By Bryan Burwell
ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH
Sunday, Oct. 30 2005
He is the hippest of hipsters with his finely tailored suits, custom-made dress
shirts, perfectly knotted silk ties, flowing dreadlocks and ultra-hip
wrap-around sunglasses. A lot of folks know how to make an entrance, but Steven
Jackson does them one better.
The Rams' bruising running back is that rare cool cat who also knows how to
make an exit.
He strutted out of the locker room Sunday afternoon like some very cool rock
star, with a delicious smile on his face, a Louis Vuitton duffle bag slung over
his broad shoulders, nodding to the music pumping out of his Ipod headphones
and marching to his own stylish beat. There is a lot of showman in this big ol'
body, which is to be expected of a kid who grew up in the shadows of the gaudy
Las Vegas strip.
Maybe all that long-term exposure to the Vegas glitz has that effect on you.
You spend all your life watching headliners, and you figure out exactly how to
behave once the spotlight finds you. Maybe you also notice how every once in a
while an underappreciated stand-in can turn into a certifiable star, ditching
that second billing tag forever.
As he left the Edward Jones Dome late Sunday afternoon after the Rams' 24-21
upset of the Jacksonville Jaguars, Jackson swaggered out of there as the new
certified headliner of this team's offense. He was only supposed to be a
short-term disaster relief plan for the Rams' offense as
Marc Bulger, Isaac
Bruce and
Torry Holt nursed their injuries and the high-powered Rams passing
attack sat idly in sick bay.
Out of necessity, the Rams were forced to rely on Jackson's powerful running.
Yet after all the evidence he's compiled over the past two weeks - particularly
this show-stealing, 179-yard rushing performance against the stout Jaguars
defense - Jackson has made it impossible for interim head coach Joe Vitt and
offensive coordinator Steve Fairchild to go back to business as usual.
The Rams' coaching brain trust has two whole weeks to consider what they need
to do when this team returns to the field fully loaded offensively. The
temptation might be to revert to their old pass-first approach, but they should
ignore all those instincts.
The shift has already occurred, and let's hope what we've seen lately was no
passing fancy (no pun intended). With all the subtlety of a sledgehammer,
Jackson has proved that this deserves to be his offense now, and that
everything needs to flow around him.
"I must admit that I hadn't looked that far ahead to ponder that question,"
Jackson said. He smiled when he said that, as if to let you know that of course
he has pondered that very question maybe 100 times since the day he got here as
a rookie biding his time two years ago. Of course he's pondered everything
about becoming the star of this show. He's thought about the day he'd take over
for Marshall Faulk. He's pondered the day he would spit out 1,500-yard seasons
like they were pumpkin seeds. He's dreamed about the distant future that would
proclaim him the greatest all-time rusher in Rams history, too, as he patiently
bided his time as a rookie.
But he's not a rookie anymore, and he clearly isn't interested in biding his
time anymore, as evidenced by the next thing that came out of his mouth, as he
looked up from his seat in front of his locker stall, flashed a sly smile and
said, "But I think we've made a statement in these past few weeks that we
deserve all the attention we've been getting offensively."
In other words, Jackson knows at the very least if this offense isn't his, it
sure as heck ought to be.
Over the past two weeks, the man they call "Train" has chugged along for 276
yards rushing, 316 yards of total offense and three touchdowns, and the Rams
have won both games.
In the second half Sunday, when the Rams needed him the most, Jackson was at
his very best, grinding out yards and killing the clock. In the third quarter,
he carried it seven times for 64 yards and a 9.1-yard average. In the fourth
quarter, he got eight carries for 74 yards and a 9.3-yard average. And remember
that thing we were talking about before, you know, about a guy who knows how to
make an exit?
Well how about this for a grand exit? With 1 minute 51 seconds remaining and
the Rams protecting a rather nervous three-point lead, Jackson ended any
question about a Jaguars comeback when he burst through the line of scrimmage
for a dramatic 51-yard run.
As he humbly tried shifting the credit from himself to all his teammates,
particularly his offensive line, Jackson finally admitted one rather obvious
fact: "I knew my time would come," he said. His time is here, and here's hoping
there's no turning back.
Linear Mode
