Obviously everyone knows about the situation with Steven Jackson. I am a big fan of Steven Jackson. Now, we all have to admit, eventually Steven Jackson has to stop trucking. Why, if it was up to me, I would draft his eventual replacement (Le'veon Bell) this year, so that Steven can mentor him and then hand over the reign if it comes a time when Steven cannot preform as well anymore. But here my augment is Steven Jackson still has another good season or two in him, and the Rams would be foolish to let him go.
Last year, there were 16 1000 yard rushers, which is half of the league starting running backs.
1 | Adrian Peterson, RB | MIN | 348 | 2,097 | 6.0 | 82 | 27 | 12 | 131.1 | 3 | 85 |
2 | Alfred Morris, RB | WSH | 335 | 1,613 | 4.8 | 39 | 9 | 13 | 100.8 | 4 | 83 |
3 | Marshawn Lynch, RB | SEA | 315 | 1,590 | 5.0 | 77 | 9 | 11 | 99.4 | 4 | 68 |
4 | Jamaal Charles, RB | KC | 285 | 1,509 | 5.3 | 91 | 11 | 5 | 94.3 | 5 | 62 |
5 | Doug Martin, RB | TB | 319 | 1,454 | 4.6 | 70 | 11 | 11 | 90.9 | 1 | 58 |
6 | Arian Foster, RB | HOU | 351 | 1,424 | 4.1 | 46 | 9 | 15 | 89.0 | 3 | 78 |
7 | Stevan Ridley, RB | NE | 290 | 1,263 | 4.4 | 41 | 6 | 12 | 78.9 | 4 | 82 |
8 | C.J. Spiller, RB | BUF | 207 | 1,244 | 6.0 | 62 | 12 | 6 | 77.8 | 2 | 52 |
9 | Chris Johnson, RB | TEN | 276 | 1,243 | 4.5 | 94 | 8 | 6 | 77.7 | 3 | 45 |
10 | Frank Gore, RB | SF | 258 | 1,214 | 4.7 | 37 | 7 | 8 | 75.9 | 2 | 67 |
RK | PLAYER | TEAM | ATT | YDS | YDS/A | LONG | 20+ | TD | YDS/G | FUM | 1DN |
11 | Ray Rice, RB | BAL | 257 | 1,143 | 4.4 | 46 | 5 | 9 | 71.4 | 1 | 51 |
12 | Matt Forte, RB | CHI | 248 | 1,094 | 4.4 | 46 | 6 | 5 | 72.9 | 2 | 45 |
BenJarvus Green-Ellis, RB | CIN | 278 | 1,094 | 3.9 | 48 | 7 | 6 | 72.9 | 3 | 54 | |
14 | Shonn Greene, RB | NYJ | 276 | 1,063 | 3.9 | 36 | 2 | 8 | 66.4 | 3 | 52 |
15 | Steven Jackson, RB | STL | 257 | 1,042 | 4.1 | 46 | 5 | 4 | 65.1 | 0 | 47 |
Now of these 16 running backs, all except one of them had more yards then Steven. In yards per carry, Steven beat two people, Green-Ellis and Shonn Greene. In terms of touchdowns Steven had the lowest number.
Now those stats look pitiful. Now lets put it in perspective. Here are the O-line run block rankings as per pro football focus.This is ordered in terms of the order of running backs above.
1) Vikings- 6th
2) Redskins- 19th
3) Seahawks- 15th
4) Chiefs- 9th
5) Bucs- 14th
6) Texans- 12th
7) Patriots- 2nd
8) Bills- 21st
9) Titans- 18th
10) 49ers- 1st
11) Ravens- 10th
12) Bears- 27th
13) Bengals- 22nd
14) Jets- 3rd
15) Rams- 26th
16) Giants- 4th
So, of the 1000 yard rushers, 4 of them had an O-line ranked in the 20s. Of the 4, only one is worse then the Rams, which is the bears by one place. So Steven had his 9 straight 1000 yard season, only accomplished by 5 Hall of Famers, with an O-line that was pretty bad this year, and actually IMPROVED from the last couple of years. He also one of 27 players to reach 10,000 yards. No easy task.
Another tidbit, you want to know who is the least likely to turn it over among ALL back in the NFL, forget just the 1000 yard guys. The answer is Steven Jackson, who incredibly, while people around him were fumbling at least once, had not a single fumble in 2012. Anyone else to accomplish this feat has at the most, half the number of plays that Steven Jackson had.
In this post, I really have no argument, it is plain to see Steven is no longer in the top of the running backs list, and while an improved O-line will help, he is getting older. We need to find his replacement soon, but I hope these stats show you that Steven, with some help, can continue his streak of 1000 yards, and delivering consistent production.