By Jim Thomas
ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH
09/20/2009
Even on a day when Marc Bulger had only 17 handoffs, Seattle's strategy in dealing with Steven Jackson and the Rams' running game was painfully obvious.
Time after time, in those critical final seconds before the ball was snapped, the Seahawks would creep a safety toward the line of scrimmage, an eighth defender to help keep Jackson bottled up.
"There were eight down there quite a bit," Rams offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur said. "With a running back like we have, I think that's something we're going to see. And I would anticipate that Washington will do the same."
It's simple gridiron math. By sending a safety into the box — the area roughly from offensive tackle to offensive tackle along the line of scrimmage — the defense is committing eight players to stop the run. In base formations, most offenses have only seven blockers in that same area: five offensive linemen, the tight end and the fullback.
So in what's commonly described as a game of inches, having an extra body to tackle the running back can make a huge difference.
Jackson expected a lot of "eight in the box" against Seattle. Ditto for Washington on Sunday at FedEx Field, and really for every Sunday.
"That's just going to be my mindset for all 16 games that we have," Jackson said. "I anticipate for the rest of the year that defenses are going to put eight men in the box because we're just so young at the wide receiver position."
It makes all the sense in the world for defenses to gang up on Jackson.
"I mean, right now he's our best football player on offense," tight end Randy McMichael said. "A lot of teams know that, and they want to take him away. We've got to find a way as receivers and tight ends to make plays.
"And even if they do have eight-man fronts, we need to get seven guys (blocked), and let Steven make the one guy miss. It's all about just staying on your man a little bit longer and helping 'Jack' find somewhere to run."
Easier said than done, particularly in more obvious running situations. Against Seattle, Jackson gained only 19 yards on eight carries on first down, a traditional running down. That's only 2.4 yards per carry. But on second and third downs, when defenses have to be more concerned with the pass, Jackson averaged six yards per carry (eight carries for 48 yards).
Jackson should see plenty of Washington middle linebacker London Fletcher, the former Ram, on Sunday. "He's a tackling machine," Jackson said. "From what I see on game film, he kind of mirrors the running backs. So it should be a good matchup with myself and him."
Fletcher had 18 tackles last week in the Redskins' season-opening loss to the New York...
-09-20-2009, 08:06 AM
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