I was on 94WIP this morning with Angelo Cataldi and the Morning Guys. We talked a great deal about DeSean Jackson and his decision to sign a five-year contract worth a total of $51 million, yet only about $15 million of it guaranteed.
The big question of the moment is why did Jackson decide to sign the deal. Angelo feels Jackson may not believe he’s very good. I agree with that statement to an extent. I believe he’s willing to admit that he didn’t play his best football a year ago.
At the same time, I feel Jackson is confident that he’s going to play his best football in 2012 and going forward. He talked about putting the past behind him and fulfilling this five-year deal.
If there’s one thing Jackson has it’s confidence. Remember he’s a two-time Pro Bowler, yet he weighs only 165 pounds. This young man has overcome the odds throughout his career and I like his chances right now because he’s in the right frame of mind.
The fact that he signed the deal shows me some personal growth. Earlier in his career would Jackson have come in there with a suit on and admit to making mistakes in the past.
“I may have been immature,” said Jackson. “I might have made some decisions at a young age, but sitting back, going through my 5th year in the NFL, it’s like night and day. I’m more mature. I am a totally different person.”
He could have continued to demand more money and played through this franchise year, gone elsewhere and probably gotten a better deal. Instead, I think he gave Andy Reid and the Eagles credit for first of all drafting him and deciding to guarantee him the $9.4 million with the franchise tag.
He knows that Reid and Marty Mornhinweg know how to use him in the offense. Jackson is also comfortable with Eagles quarterback Michael Vick and his ability to get the ball to him on his deep routes. I think he measured the positives and negatives in the situation and decided to remain an Eagle.
The younger DeSean Jackson would have never signed this deal while Vincent Jackson, Pierre Garcon and others wide receivers were getting more guaranteed money.
I think the decision itself shows maturity. He’s also made it a point to emphasize that he’s happy with the deal.
G, that man does not feel he’s not that good….He also said, he wanted to get better; not just a Pro Bowl WR, which he is, but a hall of famer…..That doesn’t sound like he thinks he’s not that good. He’s stating he has the potential to be mentioned in the same breath as the elite in history. The key to that is great performances in the SuperBowl. I like Lyn Swann, one of the greats, but Lynn Swann’s stats where not as good, compared to some that have yet to be elected in the hall of fame. His 4 SuperBowl performances put him over the top. DeSean feels playing with the Eagles, in this system, he has the best chance to be in the same position to accomplish that goal.
And DeSean is not on Lynn Swann’s level yet. Let me make that perfectly clear before, people with reading comprehension problems come on here, and start commenting that, GMCliff is off his rocker. No, I’m realistic. But, I’m sure he realizes that he has some work to do, and I for one am confident, barring injury, and Andy Reid, not being so stubborn, and adjust his philosophy in regards to talent, he will be in a position to achieve that.
With the eagles clearing all this cap room, Im starting to think the Eagles might make a run at Peyton.
“I might have made some decisions at a young age, but sitting back, going through my 5th year in the NFL, it’s like night and day. I’m more mature. I am a totally different person.”
If by, “at a young age” he meant 3 months ago.
“A totally different person” than the guy last December.
“going through my 5th year in the NFL” Which is clearly very different than my 4th year.
“I may have been immature,” (10 weeks ago) but now “I’m more mature. I am a totally different person.” (I mean I was 25…now I’m 25 AND A HALF!!!)
This shit just writes itself……
Regardless to Desean reasons for deciding to sign the contract, it really doesn’t matter to me, I am just glad he did. Granted I know that he didn’t play as well as he should have last season, even acting like a diva. But the fact of the matter is I would rather play with him than against him.
Sometimes it can be rather annoying when then reporters try to read something that is not there, its almost as if they think they are mind readers. To be more specific G.Cobbs, a reporter who is a lot of the time is just disgusting.
Vinnie – Go Suck a Duck you Douche Juice bigoted pig yeast infection of a human.
I really can’t remember the last time I found anything significant about what an athlete, coach, owner, team executive, or gm said. We pay attention to them because of how they play, coach, and manage teams respectively, and those are where their skills lie – not in public speaking.
