With all eyes on Bradford, Jackson will still have to carry the Rams
Steven Jackson has relished his workhorse role with the St. Louis Rams. He’s been banged up but he enjoys the carries he gets and you’ll never hear him ask for less work. With Sam Bradford’s arrival, it will be up to Jackson to smooth the transition for the hyped rookie quarterback this year.
Bradford will likely not have a very good season. He doesn’t yet have the right supporting cast and it’s likely that 2010 will be a learning process for him. The advantage that he has is that he has one of the league’s best and one of the most underrated running backs in his backfield. Jackson has carried the lowly Rams for the last few years. He’s the bright spot of the team and perhaps the hardest worker.
Teams in the NFL have transitioned into having a two-running back system, sometimes three. You see it in Carolina with DeAngelo Williams and Jonathan Stewart, we see it in New York with Brandon Jacobs and Ahmad Bradshaw and we saw it with Ladanian Tomlinson and Darren Sproles in San Diego. Teams typically have specialists in the backfield. They tend to choose a running back specifically for short-yardage situations or third downs. Jackson wants no part in that and is an every-down back.
"I think it's a lost art that I want to try to carry on until the next phase of running backs come," Jackson said. "I really pride myself in being one of the rare guys who stay on the field for three downs."
Jackson is the league’s highest paid running back and with good reason. He is the busiest and performs tasks that some backs wouldn’t dream of doing. There are some exceptions as some teams have their feature back; Chris Johnson in Tennessee, Maurice Jones-Drew in Jacksonville and Cedric Benson in Cincinnati. These are backs who can constantly handle the load of 20 or more carries a game and Jackson may be the most primed for it. At age 27, some would argue that he’s heading into the declining days of a running back having undergone so much wear and tear. That trend will continue as he’ll have to make things easier for Bradford and he’ll earn every penny of the five-year, $43 million contract.
In his six-year career Jackson has amassed 1,548 carries, 6,707 yards and 41 rushing touchdowns. Jackson is built to absorb the workload as he is 244 pounds with only five percent body fat.
Despite all his accolades and his work ethic, Jackson is aware that most running backs aren’t offered big contracts due to their short careers. Once most backs reach their late twenties, their best days are behind them. They lose a step, they can’t make their cuts, they aren’t as strong and the mileage has worn them down. Jackson is aware that he may be a couple of years away from being replaced by a younger, cheaper running back. Jackson is trying to show running backs around the league that it is possible for them to play at a high level for a longer time than what seems possible.
"I'm just trying to pave a new way," Jackson said. "I'm trying to find a new way for coaches and general managers to look at it. I want to show you can get a back that is prepared to endure."
Jackson has expressed that he feels he can continue to play at a high level for five more seasons. With the workload he carries, that’s an uphill battle despite how good he looks now.
With Jackson now trying to ease the development of a rookie quarterback, he wants to be around in the days that the Rams will inevitably improve. He’ll probably need to stick around at least a couple of years before the Rams get back to their winning ways of the early decade. He’s prepared for the haul. Whether it will be long or short, he’ll go at 100 per cent for as long as he can.
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