Steven Jackson's Groin Nearing 100 Percent, Plus More NFC West News

Tuesday night, I touched on Darnell Dockett's hamstring injury that kept him sidelined in Week 4. And even though Steven Jackson's groin injury hasn't kept him sidelined, it definitely has the same impact as Dockett's injury does for Thursday Night Football.

Jackson has played through the pain for the last two weeks. Week 3 against Chicago wasn't pretty, as he looked slow out of every cut and break he made. At times, he had a heating pad on the injury in between drives.

But last week, the injury seemed to improve quite a bit. Against the Seahawks, he showed drive with his legs and a burst through the hole.

Jim Thomas of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch says Jackson was limited in Tuesday's practice, but he did get some work in:

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Running back Steven Jackson got some work Tuesday in the final open practice before the Rams' game Thursday against the Arizona Cardinals at the Edward Jones Dome.

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This is a very encouraging sign, especially coming off of a short week. Typically, Jackson had not been practicing at all, or he would only practice on Fridays.

Considering that Wednesday's practice is closed off to the media, we won't know how much he participates. However, the final injury report will be out later Wednesday afternoon, so that will give us a better idea.

Arizona's run defense is the 14th best in the NFL, but the Cardinals will be getting their biggest presence on the defensive line back for Thursday night's game. Dockett is a monster who controls the line of scrimmage, so a healthier Jackson is good news for Brian Schottenheimer's run game.

With that, let's take a look at what else is happening in the NFC West.

Arizona Cardinals

The Associated Press (h/t  WashingtonPost.com) takes a look at the 4-0 Cardinals and their anemic ground game.

Cooper Allen of Bleacher Report says Kevin Kolb is making Arizona a title contender. 

San Francisco 49ers

Steve Corkran of MercuryNews.com applauds Andy Lee for punting through a significant injury.

Dylan DeSimone of Bleacher Report grades the free-agent acquisitions from the 49ers' offseason. 

Seattle Seahawks

Eric D. Williams of The Bellingham Herald breaks down Marshawn Lynch and how his investment from the Seahawks has paid dividends. 

Brandan Schulze of Bleacher Report compares the 2012 Seattle Seahawks to the 2009 New York Jets.

St. Louis Rams

R.B. Fallstrom of the Associated Press (h/t BendBulletin.com) says the success of rookie kicker Greg Zuerlein is no surprise to the Rams coaching staff.

Tim Daniels of Bleacher Report looks at Steven Jackson and says his struggles will continue in Week 5. 

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