I care about how Desean plays, and if he doesn’t pick his game up again, then I’ll disparage the guy. But if he does and sustains it, I don’t care what the hell the guy says.
Rocko, don’t let it bother you. Why does hating on desean piss you off? He’s just a very good football player on your favorite team. Why do you care about him as a person so much?
Schiller – You’re a step away from becoming the next Douche Juice bigoted pig yeast infection of a human. The only reason you’re changing your tune is because Djax is signed for 5 years, before that, you were hating on him just like Vinnie and Paulman. Djax is one of our top playmakers and you new generation so called eagle fans have no loyalty what so ever to this team and it’s players; It’s disgusting.
rocko – I appreciate your input but I’m a little confused and I’d like you to explain your thoughts more. I don’t see that I’m “changing my tune” much at all. I really didn’t know or think they’d extend Desean Jackson. I thought he’d sign the franchise tag, play under it, and maybe they’d do a deal during the year, after the year, or he’d become a free agent. Maybe a trade. But I really didn’t expect what happened to happen. I’ve never been a big fan of the person, but I love what he does for the team on the field, when he’s not distracted or otherwise motivated. I always have, and now that he’s here for longer and seemingly happy/back on point mentally, I’m glad to have what he brings to the team on the football field.
Boy, you really are very emotionally attached to him.
Schiller lol, basically every time somebody says anything on here that is unfavorable about any player, coach, or FO member of the Eagles you “let it bother you” by criticizing it. Maybe you should take you own advice you are tryin to give to others just sayin.
Gcob, in regard to your article, it is kinda peculiar when you think about it. I mean Pierre Garcon got more from the Redskins and he had Manning as his QB when he put up his numbers. Even L Robinson got a huge deal who basically had one good year in his career. Djax has a better resume than both with his pro bowls etc. But hey, its better for the Eagles and thats all I care about…makes his cap number at about 3 instead of almost 10. Maybe they are gearing up for something like Birdo says
This deal is more favorable to eagles, makes you wonder why djax opted for it, only 15 guaranteed, but under the tag for one year close to ten, rose man getting high fives fro Lurie and banner
I truly believe that from Desean’s perspective, and I admit I have nothing to back this up, just my sense – that he was getting much less money before he signed this deal than he is after it. The guy has a lot of confidence, maybe even more than what’s a reasonable amount. But he basically believes that he can earn way more than the 15 guaranteed with this deal. The escalators in it – why wouldn’t he believe that he can achieve them? He’s confident, and motivated. Sees the dollar signs within his reach. I don’t know that he wants more than that.
Rocko, you are out of line, schiller is not bigoted, although he is a nerd, educated derelict
jakedog – the answer to your questioning what I said about Scheila was answered by pheags88 quote: “Schiller lol, basically every time somebody says anything on here that is unfavorable about any player, coach, or FO member of the Eagles you “let it bother you” by criticizing it. Maybe you should take you own advice you are tryin to give to others just sayin”.
As to Scheila being educated, I don’t know where you get that from. most educated people don’t always criticize everyones comment on a blogging site; and not every educated person has common sense – just sayin…
Scheila – I’m not emotionally attached to him. I have repeatedly said concerning any member of the team that doesn’t perform to “sit his arse on the bench, next man in”; I believe Djax is a catalyst to this offense which makes McCoy and everyone else around him better players when they’re operating on all cylinders as a unit. I’ve been through the Jaworski and Cunningham days idio, I believe in keeping and rewarding good players where it’s due. i don’t just throw them under the bus because of this new generation fantasy fetish and what news outlets paint them out to be, such as what Paulman likes to call him “thug”; I’ll stand up any day of the week for a man who I believe is being unfairly portrayed by people like Paulman and Vinnie who I perceive to be Douche Juice bigoted pig yeast infection of a human.
