By Bill Coats
ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH
Thursday, Sep. 29 2005
Pain, shmain. Rams running back
Steven Jackson declared Thursday that he'd play
Sunday against the New York Giants, no matter how much it might hurt.
"I am the starting running back, and I'm going to go out there and
be responsible enough to play," said Jackson, who has a bruised chest. "It's a
pain issue. But nothing can be like it was (last) Sunday, when I initially did
it. If I can finish a game under that kind of pain, I'll be able to go out
there and play."
Jackson was injured when he was tackled after a 6-yard run late in the first
half of the Rams' 31-27 victory over Tennessee. "I just came down a little
awkward," he said. "I had guys on top of me, so it was probably the compression
of the weight on me."
After missing most of the third quarter - and after X- rays showed no fracture
-Jackson returned and carried five more times. He finished with 48 yards on 12
tries.
"Those things are very painful ... (and) he's going to be hurting during the
week," coach Mike Martz said. "But as each week goes by, he'll get better and
better. He'll be fine."
Jackson, who did limited work with the first unit in team drills Thursday, said
his main problem is taking deep breaths. "I'm working on my conditioning and
getting used to the hard breathing," he said.
The Giants (2-1) have struggled defensively. They rank 31st among the NFL's 32
teams in total defense and yielded a whopping 268 rushing yards - 192 by
LaDainian Tomlinson - in a 45-23 loss at San Diego on Sunday night. Jackson
acknowledged that he and his mates on offense are licking their chops.
"In a way, we are," he said. "But teams get up for us. There's something about
the St. Louis Rams that teams get excited about. We're known for our offense,
and I think teams use that as a measuring stick to see where they are on
defense."
The Rams received more good news on the injury front: Guard Tom Nutten (toe),
free safety Michael Hawthorne (ankle), defensive tackle Jimmy Kennedy (illness)
and tight end Brandon Manumaleuna (knee) also practiced. Wide receiver Isaac
Bruce (toe) worked on his own on the sideline. He's still listed as "doubtful"
for Sunday's game.
Turnover turn-around
After three games last year, the Rams hadn't intercepted a pass or recovered an
opponent's fumble. They wound up with a league-low 15 takeaways for the season.
At the same point this year, the defenders have gobbled up seven turnovers, a
pace that would produce 38 over 16 regular-season games. The impact was
dramatic in Sunday's win: Two interceptions and a fumble recovery led to 17
points in the second quarter, when the Rams overturned a 10- 0 deficit.
"It seemed like they had us on our heels a little bit," said strong safety Adam
Archuleta, who scored the Rams' first points on an 85-yard sprint after an
interception. "We started playing a lot better after that. We started
attacking. I think it was a good spark."
Hawthorne, who had an interception and a fumble recovery, said: "In practice,
the coaches emphasize turnovers, whether it's a strip to cause a fumble, an
interception, whatever. Basically, a turnover is a three-and-out. You shut them
down, and now you're back on the sideline sipping on some Gatorade."
Ram-blings
Defensive tackle Ryan Pickett missed practice to be with his wife, Jennifer,
who was expecting their second child. ... The Giants will be without starting
cornerback William Peterson (back). First-team linebacker Carlos Emmons (knee)
was added to the injury report Thursday, listed as questionable.
Linear Mode
