Jaws: Blame coaches, not DeSean
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Jaws: Blame coaches, not DeSean
Sheil Kapadia, Philly.com
Yesterday, Andy Reid took aim at the NFL Network, blaming them for painting DeSean Jackson in a negative light during Thursday night's game against the Seahawks.
"I’m disappointed with the NFL Network, very disappointed in the way they portrayed that," Reid said. "I’m going to tell you now that DeSean was all-in in that game, and he had a great attitude during that game. You can take a camera and make some things look any way you want to make it look, but that kid was all-in last night. I was proud of him for that."
At one point, the broadcast showed what appeared to be Jackson not looking for the football when he ran his route down the left sideline. Reid explained that Jackson's job on the route was to occupy the corner and safety and clear room for the Jason Avant and Brent Celek. In other words, per Reid, Jackson was doing exactly what he was supposed to do.
There are a couple ways to view Reid's comments. On one hand, the Eagles are 4-8; he appears to have no answers to what's gone wrong; and the last thing he needs to do is call out his star wide receiver when speaking with the media.
On the other hand, Reid went out of his way to vehemently defend Jackson, something he did not do the week before. Reid benched Jackson in the fourth quarter against the Patriots and gave terse responses when asked about his play.
So, perhaps it is reasonable to think that what we saw on TV didn't accurately reflect what was happening on the field.
ESPN analyst and former Eagles quarterback Ron Jaworski certainly feels that way. In an interview with Mike & Mike in the Morning on ESPN Radio, Jaws vehemently defended Jackson and blamed the coaching staff for the way they've dealt with the wide receiver.
"It's Andy Reid's responsibility to get 53 guys ready every week to play," Jaworski said. "Then it becomes Marty Mornhingweg's role as the offensive coordinator to get his offensive guys ready. Then it's David Culley, the wide receivers coach to make sure DeSean Jackson is ready to play and he's in the right frame of mind. And then it goes to the quarterback to have his arms around that guy so you develop that trust that is so critical. So I think there are a lot of people at fault right now why DeSean Jackson is going south."
Jaworksi also addressed Jackson's performance the previous week against New England, when he dropped three passes and appeared to avoid contact on two of them.
"There were certain times last week DeSean Jackson took a lot of heat for backing away from a hit, making a business decision," Jaworski said. "Well the fact of the matter is, when you look at the tape, he ran the wrong route. It wasn't a matter of making a business decision, not taking a hit. It was a zone defense on a crossing route. You sit down, and he's got an easy touchdown. So now it comes back to: Is the coaching staff getting him in the right frame of mind to play the game?"
Jaworski added that he plans on looking at the tape from the Seahawks game to provide better details on Jackson's effort and performance.
As I mentioned Thursday morning, the Jackson saga is the most fascinating storyline to monitor the rest of the way and into the offseason. In the next month, we'll find out if the situation is salvageable or if Jackson will be playing in another uniform in 2012.
If you missed my posts from Friday, I published Man Up on the defense and a second post about Pete Carroll taking issue with Trent Cole for injuring Seahawks left tackle Russell Okung late in the game.
One programming note: Since the Eagles don't play on Sunday, I'm out of town for the weekend. That means Man Up on the offense will likely have to wait until Monday. I'm sure (somehow) you'll survive.
You can follow me on Twitter or become a fan of Moving the Chains on Facebook.
Right now the Eagles' fan base is so rabid that they'll turn on anyone the media tells them to. The fans in Philly are very smart, but they don't enter the locker room and aren't on the field during the game. The media paints the picture for the fans to see. The fans should concentrate on the bigger issues about this team - bad choices in player choosing and development, and bad coaching. This mess starts in the front office and eventually gets translated through the plays on the field, little to none of which is the players' fault.
If the defense doesn't tackle, maybe the first couple of games of the season, it can be put on the players, but at this point, the defensive coaches either take that guy out, or teach them to make a tackle.
This should be the best players the coaches trot onto the field every week by now. If it's not, it's on the management of the team.— cyber75sax- This comment has been deleted.— techdiver
- Wow you're really good with the copy and paste. Does it really make you proud to post the same line in EVERY Eagles article?
- The Front office needs to salvage the situation with #10. Watch the Offensive play calling in the Arizona Cardinals game without (suspended)#10 being on the field. Absolutely pathetic and they could not stretch the field to open up the underneath routes. I personally am very thankful that the Front Office and coaching staff have the Cardinals game on tape to see exactly what they have without #10. A dink and dunk offense which equals 3 yards and a cloud of dust.
