Jackson might play Saturday, Giants come to town

Brian Stull of ESPN tweeted that Rams' RB Steven Jackson is practicing this week as if he will be playing Saturday against the Cleveland Browns. Jackson's role on Saturday has not been fully determined yet, but he is preparing for the possibility. If Jackson does see the field, his time will likely be limited.

Jackon's presence on Saturday could really take some pressure off rookie QB Sam Bradford. Teams typically focus on stopping Jackson on the ground, which forces them to loosen up on their pass defense. If there are in fact one-on-one match-up's with the WR's because of Jackson, then we can anticipate some big plays through the air.

Jackson could also level the playing field as far as the running game goes. Cleveland was expected to have the better running game coming into Saturday; they have a better offensive line, and they are starting their primary back Jerome Harrison. But Jackson can possibly give the edge on the ground back to the Rams, at least while he is in the game.

Meanwhile, the Cardinals look to break their 4 game losing streak tonight for the series opener against the San Francisco Giants. The series will take place at Busch Stadium in St.Louis. The Cardinals have been a much better team at home, so it's the ideal location for them to snap their losing streak. On the mound tonight: Jake Westbrook (1-0 3.32 ERA) vs. Madison Bumgarner (4-4 3.27 ERA). It looks to be a fairly even match-up on the mound, but the Cards might have an edge because Bumgarner is a rookie.

Check in later for "The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly", my Cardinals post-game thoughts. And check back tomorrow for my Rams post-game thoughts, as well as YouTube footage of Bradford's performance and all of the TD plays of the game.

EDIT: I want to give a quick thanks to the generous fans at The Browns Board (http://thebrownsboard.com). They provided some quality information for me on their team, information that is hard to find in most news articles. Thanks a lot.