This week, the TST crew jumps in the time machine and look back at the stat predictions we made a year ago. I'm kicking the series off with our predictions for the Predator himself, Steven Jackson.
In retrospect, Van hit it on the head accurately noting the three keys to Jackson's season -- gameplan, O-line and RB depth, especially on the latter two:
- The offensive line - Jackson's been able to get it done with some bad blocking in front of him. Will this year's group be any better? Any healthier?
- The backup RB situation - The Rams inability to find a more reliable threat to backup Jackson has been a sore point for some. And if Jackson does miss time with injury, it could be a real problem.
Luckily for the Rams, AxJax avoided major injury, playing in all 16 games. The hamstring tweak from the Washington game and a finger injury did limit his effectiveness, but the bottom line is that Jackson hadn't played a full 16-game season since 2006. And we all know about the backup situation, so let's just acknowledge with a nod and move on.
After the jump, I look at the closest predictions and some other observations.
So here's how the predictions bore out:
| category | actual | closest prediction (TSTer) |
| carries | 330 | 333 (Taosman) |
| rush yds | 1,241 | 1,304 (3k) |
| rush TDs | 6 | 6 (Buck Nasty87, VanRam, 3k) |
| rec | 46 | 48 (IrishRamsFan) |
| rec yds | 383 | 384 (IrishRamsFan) |
| rec TDs | 0 | 1 (Buck Nasty87, ram_rod, RBramfan, Abrantes) |
First, IrishRamsFan had Jackson's receiving game down. But most of the entries overstated the impact Jackson would have in terms of yards, and heavily underpredicted his total carries. No shame there. Jackson posted a career-low 3.76 yards per carry last year while racking up his second-highest carry total.
This year's a different matter entirely. Going off Van's three keys to the totals last year (gameplan, O-line & RB depth), it's a bit of a crapshoot this year.
Tomorrow, we'll look at our predictions for James Laurinaitis. On Wednesday, it's Big Mike on the mike. And on Thursday, a special retrospective that you don't want to miss. The line between comedy and drama is thin, and Thursday's look back will either be hilarious or entirely discouraging.
Holler.