Jackson a battering Ram
Former Oregon State star emerging in second season
By CLARE FARNSWORTH
SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER REPORTER
Steven Jackson makes one mean first impression.
It goes beyond the chiseled physique and statuesque running style that make the St. Louis Rams' second-year running back seem taller than his 6-foot-2 frame. It's more than the dreadlocks flowing from beneath his helmet, which add to his distinctive appearance.
Jackson doesn't just look the part of a unique talent, he plays it.
"He's a beast," said Lofa Tatupu, the Seahawks' rookie middle linebacker who has had a couple of memorable run-ins with Jackson in college and the NFL. "He's a freak of nature. You aren't supposed to be that big and be able to move like that.
"He's a battering ram," Tatupu said. "No pun intended, but he is."
Jackson and Tatupu are again veering toward a collision course, as the NFC West-leading Seahawks (6-2) play host to the second-place Rams (4-4) Sunday in a game that will have a significant effect on the division race.
Tatupu leads the Seahawks in tackles (52). Jackson leads the Rams in rushing yards (659) and touchdowns (eight).
Unlike Tatupu, Jackson has had to wait his turn. When the Rams made Jackson the 24th pick in the 2004 draft, they already had Marshall Faulk, whose stature in St. Louis dwarfs the Gateway Arch.
Faulk's presence and a knee injury to Jackson that needed surgery after the season limited his production as a rookie. But this season, they have flopped roles.
"I'm never going to forget who I replaced," Jackson said during training camp. "But at the same time, I have to keep moving forward."
During training camp, the Rams talked about playing smashmouth football by leading with the 231-pound Jackson. In their past two games, with Joe Vitt replacing pass-happy Mike Martz as coach, they actually have done it.
In the Rams' pre-bye week victory over the Jacksonville Jaguars, Jackson carried 25 times for a career-high 179 yards. The week before, it was 20 carries for 97 yards and two touchdowns in a win over the Saints.
Jackson has gotten 20 or more carries only four times in his first season and a half, but the Rams have won all four games.
But back to those first impressions.
Jackson was a do-it-all back from Las Vegas who was recruited to Oregon State by Dennis Erickson, who spent time in Corvallis between NFL coaching stints with the Seahawks and *****. When Erickson returned to the NFL, Mike Riley inherited Jackson.
"We'd heard all about him, of course," Riley said. "But the first time we saw him on the field, we went, 'Whoa. My goodness.' We'd seen him on film, but to see him in person, he's a different guy. He's a special guy."
Tatupu discovered just how special as a sophomore at USC during a game against the Beavers. Jackson got the ball on a draw, and Tatupu read the play as if he had drawn it up.
"There was nowhere for him to go," Tatupu said. "I do what we call 'shoot my gun' and just lay out. He gets the ball while I'm in the air, turns sideways and I go right by him.
"He takes off and then drags our defensive tackle for a little bit of a ride," Tatupu added of Shaun Cody, a 292-pounder now with the Detroit Lions. "I was like, 'Man, we have got to find a way to stop this guy.' "
Jackson made a similar impression when he checked into Rams training camp as a rookie.
"I knew from the first day that Steven was something special," said defensive end Bryce Fisher, who played for the Rams last season and now leads the Seahawks with seven sacks.
"When you meet him, he's a such a big man to be running so fast," Fisher said. "When he first got there, Marshall actually had to slow him down, so he could let his blocks work for him.
"But he's every bit of why they brought him in there."
Speed. Power. Size. Strength. Versatility. Jackson has it all, in a package he calls "some kind of gumbo."
One that makes an immediate, and lasting, impression.
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