The future of Andy Reid is not the only big question facing the Eagles front office.
Once they decide if Reid will be back, and at this point it hard to envision that he will, they must come to grips with their wide receiver.
You could make an argument that the Birds are late to the table for dealing with DeSean Jackson. You would think that, having survived the Terrell Owens ordeal, the Eagles would not have let it happen again. Yet here they are, struggling to come to grips with their game-breaker of a wide receiver.
It’s clear Jackson was underpaid this year. The deal he signed in his rookie season calls for him to make a paltry (remember, this is the fantasyland of pro sports we’re talking about here) $600,000. Instead of sitting down with Jackson and getting something done, the Eagles instead let this thing fester to where it is now.
Jackson has now been benched twice in three weeks. He was told not to bother showing up for the Cardinals game after missing a Saturday morning meeting. Sunday he got a seat on the pine for the fourth quarter and dropping several balls, including two that could have been touchdowns.
It’s clear Jackson is a very talented wide receiver, a game-breaker that the Eagles have not featured in years. It’s just as clear that Jackson, who has suffered two serious concussions, is now leery of contact, and not a big fan of going over the middle.
On one of those potential touchdowns he failed to come up with in the end zone, he pretty obviously shied away from the ball – and the safety who was zeroing in on him.
Maybe all this will fall back in Andy Reid’s lap, should be somehow return as Eagles coach.
Maybe that will be part of the bill of goods we’re sold – that the lockout, the lack of OTAs, the new coaching staff, the Jackson issue – all conspired to blow up the Eagles’ “dream season.”
The Eagles can try to sell that if they want. I’m just not sure if the fans – in particular all those who registered their disgust with this season with their feet when they walked out of the Linc half way through the third quarter on Sunday – will buy it.
Once they decide if Reid will be back, and at this point it hard to envision that he will, they must come to grips with their wide receiver.
You could make an argument that the Birds are late to the table for dealing with DeSean Jackson. You would think that, having survived the Terrell Owens ordeal, the Eagles would not have let it happen again. Yet here they are, struggling to come to grips with their game-breaker of a wide receiver.
It’s clear Jackson was underpaid this year. The deal he signed in his rookie season calls for him to make a paltry (remember, this is the fantasyland of pro sports we’re talking about here) $600,000. Instead of sitting down with Jackson and getting something done, the Eagles instead let this thing fester to where it is now.
Jackson has now been benched twice in three weeks. He was told not to bother showing up for the Cardinals game after missing a Saturday morning meeting. Sunday he got a seat on the pine for the fourth quarter and dropping several balls, including two that could have been touchdowns.
It’s clear Jackson is a very talented wide receiver, a game-breaker that the Eagles have not featured in years. It’s just as clear that Jackson, who has suffered two serious concussions, is now leery of contact, and not a big fan of going over the middle.
On one of those potential touchdowns he failed to come up with in the end zone, he pretty obviously shied away from the ball – and the safety who was zeroing in on him.
Maybe all this will fall back in Andy Reid’s lap, should be somehow return as Eagles coach.
Maybe that will be part of the bill of goods we’re sold – that the lockout, the lack of OTAs, the new coaching staff, the Jackson issue – all conspired to blow up the Eagles’ “dream season.”
The Eagles can try to sell that if they want. I’m just not sure if the fans – in particular all those who registered their disgust with this season with their feet when they walked out of the Linc half way through the third quarter on Sunday – will buy it.
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