Was it the runblocking or SJ?

[Trevor]

Maybe he stutters because there was absolutely no where for him to go. Wherever he went there was a defender there. Darby had a nice hole for the TD but its probably due to the fact that history shows that the Rams like to pass at the goal line so they probably expected a pass.

Jackson had 1 bad game today, and now everyone is putting him in the spot light and pointing out the flaws. Its one game. This also isn't the first game for SJ that he didn't do so well and that was when he was healthy... I think a lot of guys have high expectations and are being extremely optimistic about the Rams this year so they want perfection every single play and every single game, its probably because we go from a horrible past 3 seasons to an awesome season. Lighten up, SJ is still a beast and teams still fear him.

[RamsInfiniti]

Jackson is not a WCO offense RB. He's a poor fit for what they are trying to accomplish in the running game ....

It is what it is ....

[Varg6]

Jackson is not a WCO offense RB. He's a poor fit for what they are trying to accomplish in the running game ....

It is what it is ....

Really?

Could you explain?

From what I understand, especially this year, I figured Spags was building a tough D and a run-first, clock-managing O. Wins under a team like that aren't always the prettiest...Unfortunately, the offense hasn't been able to chew clock that well, but I could've sworn that was the formula we were going for.

[Rambunctious]

Jackson is not a WCO offense RB. He's a poor fit for what they are trying to accomplish in the running game ....

It is what it is ....

I'm not trying to be argumentative but could you please expand on this a little more. I know he is bigger than a normal WCO rb but, for his size, I think he can emulate one pretty well. He is a good receiver, can block well and has finesse. What is he missing?

["sb2sb2sb"]

I think it was a combination of runblocking and denver's game plan of stopping Steven Jackson. Even when Jackson hit holes, defenders were close enough to make a tackle, which lead to gang tackles so Jackson didn't break it.

I think it was just exhaustion on the part of Jackson. But that run before darby??? 100 out of 100 times, Jackson would have turned that last yard and a half into a touchdown.

[SavageRam]

I don't care how great a RB you are... if you have guys persistently hanging onto you in the backfield while your interior line is getting knocked back on their bum... you're not going to have a good day.

I noticed their LBs were shadowing Jackson whenever he went in motion. That may explain why Bradford had a lot of open targets to throw to yesterday....

... so Jackson did his job just fine.

[39thebeast]

Jackson is not a WCO offense RB. He's a poor fit for what they are trying to accomplish in the running game ....

It is what it is ....

I Disagree. Jackson is extremely versatile. His skill sets aren't perfect for the WCO, but he is very capable of playing in this system. He has good hands he can pass block and he runs pretty decent routes. He doesn't have the speed of Lesean McCoy or Brian westbrook in his prime, but he has more than enough

[Nick]

Look, it'd be one thing if there were giant holes that Jackson just isn't hitting at full speed. But from what I've watched this season - and granted, I could not watch the Denver game - that's simply not been the case.

I think because of his size, some people are under the misconception that Jackson is a power runner and should be slamming into the line at full speed regardless of whether or not a whole is there. That's simply not the kind of runner he is and not where his strengths are.

The Rams rank third in the league in negative plays when rushing up the middle, and are only 27th in conversions on 3rd/4th down runs up the middle w/ 2 or fewer yards to go.

Which is more likely to be the problem and the main cause of those numbers - Jackson stutter stepping, or the offensive line? I think the answer is pretty clear, myself.

[r8rh8rmike]

I noticed their LBs were shadowing Jackson whenever he went in motion.

I noticed this too. No matter where he went, there were one or two guys stuck on him. I'd say Denver made a concerted effort to not let Jackson beat them and take their chances with Bradford (which obviously turned out to be a mistake).

That said, Jackson looked stiff to me. When he got free, it looked like he was running in a more upright manner and he didn't seem to get full extention with his legs. I didn't see a lot of burst either, something he has always had in the past. Maybe I need to watch the game again, but those were my observations during the contest.

[Rambos]

Lets get real here to trade Jackson would be a huge mistake IMO, that being said Jackson is now the old man on a very young team. We need his leadership as well as his skills. But, he's not getting any younger, 30 is age where most backs start to slow down. I want Jackson to be our RB for a few more years, although I would like to see him share some reps with a younger smaller and quicker back.

