4 St. Louis RAMS
AFTER LOSING 28--7 to the Vikings at home in their preseason opener on Aug. 14, the Rams returned to the practice field determined to clean up their mistakes. Late in a session two days afterward, Steven Jackson took a handoff, headed toward the right side of the line and was bumped off balance by wide receiver Donnie Avery, who had been pushed into the hole by a stronger defender.
Jackson, who is as intense in workouts as he is in games, picked himself up off the turf and slammed the ball between his hands in frustration. His angry words went unheard by onlookers at practice, but they might as well have been Details, details. Later in the practice he went to Avery and explained to the receiver that he has to hold his ground when sealing the edge on a running play to his side, otherwise the hole shrinks.
"And the holes are already small enough," Jackson says, chuckling.
Not that Jackson needs his holes to be gaping. Despite playing behind a makeshift line last season, and with a passing game that was nonexistent at times, the two-time Pro Bowler ran for 1,416 yards, and his 1,738 yards from scrimmage ranked fifth in the NFL. With rookie Sam Bradford, the top pick in April's draft, expected to take over at quarterback at some point this year—if not right away—Jackson will be counted on to carry even more of the load in St. Louis, which seems physically impossible considering that he's been carrying most of it already. His 324 rushes last season were 297 more than his backup, the largest gap in the league.
Says center Jason Brown, "What do they call that special player on Madden? The game-breaker? He's our game-breaker. He adds an explosive nature to our offense. We know as an offensive line if we do our job at least 10 percent better than last year and sustain some of those blocks, it's off to the house for him. Our goal this year is make sure that we allow Steven to shine in the way that he deserves."
Jackson has been overshadowed much of his career not only because he has played on bad teams—the Rams were 1--15 in 2009; they're 6--42 since '07 and have not had a winning season during his six-year tenure—but also because his Pro Bowl seasons coincided with record-breaking performances by other backs. (Last season it was Tennessee's Chris Johnson who took center stage.) The only records Jackson is concerned with at this point, however, are those on the paper taped to his locker: the St. Louis franchise rushing leaders. Jackson needs only 539 yards to eclipse Eric Dickerson's alltime Rams mark of 7,245. If Jackson maintains his career average of 79.8 yards a game, he'll reach that sometime around the Rams' Oct. 24 date at Tampa Bay. "When I signed here, I wanted to leave this franchise as its leading rusher," he says. "I wanted to break every rushing record that they have. That's still my personal goal."
It grates on Jackson that his only playoff appearance came as a rookie backup in 2004, but the prospects of a turnaround this season are dim. No matter how ready Bradford is when he takes over, there isn't much for him to work with. Injuries prevented the five projected starting offensive linemen—the team drafted 6'5", 325-pound left tackle Rodger Saffold 33rd overall out of Indiana in April to shore up a group that gave up 44 sacks last year, seventh worst in the NFL—from playing together during the first half of training camp. The St. Louis receiving corps, meanwhile, lacks a proven No. 1 wideout, a deficiency that became more pronounced after Avery (47 receptions in 2009) was lost for the season last week when he tore the ACL in his right knee.
But Jackson, rather than seek an exit from such a mess before his skills diminish, soldiers on, running through defenders, setting an example for teammates, focusing on the microscopic details that ultimately separate success from failure. "That's why Steven is as good as he is," says middle linebacker James Laurinaitis. "He has the mentality that if he's going to be on the field, he's going to work. When you have a guy who is the face of your franchise and he carries around that type of attitude, it really sends a message and gets the point across."
In St. Louis, Jackson's point can't hit home soon enough.
