Jackson needs to start work

**RamWraith** · #1 (**permalink**) -16-08-2008

By Bernie Miklasz
ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH
Saturday, Aug. 16 2008
With the Rams back in St. Louis after closing camp in Wisconsin, it's also a
good time for running back Steven Jackson to end his misguided holdout and come
home.

Conversations have resumed between Rams president of football operations Jay
Zygmunt and Jackson's agent, Eugene Parker.

But no real progress has been made. The Rams have made no new proposals, and a
team source insisted Friday that the Rams will not budge from their policy: The
team will not make a new offer to Jackson until he ends the holdout.

It's time.

Jackson misplayed the situation from the beginning. I don't blame him for
seeking more guaranteed money in his new deal. But there's a right way to go
about it, and Jackson picked the wrong hole. His power run went nowhere.

First of all, who were the Rams supposed to negotiate with? The pre-camp
contract talks got off to a late start because Jackson was slow to choose an
agent.

And even then, the Rams pitched a deal that would make Jackson the
fourth-highest paid back in the league. The Rams' offer, while needing to be
modified and sweetened, still represented a good-faith gesture on their part.
Jackson's response should have been to offer a good-faith gesture of his own by
reporting to camp. Instead, he initiated a needless conflict. Had Jackson
reported to camp, I believe a deal would be done by now.

All Jackson achieved by refusing to honor an existing contract was to alienate
fans. And after criticizing Rams fans as much as he has, Jackson isn't exactly
the most popular athlete in town.

Come home, No. 39. It's time to get ready to play football, time to start
repairing the damage.
--

I was talking to a friend of Rams Pro Football Hall of Fame defensive end Jack
Youngblood, and the friend tells me Youngblood is "champing at the bit" to have
a chance to work for a few days with No. 1 draft choice Chris Long. ..

*ScottD413* · #2 (**permalink**) -16-08-2008

I agree with everything Bernie has to say here. Jax is wrong to be holding out like this

*moloch41* · #3 (**permalink**) -16-08-2008

I agree too. And I guess him taking so long to find a new agent after the other one fired him was what took so long for the Rams to make the initial offer. And the Rams not making an offer until the eve of training camp is one of the points the Pro-Jackson camp has been making. I always thought it was a moot point anyway because his contract doesn't end until next season, so any offer the Rams make before then is early and in good faith. I also made the prediction that the fans will turn against him on this and it looks as if that's happening. If the season starts and he's not there, it will only become worse. Especially if the team struggles.

*r8rh8rmike* · #4 (**permalink**) -16-08-2008

Quote:

Originally Posted by moloch41

And the Rams not making an offer until the eve of training camp is one of the points the Pro-Jackson camp has been making.

Some of us in the Pro-Neither Side camp were making that point as well.

*RamOfDenmark* · #5 (**permalink**) -16-08-2008

Quote:

Originally Posted by moloch41

I agree too. And I guess him taking so long to find a new agent after the other one fired him was what took so long for the Rams to make the initial offer. And the Rams not making an offer until the eve of training camp is one of the points the Pro-Jackson camp has been making. I always thought it was a moot point anyway because his contract doesn't end until next season, so any offer the Rams make before then is early and in good faith. I also made the prediction that the fans will turn against him on this and it looks as if that's happening. If the season starts and he's not there, it will only become worse. Especially if the team struggles.

I absolutely agree, Jackson's changing of agents didn't make it any easier to get a deal done quick for the team. And now we've heard reports he's going to change agents once again, when you go through that many agents and aren't happy with any one of them maybe you should start looking in the mirror to see what the problem is.

This is Jackson's mess, and his ridiculous holdout has achieved nothing for him or for anyone else neither will it should he prolong it even more.

At the rate he's racking up penalty dollars owed to the team they'll soon be able to offer him that extra million or so that he wants and immediately recoup that money through the penalty payments for not showing up.

It's getting ridiculous, Jackson doesn't have a clue what he's doing it seems.