Falcons want running back Steven Jackson to get more touches
By Mike Dyce
The Atlanta Falcons ground game is struggling, their 64.3 yard per game is the worst mark in the league. Against the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday, the Falcons managed to get 64 yards rushing, and offensive coordinator Dirk Koetter thinks that means feeding the ball to Steven Jackson.
“My opinion is Steven Jackson is a workhorse running back and we haven’t been able to work him,” Koetter said, via ESPN. “I mean, I think Steven is one of those guys that gets better the more he touches it.
“We’re not running it successfully enough to get him enough carries. If he’s carrying in multiple times, he’s going to need to come out and then that’s going to lead to [Rodgers] and Jason getting more carries, too. But unfortunately, because we’re not doing anything successfully right now and we’re getting behind on the scoreboard, [the running game] sometimes gets away from us.”
Jackson gained just 11 yards on nine carries on Sunday. His 3.2 yards per carry this season is currently a career low but he has missed multiple games with a hamstring injury.
“I think if you look at any premier running back over the years, they all get better the more they get the ball,” Koetter said. “When I was in Jacksonville with Fred Taylor and Maurice Jones-Drew, shoot, if they had their way, they wanted the ball every time.
“Anybody that’s got the stats that Steven Jackson does, they want the ball a lot.”