Northern NJ's Fly Eagles Fly Fan Club
Philadelphia Eagles (2-1) vs Tampa Bay Bucaneers (0-4)
DONOVAN IS BACK!!!!!
Come to Miami Mikes Sports Zone to watch our Philadelphia Eagles SMASH the Tampa Bay Bucaneers. The game will be shown on a 50 inch HDTV with a private section for all Eagles fans. We had over 30+ fans last week and we get bigger every week.
Come to Miami Mikes Sports Zone to watch our Philadelphia Eagles SMASH the Tampa Bay Bucaneers. The game will be shown on a 50 inch HDTV with a private section for all Eagles fans. We had over 30+ fans last week and we get bigger every week.
In DeSean Jackson, Eagles have second-year star, first-rate role model
BETHLEHEM - Big rookie year, from a guy not known for modesty. How would DeSean Jackson react?
Would Jackson show up at Lehigh in big-star glide mode? Would all the little things he did last year during training camp, the attention to detail that got the coaches to trust a skinny second-round wideout, now seem beneath him?
Ahh, no.
The best player in Eagles camp, through a week and change of full-squad workouts, has been No. 10. Earlier this week, former Birds linebacker and current radio talker Ike Reese, now toiling on the sideline with the rest of the media, watched Jackson effortlessly haul in a succession of bombs.
"If they don't find a way to get that guy the ball seven or eight times a game this year, something's wrong," Reese declared.
There were two reasons why a player this talented was available with the 49th overall pick in 2008. One was that he weighed 169 at the NFL Scouting Combine. Another was the nebulous area of "character." Jackson was known to be cocky, maybe a bit petulant. Scouts whispered that he didn't always work hard in practice.
The weight thing, well, the Eagles list Jackson at 5-10, 175 these days, and he's unlikely to get a whole bunch heftier. Looking like a member of the high school freshman team didn't keep Jackson from establishing a franchise rookie record with 912 receiving yards last year, on 62 catches, or from becoming the first Eagle since Brian Westbrook in 2003 to score a TD rushing, receiving and on a punt return.
The other question? It sure seems as if those scouts must have been talking about someone else.
Rookie running back LeSean McCoy would like to be this year's impact second-rounder. Here is how McCoy sees Jackson: "He's by far the best wide receiver I've ever played with or against. I think it's his heart, man. He wants to be great, he wants to be the best. You can see it in the way he runs his routes, the way he comes out every day ready to work. He's one of the hardest-working guys on the team."
Jackson was asked yesterday about perceptions and proving people wrong, which always seems to be the great motivator in sports.
"People have their opinions on certain things. That's something I can't control," Jackson said. "I'm very comfortable and confident in my work ethic."
The most entertaining thing in camp has been Jackson's back-and-forth with cornerback Asante Samuel, often matched against him in drills.
"The biggest thing about me and Asante is, we have a great friendship," Jackson said. "Before coming out on this field, we hang out, we chill, we have a great time . . . He's a great corner and I'm a great receiver, so we just get out there and go at it, just have a great time doing it. We're out here in 90-degree [heat and] humidity. We got to have fun someway, somehow. That's all it is, just talking mess with each other. He's one of those corners that does a lot of yapping out there, so any way that I can shut him up, that's what I'm going to do."
Coach Andy Reid likes to spread the ball around; he sees that as a key strength of his offense. It's hard for a Reid wideout to put up dominant numbers - only one guy has really done that, and if Reid didn't get him the ball as much as he wanted, he probably would have gone home and done situps in the driveway or something.
Jackson might be good enough to make the Birds bend the offense his way a little.
"I'm not calling the plays and I'm not scheming anything up, but as many balls come my way, that's as many balls as I'm going to catch," Jackson said. "The biggest thing is being consistent. That's what I'm doing through this camp . . . working hard, putting the work in. There's no substitute for the hard work you put in."
Would Jackson show up at Lehigh in big-star glide mode? Would all the little things he did last year during training camp, the attention to detail that got the coaches to trust a skinny second-round wideout, now seem beneath him?
Ahh, no.
The best player in Eagles camp, through a week and change of full-squad workouts, has been No. 10. Earlier this week, former Birds linebacker and current radio talker Ike Reese, now toiling on the sideline with the rest of the media, watched Jackson effortlessly haul in a succession of bombs.
"If they don't find a way to get that guy the ball seven or eight times a game this year, something's wrong," Reese declared.
There were two reasons why a player this talented was available with the 49th overall pick in 2008. One was that he weighed 169 at the NFL Scouting Combine. Another was the nebulous area of "character." Jackson was known to be cocky, maybe a bit petulant. Scouts whispered that he didn't always work hard in practice.
The weight thing, well, the Eagles list Jackson at 5-10, 175 these days, and he's unlikely to get a whole bunch heftier. Looking like a member of the high school freshman team didn't keep Jackson from establishing a franchise rookie record with 912 receiving yards last year, on 62 catches, or from becoming the first Eagle since Brian Westbrook in 2003 to score a TD rushing, receiving and on a punt return.
The other question? It sure seems as if those scouts must have been talking about someone else.
Rookie running back LeSean McCoy would like to be this year's impact second-rounder. Here is how McCoy sees Jackson: "He's by far the best wide receiver I've ever played with or against. I think it's his heart, man. He wants to be great, he wants to be the best. You can see it in the way he runs his routes, the way he comes out every day ready to work. He's one of the hardest-working guys on the team."
Jackson was asked yesterday about perceptions and proving people wrong, which always seems to be the great motivator in sports.
"People have their opinions on certain things. That's something I can't control," Jackson said. "I'm very comfortable and confident in my work ethic."
The most entertaining thing in camp has been Jackson's back-and-forth with cornerback Asante Samuel, often matched against him in drills.
"The biggest thing about me and Asante is, we have a great friendship," Jackson said. "Before coming out on this field, we hang out, we chill, we have a great time . . . He's a great corner and I'm a great receiver, so we just get out there and go at it, just have a great time doing it. We're out here in 90-degree [heat and] humidity. We got to have fun someway, somehow. That's all it is, just talking mess with each other. He's one of those corners that does a lot of yapping out there, so any way that I can shut him up, that's what I'm going to do."
Coach Andy Reid likes to spread the ball around; he sees that as a key strength of his offense. It's hard for a Reid wideout to put up dominant numbers - only one guy has really done that, and if Reid didn't get him the ball as much as he wanted, he probably would have gone home and done situps in the driveway or something.
Jackson might be good enough to make the Birds bend the offense his way a little.
"I'm not calling the plays and I'm not scheming anything up, but as many balls come my way, that's as many balls as I'm going to catch," Jackson said. "The biggest thing is being consistent. That's what I'm doing through this camp . . . working hard, putting the work in. There's no substitute for the hard work you put in."
