St. Louis Rams running back Steven Jackson deserves better. The 6’2″, 240-pound nimble-but-bruising back stands atop the Rams’ all-time rushing list. He’s served as the team’s emotional leader, team captain and perennial pro-bowl representative. But no matter how hard SJ39 seems to run, he can’t seem to will the Rams back to the playoffs.
Jackson’s only taste of the post-season came in 2004, his rookie year, as an understudy to the great Marshall Faulk. The “greatest show on turf” days were winding down and the Rams barely snuck into the playoffs with an 8-8 record to claim the wildcard spot. Jackson probably never imagined that seven years and 8,000 rushing yards later, his playoff resume would still read the same.
The Rams playoff draught is not an indictment of Jackson’s talent or work ethic. The blue-collar back has broken the 1,000 yard mark in six consecutive seasons (and is on track to make it seven this year). No, the Rams’ abysmal 29-77 record during Jackson’s tenure can be blamed on countless incompentent front office decisions.
Draft-after-draft, offseason-after-offseason, the Rams fail to land impactful offensive playmakers to lighten up the eight-man fronts (or simply block them) Jackson sees on a regular basis. Sure, the Sam Bradford signing was finally a major step in the right direction, but the linemen and receivers lined up in front of the potentially dynamic duo have been remarkably average, incessantly injured or both.
Despite his intense demeanor on the field, Jackson has remained a strong team-leader. While other NFL stars in his situation may have given up or chosen to play the blame-game, he continuosly pushes teammates to improve, takes responsibility for failures and rushes every attempt as if it were his last.
When asked about potential trades to contenders, Jackson has always been adamant that he wants to lead the Rams to the playoffs. Hopefully the Rams execs, whether it be the current crop or a brand new regime, will reward their all-time leading rusher with some bonafied playmakers and gap-creators during the off-season. Jackson deserves another taste of team success to go with his full-plate of individual accomplishments.
