• March 29, 2024

DeSean Jackson May Be The Eagles’ Top Leader

For years during Eagles practices, head coach Andy Reid would have long conversations with his quarterback Donovan McNabb, during defensive periods.  Of course Reid could have decided to talk to his quarterback after practice in the privacy of his office, but he chose to do it in front of his football team and in front of the media.

Nobody but Reid and McNabb knows what they were discussing in the conversations but the when and where they took place designated McNabb as the team’s leader.

I noticed that Reid would have these conversations with McNabb during training camp and during tough stretches during the season.  You would assume that they were talking about the football team.

Over the last week Reid has again been having those conversations, but they haven’t been with his new quarterback Kevin Kolb, he’s been having them with his star wide receiver DeSean Jackson.  Jackson is the team’s best football player and right now, I think he’s the team’s leader.

In time if Kolb proves himself which could happen quickly if and when he leads them to victory over a good team, he will become the leader of the football team, but right now it’s Jackson.

Yesterday after practice, it was Jackson who talked all of the teams skill players into running some gassers, which are sprints back and forth across the field.  Former Eagles running Duce Staley believed the guys needed some work on their conditioning, so he went to Jackson and the little man made it happen.

Before you knew it, Jackson had Kolb, Jeremy Maclin, Michael Vick, Leonard Weaver and all the other offensive skills players running.

There’s a simple reason why Jackson is the team’s number one voice.  Of all the young, talented players on the Eagles offense, only Jackson and tight end Brent Celek have their stripes.  Jackson has made big plays down the stretch.  He’s starred in a NFC Championship game and he’s been selected to the Pro Bowl.

Jackson prances around practice at times because he knows nobody on the football team or for that matter, nobody in the league can consistently cover him.  He has the confidence which this team will need when they endure stumbles during the season.

The third-year wide out has bolstered his young quarterback during the few times he’s had anything to say to the media in training camp.  I believe this team will need some big plays from Jackson as a receiver or as a punt returner, in order to keep this team loose and confident through what will likely be a long, up and down season.

Although Maclin is becoming a top flight receiver, Jackson is the guy whom defenses fear.  The diminutive wide out is the guy whom defensive coordinators are trying to game plan for, when they see the Eagles on the schedule.

A big play or two from Jackson will open up the field and make things easier from Kolb, who will be asked to put together 10, 11 and 12 plays touchdown drives.   A quick strike every now and then will give Kolb and the young offense, more room for error.

I’ll be very interested to see what Jackson has to say to the media once he starts talking.  Will he know how to say what needs to be said, when it needs to said?  How will he deal with the media after losses when fans want an explanation of what happened?

There are some who say the quarterback has to be the leader, but anybody who really knows recent NFL history knows that’s not true.  If you research the great Dallas Cowboys teams that won three NFL championships in the 1990’s, you’ll see that their team leader was Hall of Fame wide receiver Michael Irvin.

Hall of Fame quarterback Troy Aikman was  a great leader in his own right, but to a man, the Cowboys all said their leader was Michael Irvin, who didn’t have a problem getting in anybody’s face if they weren’t get the job done.

GCOBB

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Rocko
Rocko
August 18, 2010 9:24 am

They need to pay him like one then, he deserves it at least.

phillywill
phillywill
August 18, 2010 10:09 am

cant be good when a wideout is your leader
who cares how much money he makes
i should get paid more do u care?

WellWellWell
WellWellWell
August 18, 2010 10:13 am

He’ll get paid…I don’t know why people think he won’t. Once this CBA thing gets straight DJax will get his dough, I’m sure Reid and DJax have talked about that and is the main reason we’re not seeing any prolonged holdout or mouthing off from DJax.

