Steven Jackson watched closely as friend Larry Johnson became the running back story in the NFL last season, taking over for Priest Holmes to rush for 1,750 yards and dispelling the notion that he was a draft bust.
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| Steven Jackson rushed for 1,046 yards last season. (Getty Images) |
Carries.
While Johnson was running himself into the elite list of NFL backs for the Kansas City Chiefs, across the state of Missouri, Jackson was finding out his first season as the feature back for the St. Louis Rams wasn't all it was cracked up to be.
"I'm the type of guy who feeds off touches," Jackson said. "I'm not the type of back who wants it five or 10 times a game. That's not good enough. I was underappreciated by the coaching staff. That's what happens when you have a coach who calls more pass plays than running plays. You get underused."
That coach, Mike Martz, is gone, which won't make Jackson too upset. Martz coached only six games last year because of a heart illness, but disciple Steve Fairchild, who took over calling the plays, kept things the Martz way.
That means throwing it rather than pounding Jackson, who finished with just 254 carries in 15 games. Jackson finished 14th in the league in rushing with 1,046 yards. All 13 of the runners in front of him had more carries with only two others (Pittsburgh's Willie Parker and Atlanta's Warrick Dunn) having fewer than 300 carries. Johnson had 336 carries after getting 140 his first two years.
"It just didn't seem right," Jackson said. "I never could figure out why I didn't get those carries."
He will now. With Martz gone and Scott Linehan in as coach, Jackson will get his touches. He will be this season's Larry Johnson. That means he will get his yards. How many?
Here's an early prediction: Jackson will lead the league in rushing.
"I'll take that as a compliment," Jackson said. "But you're not going out on a limb there. I have the ability to lead the league and now I have the right coaching staff, one that believes in me."
Martz had a strong allegiance to two things as coach of the Rams: the pass and Marshall Faulk. It was Faulk's greatness that helped the Rams win a Super Bowl and ultimately helped Martz become a head coach. He stayed loyal to him to a fault, giving him too many carries in 2004 when many thought Jackson should have taken over as a rookie when he averaged 5 yards per carry.
Faulk only carried 65 times last season, so it was the team's propensity to throw that cost Jackson his carries in 2005. He also had some minor injuries that cut into them.
