DeSean Update
Posted: April 4th, 2014 | Author: Tommy Lawlor | Filed under: Philadelphia Eagles | 214 Comments »After going DeSean free for a day or two, he’s back in the news. The first item to discuss is a report from CBS Philly about Jackson and his relationship with players and coaches. The report didn’t paint a very flattering picture of Jackson.
But what a number of sources close to and around the team, including current and former players, as well as additional sources within the Eagles revealed was that Jackson was not very well liked by his teammates, was blatantly insubordinate, with temper tantrums cussing out Kelly several times in front of the team, pushed the NFL rookie coach the way “a child would test boundaries,” and was more concerned with his rap label than he was about winning football games.
If you aren’t a DeSean fan, you’re going to like the piece and say “That explains a lot.”
If you are a DeSean fan, you’ll have some questions about the article and what it has to say.
As a person in the middle, I can see both sides. The biggest issue I have is that you’ve got players ripping DeSean anonymously and doing this to someone named Joseph Santoloquito. No offense to Joseph, but I’ve never heard of him. The article was well written so I’m not questioning that side of things, but I don’t know what kind of relationship he has with players.
When Les Bowen, Jeff McLane or Tim McManus has a report that cites unnamed sources, I can accept that. I have met them. I know they have a strong track record. I know they talk to players and other sources year round and work hard to maintain relationships so that we can trust their reports.
The report might be 100 percent dead on the money, but I’d be lying if I said I was completely comfortable with it.
I do think the report has a lot of truth in it. I’ve heard that teammates weren’t fond of DeSean, and that might be putting it mildly. We know he was a handful for the coaches to deal with.
Some people take the angle that people don’t need to be best friends in order to win. That’s completely true, but it misses the mark in this case. Jackson had a variety of factors working against him. He didn’t have great work habits. He was late for meetings. He had a high price tag at a position where Kelly doesn’t seem to think you need to break the bank. I think Jackson’s pursuit of a rap career hurt him as well.
Think of it like this. The coaches weren’t happy with DeSean. Nor many teammates. Nor the salary cap people. Nor the PR/marketing people. Who exactly was going to fight for DeSean to stay?
Obviously he is still a talented player, but the coaches must feel that his production is replaceable. If not, they’d be the one group arguing for him to stick around. Even coaches have a breaking point when it comes to talent.
If this was just a case of Chip Kelly not liking him or one assistant not liking him or a couple of players…getting rid of DeSean would not make sense. If he truly aggravated that many people, getting rid of DeSean does make some sense. You still may not agree with it, but you might understand the move better.
My guess is that Chip Kelly tried to make the relationship work by giving DeSean a long leash. He’s certainly a talented enough player that you want to try to fix the situation. At a certain point you just realize that things aren’t going to work and you then prepare to move on.
* * * * *
DeSean was interviewed by Stephen A. Smith tonight. I didn’t get to see the interview, but apparently it was a lot of softball questions and safe answers from DeSean.
Les Bowen wrote up a piece on the interview.
“The conversation I had with Chip Kelly was a deep, personal conversation,” Jackson said on the one-week anniversary of his release. “It was basically like, ‘we’re moving forward. I think it’s best for the team, I think it’s best for yourself.’ I was sittin’ there waiting for the reason why, but that’s basically all I can (recall) from the conversation, was ‘we’re moving forward. I think it’s best for us and I think it’s best for you … we’re going to go let you negotiate with 31 other teams.’ “
Jackson said Kelly “came back with the same reason” as he awaited further explanation. “That’s kind of where we left it. I got off the phone — I was like, ‘are you sure? That’s it?’ We hung up. That was it.”
DeSean is saying all the right things. I hope he learns from his mistakes with the Eagles. I hope he makes lots of highlight plays…all in Skins losses or wins over Dallas.
* * * * *
Jake Knott tried to steal the spotlight tonight, but it didn’t work. The backup ILB was suspended for 4 games by the NFL. Jeff McLane has the details.
The Eagles announced that linebacker Jake Knott has been suspended without pay for the first four games of the 2014 season for violating the NFL policy on performance enhancing substances.
Knott, who is entering his second season, is eligible to participate in all offseason and preseason practices and games.
“We’re very disappointed to learn of his suspension,” Eagles said in a statement. “We have spoken to Jake and he is fully aware of the mistake he made and owned it. The key for him, however, is to learn from that mistake and move forward with his preparation for the 2014 season.”
The 23-year-old Knott played in 12 games as a rookie, mostly on special teams. He was credited by the team with five special teams tackles and six on defense.
Knott released the following statement through the Eagles:
“Several weeks ago, I was shocked to learn that I tested positive for a stimulant that is banned by the NFL. I have never knowingly ingested a banned substance, but like most players, I take nutritional supplements.
Was this an innocent goof or was he hitting the roids? I don’t think of Knott as someone with an incredibly ripped body so I hope it was just a goof.
The Eagles like Knott, but this doesn’t help his situation. He’ll be fighting for a roster spot and the pressure is going to be on him to really stand out this summer.
_
Sheil Kapadia made a very good point in one of his articles. If DeSean really was so insubordinate, then why didn’t Chip address this during the season? Why didn’t Chip suspend DeSean for a week, or make him hit the sled a la George Hegamin? Even Andy suspended DeSean for a game when he missed a meeting. It just seems like Chip didn’t even try an incremental approach to get in DeSean’s head. If Chip tried all of those things and DeSean was still being insubordinate, then I can see why it would’ve escalated to him being released ( still might not agree with it, but I’d understand it better). Instead, it seems like Chip just cut the cord out of the blue. I know you’re a Chip Kelly supporter, Tommy, and I like a lot of things about him, but it’s ok to criticize him when he deserves to be criticized.
