Steven Jackson is leaving which opens the door for Pead.

Quote:Take 5 on the Rams and Steven Jackson:

1. If the Rams lose RB Steven Jackson, what would it mean to the team’s offense in 2013?

The Rams would lose leadership, intelligence, toughness and consistent productivity. Jackson has churned out eight consecutive 1,000-yard rushing seasons, and that’s historically prominent.

If Jackson signs with Atlanta or another Super Bowl contender that needs short-term bang at the RB position the Rams would be left with an inexperienced group at running back. On the surface that’s an unsettling prospect for a team that believes it can make the playoffs in 2013.

As always, there’s another side …

2. The plain reality: Jackson’s role has changed in St. Louis and his activity level is decreasing. Take a look at these numbers. I’m giving you the percentage of the team’s touches on offense that were handled by SJ39 since the 2006 season:

2006 … 54.8 percent

2007 … 37.3 percent

2008 … 41.3 percent

2009 … 51.8 percent

2010 … 48 percent

2011 … 43 percent

2012 … 39.7 percent

OK, a few notes on these stats: Jackson’s percentage of touches has decreased in each of the last four seasons … his 2012 of 39.7 percent of the touches was the lowest of SJ’s career when he’s played and started at least 15 games in a season… his previous low rate (37.3) was posted in 2007, when he played in and started only 12 games because of injuries.

As much as I respect Jackson and would like to see him finish his career in St. Louis, I can’t sit here and ignore the obvious trend, which can be summed up in three quick points:

A. Jackson played less in Jeff Fisher’s first season as head coach, and the arrow has been pointing down for several years now.

B. Fisher prefers a more diverse mix at RB; he used a two-back rotation in his latter years in Tennessee and began to put that system in place with the Rams.

C. Jackson wlll be 30 years old when the 2013 season gets underway.

3. Another issue, which I covered in Sunday’s Post-Dispatch column, is Jackson’s diminishing breakaway potential. The Rams were one of only two NFL teams that failed to score on a TD run from 10 yards or longer in 2012. This is a big deal because Rams GM Les Snead wants to add more big-play potential to his offense.

According to Pro Football Focus, Jackson had a breakaway percentage — defined as runs that gain 15+ yards — of 20.4 last season, which ranked 19th among NFL running backs that played 50 percent of the snaps. And that rate ranked 33rd among RBs that played at least 25 percent of their team’s downs.

We can attribute some of this to blocking, or scheme. But that wouldn’t account for a number produced by Rams rookie Daryl Richardson, who had a breakaway rate of 34.7 percent in 2012.

Jackson’s breakaway rate dropped more than 11 percent from 2011, when he had a run of 15+ yards on 35.3 percent of his carries.

4. Question: It’s one thing for Jackson to go, but can the Rams reliably count on second-year backs Richardson and Isaiah Pead to carry a much larger share of the role in 2013? Obviously, we can’t draw any firm conclusions based on last season.

Richardson did show good potential to bust out on longer runs, but defenses adjusted and he got little done over the final five games of the season (16 rushes for 24 yards.)

Snead has consulted with the coaching staff at Cincinnati to learn more about putting Pead in position for success. The questions included: what plays work best for him? What plays don’t work for him? What buttons do you push to raise his confidence level?

Over the weekend Fisher told reporters that he saw potential in Pead to be The Guy. Obviously the Rams think highly of this kid or they wouldn’t have drafted him in the second round, 50th overall.

OK, what does recent NFL history tell us about the performance of second-year running backs?

Over the last six seasons, 16 second-year backs have rushed for at least 1,000 yards. And two others have rushed for 900+ yards. The list includes 10 backs that did not reach 1,000 yards in their first year, only to crack it in Season Two.

The names: Arian Foster, Ray Rice, Jamaal Charles, LeSean McCoy, Stevan Ridley, Ryan Grant, Jonathan Stewart, Rashard Mendenhall, Ryan Mathews, LenDale White. And four of the 10 carried the ball fewer than 100 times as rookies. Mendenhall had only 19 rushing attempts because of injury.

5. The Rams can always draft a back: If Jackson leaves, the Rams will look at so-called power back Terrance Ganaway, who didn’t see action last season after being picked up from the NY Jets. The Rams like his potential. The Rams could also add to this group by signing a veteran free agent RB. And of course, they can use one of their draft picks to tab a rookie running back.

The league has changed; backs don’t have to sit and wait and learn. They often receive immediate opportunities. Last year, Alfred Morris (Redskins) and Doug Martin (Bucs) had huge seasons rookie seasons. Morris had 1,613 rushing yards and 13 TDs. Martin had 1,454 yards and 11 TDs. Trent Richardson (Browns) rushed for 950 yards and 11 TDs. Three other rookie backs had 500 or more yards rushing in 2012.

Three playoff teams received considerable production from rookie backs, including the champion Baltimore Ravens, who had Bernard Pierce as an excellent power-based alternative to the more elusive Ray Rice.

Thanks for reading …

— Bernie

Sounds like they really want Pead to work out in St. Louis, hopefully he has a better sophomore season.

Also if this belongs in Off Topic please see fit to move it there.

I really thought Pead would be a good fir in the NFL with his ability to hit thw homerun and how shifty he is in the open field. Was disappointed with him last year. Hopefully he can shake it off and produce, and its not a factor if him being physically exposed now that he is in the NFL.

The following quote should have read like this:

"Snead has consulted with the coaching staff at TENNESSEE to learn more about putting Pead in position for success"

Pead was the most talented running back on the roster when he was a true freshman. But he wasn't ready for the speed of the college game. Theoretically the same concept applies

(02-27-2013 11:16 AM)Mopper Wrote:  Pead was the most talented running back on the roster when he was a true freshman. But he wasn't ready for the speed of the college game. Theoretically the same concept applies

A little yeah, but he was jerking around Cbus after OTA's last year, and the Rams staff called UC..Specifically Jones to find out what the heck was going on ? He flat got beaten out for the back up job by the kid from Abilene Christian..A 7th round pick during camp, and struggled throughout the year..WTBS, They have to really care because they have stuck a good hunk of money in his pocket, and they have to get some return on investment !...They already know there aren't any teams out there that would be willing to give them the compensation they're looking for in either cash, and or trade because the value isn't there.....Yet?
Just saying he was being questioned on his commitment to training as well as his work ethic, as the other guy didn't have the same raw talent.
They need for him to work out !...He was one of Fischer's second round picks that has to be fruitful to the franchise, on top of his needing it for job security.
If Pead continues down this path, and does not turn it around, he will follow Mardy Gilyard out the same door.

He's behind Daryl Richardson on the depth chart

http://espn.go.com/nfl/team/depth/_/name...louis-rams

(02-27-2013 05:50 PM)icehole3 Wrote:  He's behind Daryl Richardson on the depth chart

http://espn.go.com/nfl/team/depth/_/name...louis-rams

Oh yeah, make no mistake about it Pead is absolutely NOT the next in line. He is firmly behind Richardson. It was the development of Richardson, not Pead that began the "Life After Jackson" talk.

With that said, Pead will get an enhanced workload. Hopefully he gets his act together and delivers on his immense promise.





mc

Wonder if the Bengals will go after Jackson.

I believe the Rams would like to employ the two-headed RB approach with Richardson as the main guy (He earned it IMO) and Pead as the change of pace guy, which is a role Pead is best suited for in the NFL. Hopefully he works hard this off-season and gets it together.