Jim Haslett, St. Louis Rams coach, was optimistic early in the week about Steven Jackson's return. Now it looks like the running back's thigh injury is healing more slowly than the Rams hoped.
Steven Jackson didn't play last week game against New England. Nobody knows if he will play this week or not.

Haslett was guarded Wednesday after Jackson began practice with the first unit but then had his work scaled back. Jackson has something to be proud of. He leads the Rams in rushing yards with 508 yards. He has four touchdowns and is one reception off the team lead which is 25 catches and over a 10 yard average.

"That's going to be a day-to-day thing, just see how he feels when he's running," Haslett said. "But he did a couple of things today and I think he did OK."

Haslett said Jackson, DT Adam Carriker, and CB Tye Hill are question marks. Carriker is out because of a sprained ankle. Defensive end Leonard Little is also a question mark for Sunday's game against the Cardinals, who are barely above 0.500. He thought that Hill would be eased back as the fifth defensive back but was unsure about the rest.

Jackson normally talks with reporters on Thursdays. He was not made available on Wednesday. Antonio Pittman started in last week's loss at New England. He ran for 83 yards on 19 carries as Jackson sat on the bench. One thing he lacks that Jackson brings to the field is his bruising quality.

Little revealed he aggravated a hamstring injury that he got in the season opener. Little had been hoping scar tissue was the culprit.

"I'm just going to see how it goes," Little said. "It's an injury that's going to be here the whole year, so I've just got to stay on top of it."

Haslett didn't think that Little would be available.

"It's bothering him," the coach said. "He didn't play three quarters, so I would think it's pretty significant."

Hill underwent arthroscopic surgery for cartilage damage to his right knee after being injured against the Bills in Week 4, and returned to practice on a limited basis late last week. He said the knee stiffened as practice went on, and was anxious to see how it would respond.

"I'm happy with where I'm at right now, considering the type of injury I had," Hill said. "We've got to see how it feels tomorrow, see how stiff it is."

Carriker was limited. He said after practice that his ankle was almost healed.

"I should be able to play," Carriker said. "I probably wouldn't have done too well last week, but this week it's getting better."

Josh Brown, Rams kicker, would be announced as NFC special teams player of the month on Thursday. Brown has made 14 out of 16 field goal attempts so far this season after signing a five-year, $14.2 million free agent contract. That's the most ever by a kicker.

He made a 49-yard field goal as time ran out to beat the Redskins several weeks ago. He hit a 52-yard field goal against the Cowboys one week later. He made three field goals plus a touchdown-saving tackle last week at New England when he ran down Ellis Hobbs on a kickoff return.

"I honestly don't know my stats," Brown said. "If I miss, I know I had a bad game. It's cool to be a good part of this team."