A malcontent like DeSean is not going to change his attitude and/or work habits after getting suspended or fined. People are who they are, and rarely change except with age. He’s 27 now. That’s at an age where wanting to be a rapper or “I hang out with gangstas but I’ve never been in a gang, so I don’t know why they cut me!?!” just aren’t legitimate excuses anymore…
On that note….the more I think about it the less respect I have for DeSean. If you’re not in a gang but you hang out with them and flash gang signs and talk toughie like you’re in a gang, then you’re just a wannabe gangsta. Which is worse? The wannabe or the actual clown?
here u are still talking about gangs.. lol
It ties back to what truly is relevant – that he’s not someone you want on your team, or from Chip’s perspective, he’s not someone you can coach/lead.
That has nothing to do with gangs.
well lets cut to the chase, hanging out with gang members will not get you cut from an NFL team nor should it… thats clearly not the reason at this point and has been completely overblown..
Why shouldn’t it get you cut?
because its not against the law. not against NFL policy.
But what about the two c’s? I seem to remember someone waving that around as the definitive evidence.
Its not proof that HE IS a gang member.
It def proves that he reps it to be cool… crips dont put the letters CK together because it stands for crip killer.. that why its CC.
“(H)e reps it to be cool” is a pretty far cry from “he is in deep with the Cali Crips” and “he has probably been in a gang since he was a kid” just a few days ago.
Yeah, thats what i have always thought about him..
I guess it is good one of us remembers what you said.
i remember it too.. there are crips who use CC as an abbreviation for cali crips
And
and he is in deep with them they are signed to his rap label and making money off of his status.
Kind of like dogfighting – since he grew up around it, it’s okay.
Almost everyone in the NFL has hung out with gang members at some point. That’s a ridiculous excuse for letting Jackson go.
Knowingly hung out with gang members? Doubtful it’s as prevalent as you think it is.
I’m not saying everyone’s bff is a gang member. But they’ve ran across them at some point. Yeah, maybe Tim Tebow stays away from those guys, but come on.
You are being very naive.
I think that’s a dangerous generalization to make
Its called reality.
yea? really? know many NFL players, and who they hang with?
some commenters, i swear…
I swear you must live in a box. lol..
Gangs are everywhere..
pot, meet kettle
sorry dude, I do anti-violence work for a living in Bodymore, Murdaland. Real life isn’t a Biggie song. Stop watching so much tv
…….
But he watches gangland on tv every week man!
Im from camden NJ. real life Gangland went on everyday in my neighborhood.
You sure have a lot of time to be posting on the internet living in reality.
right back at cha
I was raised in a gang neighborhood.. you clearly dont know shit.
Contrary to your narrow-minded view of the world, no, they’re not. And I can guarantee you there are no crips in South Philly, where Desean’s house was.
if anyone is narrow minded its you homie… there are latin kings a nd blodds in south jersey… not even just in camden, but in blackwood, woodbury, paulsboro… you clearly dont know a damn thing. im being for real.
Three things:
1. Maybe Chip Kelly views all his players as adults who shouldn’t need to sit out a game to learn they need to take their coaches seriously.
2. Maybe Chip Kelly thought having DeSean on the field was the team’s best chance to win, and he didn’t have time to cater to the player’s need for an “incremental approach”.
3. Reid benched DeSean in 2011. Maybe Chip thought that should be enough for him to learn a lesson.
I’d rather teach one of the NFL’s best receivers a lesson in one week and get to keep him than cut him and hurt my offense.
Dude, drop it. Desean had been disciplined repeatedly in the past and never changed. Chip has no obligation to you to put up with such a player.
repeatedly? link?
Where did I say he has an obligation to me? You drop it, dude.
He was disciplined for a week, without much success, apparently. He also lost a lot of money as a result of his fall in the draft. I am sure you have known someone who continues self destructive behavior regardless of how many warning or how many people try to help. Some get jarred awake, some never do.
Oh yea, Chip should have sat Jackson for a game and the skies would open up and a beam of light would descend from the heavens upon Jackson and he would magically change and become a better person.
just to look at the other side of that:
Chip also had far less invested in him. He inherited what no one will argue is a great talent, but Reid was always giving players a much longer leash, and may have tolerated it better. His suspension may have been the warning,but clearly did not hit home.
If that didn’t change him then, what’s the point in continuing to suspend him? at that point, it would have leaked as to “why?” (be it a missed meeting, behavior, whatever), and would have shown teams that the behavior pattern still exists; thus, killing whatever trade value they still hoped was existent.
Chip (with Lurie’s blessing) is building a culture, not just a team. It may have only taken him this year to realize he wouldn’t fit in long-term. He would only cost more going forward, and it’s not as if his skill-set stays with age. This way, they take a hit this year, but as EaglesCap noted on twitter they essentially “traded” him for cap room next year.
All that, combined with what seems to be few people in the organization still on Desean’s side, led to the release.
Culture is overrated. The Seahawks are a bunch of ruthless, rule-breaking nutcases and they won the Super Bowl. The Ravens had Ray Lewis, the poster boy for NFL players who should’ve gone to prison. What did culture ever do for the Eagles?
well, no point arguing that. Ray Lewis was nothing but a murderer, clearly had no positive impact in the BAL locker room….ok…..
