Jackson has heard enough Faulk talk

ST. LOUIS -- Steven Jackson is coming off a 1,000-yard season and came to training camp as the St. Louis Rams' starting running back for the second straight year. So forgive him if after the first workout he was already getting a little tired of questions about teammate Marshall Faulk.

Faulk will soon undergo reconstructive knee surgery that will sideline him for the season and perhaps for his career. Jackson said Thursday that people should know by now that unlike Faulk, a very elusive sort before injuries slowed him down, he's a power back.

"I don't want any controversy with it," Jackson said. "Me and Marshall are good friends. I hope he has a speedy recovery and comes back, but what I am saying is that I don't have to deal with the comparisons to Marshall.

"I'm not a Marshall-type of running back. It's no disrespect to him and it's no disrespect to me, we're just different backs."

Jackson is hopeful the Rams will run more this year under new coach Scott Linehan.

No more doughnuts

Veteran offensive linemen Andy McCollum and Adam Timmerman used to be known as the doughnut brothers for their prodigious consumption of the fried breakfast treats. But now there's only one with Timmerman having gone to health food.

"I've changed quite a few of the things I was eating," Timmerman said. "It's helped me to feel just a little bit better, and it's helped me to shed a few more pounds."

The down side? "Andy's saying I'm no fun to hang around with anymore."

Timmerman, the right guard, has reported at about 305 pounds in previous seasons. On Wednesday, he tipped the scales at 296.

Timmerman, 34 and a 12-year NFL veteran, said he hasn't consumed a carbonated beverage since February.