Running back Antonio Pittman practiced Wednesday and should be ready to play after missing three games with a leg injury. Also available are Travis Minor and Kenneth Darby.

Jackson rushed for 160 yards and three touchdowns Sunday against Dallas, but in the fourth quarter, he suffered a bruised quadriceps muscle. Jackson did not practice Wednesday, but said he was feeling a lot better than he did after the game Sunday.

Said Jackson, "We are going to take it day-to-day. Today, I rehabbed with the weight coach and we did some light leg work on the weight machine and then we went into the pool to get the range of motion and make sure that the soreness wears itself out. It is no need to rush. It is Wednesday and we have until Sunday to make a game-time decision. If I could tell my fans that are concerned, it is definitely going in the right direction."

Jackson acknowledged that, at first, he was worried that the injury might be more serious.

He said, "It kind of got bent up funny on the tackle. It kind of over-stretched itself, and it was a sharp pain right away. I got to the sideline and the doctors checked it out. We kind of thought the worst first and once we got the chance to look at the MRI and it confirmed that it wasn't anything, I guess the mind kind of goes to ease and the body starts to feel its way out. Today, being able to get the light workout is really promising. It really feels good."

Coach Jim Haslett was asked how the decision will be made, and whether it will be a club decision or whether Jackson will have input.

"A little bit of both," Haslett said. "The game plan was to take today off. He worked inside with the strength coach, he'll go out and do walk-through tomorrow and then we'll see where he's at on Friday. Hopefully, he'll get a few reps in on Friday based on how he feels. We still have four days, so if he's ready to go, he's ready to go."

Asked what the offense would be like without Jackson, quarterback Marc Bulger said, "I don't think anything is going to change. He's our best player, so that maybe changes a little bit. Our offense is in and we're going to game plan as if he's playing. We'd love to have him, but at the same time, we are not going to change anything."

Under Haslett, the team seems more resilient and able to deal with adversity, which includes playing without injured players. The Rams beat Dallas Sunday with Adam Goldberg replacing Orlando Pace at left tackle.

Is the mindset different now, where the team doesn't hang its head if a backup has to play? Said Bulger, "Any time you win, you feel more confident. Not having Orlando and being able to win, that is big. With a guy like Steven, your best player, you definitely want him in there. At the same time, it's not going to be an excuse. We played all of preseason without him. We didn't play great at times, but there were other times we moved the ball and played pretty well. We have confidence in the other two guys. I'd love to have Steven, but we don't want to jeopardize him for two or three games just for one game."

On the latter point, Jackson feels the same way. Asked about playing with pain, he said, "Anybody could be tough in someone else's body. If it is something that I can let rest a week and be able to play the rest of the season without injury then it is something that you have to take into consideration."

SERIES HISTORY: 10th regular-season meeting. Rams lead, 5-4, and won the last regular-season meeting in New England, 24-17, in 2001. In the post-season that year, the Patriots beat the Rams in Super Bowl XXXVI, 20-17. The Patriots won in St. Louis, 40-22, in 2004.