By Nick Wagoner
Senior Writer
ATLANTA – There aren’t many players in the NFL with a great appreciation of the history of their position than Rams running back Steven Jackson.

In the midst of a frustrating season for him personally and in terms of the team, Jackson wanted to make a statement in Sunday’s game against the Falcons. To do that, Jackson wanted to reach 1,000 rushing yards for the season and send a message that a healthy Jackson is one of the game’s most determined and fearless runners.

“The only thing I can do is run hard and I tried to show ownership and Billy Devaney that I am a back that is going to go out there and play hard regardless of the score and regardless of the record,” Jackson said.

Entering the game, Jackson needed 119 yards to reach that mark for the fourth consecutive season, a performance that would pull him even with Hall of Fame running back Eric Dickerson and tie him in that spot in franchise history.

After a first possession saw Jackson net just 1 yard on two carries, he moved quickly to prove that he was going to get his grand and then some.

On the second possession, Jackson broke a 36-yard run and the Rams’ workhorse back set the tone for the rest of the game. When all was said and done, Jackson had racked up 161 yards on 30 carries for an average of 5.4 yards per attempt to go with a pair of touchdowns.

Jackson produced in the passing game also, coming up with four catches for 54 yards. Jackson’s 215 yards from scrimmage was precisely the type of game the Rams had envisioned for him at the beginning of the season.

“I thought Steven was outstanding,” coach Jim Haslett said. “That was healthy Steven. With him healthy, that’s probably what you can get every game. I thought he was into it. I thought the line did a great job for him. That was really two good running backs out there today competing.”

Indeed, Jackson had plenty to fuel his fire against the Falcons aside from reaching 1,000 yards. Atlanta’s Michael Turner entered the game second in the league in rushing and put on a show for the Falcons as he rushed for 208 yards.

Jackson stood on the other side, hoping to match Turner yard for yard and prove that he’s in the same class as the Falcons’ Most Valuable Player candidate.

“These are the games you dream about,” Jackson said. “You had Michael Turner running the ball hard and I was trying to go out there and match him. It was one of those games where ‘let me size him up, let me try to do what he’s doing for his team.’”

Jackson’s production against the Falcons brought his rushing total to 1,042 for the season to go with 379 receiving yards and nine total touchdowns. All of that came in just 12 games and technically just 11 because one of those games he was limited and shouldn’t have been playing.

To put that production in perspective, Jackson averaged 118.4 total yards per game using 12 games as the total and 129.1 using 11 contests as the barometer. That output would place him near the top of the league in yards per game.

Of course, that’s where the frustration for Jackson and the Rams lies. It only gives a glimpse of the type of elite player Jackson can be if he’s healthy.

“I know that if I play 16 games, I feel that I am a Pro Bowl player,” Jackson said.

His teammates echo those sentiments without much prodding.

“He’s a hell of a running back in this league,” center Brett Romberg said. “I think he’s definitely the best I have played with in the NFL. His opportunities are endless and for him to not get 100 every game is kind of doing him an injustice. Seeing him succeed today and getting to 1,000 was great.”

The 1,000-yard mark is clearly not what it used to be considering the 16-game schedule and the number of runners that have reached it. But in this lost season, it’s the small victories that are the foundation for the future.

Jackson says he will get away from football a bit in the offseason to heal up and get back to full speed and to that Pro Bowl level he reached in 2006.

In the meantime, he will have to simply enjoy joining the company of Dickerson in Rams’ lore.

“It means a lot,” Jackson said. “I look up to Eric Dickerson. I look up to a lot of backs that have been a part of this organization and franchise. It’s been a rough couple of seasons for me jut being banged up and still being able to reach 1,000 yards in 12 games, I think it’s something I can take from it. Of course, you want to get to 1,500. So next year we will work really hard to get back to that place.”

CHANGING OF THE GUARDS: It was expected that left guard Jacob Bell would miss the start against the Falcons because of a hamstring injury that kept him out of practice all week.

What was less expected was that the Rams would have a different starter at the other guard spot in place of Richie Incognito.

