Jackson eager to see Rams' revamped offense in game

~ New coach, players and scheme have the running back looking forward to Friday

ST. LOUIS -- A rebuilt offensive line, a new fullback and a new offensive scheme have St. Louis Rams running back Steve Jackson ready to see it all come together in a game.

He'll get the chance Friday, when the Rams travel to New York to face the Jets in the preseason opener for both teams.

"I want to see what this '09 team has," Jackson said Wednesday. "We've really worked on changing the identity of this team. I think Friday will be a showing of where we're at."

Jackson, who missed training camp last year as a holdout, has not been hit in practice since last week, when linebacker Chris Chamberlain went low and tackled Jackson in the knee.

The first-string units will play the first quarter and perhaps part of the second against the Jets, Rams rookie coach Steve Spagnuolo said. His philosophy for preseason games is to make them a continuation of training camp.

"You're still working but I will say this, it doesn't matter whether you're playing pickup basketball in the backyard or playing your brother in cards, I mean, it's competition and everybody wants to win," Spagnuolo said. "So we'll approach this thing as competition. We want to compete, compete at the highest level and let this thing play itself out."

The staff has not done much game-planning but there may be a "few wrinkles" thrown in, Spagnuolo said. The new West Coast offense is about 85 percent installed.

Jackson said there has been much to learn this summer. Playing a game will allow him to see how much of the offense he's absorbed.

"It's a new offense, and there's new things I have to do," Jackson said. "I want to make sure in the course of a drive, I'm staying on course on what needs to be done."

What the coaches want to see, Spagnuolo said, are the base plays performed well. Execution needs to be crisp and as flawless as possible in the first dress rehearsal for the club.

"I want to see what the guys can do," Spagnuolo said.

St. Louis has lost 27 of 32 games, though that statistic means little to Spagnuolo. He said that mark of futility is in the past, unrecognizable to him and the rest of the team.

That doesn't mean he's putting a premium on leaving Giants Stadium with a victory.

"It's the first preseason game," Spagnuolo said. "Evaluation is probably more important. Again, when you're competing, it's like when we got live out here, we want to be competing to win. The offense wants to beat the defense and vice versa."

Noteworthy

* Defensive tackle Adam Carriker (ankle) is out for Friday's game.