He was a nutcase who wanted as much media attention for himself as possible. On top of that, he killed a guy and got away with it. How is he any better than DeSean? How does he represent this absurd idea of culture you seem to like? Smh.
you clearly can’t differentiate that one night from what he did (or supposedly did) for a decade plus of positive work in the locker room and the community. There’s no arguing that. To each their own. but your naivety and generalizations are terrifying.
yeah, but he did kill a guy…
Ray Lewis, Michael Irvin, etc., all had football character. That’s what Chip wants here. That’s not Desean.
Irvin was a coke head. Ray lewis helped kill somebody.
What does that have to do with what I just said.
because human character is more important? Yes. It is.
What does that have to do with what I just said.
Figure it out big guy.
Funny guy.
Shake your head til it falls off. Comparing ray, one of the greatest MLBs ever who was a saint for a decade-plus after that incident, to a replaceable WR who is immature and can’t/won’t learn hard lessons is beyond silly. And Kelly wasn’t his coach. Unreal. Go take a logic course
Can’t speak to Ravens. Can’t stand them. The Seahawks are another matter. They were a TEAM of “ruthless, rule-breaking nutcases” who did not get a single unnecessary roughness penalty in the whole game. Even with all the hits they made.
I legit don’t get people saying the hawks are full of thugs. They’ve had a handful of guys get popped for adderall. Marshawn Lynch had a couple of run ins when he was like 22 in Buffalo, and Bruce Irvin did some stupid small scale stuff in high school and college. They aren’t the bengals, they are the 90s Cowboys and they aren’t Oakland back in the day.
I’d just like to point out that “adderall” could mean anything. Legally the NFL isn’t allowed to say what a player tested positive for, so anyone caught for PEDs of any kind immediately picks the least terrible drug on the list (adderall) and say it was that. Theres no way players are actually getting caught for adderall when you can get a prescription for it and be allowed by the NFL to take it.
Fair enough but to me, CBs taking HGH or roids just doesn’t make a ton of sense. If it was front seven players or OL or a fullback, then I could believe that, but corners don’t need to be freakishly strong. These guys most likely were just taking them as recreational drugs.
He doesn’t. And really that reasoning is flat out silly. He reached out to Djax several times the article says. The kid was an spoiled little me first brat who didn’t get it. How many flaking chances does he get. Smh
Chip had so many opportunities to use the stick (as opposed to the carrot) and he never did. DeSean was never punished and he thought he could get away with it. Run his freaking guts out for all I care. Give him the most barbaric punishment drill possible if it means your feelings won’t get hurt by big bad DeSean. Cry me a freaking river.
He is a grown freaking man. Act like a dick get treated like one. Discipline is just asking to make Djax a martyr. Kid moped for a year after Andy suspended him a game. Same thing his last year in college. Means shit to him.
Yeah, I’m getting the feeling that Kelly is even more private about team issues than Reid was. I don’t think you’ll see suspensions, etc. in season from him. He’ll address that in the offseason, when it won’t be a distraction from the games. Only way that changes is if it gets so bad that he can’t ignore it.
It is interesting that apparently noone but the skins were willing to pay him even the reduced price the skins got him for…
Honest question: are we sure that he didn’t? If they tried to trade him last year, and knew they were going to try again, then they would discipline him privately and quietly.
He was punished under Reid and it didn’t help then. Kelly most likely decided he was a lost cause so might as well get production out of him while you still have to deal with him.
Sure he does. he cut the best Wr we have and got nothing for him. But maybe the criticism should go howie.. its his job to trade him.
There was no trade market after Djax agent floated he wouldn’t restructure his deal. Nobody wants to pay that cancer 36 million over three years or megaton money and give up a pick when they could wait and hope he got cut. Even after he got cut there was barely a market bc no one wanted his nonsense. O revis got cut. Chris Johnson got cut. No trades. Tons of guys who are good w bad salaries and character issues don’t get traded but cut. Eagles tried for a year couldn’t even get a third rounder
Mike Williams was traded for a 6th round pick and has major character concerns.
Its up to the GM to sell him, howie failed at it… imo the blame is on howie. If sproles doesnt have an impact, jenkins too, and the draft doesnt produce THIS YEAR, and desean is balling out… almost time to let howie go.
Teams weren’t trading due to character they weren’t trading due to money. And why would they have? They could have outbid the Redskins and still been less committed financially than his Eagles contract.
He is well worth the money on the field. Its the chracter stuff, they dont want to pay that much the character problems. Dont leak out info that he is a chracter problem if u are trying to trade him.. if they even did that.. who knows at this point.. bottom line we got nothing for a top WR in his prime coming off a career year. That is not good. Its pathetic.
Can’t you get it through your thick head? NOBODY ELSE WANTED HIM!! Not even for a 7th round pick!!
That’s b/c it was clear after the Kempski article he was getting cut. I think there was interest prior to that.
Jimmy’s original article hinted at nothing other than maybe, possibly a trade wouldn’t be the craziest thing in the world. It wasn’t until the Moesher “one false step” comments four days later that anyone remotely thought a cut was something could happen in this universe. It wasn’t til a couple weeks later when the “third round pick” reports started coming out that it looked like it may be a desperate situation.
CANT YOU GET IT THRU YOUR THICK HEAD THAT THE REASON FOR THAT IS BECAUSE THE EAGLES MESSED UP THE ENTIRE PROCESS OF TRYING TO TRADE HIM!!! dam some people
No point arguing.
I’ve come to realize this.
You’re insane if you think any team would have ever traded for him. You’re blaming Howie for not pulling a miracle out of an impossible situation.
