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Rookie Brian Leonard ready for first start
Injury will force Jackson to miss game
BY STEVE KORTE
News-Democrat
ST. LOUIS --
Known for the "Leonard Leap" during his days at Rutgers University, rookie Brian Leonard will be making a giant leap in terms of his responsibility this Sunday.
Leonard will be the starting tailback for the St. Louis Rams, replacing Pro Bowl running back Steven Jackson, who is sidelined for at least one game with a partially torn groin muscle.
"I'm extremely excited," Leonard said. "I've dreamed my whole life of playing running back in the NFL, and I'm finally getting my first start. Hopefully, I'll make the best of it."
Leonard's first start comes against the Dallas Cowboys (3-0), who rank eighth in the NFL in rushing defense after yielding an average of 86.7 rushing yards per game in their first three games.
"Yeah, my first start is against America's team," Leonard said. "I'll go out there and give it my best shot."
Leonard grew up in Gouverneur, N.Y., and suffice it to say, he wasn't a Cowboys fan.
"Obviously if you grow up a Giants fan, I don't know if you like the Cowboys too much," Leonard said.
As he was setting school records for points with 272, all-purpose yards with 5,961 and receptions with 207 at Rutgers, Leonard caused the creation of the term "Leonard Leap" for his habit of actually hurdling defenders.
"I did it probably 14-15 times at Rutgers," Leonard said.
Leonard performed the "Leonard Leap" during the Rams' preseason game against the Oakland Raiders. He said he's ready and willing to pull out his trademark maneuver if the opportunity presents itself against the Cowboys.
"It's polished off and ready to go, but one of the corners on Dallas is a Rutgers guy, so he knows all about it," Leonard said.
Leonard said Cowboys backup cornerback Nathan Jones was his teammate at Rutgers for one season.
"We keep in touch," Leonard said of Jones. "I'm sure he will be telling them about it."
Rams coach Scott Linehan said he's confident that Leonard, a second-round pick in the 2007 NFL Draft, can handle his new role after seeing him rush for a team-leading 125 yards and one touchdown in the preseason.
"We feel based on that that we're going to see exactly what we saw in the preseason: a guy that runs downhill," Linehan said. "The game's not too big for him. He fits right in and just has a knack to get yards. He is going to be a very good pass protector because of his size, and he's a very smart and aware player."
Rams quarterback Marc Bulger said he didn't think the team needed to scale back its running attack with Leonard as the tailback instead of Jackson.
"I think he'll do fine," Bulger said. "Certainly Steven is a special athlete, but Leonard's a good player. He did a good job in the preseason for us starting those games. We'd love to have 'Jack', but we don't."
Jackson said he thought Leonard was capable of filling his cleats.
"(The team) has a lot of confidence in Brian," Jackson said. "He played in the preseason and took a majority of the snaps and got a lot of carries, so we know he's comfortable in the running game. He's showed over time, especially in the last two weeks filling in at fullback, that he can block and pick up the blitz. He'll have to be big in that area as well. We think he's ready for this moment. He knew it was going to come and he looked good today in practice."
Leonard said he's prepared to be workhorse. He averaged 195 carries per season over his first three seasons at Rutgers before switching to fullback his senior season.
"I'm ready to take a load on," Leonard said. "If I get 25 carries, I'm going to take 25 carries. If I get 10 carries, I'm going to take 10 carries. I'm ready for whatever they give me."
Leonard has been working at fullback, but he welcomed the chance of playing tailback.
"I feel more comfortable at the running back spot than I do at the fullback spot because I have been playing it more," Leonard said. "I had four games starting in the preseason. I'm pretty confident that I can do the job."
http://www.bnd.com/sports/rams/story/138598.html
Injury will force Jackson to miss game
BY STEVE KORTE
News-Democrat
ST. LOUIS --
Known for the "Leonard Leap" during his days at Rutgers University, rookie Brian Leonard will be making a giant leap in terms of his responsibility this Sunday.
Leonard will be the starting tailback for the St. Louis Rams, replacing Pro Bowl running back Steven Jackson, who is sidelined for at least one game with a partially torn groin muscle.
"I'm extremely excited," Leonard said. "I've dreamed my whole life of playing running back in the NFL, and I'm finally getting my first start. Hopefully, I'll make the best of it."
Leonard's first start comes against the Dallas Cowboys (3-0), who rank eighth in the NFL in rushing defense after yielding an average of 86.7 rushing yards per game in their first three games.
"Yeah, my first start is against America's team," Leonard said. "I'll go out there and give it my best shot."
Leonard grew up in Gouverneur, N.Y., and suffice it to say, he wasn't a Cowboys fan.
"Obviously if you grow up a Giants fan, I don't know if you like the Cowboys too much," Leonard said.
As he was setting school records for points with 272, all-purpose yards with 5,961 and receptions with 207 at Rutgers, Leonard caused the creation of the term "Leonard Leap" for his habit of actually hurdling defenders.
"I did it probably 14-15 times at Rutgers," Leonard said.
Leonard performed the "Leonard Leap" during the Rams' preseason game against the Oakland Raiders. He said he's ready and willing to pull out his trademark maneuver if the opportunity presents itself against the Cowboys.
"It's polished off and ready to go, but one of the corners on Dallas is a Rutgers guy, so he knows all about it," Leonard said.
Leonard said Cowboys backup cornerback Nathan Jones was his teammate at Rutgers for one season.
"We keep in touch," Leonard said of Jones. "I'm sure he will be telling them about it."
Rams coach Scott Linehan said he's confident that Leonard, a second-round pick in the 2007 NFL Draft, can handle his new role after seeing him rush for a team-leading 125 yards and one touchdown in the preseason.
"We feel based on that that we're going to see exactly what we saw in the preseason: a guy that runs downhill," Linehan said. "The game's not too big for him. He fits right in and just has a knack to get yards. He is going to be a very good pass protector because of his size, and he's a very smart and aware player."
Rams quarterback Marc Bulger said he didn't think the team needed to scale back its running attack with Leonard as the tailback instead of Jackson.
"I think he'll do fine," Bulger said. "Certainly Steven is a special athlete, but Leonard's a good player. He did a good job in the preseason for us starting those games. We'd love to have 'Jack', but we don't."
Jackson said he thought Leonard was capable of filling his cleats.
"(The team) has a lot of confidence in Brian," Jackson said. "He played in the preseason and took a majority of the snaps and got a lot of carries, so we know he's comfortable in the running game. He's showed over time, especially in the last two weeks filling in at fullback, that he can block and pick up the blitz. He'll have to be big in that area as well. We think he's ready for this moment. He knew it was going to come and he looked good today in practice."
Leonard said he's prepared to be workhorse. He averaged 195 carries per season over his first three seasons at Rutgers before switching to fullback his senior season.
"I'm ready to take a load on," Leonard said. "If I get 25 carries, I'm going to take 25 carries. If I get 10 carries, I'm going to take 10 carries. I'm ready for whatever they give me."
Leonard has been working at fullback, but he welcomed the chance of playing tailback.
"I feel more comfortable at the running back spot than I do at the fullback spot because I have been playing it more," Leonard said. "I had four games starting in the preseason. I'm pretty confident that I can do the job."
http://www.bnd.com/sports/rams/story/138598.html
