RENTON — The St. Louis Rams might have a question mark at quarterback, but the Seahawks have no doubt about their defensive priority on Monday night.

It’s stopping Steven Jackson, first, second and even third down. That’s how it always is against St. Louis.

“From seven years ago, when I first got in the league, day one, until today,” linebacker Leroy Hill said, “to beat the Rams, you have to stop Steven Jackson.”

Not many NFL teams have stopped Jackson as effectively as the Seahawks, who have faced Jackson in 14 games and never given up 100 yards rushing to him. No other team in the NFC West can say that, and only two other teams in the NFC can make that claim: the Panthers, whom he has played three times, and the Giants, whom he has faced twice.

Monday will be a prime-time opportunity to change that, but Jackson faces the uphill challenge going into the teeth of Seattle’s defensive strength while the Rams’ quarterback picture is an injury-hazed mystery.

Starter Sam Bradford missed last week’s game because of an ankle injury and couldn’t practice Thursday. Backup A.J. Feeley is almost certainly out with a thumb injury. Tom Brandstater — zero career NFL regular-season passes — took all the snaps in practice Thursday.

That leaves Jackson where he has spent so much of his NFL career: squarely in the opponent’s cross hairs.

“He’s always the focal point,” Seahawks coach Pete Carroll said. “He’s that good of a player.”

Jackson is also one of the league’s most sympathetic stories. A running back so big, so skilled and so, so stuck in St. Louis. This will be St. Louis’ eighth consecutive season without a winning record, and Jackson has been there for all eight. The Rams haven’t made the playoffs since his rookie year of 2004, which also happens to be the only time he didn’t rush for 1,000 yards in a season.

“He’s big,” Hill said. “He’s physical. He can run around you. He reads his blocks well. He blocks well. He’s a complete back, and he shows it year in and out.”

Just not so much against Seattle, and that’s not an accident.

The teams played in Week 17 last year, the NFC West division title on the line, and the Seahawks found a way to minimize Jackson’s impact. Carroll’s staff noticed that against certain formations and personnel groupings, St. Louis had instructed Bradford to audible to a pass. The Seahawks used those alignments repeatedly, funneling St. Louis into more passes.

The result? Jackson finished with 11 carries, matching his second-fewest in any game last season.

When the teams played three weeks ago, Jackson entered having rushed for more than 125 yards in three consecutive games, but the Rams decided to spread things out against Seattle’s front-loaded defense. They lined up with four receivers on more than 25 plays, often times splitting Jackson out wide.

He finished with 42 yards rushing, his third-lowest total of the season.

That’s where Seattle’s plan will start Monday: stopping one of the league’s best backs.

Danny O’Neil: 206-464-2364 or doneil@seattletimes.com.

On Twitter @dannyoneil

Action Jackson
Rams running back Steven Jackson has gained 100 yards in a game at least once against 20 of the 31 other teams in the NFL. The Seahawks are not one of them, and the New York Giants and Carolina Panthers are the only NFC teams allowing Jackson fewer yards than the Seahawks:
Team	Games	Avg
N.Y. Giants	2	35.0
Carolina	3	43.5
Seattle	14	69.1
Arizona	13	71.9
San Francisco	15	73.4

In a move that flew mostly under the radar to outsiders of the St. Louis Rams, Cadillac Williams was brought in to backup Steven Jackson.  Jackson, who has been known to suffer injuries here and there, had his most viable back up since joining the Rams in 2004.  Bringing in Williams may have been the biggest move of the entire offseason—a thought that comes to mind after Steven Jackson suffered an injury Week 1 against the Eagles.

In 2005, Cadillac Williams burst onto the scene as a member of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.  In his rookie season, Williams rushed for 1,178 yards for the Bucs, and it looked like Cadillac was on his way to being one of the elite running backs in the NFL.  It was unthinkable that Cadillac would ever be a secondary running back.

In 2006, Williams had a subpar season, rushing for almost 400 yards less than 2005, with 65 less attempts. 

For the next two seasons, Williams was plagued by injuries.  He played in a combined total of 10 games those two seasons.  The past two years, with his carries way down, Williams hasn’t been the running back we thought we’d see after bursting onto the NFL scene.

The Rams brought Cadillac in to compliment Steven Jackson and further take pressure off Sam Bradford by increasing the Rams’ ability to run the ball.  That plan may be up in flames, as Jackson is hurt and Williams will assume his role.

Williams did a great job in all during Week 1, rushing for 91 yards in 19 attempts on a Rams offense that seemed stalled after Jackson left.  He was about the only bright spot for St. Louis in their loss to the Eagles.

