During the week, we’ve been doing the show at Rams Park, and as folks are walking off the field, or doing interviews at our tent, or as we run into them in the parking lot, media members get a chance to find out what’s up, just have general conversations with people in the organization.

We had Mardy Gilyard on the show on Monday, and he told us a story about how Steven Jackson

 

pulled him aside and talked about how proud the rookie should be to be in the Rams organization. Told him of the history of winning and losing in St. Louis, and the legacy of great receivers. Jackson told Gilyard…paraphrasing here…that despite doing a lot of losing, the Rams have always had great receivers, and that he had something to live up to.

Sam Bradford got a text from Jackson on draft night, welcoming him to the organization, and Bradford got the same talk about what it means to be a Ram, about what a great place St. Louis can be to play and live, and what this group of players is capable of.

Last year, Jason Smith got a talk. Donnie Avery has gotten one, too. I don’t know how many other young Rams have, but the evidence suggests that the senior member among Rams starters (Chris Massey has been around longer than Jackson) has taken others aside to provide the Rams pep talk.

Jackson does great things in the community. With his talent and effort, he exemplifies what we want our athletes to be on the field. And he thinks like a fan. As he mentioned yesterday on the show, when he talked about the music at the Edward Jones Dome, or about Rams fans selling their tickets to out of towners, he was saying the same things we were saying in the stands.

I’ve taken my shots at Steven over the years, but he has grown into someone I really respect as a player and a person. As I said yesterday, I can’t imagine that there’s a better representative of our town or of his franchise than Steven…and that includes some of the all time St. Louis greats. If the Rams win and Jackson lands on Late Night with David Letterman, like Brett Hull and Albert Pujols have in the past, I would be just as proud to have him represent me I was of those guys. That’s a big statement, and I truly believe it.