It’s called managing the market, something the Eagles did poorly. This wasn’t blown a month ago, the soft market was created by the Eagles.
a miracle?? Howie butchered the situation from the get go… bucs got a 6th round pick for mike williams lol.. step ya game up
Not sure if you’re trolling or just not very smart. The mike Williams situation isn’t even comparable so I don’t know why you would mention him.
He is mentioned because they got a 6th round pick for a guy who has major character problems AND off the field problems. AND he signed a 6 year 40 million dollar contract just a season ago AND he is NOWHERE close to the WR desean jackson is… So please stop YOUR trolling!!!!
Still no excuse for the awful asset management by the Eagles.
I think Chip knew he wanted to get rid of DeSean this offseason, and was hoping to sustain his trade value. A suspension or other discipline would’ve killed it, not that it ended up mattering.
That’s the thing I’ve been saying since the beginning that doesn’t make sense. I respect Kelly a lot for not putting up with what was described in the cbs article but I also simultaneously lose respect that he didn’t address it mid season and make an example of it then. The only thing I can fathom, is that they decided they were going to trade Jackson after the season early in the year and he chose to keep it in house and out of the public eye to preserve his trade value.
That makes more sense than most of the drivel around this issue.
And to take it a step further, what sort of precedent would it set for the future. Why shouldn’t any player unhappy with his current deal just take the insubordination/team cancer route to obtain his release?
because they wont get more money… desean lost money. But he did gain guranteed money,
I think whether or not Jackson improved his deal is a toss-up. I’d lean to the side of he’s got a better deal now.
But how about Mathis for a hypothetical example… Maybe he’s looking at this and thinking he’s found the route to obtaining his release and renegotiating a contract as a free agent.
how did he get a better deal by getting less money?
Mathis would have to become a problem, once he is a problem and released he wont get a raise. They already told his agent to seek a trade if theres a team willing to pay him more.
Well he’s making $8 million this year instead of $10.5 million, but he’s got $16 million guaranteed instead of $10.5 million guaranteed. It’s theoretically more money if he stays healthy, but if he has a career ending injury or is cut, the Redskins deal is more money.
If your agent can’t find a better way for you to get released then you should get a new agent.
Sadly it’s one of those things where people who are supposed to represent you don’t act in your best interests. The Eagles weren’t willing to renegotiate Djax’s contract. Segal didn’t negotiate that contract, and therefore wasn’t getting a dime from it. If Djax gets traded he’s still on the same contract, if he stays he’s on the same contract. Only way for Segal to make money on Djax is to get him cut.
The Freakonomics authors did a study that we can draw some parallels with the situation. They looked at homes who were sold via a real estate agent vs those who weren’t. The home that had a real estate agent sat on the market for an average of about a month less time, and sold for about 10K less than homes sold directly by the owner. What they found is that agents were likely to pressure their clients into selling earlier and for less because it made more economic sense to the agent. The agent would only stand to make about an extra 300$ on the sale if they waited for a month to get the homeowners the offer worth an extra 10k. All the while the agent had to continue to pay to list the house with various posting agencies as well as put time into it. So while the real estate agent theoretically should be acting with the homeowners best interest in mind, they were actually more concerned with their own economic benefit.
I saw the Freakonomics video and you’re basic point is right that you have to look at an agent’s incentive. I agree that DeSean’s agent had reason to seek a release.
As far as selling your own home, agents add value in many different ways, by marketing it to show its strengths to taking the emotion out of negotiations.
The article didn’t compare prices between agent sold homes and “for sale by owner (fisbo)”. It compared prices of homes sold by agents that the either represented or owned. They held out for a higher price on the home they owned.
The take away was not that you shouldn’t hire an agent, but that you should be aware of their incentive when selling your home (or trying to understand why your #1 WR is gone).
You’re right, good catch, it’s been a couple years since I read the book.
Jackson’s new agent got new money!
Very good point. Did not think of that.
I think it makes a lot of sense when you look at it with the right perspective. If the Eagles already knew they wanted to get rid of him before last year but couldn’t due to Maclin/Benn injuries, then I could definitely see why you wouldn’t bother punishing DJax. Fell behind early in the division race and every game counted, no point sitting your best WR when you have no depth and you know you’re going to get rid of him anyway.
I think Jackson answered that when he talked about Reid as a father figure and someone he had respect for. He had no respect for Kelly. Kelly has been around these kinds of kids long enough to know if they can change. Jackson is a 27 years old NFL vet. He’s not changing.
I dont think suspending DeSean would have been a feasible option. Last year we had QB controversy, the riley cooper thing, cary williams outburst, and it was Chips first year.
Is it not possible that the Eagles realized that they suspended their best WR in a previous year, so why do it again when we were fighting for a playoff spot. He obviously was still an issue regardless of his on the field production.
Re: Knott. My view is that it takes A LOT to fail an NFL drug test… no goof here!
Or the exact opposite: It’s so easy to not get caught by a drug test that it had to be a goof.
I’m glad I cut ties with him after that Viking’s game. I knew who he was.
you cut ties with him after he had a career game.. smh
I cut ties with him after he repeatedly kept saying “I don’t give a fuck” on the sidelines.
thats the dumbest reason i have heard
Your opinion.
Move along.
Yes that was my opinion about your opinion. very good.
The worst part about reading your comments (not to mention the grammar) is that I hear them in Charlie’s voice – so annoyingly loud.
Is this actually Charlie?!
oh a grammar nazi… u have never got laid i suspect.
u kno the worst thing about your comments? The fact they dont add up logically.
