Steven Jackson injury concern likely insignificant following missed practice

The St. Louis Rams' Steven Jackson is nearly as famous for playing through constant injuries as he is for playing through constant, unending team failure, so it shouldn't be shocking that he's less-than-100-percent this week, or even that he missed practice Wednesday with a foot injury. But it's probably not worth worrying, yet—even as little as we usually worry about these things. Jim Thomas of the Post-Dispatch provides the best reason not to:

. . .Jackson also sat out last week's Weds. practice because of the foot issue but returned to practice rest of week.

— Jim Thomas (@jthom1) November 28, 2012

Steven Jackson misses practice sometimes because he's Steven Jackson, and he mostly knows what he's doing. Inasmuch as he has a problem, it's that his body is not always as ready to leap over and through a bunch of defenders and gain 20 yards as he is, so the extra day off reads, after appearing two weeks in a row, less as an attempt to rest a foot injury and more a calculated attempt to keep the 29-year-old Jackson fresher longer.

If it is a conscious decision, it's working so far. Since the bye week Jackson has left Daryl Richardson in the dust and dominated the Rams' offense like old times, rushing 66 times for 321 yards over three games. I don't think Jackson needs to go full-Allen-Iverson, exactly, but a veteran who's playing like that probably doesn't need the extra work to stay sharp. If he misses practice on Thursday—well, I'll worry then.