Chris Jackson out for at Least Two Weeks
Steven Herbert
Tuesday May 7, 2002
Jackson was injured on the next-to-last play of the first half of Saturday night`s 52-51 victory at Dallas when he landed awkwardly as he was tackled on a running play, Hodgkiss said.
Jackson played the remainder of the game, catching two of his eight passes in the second half, including the game-winning 22-yard touchdown pass with 12 seconds to play. A post-game X-ray examination revealed the injury.
Jackson, the league`s offensive player of the month for April, will be placed on the injured reserve list.
”This is a major loss,” said Hodgkiss. “We feel we need to rally around, come together and play better as a team to pick up that void.”
Hodgkiss said he was not ready to announce a replacement for Jackson as the starting offensive specialist. Wide receiver-linebackers Greg Hopkins and J.J. Washington, and wide receiver-defensive backs Kevin Ingram and Russell Shaw are possible replacements, Hodgkiss said.
“I am confident that we have enough quality receivers here,” said Hodgkiss. “It’s just their chance to step up and make plays.”
Hopkins made a game-high nine catches against Dallas and is second on the team with 17 receptions. Ingram and Washington have both made five receptions, while Shaw has yet to make a catch. He made his 2002 debut Saturday after being a healthy scratch for the first two games.
Jackson scored 13 touchdowns and caught 31 passes for 514 yards, all league highs, in the opening three games of the season, helping the Avengers to a 2-1 record.
“You can`t replace a great player, but I do think we have a lot of great players here and they’re good in their own right,” Hodgkiss said. “We’re disappointed, but we`re not hopeless. We’re still very confident if we play our game correctly, we can play with anybody in this league.”
The Avengers will conclude a franchise-record three-game road trip Saturday night by playing at San Jose (3-0). Los Angeles is 0-2 all-time at the Compaq Center at San Jose.
Steven Herbert began covering Arena Football in 1988, the league’s second season. He has covered the sport for The Associated Press, Arizona Republic, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Providence Journal-Bulletin, Palm Beach Post, Daily Oklahoman and other publications. Herbert has also written on college and NFL football for The Washington Post and spent five years as a Los Angeles Times staff writer.
