With age comes with maturity and Steven Jackson had to realize that; coming off a 1,042 year Jackson elected to play outside of the Saint Louis Rams organization. Jackson had to face the reality with his age and how could he manage to keep healthy.
Mostly running backs around thirty years old start to have back problems, issues with maintaining in good condition, and producing well for their respective teams. Coaches and owners have been scared with taking a risk on Jackson, because he takes a lot of unnecessary hits. Jackson stated “I run the way I do not because of fear,” he says. “I just believe that sometimes, the fight could be over with one punch.”
The punch he is referring to could be an injury that could happen in a matter of a split second.
The Atlanta Falcons at the current time was parting was with running back Michael Turner and was looking for a running back that could help them make it over the hump into the post season. Jackson was the guy that they were looking for. Jackson had worked out hard throughout the off season and it was shown through preseason.
Steven’s got a gazillion carries in his career,” Koetter said. “Coach Smith will determine how many carries he gets, but I don’t believe Steven Jackson needs a bunch of touches in the preseason. You can only run inside zone, outside zone so many times. He doesn’t need to go out there and prove himself. Preseason is live tackling and getting your running backs beat up in the preseason, I don’t see the benefit. Coach Smith will determine how many carries he gets.”
Even at his age he has proven that he could handle the workload. In Saint Louis he was the team; he had carried the whole city on his back. Jackson is a well respected man and that is why coming into the Falcons camp that they were making sure that he was ready to go for the season. The Falcons at first was careful with letting Jackson get into preseason games early. They wanted him to rest his legs and be prepared for the long hall.
Smith said some of the strengths that make Jackson an effective runner also help him have success catching passes.”He’s got very good hands and very good vision,” Smith said. “Usually, a running back has to have good vision because it’s check-down routes. It’s the last read in most cases, and the integrity of the play is about to break down, and he has a good feel for it. I think that’s why he’s such a good runner as well. He has excellent vision.”
Jackson has never been with a winning team, so this experience has been something new for him.”When you’re not on national television a lot, some of the things you’ve done over the years can get overlooked easily,” “You can only have so much individual success to kind of pacify you through your career.””This team was pretty dynamic when it came to throwing screens, taking advantage of the defense being overly aggressive,” Jackson said “We have a number of playmakers on this team, wherever I can fit in on the package, whether it’s being a decoy or catching the screen making something happen down the field.”
Jackson said he’s not worried about a decline in production at 30. He averaged 4.1 yards per carry last season, close to his career average of 4.2.”I don’t worry about it all, “… I think each and every generation has a guy that breaks the mold, and I truly believe that I’m that running back for this generation.”
As the season has already started Jackson has already made an impact with the Falcons. The Falcons are using Jackson to their advantage. He brings a lot of energy, experience, and can create big plays down the field. He has carried the ball 14 times for about 77 yards and no touchdowns.
Jackson is still getting used to the new system and how he fits in it. He is on pace for another 1,000 yard season this year if he remains healthy.
