- Joined
- Jun 20, 2010
- Messages
- 35,576
- Name
- The Dude
Ron Clements
<a class="postlink" href="http://ronclements.blogspot.com/2011/12/jackson-wants-to-retire-as-ram.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://ronclements.blogspot.com/2011/12 ... s-ram.html</a>
Ever had that job you liked, but the success you crave just doesn’t happen?
I know exactly how that feels. I get to watch sports for a living, but the monetary compensation I receive doesn’t make me feel successful.
St. Louis Rams running back Steven Jackson knows this feeling, too. But his issue isn’t with money – he’s got plenty of that – it’s with wins and losses.
Since Jackson was selected in the first round of the 2004 NFL draft as the heir apparent to now-Hall-of-Famer Marshall Faulk, the Rams have had one of the worst stretches in franchise history.
Jackson has never been part of a winning team – the Rams were 8-8 in 2004 and 2006 – and their overall record in his eight seasons is a paltry 38-89 with only one playoff appearance in 2004. He admitted Thursday that “three or four years ago,” he felt sorry for himself and wondered why he was stuck on a losing team. He has since matured into a leader and been selected for the Pro Bowl three times.
“At this point now I think it’s clear that my legacy will be defined by me having dealt with these hard situations and watching me grow and understanding that now I have become a pillar of strength more so than just a running back,” he said. “It’s hard to be a great running back when you have guys like Marshall and Eric Dickerson that were in this franchise. My legacy will be defined by the things that I have overcome and the adversity.”
Faulk and Jackson will be back in the Edward Jones Dome together on Sunday when Faulk has his named added to the team’s Ring of Honor during a halftime ceremony. Faulk, whose number 28 was retired in 2007, will also receive his Hall of Fame ring.
Jackson, who had a bit of a strained relationship with Faulk early in his career, said he would talk with Faulk after the game.
There may be congratulations due on both sides. Jackson needs 105 yards to record his seventh consecutive 1,000-yard season. That is something that only six players – Dickerson, Barry Sanders, Thurman Thomas, Emmitt Smith, Curtis Martin and LaDainian Tomlinson – have ever done.
“To be in that group I think it’s a special group to be a part of. I think it shows that not only are you productive, but that you can sustain season after season,” Jackson said. “I’m pretty sure those guys have played through injuries and it just marks that you’re a tough guy, a gritty guy, that a franchise can hang their hat on.”
Only one of those players – Sanders – played his entire career with one team. St. Louis already lost one superstar athlete when Albert Pujols left the Cardinals to sign a big-money contract with the Anaheim Angels. Jackson has no plans on being the next superstar to leave town.
“To finish out with one team is special,” he said last week. “That particular franchise that gave birth to a dream and allowed you to live it out and be embraced by the community, so I would believe that he would have wanted to stay here and I think any athlete, whoever drafts you or signs you when you’re a young guy, you would love to finish with that particular team.”
He reaffirmed that sentiment this week.
[textarea]“I would love to remain, retire, not a one day retirement, one of those kind of deals, but I would love to finish my career here,” he said Thursday. “Whoever the next guy is to come in and fill in for me and take over, teach him the ropes and teach him the legacy and the things that have been taught to me. I would take pride in that. I would love to do that.”[/textarea]
And it looks like Jackson’s contract, renegotiated in 2008 to include an escalator clause that could void the final two years if he averaged 1,200 rushing yards and 400 receiving through the first four years of the deal, will remain in tact. Jackson will unlikely hit those numbers, so his contract should remain valid through 2013. But that’s something Jackson doesn’t think about.
“That part of the business is that itself and even if I was to hit those milestones, the Rams still own my rights,” he said. “They have the decision to retain me if they wanted to. My main focus is always to be the best player on this team and go from there. By doing that I think that puts me among the elite.”
Now if the team can finally reward him with that winning season every elite player deserves.
<a class="postlink" href="http://ronclements.blogspot.com/2011/12/jackson-wants-to-retire-as-ram.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://ronclements.blogspot.com/2011/12 ... s-ram.html</a>
Ever had that job you liked, but the success you crave just doesn’t happen?
I know exactly how that feels. I get to watch sports for a living, but the monetary compensation I receive doesn’t make me feel successful.
St. Louis Rams running back Steven Jackson knows this feeling, too. But his issue isn’t with money – he’s got plenty of that – it’s with wins and losses.
Since Jackson was selected in the first round of the 2004 NFL draft as the heir apparent to now-Hall-of-Famer Marshall Faulk, the Rams have had one of the worst stretches in franchise history.
Jackson has never been part of a winning team – the Rams were 8-8 in 2004 and 2006 – and their overall record in his eight seasons is a paltry 38-89 with only one playoff appearance in 2004. He admitted Thursday that “three or four years ago,” he felt sorry for himself and wondered why he was stuck on a losing team. He has since matured into a leader and been selected for the Pro Bowl three times.
“At this point now I think it’s clear that my legacy will be defined by me having dealt with these hard situations and watching me grow and understanding that now I have become a pillar of strength more so than just a running back,” he said. “It’s hard to be a great running back when you have guys like Marshall and Eric Dickerson that were in this franchise. My legacy will be defined by the things that I have overcome and the adversity.”
Faulk and Jackson will be back in the Edward Jones Dome together on Sunday when Faulk has his named added to the team’s Ring of Honor during a halftime ceremony. Faulk, whose number 28 was retired in 2007, will also receive his Hall of Fame ring.
Jackson, who had a bit of a strained relationship with Faulk early in his career, said he would talk with Faulk after the game.
There may be congratulations due on both sides. Jackson needs 105 yards to record his seventh consecutive 1,000-yard season. That is something that only six players – Dickerson, Barry Sanders, Thurman Thomas, Emmitt Smith, Curtis Martin and LaDainian Tomlinson – have ever done.
“To be in that group I think it’s a special group to be a part of. I think it shows that not only are you productive, but that you can sustain season after season,” Jackson said. “I’m pretty sure those guys have played through injuries and it just marks that you’re a tough guy, a gritty guy, that a franchise can hang their hat on.”
Only one of those players – Sanders – played his entire career with one team. St. Louis already lost one superstar athlete when Albert Pujols left the Cardinals to sign a big-money contract with the Anaheim Angels. Jackson has no plans on being the next superstar to leave town.
“To finish out with one team is special,” he said last week. “That particular franchise that gave birth to a dream and allowed you to live it out and be embraced by the community, so I would believe that he would have wanted to stay here and I think any athlete, whoever drafts you or signs you when you’re a young guy, you would love to finish with that particular team.”
He reaffirmed that sentiment this week.
[textarea]“I would love to remain, retire, not a one day retirement, one of those kind of deals, but I would love to finish my career here,” he said Thursday. “Whoever the next guy is to come in and fill in for me and take over, teach him the ropes and teach him the legacy and the things that have been taught to me. I would take pride in that. I would love to do that.”[/textarea]
And it looks like Jackson’s contract, renegotiated in 2008 to include an escalator clause that could void the final two years if he averaged 1,200 rushing yards and 400 receiving through the first four years of the deal, will remain in tact. Jackson will unlikely hit those numbers, so his contract should remain valid through 2013. But that’s something Jackson doesn’t think about.
“That part of the business is that itself and even if I was to hit those milestones, the Rams still own my rights,” he said. “They have the decision to retain me if they wanted to. My main focus is always to be the best player on this team and go from there. By doing that I think that puts me among the elite.”
Now if the team can finally reward him with that winning season every elite player deserves.