A career game where a pass to him got picked off, he didn’t fight for it, didn’t chase the guy to try to tackle him, and then screamed at his WR coach on the sidelines after he corrected him. Looks like someone looks at stats rather than watching games eh?
looks like someone watched one play of the game.. lol.. and you know not the entire game or his entire career… step ya game up buddy
Watched his entire career, hes never fought for the ball in the air. Its just not who he is as a player.
No shit. But he is still better then damn near every one his size at going up and getting the ball… but what he is really good at is deception, He keeps his hands down until the last second so as not to tip off the DB the ball is in the air..and there is no one better at catching the ball while running full speed (and we are talking about deseans full speed!) without slowing down and getting up field.
Plus he has chased down many defenders after they have got a turnover and has made big tackles, even flipped a guy over his shoulder.
if every thing is true in that article, then ok im cool with it… but again still NOTHING from the eagles themselves.. and now tommy has said he doesnt even know who the guy is who wrote the article.. so im not cool with yet
Eagles fearing predictable slander lawsuit from segal and Djax and players union investigation and loss of a draft pick. Better off giving the gag order team wide and saying nothing as instructed by team attorneys. Classic intelligent company move.
You cant sue a coach for saying his player didnt fully buy in, was late to meetings and all the rest.. BUT the gang stuff, affliation, that can slander and justify a lawsuit
They can file a lawsuit for anything. Never stopped anyone. I didn’t say they would win. And the players union is already starting an investigation that nobody in this city has reported in yet happened today.
have u ever heard of a lawsuit like that?
God yes. All the time. Newspapers and reporters get sued for editorials all the time. Competitors in business. Celebrities. People sue for bullshit slander reasons all the time. And Djax would be suing for the nj.com article slandering his reputation …. If eagles were a source formthatnarticle or commented aboutnthatnarticle etc it just brings more wood to the fire. Risk management says to just shut up and say nothing bc media and fans are still gonna twist what you say and hate you no matter what and be stupid fans. Same reason belicheck and the pats always keep quiet and don’t comment on team actions like cutting randy moss
There has never been a lawsuit from a player to a team because he got cut.. at least that i have heard of
I’m talking about a slander lawsuit. Happens all the time in business from former employees. Not talking about someone getting cut alone. We are talking about the eagles addressing the gang article and his gang friends and why he was cut and the timing. Why do you think Djax was ready w a prepared statement after he got cut. To protect his reputation. Agent has lawyers. Damage control. Anything eagles add about why he was cut is just potential ammo for the players union investigation or a potential slander suit by Djax. I can’t explain it any simpler
They ahvent addressed anything let alone the gang stuff.. he was prepared because there was articles being posted about it.. he could sue the papers, but they dont have to give up any sources at all, so if the eagles did give that info out they will be safe.
The players union is investigating the eagles. That could lead to a fine or loss of draft picks and horrible pr. That is a legal action. I know they haven’t addressed the gang shit. That is what you are wondering. Why they cut him? Was it gang stuff? Team stuff? Eagles gain nothing about commenting. Lawyers tell them gag order all silent. Bc of fear of reprisal by players union, a private lawsuit from Djax and bad pr. He had a statement ready to protect his reputation not for shits and giggles. Obviously he is being advised by his own lawyers There is absolutely no reason for the eagles to comment despite how bad a few annoyed fans feel. The man was a spoiled child bad teammate cancer what more do you need to hear.
Players union cant do shit if he was cut because of being late to meetings and all that other stuff (NOT gang stuff) You keep telling me why YOU think he was cut like im supposed to roll with it.. lol.. nah homie, eagles better say something. The story isnt going away anytime soon. Gotta play desean twice a year
Eagles are being nvestigated about the gang shit and the article and timing of him being cut. Hence why eagles arent fucking commenting why he was cut bc it can’t help them good or bad. Better to just shut up Sorry bud they have no reason to say shit to appease you. It could only hurt them. No upside at all. I know why he was freaking cut. It’s been reported for years. Now his teammates are basically dropping the entire reason on your face and you are still in denial. Give it up. I can’t have this conversation w you anymore bc you refuse to get off the gang stuff and realize it had nothing to do w it. Or maybe you are just slow. Either way explaining this to you is exhausting and now I know how the eagles feel,dealing w the media who just wanna hear and think drama and dealing w irrational fans
again teammates havent said anything as to why.
and i have said it has nothing to do with gang ties.. lol..
What “info” should the Eagles give out?
did you see the “if” in there??/ step ya game up.
I don’t understand where you’re coming from. Djax would never sue, it’s too public, he’d be unemployable after, even if he won. Same reason you don’t take your landlord to court — much harder to rent after that.
Eagles could have just said article wasn’t catalyst for his release and thanked him for his service. However, the absence of comment was as conspicuous.
Release was great timing though – are Eagles right to take advantage of the cover provided by the article? I can’t say, but they did.
Yeah, yeah, anybody can sue anyone for anything… That’s not really a valid rebuttal of Mr. Kelly’s point. If the reasons for dismissal are as portrayed in the article, then there’s really no reason the Eagles could get in trouble for commenting on them. They might not want to make those comments, but there would be no concern from a legal perspective if they leaked out.
What are you talking about …. The eagles are already being investigated by the players union. That was reported today. There is absolutely no reason to make any comment. It can only hurt them. All downside. Just bc you want a reason …. Who the hell cares Kid was a cancer. How many more ways to you need to hear why they cut him. He has been a bad teammate since college. Andy suspended him and he moped for a year. His own teammates don’t like him. He cursed off the coach in front of the team. Cursed off his wr coach. Wouldn’t speak to wr coach. Blew off his exit interview. How much more of a reason do you need. It’s been reported at nauseoum.
