Steven Jackson's injury has made him a game-time decision two weeks in a row since it took him out of the St. Louis Rams' season-opening loss to the Philadelphia Eagles Week 1, and with that in mind it was progress to see him make four carries for 23 yards in their Week 3 drubbing at the hands of the Baltimore Ravens. With more teams on the horizon, most of them not named after birds, it makes sense that the Rams held him out of most of the 37-7 loss. But I'm wondering: When will we see, again, the Steven Jackson who that would piss off?
↵Cadillac Williams, also a game-time decision, ended up seeing most of the action, and he was perfectly competent at it—18 carries for 75 yards, his second solid performance in three games and more than enough justification for the Rams' decision to sign some actual backup running backs for the first time in Steven Jackson history. But Jackson's quad injury is clearly bothering him, or else he'd be much angrier about giving up all these carries, 30-point-deficit or not.
↵It's not a matter of wanting Jackson to actually dominate the offense like he did in 2010; the guy needs some time off, whether he's healthy or questionable. It's a matter of Jackson feeling good enough on his feet that he gets indignant about not dominating the offense. Only then will it be clear that the Rams' offensive focal point is healthy.
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