ST. LOUIS (AP) -St. Louis Rams running back Steven Jackson expects more of a workload, and less controversy, in his second game back from a thigh injury.
All week, coach Jim Haslett has been backing off on his postgame assertion that Jackson wasn’t used much in the fourth quarter of a 16-12 loss to the Dolphins because he was “gassed.” On Thursday, he jokingly said he would “defer” questions about Jackson’s health to the running back.
“Oh, we’re fine,” Haslett said. “There’s no issues at all. He’s a good guy and he works hard, and we’re just glad to have him back.
“It gives us a good chance to win when he’s around.”
Jackson addressed the issue for the first time Thursday after two days of practice, saying he had no “problem” with the coach.
“Me and Coach Haslett, we’re good,” Jackson said. “We’ve been able to kind of just look back at that reel and just laugh about it. Everything’s fine.”
is remarks, noting he observed Jackson doing everything he could off the field to get back in the lineup and just ran into some fatigue.
Jackson had 94 yards on 21 carries against the Dolphins after missing four games and half of a fifth with a right groin strain. He had only one carry in the fourth quarter, but Jackson said he ended up on the field for about 45 plays.
“That was definitely more of a workload than I had anticipated,” he said. “But I was able to get through it well and no setbacks with the leg. I do expect the workload to kind of be a little bit more this week against Arizona.”
The Rams (2-10) are hopeful more yards by Jackson will help them score more touchdowns. They’ve reached the end zone once the last four games and have NFL lows with 19 trips inside the 20 and only five touchdowns in that situation.
Jackson lasted a little more than a half in the Rams’ last meeting with the Cardinals on Nov. 2 in St. Louis, trying to come back too soon from the thigh injury and gaining only 17 yards on seven carries. He also dropped a touchdown pass in a 34-13 loss.
“I would like to definitely be on the field in third-down situations, and make their defense play honest,” Jackson said. “We have to make sure when we’re in the red zone we capitalize on six points and not just three.”
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