PROJECTED STARTERS
WITH 2009 STATS
COACH STEVE SPAGNUOLO
OFFENSE
2009 RANK: 29
QB SAM BRADFORD (R)
G 3
ATT 69
COMP 39
PCT 56.5
YARDS 562
TD 2
INT 0
RATING 134.5
RB STEVEN JACKSON
G 15
ATT 324
YARDS 1,416
AVG 4.4
REC 51
YARDS 322
AVG 6.3
TTD 4
FB MIKE KARNEY
G 14
ATT 2
YARDS 8
AVG 4.0
REC 6
YARDS 16
AVG 2.7
TTD 0
WR LAURENT ROBINSON
G 3
REC 13
YARDS 167
TTD 1
WR DANNY AMENDOLA
G 14
REC 43
YARDS 326
TTD 1
TE DANIEL FELLS
G 14
REC 21
YARDS 273
TTD 3
LT RODGER SAFFOLD (R)
G 12
HT 6'5"
WT 323
LG JACOB BELL
G 13
HT 6'4"
WT 300
C JASON BROWN
G 16
HT 6'3"
WT 328
RG ADAM GOLDBERG
G 16
HT 6'7"
WT 309
RT JASON SMITH
G 8
HT 6'5"
WT 307
DEFENSE
2009 RANK: 29
DE VICTOR ADEYANJU
G 10
TACKLES 7
SACKS 0
INT 0
DT FRED ROBBINS
G 16
TACKLES 25
SACKS 2
INT 0
DT CLIFTON RYAN
G 16
TACKLES 42
SACKS 1
INT 0
DE CHRIS LONG
G 16
TACKLES 43
SACKS 5
INT 0
LB LARRY GRANT
G 16
TACKLES 19
SACKS 1
INT 0
LB JAMES LAURINAITIS
G 16
TACKLES 120
SACKS 2
INT 2
LB NA'IL DIGGS
G 14
TACKLES 39
SACKS 0
INT 0
CB RONALD BARTELL
G 15
TACKLES 66
SACKS 0
INT 0
FS OSHIOMOGHO ATOGWE
G 12
TACKLES 74
SACKS 1
INT 2
SS JAMES BUTLER
G 13
TACKLES 69
SACKS 0
INT 3
CB JUSTIN KING
G 15
TACKLES 36
SACKS 0
INT 0
SPECIAL TEAMS
P DONNIE JONES
PUNTS 90
AVG 46.8
NET 41.7
K JOSH BROWN
FG 19--24
XP 16--16
POINTS 73
PR DANNY AMENDOLA
RET 31
AVG 11.6
TD 0
KR DANNY AMENDOLA
RET 66
AVG 24.5
TD 0
New acquisition
(R) Rookie: College stats
TTD: Total touchdowns
2010 SCHEDULE
2009 Record: 1--15
September
12 Arizona
19 at Oakland
26 Washington
October
3 Seattle
10 at Detroit
17 San Diego
24 at Tampa Bay
31 Carolina
November
7 BYE
14 at San Francisco
21 Atlanta
28 at Denver
December
5 at Arizona
12 at New Orleans
19 Kansas City
26 San Francisco
January
2 at Seattle
SCHEDULE STRENGTH
NFL Rank: 31
Opponents' 2009 winning percentage: .449
Games against 2009 playoff teams: 4
ANALYSIS
Here's how parity is supposed to function. As the Rams try to work out of their funk, they have just five dates with teams that had winning records in 2009. Of their first eight games, only three are on the road, and those trips are to Oakland, Detroit and Tampa Bay (combined '09 record: 10--38). St. Louis will need to make the best of the first half because the season gets more daunting after a Week 9 bye, with four challenging road games in five weeks.
SPOTLIGHT
Sam Bradford, Quarterback
ONE THING is certain in St. Louis: Bradford, who was drafted first overall and signed a six-year, $78 million contract that includes a record $50 million in guaranteed money, will play this year. The only questions are When? and How much?
Coach Steve Spagnuolo was an Eagles assistant in 1999 when Philadelphia drafted Donovan McNabb second overall and used him situationally for two months before making him the starter. That turned out well for the Eagles, as McNabb took the team to five NFC Championship Games and one Super Bowl. Still, Spagnuolo has refused to say if he'll follow the same blueprint with Bradford.
But the coach's appreciation of the player has only grown since the draft. Throughout the off-season and training camp Bradford has displayed excellent arm strength, accuracy and poise in the pocket. He has consistently placed passes where only his receivers could get them, and during one drill on Aug. 16, he repeatedly zipped passes both in front of the safety and beyond the trailing linebacker on seam routes.
Also competing for the starting job is A.J. Feeley, who knows St. Louis's system from when he was with Spagnuolo and offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur in Philadelphia. But it seems only a matter of time before the ball and the offense is handed to Bradford.
"I really don't know if there's a right way to do it," says Bradford, who threw for 189 yards and two touchdowns in a 36--35 win over the Patriots last Thursday. "I know for me, as a competitor, I want to be on the field as soon as our coaches feel I'm ready."
PHOTO
SCOTT ROVAK/US PRESSWIRE
HAIR FORCE Long the face of the franchise, Jackson will get help from this year's No. 1.
PHOTO
DAMIAN STROHMEYER