We can talk about the poor running blocking or defenses gearing up to stop JS at all cost. The Rams coaching staff needs to take advantage of that, not bang your head into the wall, over and over and over again. Sam could of drove the team to add three or seven points in the 4th qtr Sunday. But we handed the ball to SJ in a no win situation. At some point really soon, the Rams are going to have to send the message, if you stack the Box, then Sam will beat you. Make the other team pick their poison. Yesterday because of SJ, every play action, Sam had all day to throw and looked great! Take what they give you!

[RamsInfiniti]

Look, it'd be one thing if there were giant holes that Jackson just isn't hitting at full speed. But from what I've watched this season - and granted, I could not watch the Denver game - that's simply not been the case.

I think because of his size, some people are under the misconception that Jackson is a power runner and should be slamming into the line at full speed regardless of whether or not a whole is there. That's simply not the kind of runner he is and not where his strengths are.

The Rams rank third in the league in negative plays when rushing up the middle, and are only 27th in conversions on 3rd/4th down runs up the middle w/ 2 or fewer yards to go.

Which is more likely to be the problem and the main cause of those numbers - Jackson stutter stepping, or the offensive line? I think the answer is pretty clear, myself.

The same offensive line that is struggling in the run game is keeping Bradford ridiculously squeaky clean, particularly the last 4 weeks ....

This line is built for classic WCO pass protection, not blocking for a back with tendencies and skills that Jax has ...

Sure, he catches the ball well, runs hard, and pass blocks adequately. Does not mean he's a really good for this offense, which needs a slashing back that can take advantage of overflow blockthroughs and cutback lanes ....

If you watch Jax, he TRIES to be this back, but he is not ....

[RockinRam]

I remember that in the pre-season, Steven Jackson said in an interview he put on like 10-15 pounds, and "supposedly" did not lose any speed.

However, I think that it is slowing him down, and even his stutter-step is not what it use to be. He doesn't have great burst anymore, but it is still good.



Our interior o-line, especially Goldberg, has to be fixed. Jason Brown is a good player, but I expect a bit more out of him. Sometimes he gets good push, sometimes he doesn't. He needs to play like the Top 5 center that he is.

Jacob Bell is purely finesse pass blocker. He is agile, he's got good knee bend and hand use, and he understands protection schemes and angles. With that being said, his strength and his modest size (around 290-295lbs.) can't cut it when he is facing defensive tackles at around 310-320lbs. barreling head-on into him.

Adam Goldberg is a decent pass blocker, but a below average run blocker. He has decent size (6'7, 310lbs.), but he lacks any sort of push upfront.


I say we put Greco in at RG. I like Fraley as a back-up, but I don't want to rely on him being a full-time starter at guard. He was getting tossed around quite a bit in the pre-season too.



If I want to grade this unit in terms of pass-blocking, it's a B+. In terms of run-blocking, it's a C, C+ at best.

[RockinRam]

The same offensive line that is struggling in the run game is keeping Bradford ridiculously squeaky clean, particularly the last 4 weeks ....

This line is built for classic WCO pass protection, not blocking for a back with tendencies and skills that Jax has ...

Sure, he catches the ball well, runs hard, and pass blocks adequately. Does not mean he's a really good for this offense, which needs a slashing back that can take advantage of overflow blockthroughs and cutback lanes ....

If you watch Jax, he TRIES to be this back, but he is not ....

I have to agree here.

[BEER]

Lets get real here to trade Jackson would be a huge mistake IMO, that being said Jackson is now the old man on a very young team. We need his leadership as well as his skills. But, he's not getting any younger, 30 is age where most backs start to slow down. I want Jackson to be our RB for a few more years, although I would like to see him share some reps with a younger smaller and quicker back.

We can talk about the poor running blocking or defenses gearing up to stop JS at all cost. The Rams coaching staff needs to take advantage of that, not bang your head into the wall, over and over and over again. Sam could of drove the team to add three or seven points in the 4th qtr Sunday. But we handed the ball to SJ in a no win situation. At some point really soon, the Rams are going to have to send the message, if you stack the Box, then Sam will beat you. Make the other team pick their poison. Yesterday because of SJ, every play action, Sam had all day to throw and looked great! Take what they give you!

Play action pass would have worked the whole 4th Qrt, IF THEY USED IT!

[Rambos]

The same offensive line that is struggling in the run game is keeping Bradford ridiculously squeaky clean, particularly the last 4 weeks ....

Well yes and No...

The Rams are moving Sam a lot on roll outs. Play action because of SJ has given Sam more time. SJ has blocked well and the Rams are not throwing the ball deep all that often.