By the way jakedog, Scheila likes this. He gets his rocks off by being an annoying douche, i’d be very careful laying in bed with that slithering sucka because he’ll bite you any chance he gets. He likes this crap buddy, don’t get to soft on us now.
he’s educated rocko, just ask him, he’ll be glad to tell you, but he’s still a derelict
The Eagles made a smart decision financially. 2 years from now when they are still seeking a Championship they will cut him and start from scratch.
Meanwhile Andy will be a spokesperson for Texas Roadhouse.
rocko, you’re just weird now. Whatever dude. I think it’s totally ok to offer differing views on opinions, it’s called discussion. I do admit to enjoying conversation and discussion, which includes expressing different opinions. I do not aim to nor take particular pleasure in annoying anyone. You’re taking this WAY WAY WAY too seriously. I take issues with ideas, not people.
And if you’re whole thing is about paying and retaining guys that are good players and/or have earned it, uh, that’s what they did here.
To be honest, I was surprised D-Jax signed this deal too, and the Eagles really got a good deal considering what some of these lesser talented WR’s got on the open market (Garcon,Laurent Robinson, Eddie Royal), etc,etc..
I think this proves that D-Jax really wanted to remain an Eagle , which I had some doubts about.. So a good Deal for D-JAx and good Deal for the Eagles and the fans when it’s all said and done… I am back on the D-Jax bandwagon..
Scheila – I like the fact that my unpretentious assessment of people like you can make you soon come to your common sense to actually call someone like me weird. Now you’re trying to distance yourself from your “weirdness” to now deflect that weirdness on me and telling me I’m taking this Way Way to far as if I’m some online bully or bringing unfriendliness to this site etc, not gonna work here young buck; I’m miles ahead of your crap and can see you coming from miles away. Wow, you actually said ” I do admit to enjoying conversation and discussion, which includes expressing different opinions. I do not aim to nor take particular pleasure in annoying anyone”; you’re so full of crap with that statement and everyone on here knows it. You spew crap with everyones comment on here Just man up and be who you are and stick to your guns man, I figured your softness would soon show. MAN UP Silky Sheila, MAN UP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
ha, rocko, you’re challenging me to some immature pissing contest of ‘hardness’ and ‘masculinity’ on a sports site? What is this saturday night live? You’re tell me to “man up” and agree with your incorrect theory of my intents and motivations based solely off of things I type into a website and your personal subjective impression of that? Um….. ooooook….
Rocko… Don’t let the Giant’s fans on here get to you. They have the 5th amendment right to spew bullshit if they so choose. Have comfort in knowing that the abject bigotry that spills out of their mouth is a sign of deep routed insecurity… Trust me, when Philly wins the SB they’ll be in their beds (alone) crying like the little bitches they are… Don’t respond to Giant’s fans because they are definitely not worth your time.
When asked why he took this deal instead of waiting for a new more lucritive deal Desean said “I’m not greedy… I’m happy where I’m at”. He wanted the team to show him they appreciated what he has done and can do for this team including being a pro bowler at two positions. Let’s not forget that he’s averaging roughly 1000yds rec for all the years he’s been an Eagle. And let’s not for get his sealing of the miracle at the meadowlands… (that’s what’s really bothering the Giant’s fans on here.. they wanted to sign him and now they have to take the chance of him doing something similar to them again).
What I really liked that he said was that he had talked to McCoy and hopes that he doesn’t go the route that he went and make the mistakes he made last season. That’s leadership! I know it’s not leadership for those of us that are perfect, but to the rest of us humans anyone who makes a mistake and is man enough to admit it and then wants to keep others from making the same mistake has what it takes to be a leader.
This team is slowly but surely coming together and the way the FO is conducting business this offseason tells me that they understand that maintaining the chemistry of this team is crucial for next season. Good job so far.
lionsden, I know eaglessucks is a giants fan, but he didn’t post on this article. Are you suggesting I’m a giants fan? Because if that’s the case, wow, that’s one of the funniest things anyone could ever say about me.
lionsden – Thanks bro, I appreciate that man i feel ya. Now I’ll go hit the gym and get a good 2 hr workout in. Peace!