Who said he was a cancer tho?
His freaking teammates. Are you dense or just in complete denial and one of those who can’t comprehend their favorite player got cut.
His teamates didnt say anything. Are you dense??
“But what a number of sources close to and around the team, including current and former players…revealed…”
Or did you mean his current teammates, because then I agree.
thats not proof tho…
Agree. The racist stuff is stupid beyond belief. The Eagles let Michael Vick go. They published a statement from the owner thanking Vick for his service in the community and being an excellent teammate during his time with the Eagles. They let Jason Avant go, with much praise for his play and being such a fine member of the team. The Eagles let Desean Jackson go. All 3 are black. The twits crying “racist’ choose to ignore the facts. I get that Sherman, for example, is quite bright, but obviously shows poor judgment from time to time. There is no excuse for the idiot from the NY Times.
I hope that a guy like Sherman would know better and its just to grab attention for him and his column, though I’m not sure thats any better.
There’s more than one way to approach an issue. Nothing happens in a vacuum, the fallout was or should have been predictable, just as the cutting djax right after the gang article would cause people to speculate that that was the reason for him being cut.
Player’s association has to do something in order to prevent players from getting badmouthed when they leave teams — especially when the article cited events that were 2 years old, but not common knowledge. I’d be more worried if they didn’t investigate – it’s their job to at least do diligence.
Waiting for apologies to chip and the eagles for those who cast him in a rascist light before waiting for the other shoe to drop. Cussing out the coach in front of The team, cursing at bicknell on the sideline, not speaking to bicknell, blowing off the exit interview w chip, showing up late to meetings, skipping team events ….. Sure does sound like the best definition of a cancer I have heard since Terrell Owens ……
who casted him in a racist light? whoever did that u should ignore them and not care what they say or do.
Tons of people and supposed media folks. Rhoden from dc and espn for one. His article is a joke. Lots of others.
Yea there were definitely a ton of articles I read accusing the eagles of being racist and downright dastardly regarding their handling of this release. Everyone w two brain cells knew that there was more to it than just Chip not liking his twitter feed
Hey! I agree! Sherman took up the race angle, but I make a point of ignoring him.
No. Owens split the team into 2 teams. desean hasnt done that at all. If anything desean is a cancer to himself.
Definition of a cancer isn’t a split. Just eating at the team and coach. Sounds like he ate at the entire team for years.
I think you raise a good point about the author and the sources behind this story. If this is the case with multiple players on the team, why aren’t any of the normal beat writers getting and reporting the same story according to their team sources? Maybe this guy just got there first, and though there’s nothing that strains credulity in the story itself, it does seem a little fishy.
Wow questioning the reliability of a journalist sources and integrity. That really rich and polite.
I think people that have covered the team for years and years, like Lawlor and some of the guys he mentioned, are well within their rights to wonder about the provenance of a story that claims multiple insider sources from some Joe Blow that nobody has ever heard of before.
Oh like the nj.com author that nobody heard of a week ago but did some of his own investigation and did what real reporters do and got more than one source to write an eye opening article. The eagles never ever tell our beat reporters shit. It’s always a national guy who breaks it. We never knew anything about Nmadi signing, mcnabb to skins, Kelly get hired …. Eagles don’t leak shit locally so no I am not suprised at all that the nj.com article last week was broke mad this team cancer article was written by people other than those from Philly.com or comcast. Sounds like sour grapes to me.
Yes! I would say exactly like that guy!
The story became driven by an article in NJ.com that most people would now acknowledge was mostly old news and almost completely irrelevant to the situation.
You are arguing my point for me. Last time we let an outsider drive the narrative of this story we got a lot of BS. We have every reason to be cautious about making the same mistake again.
Elliot Shorr Parks has written for NJ.com for several months. Plenty of people are familiar with him.
And BGN before that.
Not sure what that says about his journalistic bona fides.
Point taken, but I still question the quality of that article. It seemed to concentrate on events that took place before his previous contract was signed and was a series of insinuations followed up with disclaimers that point out Jackson had no relation to the previously mentioned events. It started a whole “gang ties” narrative that now seems like it was at best misleading and for the most part false.
I think he is horrible!!! And I felt that way long before this Desean article….he is like Gonzo, Les Bowan type bad
And well known at BGN before that.
But not one eagles reporter has ever and I say ever reported anything about the incidents in that article. It was a series of events. Nobody from daily news ever didmthatndigging. No story over last three years. Maybe older stuff accumulating but no one ever reported his friends linkage to murder investigations and shootings. Nobody from Philly reported he picked the guynupmfrom prison etc. it was a revealing story. Wasn’t bs. Most of the world and sports media didn’t know anything about it. Hence the national outrage
Article was writing as a smoking gun when really it didn’t say anything. He picked a guy up from jail, so what? If my friend was acussed of a crime, sat in jail for a year (notice djax didn’t bail him out if in fact bail was alive) and then was acquitted i’d go pick him up too.
You have NFL players actually committing crimes and they get way less flack than desean. The nj,com article had guys on ESPN wondering if djax was straight up in a gang (jaws calling him unhireable and dangerous on sportscenter) when police literally said he wasn’t involved in any of the crap that happened – a fact that’s buried deep in the article.
Did you ever think the players and other sources (not just one like Tim and MacLaine and moesher get) didn’t go to the beat reporters bc they are the people,described in the article as the people who have been ripping chip Kelly all week in strained article after article. Geez not that hard to figure out
Trust me when I tell you that the beat reporters have looked for every angle possible on this. Any info from their usual sources would get written about in a heartbeat.
