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Round Two: Where Would The Rams Be Without SJ39?

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  • #1

    Round Two: Where Would The Rams Be Without SJ39?

    05.06.2010 2:12 pm
    Where would Rams be without SJ39?
    By Roger Hensley


    THE WATERCOOLER

    QUESTION: As Jim Thomas mentioned in his Wednesday story about Steven Jackson’s back surgery, back injuries can be very tricky. Coming off a 1-15 season already, how deep could the Rams fortunes fall if Jackson’s injury becomes something chronic? Would the team likely be looking at the No. 1 pick again in the next draft?

    JIM THOMAS
    Well, it’s hard to fall any farther than 1-15, but there really is no current answer on the roster if something should happen to Jackson. And the thought of Sam Bradford trying to operate as an NFL rookie quarterback minus Jackson is scary.

    BILL COATS
    The Rams without Jackson would be about as effective as a rifle without ammunition – particularly because they still haven’t found a suitable backup at running back. And, sure, if Jackson isn’t a viable option, the Rams certainly could be looking for a running back in the first round in 2011, if they haven’t addressed that issue before then.

    JEFF GORDON
    If Jackson is at all diminished, yes, this team could be right back at the top of the draft. Good teams have at least two quality backs. More teams are using a tag team of some sort. The Rams have no depth there at this point – and this is a run-based offense. Even if Brian Westbrook comes here, the Rams need to find an exciting young RB to groom. Their poor depth at RB last season proved devastating.

    BRYAN BURWELL
    The Rams without Steven Jackson are a disaster waiting to happen. That would put this team in a horrible circumstance of basically putting rookie No.1 draft pick Sam Bradford on a high wire with no safety net.
    Tags: None
  • #2
    Re: Round Two: Where Would The Rams Be Without SJ39?

    Man I can't help but say that this is ridiculous overexagerration. I don't think that our offense would be as inept without SJ as everyone thinks, but daggonit that's just me. Any team worth its salt will be able to run without one player unless its your QB. We as a team need to lessen our dependency on one freakin' player.

    SJ's time isn't unlimited. I like how everyone wants to say that we have "definetely" not found a suitable running back behind SJ without having seen what our current crop of Ogbonnaya and Toston have to offer. Would we have a "suitable" guy if we had drafted one? Drafting a guy doesn't make the guy qualified in any way. I think if our run blocking becomes the strength of this team like it should be, an average runningback will be succesful here.

    Call me crazy or naive but I'm not concerned about the back-up runningback position at this point. You need to see what you have before saying you have a weakness. I can't say I've cut my leg without feeling any pain or checking to see if there's a cut...

    Everyone likes to forget that we were a TD away from winning more than one game with last year's inexperienced mess-hole of a team.

    Comment

    • #3
      Re: Round Two: Where Would The Rams Be Without SJ39?

      I wish I could share your optimism Bralidore but I'm going to agree with the columnists here. Jackson is our only proven offensive weapon. Its true that Ogbonnaya and Totson haven't exactly been given a chance to shine yet. But your theory that we are going to be a strong run blocking team and that any running back can be plugged into the system and be successful is pure speculation and beyond optimistic. Not to say that you are completely wrong, because as you pointed out, nobody knows for sure. But I know I would feel a whole lot better if we had either a proven veteran or a highly touted rookie waiting in the wings if the worst were to happen to Jackson.

      Comment

      • #4
        Re: Round Two: Where Would The Rams Be Without SJ39?

        Steve Jackson wasn't a part of the offense last year, HE WAS THE OFFENSE LAST YEAR. With out him this year, we repeat as 1-15 and pick first again.

        Comment

        • #5
          Re: Round Two: Where Would The Rams Be Without SJ39?

          Originally posted by lordwhttgr View Post
          Steve Jackson wasn't a part of the offense last year, HE WAS THE OFFENSE LAST YEAR. With out him this year, we repeat as 1-15 and pick first again.
          What an awesome attitude to have and I like how you touted out a clueless( not insulting you, just saying you and I really don't know what we have on the roster yet..) opinion as fact. Hard to have success when you've already bent over for the other team...

          As good as Sjax is, he couldn't help us win more than one game last year....

          Comment

          • #6
            Re: Round Two: Where Would The Rams Be Without SJ39?

