Steven Jackson Injury: St. Louis Rams Should Start Jackson at All Costs

The future needs to be now for the St. Louis Rams, so if that means playing hurting star running back Steven Jackson this week against the Baltimore Ravens, so be it.

Some schools of thought would argue that the Rams don’t have much of a shot to beat the Ravens even with Jackson in the lineup, so sitting him and giving him another week of rest is a good move.

That concept is understandable if you’re the better team, but if the Rams want to be taken seriously they cannot afford to be conservative.

According to Jim Thomas of stltoday.com, the Rams may be leaning toward being conservative with Jackson’s injury though:

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For the first time since suffering the injury Sept. 11 against Philadelphia, Pro Bowl running back Steven Jackson tested his right thigh in practice Thursday. But he didn't get much work in, being officially listed as limited participation, and remains questionable to doubtful for Sunday's St. Louis Rams home game against Baltimore.

"I was able to get out there today, practice a little bit, get a few reps in," Jackson said. "I'm starting to familiarize myself with the game plan and knowing what Baltimore does. So mentally, I'm right on key with the team. I just have to continue over the next few days to see how the quad reacts to me actually doing physical work that's football related."

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The desire to protect your star player is understandable, but the Rams need to go out and play for the here-and-now.

The Rams are building a great team, but the process can only last for so long. The window to the playoffs and beyond is so small in the NFL.

Building for the future is a great thing, but there has to be a point when you realize that the future is now.

That time needs to be now for the St. Louis Rams.

Nobody expects them to beat the Ravens, but with Jackson in the lineup they have a legitimate chance to do so.

A win over one of the better teams in the AFC would go a huge way towards boosting the overall confidence of the team, which is even more important after their 0-2 start.

The NFC West is arguably the easiest division in the NFL. If the Rams can get on a roll and bounce back from this bad start, they would have a good chance at making a comeback.

The first step is getting a win under their belts, though, and they won’t be able to do that without Jackson.

It’s understandable if they sit him in order to protect him from injury in the long term, but they might as well start thinking about next season while they are at it.

2011 is still a salvageable season.

The Rams need to win now, and they need Steven Jackson to do so.