Maybe Joe talked to some guys who don’t normally get questions and they were more willing to open up. Can only speculate for now.
They do say that the best resource for gossip are the invisible people. Cleaners, waterboys, assistant trainers, secretaries, parking lot attendants, etc. Many people in those jobs would not care to lose their jobs, either.
Oh and MUCH respect to jason Kelce for posting on twitter that he was NOT any of the sources.
Must have been the Oregon guy..damn it Maehl.
Isn’t it weird how the only time you see charlie half the thread is his posts.
Isnt it weird that you felt the need to start a new comment talking about ME while i talk about the eagles?
But you’re so much more interesting.
I appreciate Charlie’s passion.
Thank you.
That reads like a FO comment about Jackson…damning him with faint praise.
Not sure if this point hasn’t already been made, but it’s not like Jeff McLane didn’t already write an article with unnamed sources basically asserting the same thing.
Someone writes an article citing tangible reasons (consistent with his past behavior) why Jackson was released: This guy probably made it all up.
Richard Sherman decrees from 3000 miles away that Chip Kelly is a racist: WELL, OBVIOUSLY!! PREACH!!!
The Eagles let Michael Vick go. They published a statement from the owner thanking Vick for his service in the community and being an excellent teammate during his time with the Eagles. They let Jason Avant go, with much praise for his play and being such a fine member of the team. The Eagles let Desean Jackson go.
Hah. I feel like you should add “Don’t let the door hit you on the way out.” to the end of that paragraph.
Saying something by saying nothing, excellent.
Well done.
Exactly. But I was watching Bill Maher (a show that almost never touches on sports) last night and they ended up talking about his release and the first thing brought up was that the team did it because of his gang ties. The panel ridiculed the team for that and then agreed that it was race-based, since Riley Cooper is still on the team. This is the national perception, and that does matter.
Eagles are going to try to draft Deandre Coleman from Cal to backup Bennie Logan…take that to the bank 🙂
I like Coleman’s versatility. You can even move him outside. Chip might know about him since the Ducks play Cal.
Joseph A. Santoliquito is an award-winning sportswriter based in the Philadelphia area.
He has written feature stories for SI.com, ESPN.com, NFL.com, MLB.com, The Philadelphia Inquirer and also The Philadelphia Daily News. He currently works for Ring Magazine, considered the “Bible of Boxing,” where he’s worked since October 1997 and has been the managing editor since 2004. In 2006, he was nominated for an Emmy Award for a special project piece for ESPN.com called “Love at First Beep,” about blind baseball
His wiki page (from which the above text is directly copied) appears to be directly by the man himself. I’m sure he’s a well-established writer, but I’ve never seen an Iggles story by the man in my life, which I believe is Tommy’s point.
It’d be more reputable if it was a boxing article.
I wonder what Howie would think if Chip asked him for Chris Johnson.
This is one of those things that seems like it would be a sign of the apocalypse.
Tommy, is there some way to put a limit on the number of posts per user per article? I hate to complain, but man, it’s crazy these days. I used to love coming here to read the conversation, but when it becomes the “I’m xxx and I’m drunk and I think everyone needs to hear what I have to say 1000 times, bro” show, it kind of kills the community you’ve built.
Just one persons opinion.
Unfortunately, there’s nothing this can solve that the ban hammer can’t solve better.
Seconded. This is not a Mortan/S8 kind of situation.
Yeah, it’s a sad moment in the free speech history of a blog, but I think it might be an inevitable one, Tommy. This community has for years now been a bastion for me of thoughtful and polite discussion within a larger universe of fandom where that remains an incredibly rare phenomenon.
You’ve asked people to tone it down and be respectful, you’ve supplied a forum for DeSean related venting, and still the problem continues.
Jason Kelce is brilliant. By coming out and saying he wasn’t the unnamed source, he also implicitly confirmed the reports, without ever saying anything negative about Jackson.
Good point, but his initial tweet on DJ’s release said everything he had to say on the matter, very explicitly. I think he’s just covering his ass a little here knowing everyone’s first thought is ‘this must be from Kelce’.
Joseph Santoloquito must have found those unnamed quotes in his Maehl.
Jeff McLane had an unnamed source that swore Jackson was not getting released or traded.
[…] DeSean Update – Tommy Lawlor, Iggles BlitzI do think the report has a lot of truth in it. I’ve heard that teammates weren’t fond of DeSean, and that might be putting it mildly. We know he was a handful for the coaches to deal with. Some people take the angle that people don’t need to be best friends in order to win. That’s completely true, but it misses the mark in this case. Jackson had a variety of factors working against him. He didn’t have great work habits. He was late for meetings. He had a high price tag at a position where Kelly doesn’t seem to think you need to break the bank. I think Jackson’s pursuit of a rap career hurt him as well. Think of it like this. The coaches weren’t happy with DeSean. Nor many teammates. Nor the salary cap people. Nor the PR/marketing people. Who exactly was going to fight for DeSean to stay? […]
If Reid, who Jackson saw as a father figure, couldn’t get Jackson to change, theres no way Kelly could. And there’s no way Gruden will either.
The unnamed source is clearly Jason Kelce’s beard.
Kelce tweeted that it wasn’t him. So it MUST have been his beard. I like it.
OR, the source resides in his beard..
So you’re accusing @theycallmerob:disqus?
…or sourceS! It’s a conspiracy!
