Here’s hoping Patriots sign Steven Jackson so they both can end on a high note
Running back Steven Jackson (39) runs the ball for the Falcons the against the Saints at the Georgia Dome.
COMMENTARY
Back in those prehistoric days when we thought spending a first-round NFL draft choice on a running back was an excellent idea — you know, about 10 years ago, before we recognized that most ball-carriers are a) more or less interchangeable and b) washed up at 30 — there was one running back in particular whom I was hoping the Patriots would choose with their first selection. Maybe you did too. I remember us reaching a consensus.
The year was 2004, and a few months previous the Patriots had won their second Super Bowl in three years with Antowain Smith as their primary early-down runner. Smith was fine, dependable. He rarely fumbled, aimed his GPS north, and when you needed a yard on third down, damned if he didn’t get you two. In 2001, he ran for 1,157 yards. In 2003, essentially splitting time with third-down marvel Kevin Faulk, he ran for 642. The man earned his two rings.
But that didn’t mean there wasn’t a temptation to find a flashier model. Even the most practical among us would not opt for the snow plow when there was a candy-apple red Porsche also sitting in the drive way. With two picks in the first round of the 2004 draft and Smith headed to free agency, there was a hope — and an expectation — that one of the selections would be a running back. Instead, the Patriots acquired veteran rusher Corey Dillon four days before the draft. He was coming off a 541-yard season for the Bengals and had a well-earned reputation as a malcontent. He was no sure thing.
There were two backs in the draft of particular interest — Virginia Tech’s Kevin Jones, and Oregon State’s Steven Jackson. Both were available when Bill Belichick was on the clock with the Patriots’ first pick, the 21st overall, which had been acquired from the Ravens in a trade during the previous year’s draft. Belichick had spoken highly of Jackson before the draft, telling The Boston Globe’s Michael Smith, “He’s pretty mature. He has a good upbringing. I think he’s a solid guy.’’
Belichick chose another solid guy instead, a certain nose tackle from Miami who slipped down the draft board primarily because the teams picking ahead of the Patriots did not have a need at the position. In retrospect, no Patriots fan would have a beef with the selection of Vince Wilfork. He’s a franchise all timer and a two-time champion.
But man, for those of us who are distracted by flashy things, was that ever a letdown at the time. A nose tackle? How could they pass up a chance at a potential star running back for a nose tackle? The slim hope that Jackson would be there when the Patriots picked at the No. 32 spot was extinguished three picks later when the Rams took him at No. 24 (two spots after the Bills took quarterback J.P. Losman, it should be noted.) Kevin Jones went 30th the Lions, and so the Patriots spent a first-round pick on tight end for the second straight year, taking Ben Watson out of Georgia.
What’s funny, looking back, is that it all worked out. Wilfork was the fulcrum of the Patriots’ defense for a dozen years and was exactly what they needed. Dillon was exceptional in 2004, running for a franchise-record 1,635 yards. Watson was decent here as a Gronk predeccesor at the position, and remains productive with the Saints. The Patriots won the Super Bowl again that season.
Meanwhile, Jackson went to the Rams, where he became one of the best backs in the league, running for more than 1,000 yards in eight of his nine seasons in St. Louis before being traded to the Falcons two years ago. He totaled 1,250 yards and 12 touchdowns over the past two seasons with the Falcons. He has been out of the league thus far this season, and it seemed his stellar career — he’s 18th all-time on the NFL rushing list with 11,388 yards, two spots ahead of Dillon and three ahead of O.J. Simpson — was complete.
But maybe it is not. Hopefully it is not. Jackson said in the offseason that he only wanted to sign with teams that had a shot at a championship. Apparently, there’s a possibility, 14 weeks into the season, of that happening — and that the team he joins might just be the same one that many of us hoped he’d end up with all those years ago. According to ESPN’s Ed Werder, the Patriots and Jackson had a meeting scheduled for Wednesday.
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Patriots running back LeGarrette Blount, who injured his hip in the win over the Texans Sunday, is expected to join Dion Lewis on injured reserve. Any suggestion the team is desperate after Blount’s injury would be an exaggeration; decent running backs are readily available (pretty sure I took practice squadder Montee Ball in the second round in fantasy football last year). Besides, Blount wasn’t great this year, just adequate. But they are thin at the position. Jackson, who played for offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels with the Rams in 2011, would make a lot of sense … even if he is two years older than Laurence Maroney. (Don’t consider that an endorsement of the latter; I’d vote to bring back Curtis Martin before Maroney.)
Belichick may have passed on Jackson in ’04 — a decision that was justified and then some — but he is one of those players for whom he has never hidden his admiration. Per CSNNE’s Tom Curran, here is what the coach said about Jackson in ’12 when asked about his interest in him as a draft prospect eight years earlier:
“I actually went out to Las Vegas and met with Steven out there; he’s from Las Vegas,’’ Belichick said. “I went out there and met with him and spent pretty much a whole day with him there. He’s a very impressive individual. Obviously a big, strong kid that runs well, that catches the ball very well, very good in the passing game; I think he’s probably a little underrated in that area. Good in blitz pickup, smart guy, he’s really had an outstanding career. He definitely was a guy that we were very much interested in. As I said, I personally spent quite a bit of time with him.’’
When Belichick was asked about the report of a meeting with Jackson Wednesday morning, he smiled and left the podium, saying, “Let’s just end on a high note.’’
Here’s hoping Jackson gets to end on a high note, too, playing for a team that liked him but liked someone else just a little better 11 eventful years ago.
Chad Finn can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @GlobeChadFinn.
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