One thing that I liked in the presez game is thay kept 10 in motion thus avoiding a tough jam off the line. I’m sure they saw that from last year and lo and behold they fixed the problem by allowing 10 to move around pre snap. Smart move and will make it only that much tougher to cover him.

greenfan
greenfan
August 18, 2010 10:15 am

i want a raise too

WellWellWell
WellWellWell
August 18, 2010 10:16 am

Leaders can come from anywhere, why should it matter if it’s a WR and why would it bad if it was? If Dorenboss (sic) could be a leader than so be it. You think L Fitzgerald isn’t a leader? Steve Smith (Panthers) Roddy White, or Reggie Wayne?

jimmy mac
jimmy mac
August 18, 2010 10:28 am

QB’s gotta be the leader..it’s just that simple..I agree it’s gonna take a couple games and some tough situations for Kolb to prove he’s the man..But saying your WR is the leader is like saying you have none at all.

Paul Mancini
Paul Mancini
August 18, 2010 10:49 am

I think PW is actually overpaid and have recommended to his superiors that he get a reduction of 20% in his wages effective this week..
The leaders of this years squad at many players — Celek,Weaver,Kolb,Bradley,Mickell,D-Jax, and then
quiet players like J Avant/T Cole

eaglez4ever
eaglez4ever
August 18, 2010 10:52 am

Hmmm just my opinion jim but i dont agree like the texans have like alomst zero talent and im sure they r not going to look at shaub over andre johnson. I mean it would be nice to always be qb but with the state of qbs in this leauge with far more bad than good i think skill posistions can easily step up and take the leader role. I think d jax is easily the most exciting and talented player on this team by FAR and as long as he doesnt act like a child and go off at the lip(which i havent really seen to much of) i think he can do well as a leader. Other than his size if he can keep sharp with his route running and hands and speed this kid could really end up being considered on of the greatest.

greenfan
greenfan
August 18, 2010 11:02 am

qb’s by the nature of the position are leaders, but there are also leaders at other positions on the field (example, John Runyn).

You cannot just “appoint” a leader on a football team and there isn’t an election.

By all accounts Kolb is an effective leader on the field, he just needs the game experience to add credibility to his words. The best leaders lead by actions and are of few words.

schiller
schiller
August 18, 2010 11:25 am

leaders schmeaders. Teams that are winning have obvious leaders. Teams that are losing seem to have no leadership at the time. Win games, the leadership thing will emerge. That’s all that really matters. Sure Donovan and Andy were tight and now 5 is gone. The coach talking to a guy a bunch… well that’s to be expected. I don’t think it means anything about the leadership at all though.

phillywill
phillywill
August 18, 2010 11:51 am

no none of those wr’s were the teams leader at all lol l fitzgerald had captain kurt
roddy white cmon roddy white lol reggie wayne ru serious wtf
like i said just cause a dude gets people hyped up or celebrates every 5 yard catch dont make him no leader
i cant believe u said reggie wayne im sure colts players are going to reggie for leadership

and green i hear ya just like dudes come on here bitc-ing for some other man’s money im gonna do it for u buddy
get green a max contract lol
seriously who cares how much a dude make other than chics i never get that
ppl were pissed in philly over ryan howard gettin 25 mill so tf what
like r u the phils owners or something y the hell would u care
i understand y ppl get upset with brand and iggy for salary cap reasons but who cares how much they make good for them make all u can
i dont care if djax play for free

scorpiodsu
scorpiodsu
August 18, 2010 11:52 am

There will always be other leaders on the this team and every team. But the question will be who is THE leader. There’s a difference. For instance, We all know Westbrook was a leader but whenever people questioned him about McNabb he always said things like “He’s our leader”. So yes, other guys will have leadership roles but that’s different than being THE leader. Anyhow, it doesn’t matter to be. All these leadership talk is overblown. I think we have a good collective amount of guys in leadership roles. Kolb’s true leadership will come on the field of play. That’s when QBs get that respect.

phillywill
phillywill
August 18, 2010 11:54 am

the day djax comes on here and says PW your under paid u deserve more
that will be the day i care

scorpiodsu
scorpiodsu
August 18, 2010 11:55 am

eaglez4ever you couldn’t be more wrong about houston. Yes Andre Johnson is the most talented player on that team, but Schaub runs that offense. He is the leader there. I do agree though, that on other teams around the league, the QBs aren’t always THE leader on the team and that has a lot to do with their play on the field. QBs seem to get respect as leaders when they play well on the field. Other players can have leadership roles even when they aren’t playing well or making a lot of noise statistic wise. We will see over the course of the season through adversity who the real leaders of the team are.