— Die Hard Fan - Absolutely correct Jaws. This org hasn't the onions to cut the fat one.— mccloudmj
- I blame the front office. I've been in DeSean's situation before, and I have to say it is incredibly hard to give your all for an employer who very clearly doesn't value your contributions, especially when you are stuck in that situation indefinitely. I didn't even have to deal with having a contract that prevented me from finding other work or the fact that my career might be threatened every time I played. Fans in philly are taking DeSean's behavior too personally, we have a common enemy with DeSean, the idiots in the front office.— Northeaster
- I don't totally disagree with Jaws BUT where is Jackson's responsibility in all this. Yes the coaches have a big part as does the QB BUT Jackson is an adult and a professional and ultimately responsible for himself.— byzeil
- Let me see if I have this right.. DeSean runs the wrong route and it's the coaching staff's fault for not having him "ready"? Just for the record, I am in full agreement with anyone who argues the Eagles' arrogance, yet again, backfired on them with respect to the Castillo move - amongst other things. However, for ANYONE (yes, including Ried) to believe that DeSean Jackson's issues this season were caused by anything other than DeSean Jackson himself is absolutely ludicrous. Contract issues aside, this man is supposed to be a professional. A professional who has a role and a commitment to his team members to prepare like a professional, act like a professional, and most of all PLAY like a professional every single time he puts on his Eagle uniform. DeSean Jackson is as immature now as he was in college, and quite honestly, that is a shame because the man clearly has remarkable talent. The Eagles were insane to think you could make the offensive line coach a defensive coordinator at the same time you change the entire defensive scheme, replace half your starters and rely on a rookie middle linebacker to call your defensive plays. The Eagles coaches and front office are, indeed, guilty of either arrogance or stupidity, but they are not responsible for the DeSean's choice to act like a child.— onedayer
- If you spend any amount of time analyzing ANY player in the league you find out there is something that they dont do well. For all the hype over Fitzgerald he isnt very fast. You could also say he hasnt been the same player since Anquan Bolden left. Truth be told very few players can be seen as perfect in everything that they do. But the Eagles decided to try and use Jackson's stature as a liability in paying him based on his production he's already donated to the team. Now he is playing for a team that has put him in the spotlight to make him look bad to other teams but he just wanted to get paid. I've said it before and I hope the Packers sign him and he gives them the superbowls Lurie, Banner, and the city itself will never have nor deserve.— Zeru
- Jaws: Ok, but where's Desean Jackson's responsibility in this? You talk about him like he's some poor helpless fool who depends on five other people to get him into the right frame of mind to run a route correctly. The subtext in Jaws' comment is that Jackson acts like a child.— p-diddy
- Jaws as much as I like him and find him to be extremely knowledgeable. His analysis of DeSean's play last week is way off. Yes, the Defense crossing plays into what the offense does. but isn't that the offense dictates what the defense does? Isn't that DeSean's greatest value as a player? To be able to affect an entire defensive scheme even when he's not getting the ball? So for him to just say "It was a zone defense on a crossing route. You sit down, and he's got an easy touchdown." I have a problem with that. The ball hit him in his hands and he began to cower away from getting hit. Let's remember that he was in the end-zone already. So, if he catches the ball and ducks out of the way, he still scores. Possession is almost a forgone conclusion since he didn't have to jump to catch the ball. Two feet were already down. All he had to do was bring it in.
— SeenGreen - They might still get to 8&8 and SB next year. This is a talented team that plays right now as if they have no concept of the game. Part of it is mutual inexperience (with each other) part is because they are pressing and part is making "business decisions", a syndrome that comes from losing and making sure you are in one piece for your next contract.
For all the Cowher fans out there: Of the 23 coaches with at least 10 yrs. as head coach and making the playoffs at least 50% of the time, Red is #2 behind Madden in % making the playoffs at 9 out of 13 years or. Cowher is at 55% or 10 of 18. Why don't you folks chant for Dennis Green? He was there 61.54% of the time, or Dungy at 50%? Or why not Jimmy Johnson at 67% right behind Andy in 3rd place? BTW Gruden doesn't come close at 35.71% & Jeff fisher at 30%. What say we stay with a winner.— jjthree - I'm no mathematician, but any fool, using common sense, can determine your won-lost percentages are going to look good if you get THIRTEEN !@#$%^$#@! years to do it. Reid has had more than enough time to reasonably accomplish a championship for this city. But because of his egomaniacal, pig-headed arrogance and stubbornness, the city of Philadelphia has been denied that honor. THE ONLY TEAM IN THE NFC EAST WITHOUT ONE.
He either refuses to, or is mentally incapable of, adjusting within the style of his system to overcome opposing teams defenses against his base system which, as everyone in the entire world knows by now, is pass on first, second, and third down, and punt on fourth down. Thanks for nothing Reid.— essell 
Comment removed.- Great point...It seems like Ron Jaworski has become the the punlic "players" defender here. — bearsfriend
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