            Originally posted by Bralidore(RAMMODE) View Post
            What an awesome attitude to have and I like how you touted out a clueless( not insulting you, just saying you and I really don't know what we have on the roster yet..) opinion as fact. Hard to have success when you've already bent over for the other team...

            As good as Sjax is, he couldn't help us win more than one game last year....
            whoa,,,hold on a second. I have stated and continue to state that with Steve Jackson and Sam Bradford on the team we stand to win 9 games. How is that a bad attitude? I watched the games last year. I saw what we did. I know Steve Jackson is one of the best Running backs in the league. with a combination of running and Passing we will win games. With out the treat of Steve Jackson breaking a big one, and he did with the defense knowing that he was our only offense, Sam stands no chance in the pocket.

            As for you, Do you for your own judgements or just base your facts off what some one else feels?:|

            Comment

            • #7
              Re: Round Two: Where Would The Rams Be Without SJ39?

              ok just the facts.
              RAMS total offense...4470
              Steve Jackson rushing 1416 recieving 322 td 4 to/fumbles 2/2 total offense 1738
              the next closest player, Bulger passing 1469 rushing 22 td 5 to/int/fumbles 7/6/ 6/1 total offense 1491 and that was with throwing the ball to Jackson(not all the time but at least 200 yards worth.

              Look, I am not one of those guys that always looks at the glass half empty. And besides Jackson isnt gone and will likely have the same preformance next year. All I was doing was answering the posts question. We need Steve Jackson back next year to be successful. And that is all I am saying.
              Last edited by lordwhttgr; -05-07-2010, 11:12 PM.

              Comment

              • #8
                Re: Round Two: Where Would The Rams Be Without SJ39?

                You stated that without Sjax the Rams were going 1-15, period. Call me nuts but I don't believe that without one player we automagically lose every game except one. That's BS and a crap attitude to have IMO.

                A good portion of our team last year were rookiees and that remains so this year possibly (this being said without a depth chart). Who knows what rookiees will continue to show what they did last year, what the additions of returning IR players will have (ie. L.Robinson).

                I know what the stats from last year are, im referring to this year, with our better supporting cast and all our players (as of now) healthy. I believe we can win every game and if our players think anything different than either our coaching staff isn't doing a good job of motivating, or some of the optimism on Ram forums have seaped into the locker room.

                Dependence on one player is asinine and I haven't conceded that we live and die with Sjax, althought MANY others have. But yes, perhaps im fooling myself. Rant End

                Comment

                • #9
                  Re: Round Two: Where Would The Rams Be Without SJ39?

                  Originally posted by lordwhttgr View Post
                  Steve Jackson wasn't a part of the offense last year, HE WAS THE OFFENSE LAST YEAR. With out him this year, we repeat as 1-15 and pick first again.

                  I agree with the first part.



                  Any rational fan that watched the games last year should realize that Steven Jackson was a one-man working horse. There was absolutely no threat from the passing game, which led to defenses just concentrating on Jackson.


                  With that being said, we need to find a reliable back-up. Whether the guy is already on the roster, or a FA, we need to get one, to insure the progression of Sam Bradford.



                  Without Jackson, Sam Bradford is going to have a really hard time. Are we necessarily going to go 1-15? No. I think that if Jackson goes down, we switch to a more spread offense, ala shotguns and more pass patterns, where Sam Bradford excels at.

                  Comment

                  • #10
                    Re: Round Two: Where Would The Rams Be Without SJ39?

                    Any effective offense has some ballance to it, or at least the threat of being able to run and throw the ball with some success. With that being said I think it would be tough for the Rams to be a .500 team without Jax in the backfield. With everything we hope Bradford will bring to this team he is still a rookie who is going to make rookie mistakes and that will only be magnified if we were to become a 1 dimensional offense by not having Jax in the backfield. Hopefully we can get a deal done with Westbrook to have someone to spell Jax so he doesn't have the workload he had last year and then hoplefully there is a great RB available at the #32 pick in next years draft.
                    sigpic

                    Comment

                    • #11
                      Re: Round Two: Where Would The Rams Be Without SJ39?

                      So... the point under discussion here is that The Rams will be in trouble without their only consistent & proven NFL-wide dominant skill player ? Yeah, and water is wet. Better teams than the Rams would suffer from such a loss. Just look at what happened to The Falcons when Turner got hurt.

                      There are two things that strike me about this situation. Firstly, I very much like that SJ decided to address a problem that severely hampered him from about half way through last season.He was not the same player with it & I'm glad he's done something to aggressively reduce the risk of it flaring up again.

