Getty Raiders star Josh Jacobs (left) and NFL commissioner Roger Goodell
After getting an NFL fine form Roger Goodell’s office for lowering his helmet during a run against the Giants in Week 9, Raiders running back Josh Jacobs tweeted out that the NFL had to “chill” with what he called, “the BS.” It did not. In Week 10 against the Jets, Jacobs got hit with another fine for the same thing. Now, Jacobs says, he’s been in contact with the NFLPA and that he has no intention of stopping the lowering of his head in short-yardage situations.
“The head of the NFLPA hit me up,” Josh Jacobs told reporters this week. “We had a long conversation about the fines and things like that. I am not so much worried about it. I’ll play my style of football, I don’t know what they want me to do when I’m going up against two guys that’s 40 pounds more than me and I’m trying to get a yard. I don’t know if they expect me to run how, I don’t know.”
But Jacobs made it clear that he is not out to hurt anyone, even though he has now paid out more than $40,000 in fines. He’s just always played a physical style and does not know how to do much else.
“At the end of the day, I’m going to play my brand of football,” Jacobs said. “Obviously I don’t intentionally go out there and try to hit with my helmet or hurt anyone. But at the end of the day, if I gotta get him, I am gonna get him. So, it is what it is.”
Raiders Want 20-Plus Touches for RB
If all goes according to plan for the rest of the season, it can be expected that Josh Jacobs will get plenty more opportunities to lower his head. Hopefully he does not—and hopefully the league does not fine him if he does—but it should be a sign of good things if Jacobs gets the ball more for the Raiders.
That should start this week against Kansas City, which has a very good defense (fourth in the NFL in yardage allowed) but is susceptible to the run (18th in yardage allowed).
Coach Antonio Pierce said this week that getting Jacobs at least 20 touches each game is the Raiders’ goal. They did that in the wins over the Giants and Jets, but Jacobs had just 14 carries in Week 11 against Miami.
“Just being consistent,” Pierce told reporters in his press conference. “Obviously, we don’t want those touches to be at that 14 mark, that’s not our number. Our magic number is 20-plus. We gotta stay with it. It’s not always pretty, there are some one-yards and two-yards in there. Yesterday, there were some fives and eight and nines, and we just gotta remember that as we’re calling it, and stick with it.”
Josh Jacobs: ‘I Inspire the Guys’
You don’t need to tell Josh Jacobs that he should be getting the ball more. It has been a point of emphasis but it is one the Raiders need to stick with even when things go a bit sideways.
“At a minimum, I gotta touch the ball 25 times just because you know, the way I run, the way I inspire the guys, style of play,” Jacobs said. “I feel like it’s contagious. I feel like I gotta get at least 25 touches some kind of way.”
Jacobs said that by the end of the game, defenses are tired or trying to bring him down. That’s where the Raiders should take advantage.
“After a while, you tackle somebody 10 times, you’re gonna start to feel that,” Jacobs said. “You know, after a while, at the end of the game it starts to wear on you regardless of whether you really want to do it or not. It starts to get a little bit harder and harder each time. For me, my mentality and the way I approach the game, I try to attack every time I am on the field. I think the coaches know that. I think we starting to get that understanding.”