Rams RB Steven Jackson Impresses Again

Any doubts people had about Steven Jackson being on the downhill side of his career look really, really premature after watching him in the St. Louis Rams' two preseason games. His burst in undeniable and he looks to have an extra step in his slimmed down body.

Ian Rapoport from NFL.com shared some thoughts on Jackson in a Sunday blog post.

I thought, in his four carries against the Colts a week ago, Rams RB Steven Jackson looked good. He gained 17 yards, lowered his shoulder, looked fast, and seemed to be himself. You can't complain about your starter getting four carries in the first drive, getting his work, then getting the heck out of there unscathed. Same with last night's seven carries for 49 yards. But, as we've said before, use extreme caution when trying to judge a player by his preseason performance.

Jackson averaged seven yards on seven carries against the Chiefs, an impressive stat any time of year.

But this is the preseason, so it's important not to pencil him in for anything extravagant just yet. As Rapoport points out, the purpose for a player like Jackson is to get some film on him, to make sure he's on track with the basics and working in sync with the players around him. Fortunately for the Rams, Jackson looks to be right on track with all of those things.

Jackson is going to see plenty of work in the Rams offense this season. His workload might even be more than we realize if Isaiah Pead cannot make the needed adjustments in time to start the regular season.