For Saints’ Jackson, Flattening Quarterbacks Is in the Bag : Defense: Rams control nemesis Swilling, but New Orleans’ other outside linebacker sacks Everett three times.
Rickey Jackson made some nifty moves to get to Jim Everett Sunday night, but they were nothing compared to the mad dash he made to escape the Superdome after the Saints’ 13-10 victory over the Rams.
For reasons no one seemed to know, Jackson pushed his way through reporters gathered around his locker without acknowledging questions, slipped out through the equipment room door and then sprinted through a crowd of Saint fans and autograph seekers at the players’ entrance.
“He had three sacks during the game and he almost had three more when he blasted through here,” said a Superdome security guard, who declined to give his name after thinking about it for a minute. “I don’t know what the deal was, but he was definitely in a hurry and he didn’t look very happy.”
Thanks to Jackson, Everett didn’t exactly have Mardi Gras-type fun, either.
The Ram quarterback finally managed to escape the relentless rush of Pat Swilling--the Saints’ other outside linebacker who has sacked Everett 11 times in 11 games since both were rookies in 1986--only to have Jackson steamrolling at him all evening.
The Rams went into the game determined to do whatever was needed to obstruct Swilling’s path to the quarterback and, for the most part, the plan succeeded. But Jackson, working against Ram tackle Jackie Slater, came shooting in off the other corner.
“He’s always been a good pass rusher,” Slater said. “He’s been a Pro-Bowl ballplayer and right now, I think he’s playing at a really good level. He got off the ball very well against me, was playing real physical and doing things that a real good outside linebacker has to be able to do in this kind of environment to be successful.
“He definitely had a successful day. And today he proved he’s a damn good football player.”
All of which is hardly news to Swilling, who missed a couple of series in the third quarter with a hip pointer and was hobbled by both the injury and the numbers of Ram players assigned to keeping him away from Everett.
“My man picked up the slack and played like he can play every week,” Swilling said. “He plays great football every week and when they double me, he’ll make the plays. Tonight, he beat the crap out of his guy all night.”
Swilling laughed and lifted the curtain that separates his locker from Jackson’s. Then he raised his voice: “Now, they’ll see the films of this game and they’ll double Rickey and I’ll be making the plays next week. After all, that’s what friends are for.”
Swilling is considered one of the premier pass-rushers in the league, but Jackson, in his 12th year, is clearly one of the most consistent and durable. He’s the only linebacker other than Lawrence Taylor to have more than 100 career sacks with 104 1/2.
“What can I say about Rickey Jackson?” Saint Coach Jim Mora said. “He’s as good a linebacker as I’ve ever been around in my career in coaching. He’s tough, he’s a competitor and he just keeps doing it game after game, year after year.
“He’s just a big stud.”
Jackson, who has had at least half a sack in the last seven games dating back to last season, has 7 1/2 this year and he had his arms wrapped around Everett often Sunday night.
In the first quarter, with the Rams facing a third-and-16 situation from the New Orleans 32-yard line, Jackson chased Everett and brought him down five yards behind the line of scrimmage, taking the Rams out of field-goal range.
The Rams were threatening to score a tying touchdown midway through the second quarter when Jackson broke through again. On third and goal from the Saint seven-yard line, Jackson wrapped up Everett for a seven-yard loss and the Rams had to settle for a 30-yard field goal by Tony Zendejas.
Then early in the fourth quarter, with the score tied 10-10, Jackson beat a double team to get to Everett a third time. He slipped past Slater and tight end Jim Price for a sack and an 11-yard loss that forced the Rams to punt.
“That was our game plan, to take 56 (Swilling) out of the game,” Everett said. “Obviously, next time we’ll have to pay more attention to Rickey Jackson.”
Jackson has started all 168 games in his career with the Saints, but Mora has been trying to work third-year linebacker Renaldo Turnbull into the lineup, and Saint insiders say Jackson has been less than pleased when he’s been forced to watch from the sidelines.
He didn’t miss many plays Sunday night, but it’s possible the idea of a platoon situation is one of the things that upset him and caused his flight from the Superdome.
Or maybe it had something to do with a comment Saints’ president/general manager Jim Finks made during Jackson’s short-lived holdout this summer.
“Rickey Jackson is a descending player,” Finks said at the time.
Maybe, but he spent the better part of this evening descending on Everett. And the Saints can give him a large share of the credit for their ascension to 4-2.