Paul Mancini
Paul Mancini
August 18, 2010 12:22 pm

To PW,
I just got off from Twittering with D-Jax.. and he thinks your overpaid too for whatever it’s worth…

phillywill
phillywill
August 18, 2010 12:26 pm

i agree with both scorp post
and im not so sure johnson is most talented schaub is a very top notch qb he may be the teams most talented player
he definitely runs that offense

phillywill
phillywill
August 18, 2010 12:26 pm

hahahaha pman

SONGSRME2
SONGSRME2
August 18, 2010 12:29 pm

This team is in trouble…The secondary will stink…Kolb will not win shootouts with teams that have great offences plain and simple….This secondary will have the Eagles playing from behind constantly putting more pressure on Kolb to make plays without bonehead interceptions….

If this happens Desean Jackson will explode…. especially if his numbers suffer knowing this FO haves a track record of using every excuse not to pay players in his position their worth.

That’s the reason Andy is befriending him now because there’s a lot of question marks on this team and this tire have more leaks than Andy have fingers. Talk is cheap and the only way to assure DJax support in what I believe will be a very poor season for this team…. is to find a way to pay the man right now. CBA sweeBA…..there’s off shore accounts..Ala..Jerry Jones.

Make it happen.

greenfan
greenfan
August 18, 2010 12:40 pm

thanks for the support PW

Pman- DJax would not talk that way about PW, too funny

Songs- besides all of that, how was the play Mrs. Lincoln?

kevinkolb4SB
kevinkolb4SB
August 18, 2010 12:46 pm

How many more pro-Mcnabb, anti-Kolb articles will we have to sit through? I mean, who titles an article “Kolb will be the greatest quarterback of all-time?” Obvious sarcasm from GCobb. All I have to say is this…if you look at the littany of articles Gary Cobb has written on Mcnabb and Kolb as a whole, it’s obvious he thinks letting Mcnabb go was a bad decision, and he’s almost hoping Kolb will fail or that Mcnabb will win a Super Bowl in Washington so he can be proven right. It’s affected his writing which is almost always highly positive towards Mcnabb and negative towards Kolb.

eaglez4ever
eaglez4ever
August 18, 2010 12:57 pm

valid points to both phil wil, and scorp ……..and really why is song on here again im still waiting to hear ONE positive thing about the eagles from him ….im thinking he is a closet dallas fan just wanted to see himself type

greenfan
greenfan
August 18, 2010 1:01 pm

no eaglez4ever…songs told us after the trade that he is a Redskins fan, so take everything he says as if it is coming out of Washington

phillywill
phillywill
August 18, 2010 1:03 pm

songs “befriending him now” histerical
and alot of us think trading mcnabb was a horrible move
seriously like every former nfl player who could actually play didnt like the move
im not talking brian baldinger
eagles fans embraced it it makes u call guys like deion sanders idiots
like u know more about football than him
i mean the lists goes on for days warren sapp antonio pierce teddy bruschi darren woodson mike quick of good players with good nfl minds who didnt approve the move
because outside of philly it looks out alot different u have a qb many teams wished they had and a huge percentage of philadelphians who wanted him out so to the rest of the country it looks and smells really fishy
they look and cant but help but think y
and they know but cant say it on tv
deal with it
same way we have to deal with kevin kolb as our starter

eaglez4ever
eaglez4ever
August 18, 2010 1:11 pm

greenfan thank you very much for the clarification i appreciate that lol

jimmy mac
jimmy mac
August 18, 2010 1:13 pm

Let me re-phrase that then..on Championship teams, the QB is the leader.