Sorry, Tommy, but Jeff McLane, Les Bowen, etc., don’t have “a strong track record.” Except for McLane, they don’t break news about the Eagles; they analyze games, talk to Eagles’ players and coaches, and occasionally get evaluations of Eagles’ moves by anonymous general managers or scouts with other teams. (That’s Paul Domowitch’s specialty.) National reporters, not Eagles’ beat reporters, are the ones who typically break big news about Eagles’ contracts, trades, etc.
As I said, McLane was the exception, but his ability to break news was due to his relationship with one person: Joe Banner. After Banner left the Eagles for Cleveland, McLain’s only meaty reports — such as the ones trashing Howie Roseman — were attributed to a league source. Now, he’s down to using Banner by name, as attributing information to a “former league source” wouldn’t hide much.
When it became obvious that the Eagles were trying to rid themselves of Jackson, none of the beat reporters were able and/or willing to root out the stories about his association with alleged Crips members, including his supposedly flashing a Crips sign during a Redskins’ game, or the story about his arrest. Then, after NJ.com reported those stories, rather than try to see what else was out there, the local beat reporters and columnists whined about them being old news. (They may have been old news to the Eagles, but they had never been reported locally.) The exception was Derrick Gunn, who reported that Jackson had blown off his exit meeting at the end of the year.
As for Santoloquito, his Wikipedia page may be self-promotional, but it did remind me where I’d seen his name before. He actually is a professional sports writer who has written for numerous outlets, which, given the shortcomings of the Eagles beat writers, means it’s not surprising that he’d be able to come up with the story he did.
It’s also not surprising that DeSean Jackson would go to Stephen A. Smith for a softball interview. Smith spent much of his time at the Inquirer defending Allen Iverson and Terrell Owens, both of whom have since been shown convincingly to be total loons.
Aw c’mon. AI isn’t in TO’s universe in terms of being a loon.
Utterly biased here since AI is still responsible for my favorite sports memories of all time. But still.
Great point about no one in the organization fighting for him.
There certainly is another angle to the “I’ve never seen this guy around, he can’t be a real reporter,” though. We’ve seen repeatedly over the last 2 decades of journalism (not just sports journalism) that beat reporters get too close to their subject, and value their access over the truth. The examples are too many to count, but the one that always stands out is the NYT reporting of the Iraq war where they just took the talking points from the white house and uncritically reprinted them, nearly verbatim. That reporter had awesome access to the top levels of government, and she wasn’t going to rock that boat, no matter how ridiculous the lies they fed her were.
So it very well may be that it was necessary for an outsider(s) to break these stories, since the beat guys weren’t going to risk their access to their subjects by going with a story that could break the relationship.
Again, we on the outside know very, very little about what went on. And I don’t expect that to change greatly over time. As I noted previously, we still (15 years later!) know little more about the Lindros fiasco than we did when it went down. Lots of unnamed sources and rumor, but very little verified. And that was a far more confrontational break up than this one was. Both sides are handling it professionally, here.
The more I read about this the more I feel like the Eagles have completely mishandled the situation.
“The report might be 100 percent dead on the money, but I’d be lying if I said I was completely comfortable with it.” – Id be lying if I said I wasn’t comfortable with it. But mainly cause it echoes my view.
DeSean should have more success in this league. I wish him the best.
I envision the Eagles finally becoming an organization of a high caliber of character.
I think my biggest concern is separating character external to the team and internal.
Some players show poor character through their actions outside of the organization, but when they step inside they are respected, they go to work and bring positivity and leadership.
Some guys are bad externally and it spills over into their work life. They aren’t respected by most, and they are negatively affecting the team culture over an extended period of time. Even if they are helping on the field, you can’t have that within your organization
Ray lewis, Irvin, they were examples of the former and not the latter I suspect.
Anyone with examples to the contrary, id be happy to see it.
Ray Lewis is held up in the highest regard within the ravens organization, no matter his outside the organization actions.
Case closed. Im moving on. Go Eagles!
Sometimes you get a guy like LT who a poor character inside AND out but so dominant it didn’t matter.
Id argue that it did matter. I didn’t see the chargers win any rings.
Player dominance is overrated, team dominance is the goal. Putting together the best team.
But I do get your point. I do.
Hehe, on Jake Knott:
“We have spoken to Jake and he is fully aware of the mistake he made and owned it.”
“Several weeks ago, I was shocked to learn that I tested positive for a stimulant that is banned by the NFL. I have never knowingly ingested a banned substance , but like most players, I take nutritional supplements.”-Jake Knott
Yeah, he took it like a man.
He most certainly took it in the wallet.
Chip Gave him a Seattle smoothie.
There are plenty of health nuts in Seattle who can expound on the benefits of juicing.
While we are speculating why the Eagles released Jackson, let’s not forget the part Jackson’s agent played in all this. Remember, he did not get paid until Jackson got a new contract. We went through that circus with TO and Rosenhaus. Would you put your second year coach through that?
Tommy has a mock draft up:
http://www.philadelphiaeagles.com/news/article-1/Fan-Demonium-Mock-Draft-10/6c12d91b-29ba-4f97-9c61-421d103fcc82
1st Round – No. 22 Overall – CB Kyle Fuller
2nd Round – No. 54 Overall – WR Jordan Matthews
3rd Round – No. 86 Overall – OLB Marcus Smith
4th Round – No. 122 Overall – DE Brent Urban
5th Round – No. 162 Overall – SS Isaiah Lewis
7th Round – No. 237 Overall – OL Trey Hopkins
I love it, though would prefer Latimer or Adams to Matthews and don’t think Marcus Smith will be there at #86.
As Tommy mentioned, starting to think Fuller won’t be there at #22, which sucks.