STEVEN JACKSON DENIES HOLDOUT CAUSED INJURY

Steven Jackson, who will miss his fourth game in five weeks, took issue with the idea that his training camp holdout is to blame for his thigh injury. Jackson said that doctors told him that the injury was not preventable, despite Jim Haslett’s comments to the contrary. “Coaches bring that up all the time and you try to go against the odds when you see a statistic that says that a guy is likely to become injured during a holdout year,” Jackson said. “Last year I did not have a holdout and I still came up hurt so I think the football season is long and gruesome. You have freak injuries like this because this injury wasn’t from any hit; it was because my muscle gave way. I asked the doctor if there was anything that I could do to prevent it in the future and he said no. It is one of those things that if it happens, you have to rehab it correctly. If there is anything that I have learned from this injury it would be that if I feel good maybe I should give it another day or two.” Jackson was hurt late in the October 19th game against the Cowboys and came back to play against the Cardinals on November 2nd. He carried seven times for 17 yards and then sat most of the second half when the injury flared up again. Jackson said he would follow Haslett’s advice and work with strength and conditioning coaches in the offseason and also said it was peachy with him if the Rams brought in another back to serve as insurance. “You can bring in any running back and I’m going to beat him out, and I’m not going to share my carries,” Jackson said. “I understand they have to have an insurance policy, but that’s just my mentality.”