schiller
schiller
August 18, 2010 1:23 pm

PhillyWill – guess what buddy – playing football very well is something all those guys did. Talking about football, speaking intelligently in the media, and making judgements/predictions about football teams – that’s an entirely different thing. Sure, there’s a lot of overlap, but the skillset is COMPLETELY different. You’re equating skill and success on the field to clout in the booth – ok – but that doesn’t tell the whole picture. Just because someone played great and has a mic in front of them now, doesn’t mean their words are either true or should be taken for gospel.

greenfan
greenfan
August 18, 2010 1:24 pm

PW…there were pleanty of former nfl players and national football experts who made fun of the philly fans when they wanted to get rid of Rich Kotite too….they couldn’t believe that we could be so wrong, blah, blah blah. How’d that work out for the Jets?

Time will tell with the McNabb trade. He could lead the ‘skins to the SB and Kolb could fall on his face, but just a likely McNabb gets injured, the ‘skins suck and Kolb does a good job and we make the playoffs.

WellWellWell
WellWellWell
August 18, 2010 1:24 pm

Greenfan…Mrs Lincoln…priceless…still laffin!

scorpiodsu
scorpiodsu
August 18, 2010 1:47 pm

come one guys, 3 slots left for the league hit me up drew_sg2000 at yahoo.com

Invites have been sent to everyone who already contacted me.

phillywill
phillywill
August 18, 2010 2:38 pm

im just saying and no offense schill
if deion is talking bout football i find his credentials to be alot better than urs mine and many others
if ur into stocks do u listen to an actual broker or some1 who reads the paper everyday cmon
its not a right or wrong but im just saying majority of good football players good minds happen to disagree with majority of the philadelphia fan base doesnt mean they r right
and u guys r crazy im not talkn freaking brian baldinger
deion may not be the best commentator but he knows his shit its like magic johnson
he may not be bob costas on the mic but magic breaks down a bball game like no other
for the record deion football opinion or schill im taking a hof
and green we talkin d 5 like every major player that a sports announcer now didnt like the move we aint talkn kotite and like 2 actual opionions

greenfan
greenfan
August 18, 2010 3:23 pm

PW, I’ll give it up, but you may not remember but it was ALL national media that questioned the Kotite move, saying that Philly fans were crazy & unfair. The headlines in the NY papers at the time were pretty explicit in laughing at us after they signed him with the Jets..but it didn’t atke long for them to see what we were complaining about.

The same thing with #5. You know, you live here. There are standard complaints that eagles fans have had with DMac for years, some fair and some unfair. I believe that McNabb s what McNabb is, and that he will perform similar in Washington. And if he performs the same, we will hear similar complaints from the ‘skins fans.

phillywill
phillywill
August 18, 2010 3:45 pm

no again i disagree clearly i dont remember or something
u cant possibly tell me every1 was weighing in on richie kotite
this is d5
3 dudes on fox talkn bout kotite isnt the 2000 nfl players coaches and like media
every1 has something to say about this and 9 times out of 10 if its a football player or former player not in philly they didnt like it period
again im not saying who is right or wrong
but i think its completely foolish to discredit a valuable opinion like deion sanders like a charles woodson like a rodney harrison all heady football players harrison and woodson likely future coaches
because of ur love of the eagles
just foolish

phillywill
phillywill
August 18, 2010 3:53 pm

worse thing is dudes like banner make these these decisions
dude looks like bill gates neva touched a ball in his life a str8 nerd
and this is our football dude atrocious

greenfan
greenfan
August 18, 2010 3:56 pm

PW….there wasn’t Fox back then, but like I said, I’ll let it go.

