview with the Post-Dispatch.

Over the course of 18 minutes on the phone, here's what I learned about Kroenke and where he's going with his plans to turn this franchise around: First of all, he has not been sitting idly by as the Rams went from a team of promise in 2010 to a team of disappointment in 2011. He was gathering facts all along the way but didn't make up his mind absolutely until he woke up Monday morning.

And he hated the losing more than you did.

"If anyone thinks I enjoy this when we don't win, they would be wrong," he said. "It's been painful. You can quote George Patton, (who) said, 'Gloom does not win wars.'"

Kroenke is fascinated with the wisdom of famous people. He quoted Patton, Albert Einstein and his famous in-law, the late Sam Walton, throughout the interview. But the man he seems to be most intrigued with is one of those surprising and illuminating tidbits into the mind of Stan Kroenke.

He is an ardent devotee of Bill Belichick and the way Darth Patriot has crafted New England into the NFL's signature championship organization. And if you want to know what the Kroenke Way is going to look like at Rams Park, you'd be wise to go read a wonderful book by former Boston Globe columnist Michael Holley called "War Room: The Legacy of Bill Belichick and the Art of Building the Perfect Team."

Kroenke referenced the book repeatedly Monday afternoon.

"When you read the book, it describes a wonderful (business culture)," Kroenke said. "I felt very comfortable when I read the book when (Holley) talked about a guy like Belichick. He had a plan. (The Patriots) have a way of operating up there that wasn't dissimilar to the way we run the (Denver Nuggets). At the end of the day, everyone knew Belichick was kind of The Guy, but the owner still had his input."

What did Kroenke glean from studying Belichick and the Patriots?

First and foremost, someone must hold final authority and be the undisputed man everyone knows is in charge of things. In the new Rams Way, Kroenke promises there will be no gray areas, no uncertainties about accountability, no vagueness about who is setting the overall organizational tone or the philosophy of how everything will be done around here.

"We will have someone who is in charge of personnel, and they will be clearly in charge of personnel and they will be responsible," Kroenke said. "And hopefully they will be very bright. And they may be young or they may be seasoned, and we already have several people in mind.

"The (head) coach? We'd like the coach to coach."

What does that mean? If you follow the Patriots' model, it means a lot more than the coach being the coach. If the head coach is a veteran with a proven track record — and Kroenke thinks he is the one most qualified to set the tone for how the organization will be run — he will be given that authority. But he won't be dominating the war room, pretending to be a personnel expert.

He will do a lot of what Belichick does, which is to lay out in very specific terms the sort of players he believes will help him win, give his personnel people those very clear criteria, then hold them accountable to find them. And if they don't come up with future Pro Bowlers and immediate impact players, they will be fired and someone else will be hired to do a better job.

And when Kroenke has hired both men and determined who is going to be in charge, the rest of the new organization had better understand that only one guy will be steering the ship and everyone else will be manning the oars.

"When you look at that book," said Kroenke, "those guys all work so well together. That's what I'm into. I like guys who work the way it's described in that book. Belichick is clearly The Guy, but there's no one afraid to challenge (his) viewpoint. They have a culture where there isn't a lot of ego. They try to come to the best solutions all the time. In the sports world, there tends to be a lot of ego."

Kroenke believes the greatest detriment to any professional sports organization — or for that matter any business in general — is when you have too many people who are more concerned with getting credit, placing blame or failing to recognize the value in contrary opinions. That is an ego-driven culture that can wreck franchises.

"Now I'll quote (Wal-Mart founder) Sam Walton," he said. " 'Ego is the worst thing in business. It leads you to make bad decisions.' "

This was a rare glimpse into the mind of the typically private businessman, who used this uncommon public opportunity to lay out how he hopes to fix whatever ails his franchise, which has not had a winning season since 2003. As a man whose family owns NBA, NHL and professional soccer franchises on two continents, Kroenke is no neophyte when it comes to diagnosing those troubles or how to fix them.

When asked point blank what's wrong with the Rams, Kroenke didn't hedge:

"What's wrong with the franchise is we're not winning," he said. "If we were winning, we'd all be happy. So what it comes down to is the product on the field, and there are a lot of ways to go at it. ... When we acquired the Nuggets, we were abysmal. I would say they were certainly pretty bad. (But) I think we've brought them along (the Nuggets have not had a losing season since 2002, while reaching the playoffs eight consecutive seasons), and the way we did that was we concentrated on the personnel. We got a head coach (George Karl) we could trust and had the intelligence and energy and the track record, quite frankly. He'd proven he could do it. So once we got all that in place, we got a lot better.

"So how do we fix (the Rams)?" he said. "You get players. They play better. You win and we're all happy."

 

[Speeps]

By the way, after Spygate, they haven't won a Super Bowl.

Fixed it for ya.

Fair point. But they've also been back to two Superbowls. That in itself is an impressive accomplishment.

 

[DR RAM]

I thought this may be the case. See ya later SJ. It's been great.

 

[Lesson]

That was tough for me to read. And this is just my opinion and I know others have posted something similar as well, but from that part of the interview, it sure sounds like he doesn't envision his career ending with the Rams.

With all of the change that happens through the NFL, I shouldn't be shocked if a player leaves via Free Agency. However, in this scenario it doesn't seem that way when SJ39 has been the one constant for the Rams through all of these years. He's produced consistently even when the team around him has been less than stellar for the most part. He's given it his all. He embraced teaching Pead, Richardson and Ganaway this year, hopefully his lessons rub off on them.

I can truly respect Steven Jackson, both as a player and as a person. I wish nothing but the best for him, whether it be as a Ram or with some other team.

 

[Barrison]

I'm sorry if i offend anyone but... welcome back mr. all about me, Jackson, I understand how he feels about being a feature back but when is a guy going to realize to be on a winning team, it is all about working together whether you have to give up some of your carries or not. I wish him nothing but the best...

 

[Angry Ram]

Cue sad music (sad nerd music)

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q5apwEXclf8[/youtube]