Full Article About Haslett'sb Comment (NFL.com)

[Yodude]

Haslett: Jackson injury related to training camp holdout

Associated Press


ST. LOUIS -- Steven Jackson's persistent thigh injury is no surprise to St. Louis Rams coach Jim Haslett, who factored in down time after the running back's 27-day training camp holdout.

"It happens all the time," Haslett said. "You can run all you want, you can lift weights all you want, but until you put pads on and you actually cut and move at full speed, you can't replicate that until you actually do it."

Haslett noted it's the same in any sport, that the body needs time to adjust.

"That goes back to when I was playing," said Haslett, a former NFL linebacker. "Guys that don't go to training camp get hurt."

Jackson will miss his fourth game in five weeks when the Rams (2-8) play the Bears (5-5) on Sunday. He disagreed Thursday with Haslett's blanket assessment, countering that injuries are bound to occur to players who take a pounding.

Jackson didn't report this season until Aug. 21 after getting a six-year, $44 million deal. But he pointed out he attended training camp in 2007, yet still missed four games with a bulging disc in his back and a torn groin muscle.

"Coaches bring that up all the time," Jackson said. "I think the football season is long and gruesome, and you have freak injuries like this. This injury wasn't from any hit, it was just that my muscle gave way."

Jackson said doctors told him the injury was not preventable, and that the best way to get back on the field is to do rehab and be patient.

The 6-foot-2, 235-pound Jackson is the Rams' leading rusher with 525 yards, a 4.1-yard average and four touchdowns. The Rams have lost four in a row since Jackson was hurt near the end of a 34-14 victory over the Cowboys on Oct. 19, one play before Haslett said coaches were going to take him out.

Jackson tried to come back after one week and wasn't himself. He didn't start against Arizona on Nov. 2 because the first play required a cutback he wasn't comfortable making, and totaled 17 yards on seven carries and dropped a certain touchdown pass before sitting out much of the second half.

Jackson was a question mark all week in preparing for the next two games. He was ruled out against the Bears a second medical opinion revealed a more severe strain that doctors believed may have come from reinjuring the thigh against the Cardinals.

In an effort to prevent further soft-tissue injuries, Haslett wants Jackson to consult with strength coaches and nutrition experts in the offseason. While joking that "I think Mama Jackson does a good job," Jackson said he'll do what's necessary.

"I'm definitely open to explore all doors or all different types of training," Jackson said. "I want to be the best at my position and I want to be on the best team in the National Football League, and I hopefully want to lead the St. Louis Rams to the Super Bowl and a playoff berth."

The Rams are likely to bring in another running back next season, just in case Jackson gets hurt again. He won't mind that, either.

"You can bring in any running back and I'm going to beat him out, and I'm not going to share my carries," Jackson said. "I understand they have to have an insurance policy, but that's just my mentality."

Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press

[ramsanddodgers]

What good does it do anyone if he 'beats out another back' but then he cannot contribute?

$44M plus rehab after rehab after rehab after rehab....

[Mooselini]

It's a rough game. Players get hurt.

However, we have more injuries than just Jackson. I think its our conditioning...

[Bald_81]

Originally Posted by Mooselini

It's a rough game. Players get hurt.

However, we have more injuries than just Jackson. I think its our conditioning...

Exactly. It's not because he missed training camp that he got hurt. Hell, Michael Strahan did pretty well after missing training camp last year didn't he? Translated his good play into a Superbowl win for the Giants. This is just a sorry excuse by Haslett because he knows that it was his fault having S-Jax in a 34-14 game in the 4th quarter.

[Fat Pang]

Originally Posted by Bald_81

Exactly. It's not because he missed training camp that he got hurt. Hell, Michael Strahan did pretty well after missing training camp last year didn't he? Translated his good play into a Superbowl win for the Giants. This is just a sorry excuse by Haslett because he knows that it was his fault having S-Jax in a 34-14 game in the 4th quarter.

Spurious point.

You could just as easily argue that Jackosn got injured in the 4th quarter, which is when incidentally he gets most of his yards, precisely beacuse he hadn't been through the conditioning he normally would.

