Sports Radio Interviews

Steven Jackson: “Everybody in that huddle had confidence that we were going to pull this game out.”

Something happened this past weekend in the NFL that hadn’t happened in about a year. The St. Louis Rams won a football game. It had been a long time coming in St. Louis and even though they had some close calls, they still didn’t notch that victory until Sunday against Detroit. The guy that I felt the happiest for was Steven Jackson. I continue to believe that Jackson is one of the most talented running backs in the league, but he gets overlooked because he plays for such a bad team. He does it all; he can catch out of the backfield and has a unique combination of size, speed and power. I really think that if he was on a better team, he could compete every year for the NFL’s rushing title and would be mentioned in the same breath as guys like Adrian Peterson, Frank Gore and LaDainian Tomlinson.

Despite the fact that his team is just 1-7, Jackson is having a great season. He’s second in the NFL in rushing and was a huge reason for the win against Detroit this past weekend. In the game, Jackson ran for nearly 150 yards and scored his first touchdown of the season. If he can stay healthy, which has been a big problem for him in the past, I expect Jackson to be right there at the end of the year competing for the NFL rushing title.  Jackson joined ESPN 101 in St Louis with the Fast Lane to talk about the disrespect that the Lions showed them before the game, his confidence running the ball, whether or not the team has gotten better, who he models his game after and getting the first win of the season.

On the Lions disrespecting them:

“It was brought to our attention earlier in the week, where Larry Foote made a comment saying this would be the easy part of their schedule. Another gentleman on their team, I’m drawing a blank on his name, said that they need to stop the running back and if they stop the running back then they win the game. As an athlete you look for any edge you can find and they definitely gave it to us. I took offense to it that they thought we were the easy game. Secondly, the other comment, I don’t think anybody can stop me and just keep me out of the game, I’m too much of a threat.”

On their confidence running the ball in tough situations:

“Simple as, they aren’t going to get a safety. The momentum was there, the crowd was really screaming at that point, and I really feel that they thought they could get points out of us. I assumed they would bring pressure, you know most of the time teams run the ball to get out of that situation. If anything, if you can’t get a first down, you need to give your punter room to punt the ball. I challenged the guys in the huddle and said ‘guys we gotta get a first down. We can’t allow any penetration, you know if you just get on a guy then I will make a guy miss.’ It worked as planned. Everyone in that huddle in that game had confidence that we were going to pull this game out.”

On who he models his game after:

“Actually, I wore 34 until I got to the NFL because of Walter Payton. I’m a huge fan of his. I watch every running back that I can. I even watch young guys, like college and high school guys ‘cause I think you can always learn something from another person. I just love the game itself; each and every running back brings something different to the table. We might all resemble each other in certain ways, but it’s something about that running back that sets him apart, special and makes him the starter of his respective team. I kind of just look and see what those guys do and try to add them to my game.”

On whether he thought about stopping shy of the end zone and running out the clock against Detroit:

I’m not Brian Westbrook, so no. We wanted to win the game, their offense was moving the ball really well, I’m just being honest, nothing against my defense but their offense was moving the ball so we had to score at that moment. I wasn’t going to wait at the one yard-line; I wasn’t going to kill no time. When I broke through that line of scrimmage there was no stopping me.”

On what he said to his line in the huddle:

“It really wasn’t anything that I said. I didn’t give them a speech or anything. I just looked them each in the eye on that last drive and said ‘come on guys we gotta pull this out.’ I think everyone yesterday was just on their A game, I think everyone felt, we wanted to be at that point, it goes back to the Jacksonville game, it even goes back to the Washington Redskins game where we were close in the game and we always wanted to pride ourselves on being a tough, physical team that could run the ball late in the game. Yesterday presented itself, and I said ‘guys this is what we’ve been asking for, let’s prove ourselves.”

On Steve Spagnolo getting the game ball after the win:

“I think it meant the world to him. He does have a Super Bowl ring, but to lead his own team to his first victory in his career, which hopefully is a long and luxurious one, I think it means a lot. I think he was getting a little emotional there, and rightfully so. He has put in a lot of work and (has) taken a lot of criticism in his short time here. To get that first win, I’m pretty sure is really meaningful and hopefully he had a good night.”

Listen to Steven Jackson on ESPN 101 in St. Louis with the Fast Lane

Tags: Detroit Lions, ESPN 101, NFL, St. Louis Rams, Steve Spagnolo, Steven Jackson