For the "Jackson Stinks" Crowd: Explain This

[Blankman17]

This is true and while it's obvious that change is on the horizon, SB, you crash four guys in on ME at 275 pounds and I guarentee they stop me on 3rd and 1. (And I'm pretty quick for my weight )

[DXD]

I just think it's sad that this 2nd year kid has racked up nearly 1400 yards of offense playing hurt the whole year behind the absolute worst line in football AND a rookie FB, AND the worst blocking TE in the game, AND a diminished pass threat to take the heat off, yet we're complaining about him.

Faulk in his prime really did spoil us.

[Blankman17]

Indeed, success can spoil and thusly, you have the ultimate loop. Struggles help you appreciate successes but make the eventual struggles worse. Around and around we go.

[ramsbruce]

I just think it's sad that this 2nd year kid has racked up nearly 1400 yards of offense playing hurt the whole year behind the absolute worst line in football AND a rookie FB, AND the worst blocking TE in the game, AND a diminished pass threat to take the heat off, yet we're complaining about him.

Faulk in his prime really did spoil us.

Amazing isn't it.

[RealRam]

I think the line will be better next year, with Barron and Terrell improving with experience and, hopefully, Incognito contributing. I also think that if Bulger, Bruce and Holt are all healthy, teams will have to key on the pass more. All of these things should help Jackson. --AVR

100% in honest agreement. :football:

:clanram:

[Blankman17]

I hope Richie contributes, too. I also hope he doesn't aid us in leading the league in penalties if he does.

[ramsbruce]

If we would have had a running back get approx 1400 total yards like Jackson did this year in 1998 or 97,96 and so on we would have been ecstatic. Yet this year some people complain about Jackson. Unbelievable really.

[Fat Pang]

I just think it's sad that this 2nd year kid has racked up nearly 1400 yards of offense playing hurt the whole year behind the absolute worst line in football AND a rookie FB, AND the worst blocking TE in the game, AND a diminished pass threat to take the heat off, yet we're complaining about him.

Faulk in his prime really did spoil us.

Completely in agreement, as I've said before, Jackson isn't the problem here. Can't understand why, when we have so many other glaring issues, he's getting heat on this forum.

[CRAZYHORNS]

Jackson has way too many attempts for negative yards. Yes, this can be attributed to line play as well. This concerns me for a power back. Does this mean he sucks. No, however these numbers need to improve and Jackson has to do what he can to help this line.

Riggins was jammed up long ago on 4th and 1 but found his way to the end zone. When will Jackson turn a bad play into a game breaker? I'm still waiting for that play. Not every play goes as plan and the great ones can improvise and turn a disaster into a big play......

I'm just not seeing this in Jackson. Is he to blame. Again, NO...... Could he do better I sure hope so....

my 2 cents...

[steviej]

Yes....

I think it was the O-Line's fault that Jackson didn't get that many yards this year. Pretty much, the only good blocker this year was Pace

[psycho9985]

That certainly is true a lot of the time. Take Tiki Barber, for example. In his first 3 seasons, he had 11 total starts, 250 carries, 935 yards and a 3.7 ypc average.

Jackson, in his first 2 seasons, has 18 starts, 388 carries, 1,719 yards, and a 4.4 ypc average.

I'd expect Jackson to be close to that total in 1 season if it weren't for the offensive line bungling.

Hire these guys

[txramsfan]

Guys, I keep harping on this but I'm not convinced it isn't true. Because the Rams have had such an emphasis on the passing game for the last few years, the O line's blocking skills for the run game may not be in synch with the game plan.

[rammiser]

I think Jackson will be fine. The bigger problems are the o-line and the play calling resulting in losses for Jackson. I tivo'd saturdays game vs SF and went back and looked at Jackson's runs. His first 12 carries came on 1st down. He had 2 2nd down carries and 1 4th down carry. I counted which ones the o-line screwed up and which ones were Jacksons fault and I counted 1 on Jackson and the rest of the losses on the o-line. Thirteen of his 16 carries came on 1st down that is pretty predictable playcalling if you ask me.

[AvengerRam]

Good point, RM.

[AJD45]

Guys, I keep harping on this but I'm not convinced it isn't true. Because the Rams have had such an emphasis on the passing game for the last few years, the O line's blocking skills for the run game may not be in synch with the game plan.

I don't know if it's as much about being in synch as it is simply that the Rams offense is so much about skill that when guys are not at the top of their game, it shows. This ain't that West Coast offense crap where you can hide bad o-line play behind leg whips and 3-step drops. The Ram o-linemen have to block straight up in a power zone-blocking scheme. Then they have to turn around the next play and hold a pass block for five seconds while Bulger sits there looking around... So if that's what you mean that it throws off their synch, yeah I agree.

But to say the o-line is out of synch this year because they are trying something new with power running is incorrect. The Rams have been employing this same scheme since day 1 of the Martz era, as MM himself said in a (rare) good article in SI from 1999:

That's another thing that's critical to the system. Power running. You've got to be able to run the ball when you go to a three-wide receiver set, and you've got to run with power. By that I mean behind zone blocking, which is a big departure from the San Francisco system. Theirs was man-blocking, with a lot of cut-blocks and misdirection. Ours is straight power. Not many people realize this, but if we hadn't have gotten Marshall we were prepared to go with another excellent zone-blocking runner, Robert Holcombe. It takes a certain type, a guy who can run with power, who's good at picking his way through. Stephen Davis is doing that in Washington now, and that's a big reason why their offense is so good. Terry Allen's starting to come around in New England. The good thing about zone-block running is that you can keep pounding away. You don't have the negative yardage plays.

I get a chuckle out of that last part given how often Jackson gets stuffed, but if you look over at KC today they live up to Martz's description. So there's the design and there's the type of back that fits the mold from MM's mouth. It seems contradictory to me that he wants a back with simultaneous "power" and "picking his way through". But that was indeed Marshall, and it looks like that's what Jackson is trying to do.

So to sum up this small novel of a post (my apologies):

1. The o-line had a bad year which affected Jackson more so than if he was in a different system that doesn't rely so much on o-line skill.

2. Jackson is still on a learning curve of the coaching design -- he's being told "pick your way through" and "run with power" at the same time, so he's still choosing the wrong times to pussy-foot versus stick his head down and ram it up there.

I think he'll get it. It's just really frustrating that a guy like Larry Johnson seems to get it so well and is having such success out of nowhere, but (a) the KC o-line is better; (b) he actually has one more year of experience in the system than Jackson; and (c) perhaps the coaching in KC is simply better? Where have you gone Jim Hanifan?

Anyone thinking "Jackson stinks" better take the o-line, lack of experience, and coaching factors into account before writing him off...