Every time someone makes the point that it was a coaches fault that someone got hurt because he was actually still in the game, I'm sorry I just laugh. I find it humorous because by extension the only way to prevent injury entirely is not to play them at all which is rather pointless. How the hell is anyone to know, whether in the 1st or the 4th quarter, whether or not a player is going to get injured.

Precisely.

You don't and neither do they.

He was playing the game he was paid and prepared to play in the 4th quarter where traditionally he does most of his damage.

He got hurt.

Players do.

And pointing out that conditioning may help isnt exactly rocket science.

[Bald_81]

Originally Posted by Fat Pang

How the hell is anyone to know, whether in the 1st or the 4th quarter, whether or not a player is going to get injured.

You answered the question yourself. No one knows exactly when a player is going to get injured, therefore, you DON'T have them play when a game is well in hand because guess what? It enhances the chances of that happening! So by judging your philosophy if you were a coach, you would have all your starters play a game when you have home field advantage locked up throughout the playoffs? I mean, Player A could just get hurt during the playoff game, so you might as well have them play in a meaningless game anyway right? NO! You preserve them for the game that matters (in this case it was the following week at NE, especially coming off two huge wins). It is not about when the injury happens, it is about preventing it from taking place when nothing is at stake.

Haslett himself after the game said he was preparing to take Steven out after the next series and should've done it sooner. In the game against NYJ, the Jets had the entire offensive starting unit still in the game in the 4th, while up 40-3. And then all of a sudden Faneca went down with an injury, what did Mangini do? Everyone out! It was a game well in hand, and the announcers and everyone knew they should've been out sooner. I just do not like that Haslett is beginning to point fingers when he was the one who proclaimed himself guilty in the first place. He is looking for an excuse to stick around next year and justify these blowout losses, and I am not buying it.

[cfh128]

I think the whole "take Jackson out" line of reasoning is simply excuse making. He is a football player and he should be able to handle more than 3 quarters in a game. What if Dallas was winning? Do we take Jackson out because he has played a certain number of snaps? It isn't fair to blame Jackson for a freak injury and its not fair to blame the coach for leaving him in 1 play too long. This is the NFL, things happen. Bottom line isn't that we should have pulled him, its that we should have been better prepared for when the worst happened.

[tomahawk247]

Originally Posted by cfh128

I think the whole "take Jackson out" line of reasoning is simply excuse making. He is a football player and he should be able to handle more than 3 quarters in a game. What if Dallas was winning? Do we take Jackson out because he has played a certain number of snaps? It isn't fair to blame Jackson for a freak injury and its not fair to blame the coach for leaving him in 1 play too long. This is the NFL, things happen. Bottom line isn't that we should have pulled him, its that we should have been better prepared for when the worst happened.

the simple fact is we were killing the cowboys, absolutely thrashing them. we have capable back up running backs, why not let them run out the clock instead of having the best player on the team, who you just gave a massive contract to, take a load of hits for no real reason

[RealRam]

Hey! Hadn't seen this article and went on to answer MajorRam's thread about speculating where Jax is and when he's coming back.

This is certainly going to be a poignant, proving season for SJ. So much was expected from him this year! The holdout, that terrible impasse. Then this injury situation that was produced in the middle of ugly defeats.

No, it is not all Jackson's fault nor responsibility, of course. But we -- the Rams -- need to be careful not to fall into an even uglier chaos of frustration and finger pointing. Coaches included.


Perhaps our cries of blaming and denouncing the F.O. brass will be heard yet.

[Ramblin` Ram]

1. if it was due to Jax`s hold out...how come it happened in week 7 instead of week 1 or 2..

2.our conditioning people are the worst ive ever seen in any sports franchise..dont even have to bring the jackson case into the equation to see that!

3.Haslett said he was just about to bring him out of the game..i suspect as soon as it happened he started working on that response to the inevitable question of why our franchise RB was put at risk when there was nothing to gain from it and plenty to gain from putting young back ups in for valuable game experience so when the inevitable happens..the body of a player that is hit atleast 20 times (often a lot more) a game needs time out of the game to repair. we have more experienced back ups to fill the void!