Schill… you’re more so an opportunistic scenic than a Giants fan. I mean when you say stuff like “If he doesn’t pick up his game again then I’ll disparage the guy” or “why do you care about him as a person” it sounds more like conditional tolerance than support. You haven’t called him a “gangsta” or a “punk” or a “thug” ,that I know of, but that would definitely make you a Giants fan. When you try to pass veiled criticism off as an objective opinion… well… you’re being disingenuous. This is a 25 year old kid who lost his father to pancreatic cancer a few years ago who wanted to be treated as the success he promised his father he would be. Did he handle it wrong… yeah sort of… did he man up for it… absolutely. To say “I can’t remember the last time I found anything significant in what a player, coach, gm etc…” just sounds bad all around… arrogant is a word the comes to mind. Because they don’t enunciate or speak with perfect diction or gramatically correct doesn’t render what they have to say insignificant. Does it make you any less of a man because you can’t run a sub 4.4 40yd dash… or bench 225lbs or take a hit from a 250lb linebacker and get up to play another day. When was the last time you carried the pride and hopes of a city or state on your shoulders? Should we not listen to you for your physicall inadequacies? These guys rep the team I root for and the state I grew up in so yeah… what they say matters even if it could be said better.
And ripping someone because they are passionate about their team and its players by trying to shame them because of their emotion almost makes me want to question your humanity. Sports teams mean alot to people and so do the people that play on or coach or own those teams. But let’s not mistake emotion for passion. There are many passionate fans on this site that will defend their team and its players. You do know the word fan is short for fanatic right??? If you can’t understand the difference between passion and emotion then that’s your deal. If you want to take opportunities to disparage the members of the team you claim to support you have a right to do so, but when you “disparage” one of the members of the team that me or anyother Eagles fan supports we will exercise our right to disparage you… passionately.
At the end of the day he’s going to earn every nickel of that money so whether it’s a slightly smaller amount guaranteed now or not it’s not really relevant.
There are a couple of character elements you can find in quotes that he’s made that make it pretty clear why he took the money. Back soon after Fitz got his second bloated contract he said he wasn’t expecting Fitz money, because he hadn’t been in the league doing it long enough. Then consider during the lockout he was one of the first if not the only player to actually speak about the situation in telling the owners, on camera “We all make enough money…STOP being greedy.” At the end of the day, as a man, he only wants what he’s worth and what he’s earned, which was the crux of his problems when he was getting six hundred thousand and earning nine MILLION. When there’s that much of a disparity between what one is getting and what one is earning (15x. How many of you would be ok earning 1/15 of your current salary…really?)
At the end of the day Jackson’s intent is to be worth and ask for the $100M contract in 5 years after the Eagles win a Superbowl or two.
Another issue is that the kid isn’t blind he’s seen the number of players that went solely for the biggest contract available and they’re generally ALWAYS on the worst teams. (Albert Haynseworth, T.O., Jeremiah Trotter, etc., etc.)
Lions den. Ok. I find it strange that usually criticism of me is that I defend the front office, coach, and players too much. Im by far one of the least negative fans that regularly post on this site. and I have never ripped someone for being passionate about our team. That’s silly to say
Schill… I’ll take your word for it with regards to the criticism you usually receive, but when you juxtapose “I find it strange that usually criticism of me is that I defend the front office, coach, and players too much.” against “I really can’t remember the last time I found anything significant about what an athlete, coach, owner, team executive, or gm said.” you have to see the contradiction and what it conveys. I never said you were negative… cynical (even though I didn’t spell it right the first time) yes, dubious yes… negative well… I never said that.
At Lion’s Den:
CO-SIGN + 1
SI.com draft analyst Tony Pauline reporting that Burfict had a bad pro day to go with his bad combine.
Everyone see how Vontaze did at his pro day?? Yet we want to draft him?? Lmfao uea right
I was once on the Burfict bandwagon… but I’m officially off. Too many excuses. He might turn out to be a good pro but right now too many of his issues are because of someone else. I just hope he gets his act together.