                      Secondly, it is interesting that this has only just been made public. Did The Rams know & kept it quiet to try and disguise their interest in a RB draft prospect but the option wasn't there when they picked? Or did SJ only tell them after the fact ?

                      Comment

                      • #12
                        Re: Round Two: Where Would The Rams Be Without SJ39?

                        Originally posted by cfh128 View Post
                        I wish I could share your optimism Bralidore but I'm going to agree with the columnists here. Jackson is our only proven offensive weapon. Its true that Ogbonnaya and Totson haven't exactly been given a chance to shine yet. But your theory that we are going to be a strong run blocking team and that any running back can be plugged into the system and be successful is pure speculation and beyond optimistic. Not to say that you are completely wrong, because as you pointed out, nobody knows for sure. But I know I would feel a whole lot better if we had either a proven veteran or a highly touted rookie waiting in the wings if the worst were to happen to Jackson.
                        I'd have to agree with this I'm not willing to gamble our season
                        on some unproven players. let's hope Tolston is as good as we hope he is
                        Originally posted by Bralidore(RAMMODE) View Post
                        What an awesome attitude to have and I like how you touted out a clueless( not insulting you, just saying you and I really don't know what we have on the roster yet..) opinion as fact. Hard to have success when you've already bent over for the other team...

                        As good as Sjax is, he couldn't help us win more than one game last year....
                        he couldn't because we had no one else helping on the team. he's was and is our best player and play maker

                        Comment

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                        Related Topics

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                        • RockinRam
                          Pressure Point: Preserving Jackson
                          by RockinRam
                          By Matt Williamson
                          Scouts Inc.





                          St. Louis is counting on Steven Jackson. He is needed. He is needed in many ways for the Rams to approach respectability.
                          Jackson is a great player. He is one of my favorite running backs in this league and is one of the true bell cow runners left. But I also think that a few years from now, Steve Spagnuolo is going to look back at his rookie year as a head coach and regret putting Jackson through the punishment he endured in 2009.


                          I hope Spagnuolo learns from his mistake last season, but something tells me we should expect more of the same in 2010. That puts Jackson under the spotlight, as the short-term fate of the Rams' offense rests firmly on his shoulders -- and on his now surgically repaired back.
                          My fear is that there will not be a long term. Let's face it; the Rams are not going to win the Super Bowl this season. They are rebuilding. And if/when they finally do become a contender, running back may be a major need because Jackson is spending his best days grinding out yardage on a terrible team.
                          With their massive investment in Sam Bradford, the Rams must have a ground game. Their offensive line is young and talented. It should be improved from a year ago.
                          Not only is Jackson the Rams' best player, but a solid running game is a rookie quarterback's best friend, and Jackson's receiving ability out of the backfield should provide Bradford with an exceptional and reliable option when the original play doesn't go according to script. Jackson can do it all well, including running on the perimeter or up the middle.
                          But the Rams, with or without Bradford as the starting quarterback, are not going to frighten many defenses with their passing game. Every defensive coordinator on the schedule is going to key on shutting down Jackson first and foremost. St. Louis lacks dangerous pass-catching weapons and Jackson will face a stacked box far more often than not.
                          That takes a toll on a running back's body. Not only is he going to take a lot of hits, but he is going to get hit often by multiple defenders at once. Obviously this is true for all ball carriers, but more so for Jackson considering his circumstances.
                          Is this offseason surgery the beginning of the end for Jackson? Often when a running back begins to lose a step, the decline is very rapid. Last season, he didn't break long runs like he once did, and if this trend continues, the writing might be on the wall.
                          With the huge number of needs St. Louis has in its rebuilding project, it is understandable why the Rams have gone in other directions instead of acquiring a backup running back for Jackson, but this massive hole on their roster could really hurt the franchise for the long term. The lack of a suitable backup running back might lead to the erosion of the Rams' best asset.
                          That might be jumping the gun -- and some running backs will hit...
                          -05-14-2010, 03:14 PM
                        • laram0
                          Multiple Runningbacks
                          by laram0
                          Alot of teams in the NFL have approached the running game with 2 or 3 decent if not solid runningbacks. Times have changed but we haven't. As we all know we have an absolute STUD in Steven Jackson but that's it, period.

