Steven Jackson played 9 seasons with the St. Louis Rams
before asking and receiving his release after the 2012 NFL season. In that span
he recorded 8 seasons of 1,000+ yards rushing and 300+ yards receiving, what
happened to the 9th season you ask? During his rookie season Jackson
received significantly less touches due to the fact that he was sharing the
backfield with future Hall of Fame running back Marshall Faulk.
Unfortunately for Jackson the nearly retired Faulk was the
closest he ever saw to reliable teammate during his tenure in St. Louis. The
Rams front office failed to put together a good team around Jackson in his 9
years with the franchise and many analysts close to the Rams organization have
harshly criticized the franchise for over working the talented player. Steven
Jackson is a pro’s pro: he shuts his mouth, does his job, and repeats.
At age 29 the Rams are looking to move on from the aging
running back and go in a new direction, luckily for Jackson the Rams are a
class organization. They gave him his walking papers at the end of 2012
allowing him to pursue a featured running back role with another team. In day 3
of 2013 free agency Jackson signed a 3 year deal with the Atlanta Falcons to
become their starting running back and new workhorse in Mike Smith’s power run
style offense. Jackson adds to a potent offense that had trouble running the
ball in 2012, something Jackson is sure to fix.
It’s always good to see a professional like Steven Jackson
get what he deserves from an organization like the Rams but now he also has an
opportunity to do what he has never done before: play for a Super Bowl
contending team. The Falcons made it to the NFC championship game in 2012 and
with the addition of Jackson they could go even farther in 2013.
