Friday, Oct. 30, 2009

Jackson, Rams without a rushing touchdown this season

Team is one of two in NFL without ground TD

ST. LOUIS -- St. Louis Rams running back Steven Jackson is third in the NFL in rushing with 635 yards and second in the NFL in yards from scrimmage with 804, but there's something missing from his statistics.

Jackson has no touchdowns.

In fact, the Rams are one of only two NFL teams -- the Kansas City Chiefs are the other one -- that have no rushing touchdowns this season.

So far, Jackson is taking a team-first approach to questions about his inability to cross the goal line.

"Well, as an offense, we haven't put up a lot of points," said Jackson, who plays for a team that is averaging only 8.6 points per game. "First thing first is to get rolling as an offense. That's where I'm focused at. My individual things that I have accomplished so far wouldn't happen without my offensive teammates. I don't even go into that talk of individuals."

Jackson rushed for seven touchdowns last season even though he missed five games because of an injury.

Jackson, who hails from Las Vegas, normally pretends to roll dice after scoring a touchdown. He wouldn't say if he'd continue with that trademark celebration when he finally strikes paydirt.

"When I get there, I get there, and then we will decide then," Jackson said. "We have to get there first."

The Rams' running game got rolling in the second half last Sunday against the Indianapolis Colts.

Jackson rushed for a season-high 135 yards in the game. He tallied 95 yards on nine carries in the third quarter alone.

"I think we've been playing good football on the ground all year long," Jackson said. "The third quarter was the biggest of my career. There you have it. It's something that I've never done in my career. We're doing a good job. We're doing a really good job of getting after the defense."

Despite the lack of touchdowns, Rams quarterback Marc Bulger says he thinks Jackson is the best running back in the NFL.

"If I had to pick a running back, that would be my guy," Bulger said. "I'm sure there is a lot of different debate to put up for other guys. Unfortunately, with our record the last couple of years, he's not getting the recognition I think he deserves throughout the league. I know in this locker room and myself, I wouldn't pick any other guy."

If the Rams are being routed, Bulger said Jackson still is giving maximum effort.

"He has that fire, and that's one guy that runs hard," Bulger said. "If we're tied or if we're losing by 30 at the end of the game, he's going to run just as hard. That's what we love about him."

The Rams' next opponent -- the Detroit Lions -- rank 20th in rush defense and 30th in pass defense among the NFL's 32 teams.

Jackson said the Lions have one of the best front sevens on defense with Grady Jackson at defensive tackle and linebackers Larry Foote, Julian Peterson and Ernie Sims that the Rams have faced

"They're really fast and athletic," Jackson said. "They have aggressive play calling in (defensive coordinator) Coach (Gunther) Cunningham. We're going to have to be sound in our protection. We have to be really stout and give Marc some time to throw the ball down the field, because they're going to apply pressure. And, make sure that we can pick up the blitz."