In second Philly stint, Jackson still a game-changer
PHILADELPHIA >> DeSean Jackson, to borrow a football anecdote, has two speeds: Here he comes and there he goes.
It’s much the same for teams preparing to play the Eagles’ game-breaking receiver. Here he comes, and thankfully, there he goes.
The damage Jackson inflicts on game days is becoming legend. Only the great Jerry Rice has produced more touchdown catches of 50 or more yards.
Jackson’s game-breaking TD grabs of 51 and 53 yards against Washington last Sunday were all over the weekend highlights. Each time Jackson scored you couldn’t help but look at the guys he beat. Quinton Dunbar and Josh Norman will have better days. Maybe even the next time the Redskins face Jackson this season.
The Week 1 footage will show up again and again in film rooms around the NFL because Jackson and his ability to stretch defenses is the gift that keeps on giving.
No one knows this better than Dan Quinn, head coach of the Atlanta Falcons, who the Eagles oppose Sunday night at Mercedes Benz Stadium.
The Falcons did a decent job against Jackson when he played them twice a year for his two seasons with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the NFC South. They had to roll the defense toward him, although likely not the same way they’ll do so against the Eagles, who have more firepower overall and a much more accurate quarterback in Carson Wentz.
The Falcons limited Jackson to 13 catches for 148 yards (11.4-yard average) and zero touchdowns on 21 targets over three games.
For teams that don’t see Jackson often, the Eagles have a much more significant advantage to work with.
“It’s what we would call, taking the top off the coverage,” Quinn said on a conference call Wednesday. “Sometimes there’s really fast guys that would do that and we would call that clearing out a zone. In other words, they’re going to run the middle field receiver 50,60 yards. You’ve got to go defend it, and it opens up an underneath throw.
“Well, what (Jackson has) shown is they’re going to run the deep route and they’re going to give him a chance to go for it. That to me is the big difference. Are you clearing out or are you going to take your shot? And I think he showed and the team showed everybody, that he or when they get their chances to attack you’ve got to go let it rip and go.”
It’s not just the threat of hitting a home run shot that has to be a concern for the opposition. The safeties have to play a little less aggressively, keeping them further off the line of scrimmage. That weakens the run defense. The cornerbacks are stressed, particularly the one who draws Jackson. That prevents them from helping set the edges against the run. Then there are the linebackers, who generally don’t cover that well unless they’re converted safeties. The backers have a lot more ground to cover.
It’s not just the pure speed but the tracking skills of Jackson that puts opponents on their heels.
“I think it’s huge,” Wentz said. “You could argue to some extent it’s an element we missed at times over the years. Out of that you’re able to open up some things for everybody else and open up some things for him, as well. He’s just not always taking the top off. And the thing I like is we were creative with how we got to them. It wasn’t necessarily the exact coverage that you take shots necessarily. We’re going to find ways to get him involved downfield every week.”
All of that is why Jackson, at age 32, is pulling in a little more than $9 million this season.
Jackson, despite his efforts, wasn’t named the NFC offensive player of the week. That honor went to Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott, who threw for 405 yards, four touchdowns and produced a perfect 158.3 passer rating in a blowout of the New York Giants. Prescott also will warrant extra film study as he found four different receivers for scores of 25 or more yards, including a 62-yarder to Michael Gallup.
But with an Eagles team just beginning to realize how much more explosive it can be in adding Jackson to an arsenal with Zach Ertz, Darren Sproles and Alshon Jeffery, it’s going to put pressure on the opponents.
“They were able to convert on those,” Quinn said of the deep balls against the Redskins. “When you do there’s going to be good, big explosive plays that come out of it. You don’t complete them all but the fact that they’re going to take their shots at it, I think that’s a big thing.”
It’s early, and Jackson has to prove he can still be available to play 16 games, give or take a few before the playoffs. The last time he checked all the games played boxes in the regular season was the 2013 season, his last with the Eagles.
Contact Bob Grotz at bgrotz@21stcenturymedia.com; follow him on Twitter @BobGrotz.