We can talk and talk, but in the end we woun’t know until everyone takes the field. We might disagree then too, but at least we will have some on the field performances to base our opinions. Like I have said to you previously, I was of the opinion that Reid should have been sent packing before McNabb, but once they chose Reid, than Mcnabb had to go. And as far as Kolb, I think he will be a good nfl qb, and in time maybe as good as McNabb was in his prime.

phillywill
phillywill
August 18, 2010 4:02 pm

i dont understand how do dudes like banner get this job
do u go to schl for this like he never played anything
is his dad in the nfl or something was he a ball boy like how does he get the connects to become a gm
he looks like bill gates who says u come run my football team i just dont understand

phillywill
phillywill
August 18, 2010 4:20 pm

eddie stefanski lol a gm histerical neva touched a ball in his life runs our team i’d rather see arron mckie doing it than him
lets go out and hire a john stockton to be our gm a great bball mind
not some nerd schl boy
then thats what u get josh smith avail for half the money and u take elton brand for dbl the price
any1 with any bball sense could easily see that josh smith was a perfect fit for this team perfect i just dont get things

kevinkolb4SB
kevinkolb4SB
August 18, 2010 4:21 pm

Phillywill, remember, the fans and football pundits all screamed for Ricky Williams, and Reid took Donovan Mcnabb. Who was right? What about the fans whining when Duce Staley, Hugh Douglas, Jeremiah Trotter, Bobby Taylor, Tra Thomas, and Troy Vincent left….what did any of them do? Nothing, the Eagles were right. Like it or not, the financial aspect matters in football with a cap so nerds like Banner are needed. As for playing football, it doesn’t guarantee you have a great knowledge of what it takes to be a general manager…

Deion might be the most idiotic NFL commentator on TV. You talk about a guy that is biased…how many Packer fans said to move on from Favre and go to Rodgers? How is GB?

schiller
schiller
August 18, 2010 6:02 pm

Pwill – Banner isn’t in charge of any football decisions at all. His job is to run the Philadelphia Eagles businiess. His job is to be the CEO of a company – like Bill Gates. Bill Gates happens to be brilliant, and probably understands all of the computer stuff, but he doesn’t need to be the one developing microchips- he’s a CEO. That’s what Banner is. You know what, I would NEVER want an ex star football player being a CEO for my company. Football players are put on the field to play football. They’re never trained to be CEOs. And for Dion – sure, about football he’s smart, but if Kevin Kolb plays really well, his opinion isn’t about smarts. If he were talking about how to run a route or how to defend something, sure he’s a frickin expert! But his opinion about trading quarterbacks, he’s not famous for being an NFL PR person, he’s famous for doing stuff with his body, being loud and colorful and that’s it.

BirdoBeamen
BirdoBeamen
August 19, 2010 7:12 am

GCOBB, get over it already man. McNabb is gone. He may have been the face of the franchise but he was NEVER the leader of this team — that was clearly seen. If he was this unequivocal leader that people like you claim he was, the “young guns” of this team wouldn’t have been so happy to start a “new era” with Kevin Kolb.

Look, I loved McNabb. I had his authentic jersey. I defended him like no other. But by around 2007, I was just tired. I was tired of coming up with excuses for his short-comings and his inability to improve his deficiencies. Then the NFC Championship game against the Cardinals came and even tho he led a great comeback in the second half — he’s the one that HELPED put us in that hole in the first place with his inaccuracy and horrible big game decision making — which he has never corrected.

Just get over it GCobb. Kolb is our leader and everyone on the team is saying he’s the leader. He commands the huddle — which is what leaders do. He doesn’t tote the company line in press conferences…..although its still early — which is what leaders do. He blames himself if something goes wrong, which is what leaders do! ‘Til this day I’m still waiting on McNabb to blame one of those “big games” on himself and his horrible play. I think I shouldn’t by any green bananas if thats what I’m waiting for.

phillywill
phillywill
August 19, 2010 8:54 am

schill please spare me every1 has read the reports that andy wasnt completely on board with trading d5 the decision came from above
banner lurie so clearly banner is makin football decisions
and yes id listen to deion’s assesment of qb’s over a frickin banner or lurie
id trust myself over banner