Did Steven Jackson Make The Right Choice Leaving St. Louis

Things continue to go downhill for the Atlanta Falcons. Roddy White has been playing injured and has been ineffective all year, Julio Jones could be out the rest of season, Steven Jackson has been out since week 2, and the Falcons now sit at 1-4 and at this point the playoffs seem very unlikely.

In the offseason, Steven Jackson left the Rams, the team he had played for his entire career, to pursue a championship. In Jackson’s years with the Rams they had only ever made the playoffs once in Jackson’s first season, and had never had a winning season. What a better place to go than Atlanta, a team that came 10 yards away from the Super Bowl a season ago, has been the number one seed in the NFC two of the past three seasons, has made the playoffs four of the past five seasons, and has had a winning record every season Matt Ryan has been under center?

And that’s exactly where Steven Jackson went, to Atlanta, to add to the already stacked offense and try to help Atlanta get over the hump. Many experts put Atlanta in the Super Bowl or at the top of the NFC at least. Nobody expected the Falcons to go 1-4, and that’s exactly what has happened.

In week one the Falcons got a revamped Saints team. On 4th and Goal down by six, Matt Ryan looked for Steven Jackson, but instead of making the catch and walking into the end zone, Steven Jackson dropped the pass and sent the Falcons back home. The next week Steven Jackson would play his old team and after scoring the games first touchdown, Jackson left with a hamstring injury and has yet to return since. Since Jackson’s injury the Falcons have lost to the Dolphins, Patriots, and Jets to fall to 1-4.

When Steven Jackson left St. Louis for Atlanta he couldnt have predicted this. Believe it or not the Rams have the better record than the Falcons sitting a game ahead at 2-3. Did Steven Jackson make the right choice leaving St. Louis?

At the end of the day when all is said and done, Steven Jackson did make the right decision leaving St. Louis, if it was a championship he wanted. Hypothetically speaking, the Rams arent going to be making the Super Bowl anytime real soon. The Falcons on the other hand came 10 yards away from the Super Bowl a year ago. The Falcons have been plagued with injuries and you have to expect that if they dont make the playoffs this season, theyll get right back on track next season. The player you should really feel sorry for is Tony Gonzalez.

The only thing Steven Jackson really has left to accomplish, to complete his legacy, is win a championship. Jackson has over 10,215 career yards, eight consecutive 1,000 yard seasons, and is the Rams all-time leading rusher. Jackson has yet to win a playoff game, have a winning season, or win a Super Bowl. With all these things Jackson will have completed his legacy and would be a for sure hall of fame running back.

The last question you have to ask is, has Steven Jackson hurt his legacy going to Atlanta? To answer that, Jackson will only hurt his legacy if he turns into that next big free agent bust. If Jackson comes back this season and helps turn the Falcons season around and helps them get back on track next season, Jackson’s legacy will be just fine. Jackson already has what it takes to make the Hall of Fame. Jackson can only help his legacy and become a for sure first ballot Hall of Famer by getting the Falcons over the hump and win that championship.