Eagles better with or without DeSean?

LIKE MOST of the things related to the Eagles' curious release of DeSean Jackson, the mercurial wide receiver's much-anticipated return to South Philadelphia as a member of the NFL franchise in Washington is muddled in uncertainty.

As of now, Jackson's status is day to day for the game against the Eagles on Sunday at Lincoln Financial Field.

He wants to play, but he is recovering from a mild sprain of the AC joint in his left shoulder that forced him out of Sunday's win over Jacksonville.

"It's the third day and the soreness has [gone] down a little bit," said Jackson, who did not practice yesterday. "I'm trying to get it back to where there is full motion. It's one of those situations that is fluid. I'm a very confident person, regardless of injury or not. I pride myself on not missing games. I'm going to do everything I can to get prepared and ready. I'm waiting on word from the trainers, but I should be good to go come Sunday."

Obviously, Washington doesn't have to make the final call yet.

"We're not going to put him out there in any circumstance when he's going to be playing in pain, because that will take away from his style," coach Jay Gruden said. "He is a reckless player, a fast player, and if he's not 100 percent he's not worth being out there."

I'm thinking Jackson will find a way to go at his former teammates in the stadium he called home for six seasons.

"Being in Philadelphia to accomplish some of the things I did to start my career was obviously a huge time in my life," Jackson said. "This game is something I've looked forward to since everything went down the way it did."

It is pointless to reopen the debate of why Jackson is no longer an Eagle. Forget the colorful stories of supposed gang affiliations and locker-room issues fueled by unnamed sources. We likely will never know for sure what was, what wasn't and what was in between.

The only thing we do know is that Eagles coach Chip Kelly was so turned off by the thought of having Jackson back that he booted one of the top playmakers in the NFL out the doors of the NovaCare Center without getting anything in return.

Knowing the heat he would take for that, especially after Jackson signed with a division rival, Kelly had to have a serious belief in addition by subtraction.

"DeSean had a very productive year for us last year," Kelly said of the receiver who had 82 receptions for 1,332 yards with nine touchdowns. "I think he is obviously a very fast receiver, got great ball skills, great hand-eye coordination. We were just going in a different direction."

Still, arguing the merits of the decision is an exercise in irrelevancy. The stone was thrown.

Not that he has shown any indication of regret, but Kelly couldn't magically undo things and suddenly have Jackson back in midnight green even if he wanted to - which he has given no hints of.

Jackson apparently feels the same way.

"Honestly, what happened has happened and is in the past," Jackson said, when told that some of his former teammates still have questions about why he is no longer an Eagle. "I'm focused on moving forward in my career. Why it transpired is not something I am worried about . . . My colors are burgundy and gold now."

No right-thinking person would say that the Eagles could not use a player with Jackson's talents. Any team could.

But if the question is: Has the Eagles' offense yet to show it misses Jackson? You'd have to say no - at least through the first two games.

Unless you believe the Eagles can do better than lead the NFL in total offense and points or could get more than two wins outs of two games, you can't deliver proof right now that the Birds have suffered because of Jackson's absence.

Don't misunderstand, because I know that the Eagles' offense has not clicked on all cylinders in the first two games, especially the connections between quarterback Nick Foles and his receivers.

You can speculate that things would be better with Jackson, but how much better could they be, after amassing 57 points scored by the offense, 878 total yards, 606 passing yards and two victories in two games?

After two games, Jackson has nine catches for 81 yards with no touchdowns. His longest reception is 19 yards.

The Eagles' claim that they could compensate for Jackson's production by committee has so far proved true.

For all of the valid concerns about the Eagles' wide receivers, Jeremy Maclin has eight catches for 142 yards with two touchdowns. Maclin's longest catch has been a 68-yard touchdown, his only catch of more than 20 yards. He is 23rd in the NFL in receiving yards, 15th among wide receivers.

Eagles tight end Zach Ertz has seven catches for 163 yards - including six of 20-plus yards, which ties him for the most in the league with Atlanta big-play wide receiver Julio Jones.

We won't even get into the explosive impact that newly acquired running back Darren Sproles has had.

The complaints have been that the Eagles can't keep this up, but how do you know?

Right now, they can until they can't. When or if that occurs, we will then see what comes.

Sure, given Jackson's skill set, he could toast the Eagles' still-suspect defensive backfield for a big game if he plays. If that happens and the Eagles lose, Kelly will face another round of second-guessing.

But that is just more speculation. The current reality says that while the Eagles could be better with Jackson, there is no evidence that they have been worse without him.

That fits right in with the hazy history of DeSean Jackson in Philadelphia.