I can appreciate S. Jackson’s stance that he needs to get as much as he can as soon as he can since tomorrow is promised to no one. But I believe the Rams should sit tight simply because of the binding contract both parties signed and the bad precedent it would establish.

I do not view S. Jackson as selfish or any other negative. He has to do what he thinks he should do and the Rams have to do what they have to do.

Besides, the Rams cannot have an entire offense revolve around one person. Other teams would quickly neutralize that. The team needs other backs and if neither Leonard or Pittman fill the bill it is up to management to find (and someday draft) running backs that do.

I sure hope this camp paid off. I also hope Steve’s return doesn’t lead to a bunch of timing problems on offense. I think the Rams have an opportunity to suprise a lot of teams this year. Staying healthy is the key. Get Steven signed, stay healthy, and GO RAMS

I just can’t beleive that after last season’s mess that Miss Jackson is willing to sit out. It seems like a much better strategy to get with this team and help get it on track! Win 10+ games and then you have every right to complain about your worth. This guy is Chad Johnson in a blue/Gold uniform. The Rams will buckle and Miss Jackson will get paid, but how many timeouts(and or punts) will he cause because he’s not sure what’s going on when #10 yells out the play? Let’s Go Blues!!!

GO JACKSON,
Anything that will eventually cost Jay Z his job is okay with me. I love fans that say Jackson should honor his contract but would have no problem saying that the Rams should cut the bum if his two pervious year were unproductive. NFL contracts are worthless and that is why so many players have the huge signing bonus to ensure they get paid.
Go Rams, Go Jackson and Go away Jay Z.

Apparently $50 million over 7 years is not enough for Jackson to put food on the table for several Jackson generations.

On the one hand, I don’t blame him for protecting himself until he gets paid but really Henrik Zetterberg of the Detroit Red Wings is coming off a far superior regular season, a Conn Smythe Trophy and a Stanley Cup win and the contract he signed pays him $2.65 million for the new season (last season of his current contract), absolutely ridiculously underpaid, but he respects the contract he signed and I strongly believe he is not going to holdout (I would say he is not, but really I can’t say for sure, I am not Zetterberg).

So I don’t see what kind of money Jackson wants considering he is coming off an average, injury-affected year. As far as I know the Rams were quite willingly negotiating in good faith, so I don’t blame them for refusing to negotiate.

By the way stltoday.com, your anti-spam text tool does not work with Apple Safari, I perfectly entered the text 4 times and each time I got a text error message. First try on Internet Explorer and my mesaage went through fine.

Steven Jackson is a jerk! Holly smokes our team went 3-13 last year!

I am a season ticket holder who has forked over big bucks for my tickets. We only had one home win last year out of eight games.

Steven if you are not ready to play when the season starts, you will be booed.

Boooooooooooo!

First, I don’t blame Jackson for getting all he can, I do at my job.

Second, Her is what I blame him for. The Rams stated they would negotiate with him once he showed up, I believe them. He should have shown up and told the Rams if this don’t get done before week 1 of the regular season I will walk out. Don’t know what Jackson has been paid as a player since he arrived but I bet it’s more than most folks make in a life time.

Third, Steven be a mine and control your own fate, stop letting your mommy and sister tell you what to do. Grow some balls.

It’s nice to see someone like Meyer Magence responding to the Jackson hold-out in a calm and thoughtful manner. I’d have to disagree slightly with his position, though. While I’m sure that Jackson is thinking along the line of “get as much as he can as soon as he can”, I still think it’s a bit selfish of him. He’s far from the only culprit of this kind of thinking, but the fact is that the rest of his teammates were out sweating and working toward improving the Rams for 2008. While it’s almost surely true that Jackson will improve the Rams the moment he shows up, he’s still violating a contract that he signed willingly. If he signs a new five year deal and then has a 750 yd. season in 2010, will he allow the Rams to pay him less money due to poor performance? Not hardly.

Bottom line: Is he deserving of a raise? Considering his on-field performance, quite possibly. However, I have little respect for players under contract failing to fulfill that contract. To me, it should be a matter of constantly trying to prove you’re worth the money a) you’ve already signed for and b) you hope to get in the future.

Dammit. The Patriots just signed John Lynch to a 1-year deal.

I remember when the Rams used to go out and address their needs. This team is ultra-thin at safety. You’d think with Linehan on the hot seat, they’d go out and get him some help. Man, I’m pissed. I’ve been talking about getting Lynch for weeks!

This is just a lousy, apathetic organization.

Steven Jackson is personally going to get Linehan fired and make sure that Bulger is injured by the 3rd game. What an arrogant ASS! A new system means learning timing, routes and (what everyone fails to mention) pass blocking schemes. Am I the only one who remembers Marshall Faulk playing on 1 leg becuase they couldn’t trust Jackson to keep Bulger from getting killed?

Last year he was upset because fans stopped coming to games and started selling tickets to visiting teams (not for the money…just because they felt sick when they watched the games). Just wait until Jackson is booed after dropped balls, fumbles, poor runs and after he misses blitzes that poot Bulger on the bench.

I understand the “business side” of the game and wanting a new contract but he should have been in camp during this mess if he had any brains.

john, buying season tickets for a 3-13 is your problem. It’s the type of beast you want to feed.

I respect both sides of this disagreement. Jackson has earned the right to big money. His numbers show it and the he’s a big part of this team whether we go 3 and 13 or 13 and 3. All I ask of the Rams organization is please sign him soon because he is a very valuable part of my fantasy team! My predictions on this year…10 and 6, we make the playoffs…and Jackson rushes for 2000 yards with 30 touchdowns. Ha! Might be pushing it alittle. Go Rams!!!!!

Hey Steven,
Yes, we understand wanting a new contract and the short life span of running back in this unforgiving sport…and the potential financial loss if injuries do occur. We get that, it’s business. But, why couldn’t you at least report to camp and sit in the classroom…maybe learn a few plays….watch some film….meet some new guys…act like you want to be involved???

You’ve lost my respect by not at least doing something. When we look back at another RAms 6-10 effort (give or take), I’ll be thinking of you.

The Rams should stand pat and let Jackson continue to sit. They need only to glance across the state to the Chiefs to see what can happen when a running back pulls this stunt. Larry Johnson skipped all of camp and preseason, suckered KC into a $48 million signing bonus and giant contract, then promptly went out with his unprepared self and got injured. He had his most unproductive season as a pro and tied the Chiefs hands with a giant salary cap hit. Jackson might have three good seasons left, then again, he might have zero. The Rams’ line is too suspect to be counting on a running game to propel them into the playoffs. Let him sit. Trade him for a mid to low first-round pick and save the money.

IF RUSH BUYS THIS TEAM PROBLEMS LIKE THIS WILL GO AWAY IN A HEARTBEAT. HE WILL PAY A GUY WHAT HE THINKS HE IS WORTH AND CUT ANYONE WHO DOESN’T CONFORM. HURRY UP RUSH