                          The question in my mind is how important is it to have at least one other decent if not solid back behind SJ?

                          With all the holes in our team how high on the priority list is this issue?
                          -01-12-2010, 10:38 AM
                        • sosa39rams
                          Steven Jackson
                          by sosa39rams
                          Some say he has lost a step, he is slower, he goes down to easily, and just isn't the same back that he used to be. If this is true, shouldn't we go out and acquire a new back? Well, none of us can prove that this is true.

                          Anyways, he isn't doing great this season. I am not too sure whether its him or the porous play by the offensive line; specifically Adam Goldberg.

                          So here is my question. Do you guys think we should trade him? He will be a free agent in a few seasons, and is only decreasing year after year. I am not too sure where I stand on this topic but in a couple years we will probably get nothing for SJAX. I would prefer to keep him though. He is the soul and heart of this team, and has done tons for this organization.

                          Also, what offers do you guys believe we would get? I'd assume somewhere like 2nd-4th ...most likely being a 3rd.
                          Y
                          12.50%
                          8
                          No
                          87.50%
                          56
                          -11-28-2010, 07:44 PM
                        • MauiRam
                          Jackson Carries Rams Into the Light ..
                          by MauiRam
                          By Nick Wagoner/Senior Writer
                          Posted 2 hours ago

                          It is said that out of darkness will emerge light. How quickly that light emerges depends on whether you move with confidence or tiptoe through the shadows.

                          Steven Jackson has never tiptoed through anything in his life. And though it’s taken longer than he would have liked, the eighth-year running back is on the verge of delivering the Rams out of the darkness and into the light.

                          It’s a task that many would choose not to take on for enduring the pain that goes with it would be too much for just about anyone to bear.

                          Jackson has been called many things in his career but there’s one common nickname he’s been called that he never quite grasped until he took the time during the offseason to wrap his head around it.

                          “It’s funny I have been referred to as a beast for quite some time and I said, ‘You know, I am going to look it up. What does the word beast mean?’” Jackson said. “And to give you a quick synopsis of how I look at it and how I thought of it is ‘a mammal that bears the weight of something and transports it.’ I feel like I have been a beast because I bear the weight of some tough times around St. Louis and I have carried it from the days of glory to now hopefully to a new age and a new version of the days of glory. And I have been the particular, chosen one to feel like maybe he’s the one strong enough to bring us through the darkness back to a point where (quarterback) Sam (Bradford) and these younger guys will bring us back to glory.”

                          Bearing the weight of an entire franchise’s struggle is a burden Jackson has carried for all of his seven seasons in the NFL. On closer inspection, it’s clear that Jackson’s sacrifice has gone well beyond simply being a part of a losing team.

                          In fact, he’s one of the last of his kind in the NFL, a running back willing and capable of taking on a full load in a league that grown more specialized by the season.

                          The job of the single running back carrying the load is one thing; the job of the single player carrying the hopes of a franchise on his back is another. Jackson has done both.

                          It’s a job Jackson believes he was chosen for, a job he was selected for by powers greater than a general manager or head coach.

                          “I think it’s a divine job not for the organization but for me, myself because I never knew some of the strong characteristics and the things that I believe in were within me until I had to go through some tough times,” Jackson said.

                          A DYING BREED

                          With each passing NFL season, the league evolves and changes in ways that consistently alter the way players and positions are perceived.

                          Today, in 2011, the NFL is almost universally viewed as a quarterback’s league, a passing league in which running backs can be found and deployed in a variety of ways and you can...
                          -09-07-2011, 10:01 AM
                        • FestusRam
                          Now that Jackson is out the door, will Sam step up?
                          by FestusRam
                          Jacksons career with the Rams, like all good things, had to come to an end. Without Jackson, there's a pretty good size hole in the offense, and I'm not talking about the running back position.

                          Jackson was the obvious leader of the offense, and really the team as a whole. I don't think theres any doubt who needs to take over leadership. Our quarterback. Sams been known to be somewhat of a quiet leader. Can he step up and put guys in their place, when it was necessary, like Jackson did so well? I hope he realizes he is the sole leader of this offense, and doesn't accept anything less than perfection from his other ten guys. I know he can physically lead the team to a victory, but can he be that mental stability when things go wrong? Can he be that guy to look to like Jackson was for so many years? Only time will tell.

                          Wow, this next year is going to be....interesting.
                          -03-14-2013, 04:18 PM
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