Sources report that is was indeed “Songsrme” Wearing Burfict’s Uniform today and particiapted in Arizona States Pro-Day…
Songs will still be clamoring that the Eagles didn’t win the Super Bowl 10 Months from now because the Eagles didn’t draft him…
@lions den, that was a powerful post, thanks for sharing, schiller you are a little piece of crap
Immaturity is a natural part of the maturation process. Progressive growth is both physical AND mental. I think most of us realized instinctively that Jackson’s performance last year was reactive to his contractual situation and that he was not playing to his full capacity. That is what an immature erson does as a means of “getting even” for some real, or perceived, slight. I, for one, was NOT worried and I reasoned as soon as the Eagles lived up to THEIR responsibility TO Jackson he’d react accordingly. Therefore, I predict you’ll see the reactive difference this year. I don’t get the knee-jerk misinterpretation of his talent as being “not so good”.
lions den, I really don’t see the contradiction there – to me the first part is about my usual type of posts on this site – the second about how I compartmentalize how I think of players/coaches/etc – a specific point about how I really don’t put any stock one way or the other into what sports people say to the media. I’ve said it a million times on here – they talk to the media because they have to. It’s part of their job. 9 out of 10 times, they’d prefer not to speak to the media, and to handle that situation they say canned, clinhe’d kinds of things. I don’t follow sports for press conferences and moments at the microphone. I follow for what happens on the fields/courts/ice etc…
Dude I don’t see why we’re so adversarial. Aside from the fact that I’m a Pitt guy and you’re a PSU devotee (and yes, I hate Penn State, long before the recent ‘ish’). We’re both Eagles fans right? I just don’t get head over heals about the whole athelete. I’m in it for the team, and I’m perfectly ok finding some faults with certain players. Let’s use a Philly guy for example – Lenny Dyskstra – loved LOVED LOVED what he did on the field for the Phillies. Same goes for Curt Schilling too. I can barely scratch an ounce of respect for either of them as people.
Schiller, reread lions den posts, there’s passion, it’s powerful, the man cares, he also stated some profound things about what constitutes a man, it went right over your head in your never ending mission to critique, you can learn much more by listening to those who take the time to offer wisdom, you have a lot to learn
Jake, first, kudos supporting your fellow fan, that’s honorable. And yes, saying something with passion and power in itself nice. But that doesn’t mean that much. Hitler, george bush, newt gingrich, rush limbough, sarah palin, all speak with extreme passion and power often, doesn’t make the content of their message automatic wisdom or correct. Im not saying lionsden is anywhere near any of those people, but your defense of him is weak and biased. Even our lowest bretheren eagles fans at their lowest moment of alcohol intoxication at an eagles game where they can’t speak without being disrespectful and slurring their speech are very capable of speaking with great passion and power. Guys, you’re making a moutain out of a mole hill here. TThere is no reason to be so bothered by me
schiller your bias is showing
greenfan – thanks for the heads up – please elaborate, what bias do you speak of?
OK Schill. If you think your list of speakers isn’t biased, then you are kidding yourself. Why not list Sharpton, Oberman, Dean, Jackson or Pelosi…same passion that you speak of, but diliberately left out….no bias? No problem though, each is entitled to their opinion….just commenting on yours.
Most times you learn more by listening than talking
jakedog – that is 100% correct.
Greenfan – thanks, that’s exactly what I was asking – you answered – political bias. Well guilty as charged. I have no intent ever of hiding my political bias – ever. And I think people who do are cowards. And I think culturally, the value that one should hide their political bias, or general avoid talking politics is ASININE BACKWARDS HARMFUL AND DETRIMENTAL TO THE IMPROVEMENT OF MANKIND. But that’s me.
But seriously, I’m 100% ok showing my political bias, it’s irrelevant to this conversation anyway.
agreed jake…I was always told..”You have two ears and one mouth, therefore you should listen twice as much as you talk.” ….you know, the old “Talks the least, says the most” theory.
Agreed…it IS irrelavant to these SPORTS conversations.