Incognito missed Friday’s practice with the flu and apparently didn’t feel well enough to suit up Sunday though Haslett says the decision was his and made about two hours before the game.

“He was sick this morning,” Haslett said. “I decided that.”

Veteran Adam Goldberg filled in for Incognito, the fourth position he’s started at this season after getting two starts at left guard, two at right tackle and one at left tackle.

By all accounts, Goldberg performed well in his usual role as the team’s most versatile offensive lineman.

“That’s my job if I’m going to be the swing man, the sixth man then that’s my job to come in and play at a level that facilitates our offense being successful and moving the ball. I was proud of our unit’s performance today,” Goldberg said.

Rookie John Greco started for Bell, the first start of his young career. While Greco almost certainly had some jitters and made a few mistakes, he also played pretty well as the Rams had great success running to the left side behind Greco and tackle Orlando Pace.

“I thought I played pretty well,” Greco said. “I am disappointed about the loss but looking back I know if I made a mistake it wasn’t because of lack of effort. I thought everyone up front; the whole team fought every play we just didn’t get the result we wanted.”

WADE’S WORLD: Rams cornerback Fakhir Brown’s injured ankle kept him out of practice all week so it was no surprise that he was on the pre game inactive list for the Rams.

In fact, Brown did not travel to Atlanta with the team and was replaced in the starting lineup by young Jonathan Wade.

In previous injury situations, Jason Craft started on the outside but Haslett wanted to get a look at Wade in extended action so he gave him his first start of the season and just the second of his career.

Wade had the epitome of an up and down day, getting a pair of pass interference calls on him early in the game (one of which was declined) and allowing Michael Jenkins to beat him for a gain of 41 yards.

Soon after, Wade took a knee to the back which sent him to the sideline with a hip pointer; an injury Wade says is really painful.

“I had a hip pointer,” Wade said. “It (stinks) really really bad. I couldn’t walk for a while and I was like ‘this is it; I have got to keep going.’ I would rather go out there and just break it or something, I don’t know. I was going to give it everything I had.”

Wade did come back in the game and made some plays in the second half. He broke up a pass with a big hit on Atlanta receiver Harry Douglas, was sticky in coverage and came up with a fourth-quarter interception in Atlanta territory to set up a field goal that gave the Rams the lead.

“You are going to have days like that so you have got to keep playing,” Wade said. “You try to not get beat as much as you make plays. And when you get beat, you have got to forget about it and keep going because they are going to come right back at you.”

TALKING RECORDS: Two Donnies had a chance to make history for the Rams on Sunday, one was successful while the other just missed.

Ram receiver Donnie Avery entered Sunday’s game needing seven receptions to pass Eddie Kennison for the team’s rookie record in that category.

Avery finished with five catches for 40 yards, falling a reception short of tying Eddie Kennison. Avery still put a solid cap on a solid rookie campaign as he finished with 53 catches for 684 yards with four total touchdowns.

Punter Donnie Jones, meanwhile, did not fall short though 1 less yard would have left him shy of the 50-yard gross punting average mark. Jones punted five times for 244 yards, an average of 48.8 yards per kick.

On his final boot, Jones punted it 64 yards for a touchback. While it didn’t pin Atlanta deep in its territory, Jones actually needed every last one of those yards.

The 50-yard per kick performance makes Jones only the second player in league history to reach that mark. In addition, Jones finished the season well over 40 yards per punt in gross average, making him the first member of the 50/40 club in league history.

INACTIVES: Joining Bell, Incognito and Brown as inactives for the Rams on Sunday were quarterback Brock Berlin, defensive end Eric Moore, defensive tackle Antwon Burton, tackle Anthony Davis and safety David Roach.

Atlanta’s inactives included quarterback D.J. Shockley, safety Lawyer Milloy, cornerback Glenn Sharpe, linebacker Tony Gilbert, tackle Wayne Gandy, center Alex Stepanovich, offensive tackle Quinn Ojinnaka and defensive end Jamaal Anderson.

Todd Weiner started in place of injured tackle Sam Baker, Jamal Fudges replaced Milloy at strong safety and Chauncey Davis stepped in at left end for Anderson.