With Steven Jackson formally ruled out this week, Jacquizz Rodgers and Jason Snelling will need to shoulder the figurative load. But if we're being honest, that's not a situation any of us want to continue any longer than it needs to.
Before Jackson went down, he had the second-longest consecutive games streak among running backs in the NFL (32 games); the longest streak belonged to Ray Rice (43 games), and we all know how that worked out. Jackson's streak means two things. First, it means he's incredibly durable. Second, it means he has a knack for bouncing back from injuries quickly.
Officially Jackson is out with a quad strain. He suffered that injury while diving into the endzone, carrying a Rams defender with him, during the first half of the Rams game. The official estimate has him out two to four weeks, yet he's still being treated as week to week. He's being treated as week to week because his quad strain is a low grade two, or a two minus. Grade two strains typically take 2-4 weeks, but his isn't a full blown grade two. In my mind, that means he could be back sooner rather than later.
To be sure, I want him to be as close to 100 percent as possible before he comes back. I'd rather he take time now, if needed, and be ready for the stretch run. If he misses this week and the next two, counting the bye week, he'd have a total of four weeks to get back on track. But that said, I'm inclined to think he could be ready to go as early as next week. Depending on the outcome of the Dolphins game, we may not have the luxury of playing the waiting game.
Your thoughts?