St. Louis Rams: The Changing Role of Steven Jackson

Steven Jackson has been the workhorse back for the St. Louis Rams ever since Marshall Faulk's retirement. Running backs in the NFL are receiving less than 300 carries in a season more often than ever. With this change in the league, it appears Steven Jackson's role with the Rams will be changing as well.

Jackson will still be the anchor of this Rams offense, but his touches will decrease this season. The Rams clearly want to be able to run the ball, otherwise they wouldn't have signed Harvey Dahl. The desire to develop their franchise quarterback seems to have taken center stage over feeding Steven Jackson the ball though.

The role Steven Jackson will play this season in the running game, passing game, and his leadership of the offense will change this season. Whether or not the changes will be positive remains to be seen, but don't be surprised this season if in clutch time, Sam Bradford is the one who will decide the outcome.

Running Game

The preseason game this past weekend is probably not a sign of how well the Rams running game will look in the regular season. Backups Hank Fraley and Adam Goldberg both played extended time in the first half, and both played below average. Luckily for Jackson, Rodger Saffold and Jacob Bell should be fine for the regular season.

The addition of Josh McDaniels has many fearing that Steven Jackson will be lost in a pass happy offense. That will likely not be the case, but the way Jackson is used will change.

Josh McDaniels' offense uses a one-back set, not the two-back set that Jackson has become accustomed to. Jackson will no longer have Mike Karney leading the way for him. He will have to hope the offensive line can open up lanes for him.

Tight ends Lance Kendricks and Michael Hoomanawanui will also be used in run formations. Either one could be used as a fullback. This creates matchup problems for defenses and will allow Jackson to have the two-back system that he is used to.

New running backs Cadillac Williams and Jerious Norwood aren't likely to take away too many carries from Steven Jackson. What Cadillac brings to the table though is a running back who can carry the load for series at a time. What this means is that if there is ever any doubt about Jackson's health in a game, expect Williams to come in and spell him.

Passing Game

Over the past three seasons, Steven Jackson has caught 40, 51 and 46 passes. His peak for receptions was 90 in 2006. Jackson could be in the 60 to 70 catch range this season.

There are question marks all over the Rams receiving core. Sam Bradford is a great quarterback, but he can only make the receivers look do good. The Ram receivers are good enough to get the job done, but all it takes is one game with no contribution from any of them to cost the season. The week 17 matchup against the Seahawks was evidence of that.

With question marks on the outside, Bradford should look to old reliable in the backfield. The throws to Jackson don't necessarily have to be check down passes. Plays will be designed to get him the ball out in open space. Josh McDaniels is smart enough to know that it is nearly impossible for defensive backs to take down the runaway freight train that is Steven Jackson.

One aspect of the passing game that gets ignored is pass blocking. The addition of Williams could be a god-send in this department. He was known in Tampa Bay for his ability to help Josh Freeman understand blocking schemes. Williams could be used in third down situations to help keep Steven Jackson away from the shots from blitzing linebackers.

Leadership

Jackson is the unquestioned leader of this Rams team. This season, however, the throne will be passed over to Sam Bradford.

Jackson will still be the leader of the team as a whole, but Bradford is going to be given the opportunity to take over the offense. Bradford was just awarded the opportunity to decide the offensive line's blocking schemes. He also will have the opportunity to call more and more audibles as he gets comfortable with the offense.

Younger players tend to look up to a veteran influence. Steven Jackson will still be that guy, but as the new wave of Ram players come in, Bradford will soon be the guy showing them the ropes.

Wrap-Up

There is no question that with the changes the Rams have had this offseason, Jackson will see a role that he isn't used to. As a veteran who has been there and done that, there shouldn't be any major problems.

While Steven Jackson's numbers may tail off a bit this season, the changes could prove to be good. More and more teams in the NFL are using running back committees rather than use a workhorse back. Jackson still probably has a year or two left in him of being the go to guy, but it is time for the Rams to start saving their leader from unnecessary wear and tear.