The Rams were greatly depending on Jackson to help carry the load as he’s done in past seasons, but his injury puts his role on this team in uncertainty.  That’s where the signing of Williams will be huge for St. Louis.  Williams, who was thought to be nothing more than a backup at this point in his career, is now being thrust into the every-down back role and has seen his role grow more important overnight.  If he can somewhat shadow what Steven Jackson can do, the Rams may not lose a step.

Williams can’t be expected to do what Jackson can, but his new and unexpected role on this team may lead to his resurgence.  And if Jackson is not gone for a long time and returns to full strength, the Rams will have one of the most feared rushing attacks in all of football.

Steven Jackson has been the workhorse back for the St. Louis Rams ever since Marshall Faulk’s retirement. Running backs in the NFL are receiving less than 300 carries in a season more often than ever. With this change in the league, it appears Steven Jackson’s role with the Rams will be changing as well.

Jackson will still be the anchor of this Rams offense, but his touches will decrease this season. The Rams clearly want to be able to run the ball, otherwise they wouldn’t have signed Harvey Dahl. The desire to develop their franchise quarterback seems to have taken center stage over feeding Steven Jackson the ball though.

The role Steven Jackson will play this season in the running game, passing game, and his leadership of the offense will change this season. Whether or not the changes will be positive remains to be seen, but don’t be surprised this season if in clutch time, Sam Bradford is the one who will decide the outcome.

Running Game

The preseason game this past weekend is probably not a sign of how well the Rams running game will look in the regular season. Backups Hank Fraley and Adam Goldberg both played extended time in the first half, and both played below average. Luckily for Jackson, Rodger Saffold and Jacob Bell should be fine for the regular season.

The addition of Josh McDaniels has many fearing that Steven Jackson will be lost in a pass happy offense. That will likely not be the case, but the way Jackson is used will change.

Josh McDaniels’ offense uses a one-back set, not the two-back set that Jackson has become accustomed to. Jackson will no longer have Mike Karney leading the way for him. He will have to hope the offensive line can open up lanes for him.

Tight ends Lance Kendricks and Michael Hoomanawanui will also be used in run formations. Either one could be used as a fullback. This creates matchup problems for defenses and will allow Jackson to have the two-back system that he is used to.

New running backs Cadillac Williams and Jerious Norwood aren’t likely to take away too many carries from Steven Jackson. What Cadillac brings to the table though is a running back who can carry the load for series at a time. What this means is that if there is ever any doubt about Jackson’s health in a game, expect Williams to come in and spell him.

Passing Game

Over the past three seasons, Steven Jackson has caught 40, 51 and 46 passes. His peak for receptions was 90 in 2006. Jackson could be in the 60 to 70 catch range this season.

There are question marks all over the Rams receiving core. Sam Bradford is a great quarterback, but he can only make the receivers look do good. The Ram receivers are good enough to get the job done, but all it takes is one game with no contribution from any of them to cost the season. The week 17 matchup against the Seahawks was evidence of that.

With question marks on the outside, Bradford should look to old reliable in the backfield. The throws to Jackson don’t necessarily have to be check down passes. Plays will be designed to get him the ball out in open space. Josh McDaniels is smart enough to know that it is nearly impossible for defensive backs to take down the runaway freight train that is Steven Jackson.

One aspect of the passing game that gets ignored is pass blocking. The addition of Williams could be a god-send in this department. He was known in Tampa Bay for his ability to help Josh Freeman understand blocking schemes. Williams could be used in third down situations to help keep Steven Jackson away from the shots from blitzing linebackers.

Leadership

Jackson is the unquestioned leader of this Rams team. This season, however, the throne will be passed over to Sam Bradford.

Jackson will still be the leader of the team as a whole, but Bradford is going to be given the opportunity to take over the offense. Bradford was just awarded the opportunity to decide the offensive line’s blocking schemes. He also will have the opportunity to call more and more audibles as he gets comfortable with the offense.

Younger players tend to look up to a veteran influence. Steven Jackson will still be that guy, but as the new wave of Ram players come in, Bradford will soon be the guy showing them the ropes.

Wrap-Up

There is no question that with the changes the Rams have had this offseason, Jackson will see a role that he isn’t used to. As a veteran who has been there and done that, there shouldn’t be any major problems.

While Steven Jackson’s numbers may tail off a bit this season, the changes could prove to be good. More and more teams in the NFL are using running back committees rather than use a workhorse back. Jackson still probably has a year or two left in him of being the go to guy, but it is time for the Rams to start saving their leader from unnecessary wear and tear.