Reid on Jackson's antics; Graham done for season
The Philadelphia Inquirer Blog - Eagles
Reid on Jackson's antics; Graham done for season
Jeff McLane, Inquirer Staff Writer
Sunday night's stirring victory over Dallas did not come without its casualties.
Linebacker Stewart Bradley is likely done for the remainder of the regular season and rookie defensive end Brandon Graham is done for the season after he tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee in the fourth quarter of the Eagles' 30-27 win over the Cowboys.
As for Michael Vick's bruised hand and DeSean Jackson's foot injury, Eagles coach Andy Reid said that both the quarterback and receiver were OK and would be able to play in Sunday's big game at the New York Giants.
Jackson, of course, put on an unbelievable performance. He finished with 210 yards receiving off just four catches and provided the game-winning touchdown on a spectacular 91-yard catch-and-run. Jackson caused a stir, however, when he stopped just short of the goal line and flopped backward into the end zone.
Reid, who said after the game that he was not pleased with Jackson's antics which drew an unsportsmanlike penalty, was asked where he draws the line with a talented player like that.
"Well, I'm going to sit him down for the rest of the year," Reid joked on Monday at the NovaCare Complex. "Listen, I love his enthusiasm. I've told you this from the get-go. He loves to play the game. There are not a lot of guys out there that love to play the game more than he does. ... Do I like those things? No, I don't like them. Do I express that to him? Yes, I do. And I'll leave it at that."
Bradley won't be placed on injured reserve, but Graham will, Reid said. The Eagles will add a defensive end in the next few days to take Graham's spot on the roster. Rookie Jamar Chaney will likely step in at middle linebacker with Bradley sidelined.
Reid said that he'll meet with defensive coordinator Sean McDermott before he makes a final decision. Akeem Jordan and Omar Gaither are other candidates but all signs point to the rookie being the man in the middle.
"His challenge will be now that he's on film people will get an opportunity to study him," Reid said. "He's got to take it up another notch."
Reid said that he expected cornerback Asante Samuel and tackle Winston Justice, both of whom didn't make the trip to Dallas because of knee injuries, to be able to return to practice by Wednesday. Samuel has missed three straight games with an MCL strain.
"Nobody wants to be out there more than Asante," Reid said. "The guy doesn't miss games. That's not his deal. He wants to be out there and he tested it and it didn't work. He had a good workout today, so we'll see how it goes."
In other injury news, linebacker Keenan Clayton has a knee strain and should miss the next game, Reid said.
Bradley going down hurts bigtime!— erniebanks14- no it doesn't. butkus sucks— TripleCap
- Bradley and Graham out: we won't miss them.
— Don Cornelius - It is going to be a rocky couple games. The O is going to need to score 30+ to win a game from here out.— Murrayag11
- Tough breaks. Chaney is maybe a better athlete, but I'm guessing Gaither or Jordan will be in the right place more often.— tacklinjoe
- anyone who thinks bradley isn't going to be missed, didn't watch the eagles last year. I'm not saying he's that great, but unless chaney is a can adequately play the position, they will be much worse off.— TheCaptain18
- I think people look at DJax from a fans perspective, I'm quite sure he irks cornerbacks that plays against him with his trashtalking & endzone celebrations. It's all a head game DJax plays with CB's, it's competition at it's highest were most don't understand, except coaches and players. CB's hate it, but the Dallas defensive backfield respect him, don't be surprise if the next game he draws an overabundance of attention from them, opening up the game for Jermey, Avant and McCoy. I think his antics are being blown overboard in an age of media visual/soundbites. Jordan and Bird was known by players as the dirtiest and most fowl-mouth players before the age of twitter & redzone 5 sec replays. DJax is a entertainer, not a role model, nor do I expect him to be.— gditty
- In a season or two, Jackson's "antics" will be old, but until then, if you don't like him, stop him.— bpkrier
What else has DJax done? People make it seem like he's constantly doing silly things like TO or Ochocinco or Horn. He's the best WR the Eagles have drafted in the modern era and most likely will be the best WR ever on the team. Also, he's 24 years old. What kind of dances did you do when you scored a 91-yard TD strike in a close game against your best friend playing Madden at that age?— Leegles
TheCaptain18
I agree. Lots of people have talked about Bradley. Now they'll get to see what life without Bradley is like.- Note to DJax, opposing defenses don't need extra motivation, and you don't need to provide it with "antics".— Midwest FA
- Jackson was only celebrating that Kolb wasn't playing QB. Can you really blame him?
- We can get by with chaney for now...Need Stu for the playoffs.
- I'm sure DJax's celebrations irk non-Philly fans and other teams, but come on, he's having a bit of fun in a game that Goodell has been trying to make as un-fun as possible over the past 4-5 years (to carry on Tagliabue's tradition). Do we need to go back to the elaborate & choreographed dances from the 80's and early 90's, no, but he's not hurting anyone a la helmet hits and he's not shooting or raping people off the field like some other stars-he's just kickin their butts on the field and having some fun. My only problem with it is: stop getting us 15 yrd penalties!— donde
- The reason Jackson's antics are dumb is simple....his team has not won a dang thing. If he were on the Steelers or Patriots, dance away.— JonKap
