One of the sports axioms that has proven to be most true is that “speed kills”. No one was deadlier than DeSean Jackson, the fastest Eagle of them all. It appears he is now set to hang up his cleats.
DeSean Jackson could be hinting towards retirement with his latest Instagram post.
Jackson was a second round pick in 2008 and earned a starting role right away. He proved to be a dynamic threat as both a receiver and punt returner. The Eagles finally had a weapon that other teams had to fear. There were two signature moments for DJax.
That was one of the greatest moments in Eagles history.
I had mixed feelings on DeSean. I loved his speed and playmaking, but he frustrated me at times. He caught a deep ball in Dallas as a rookie and then let go of it before getting into the end zone. You score, then you celebrate. DeSean had done the same thing in a high school all-star game so this wasn’t an anomaly. That side of him just wasn’t something I loved.
There is no denying he is one of the greatest deep threats in league history. He only had one season where he didn’t have a play of 50 or more yards. He avereraged 22.5 yards per catch in 2010. That’s almost a quarter of the field on every catch. Insane. DeSean averaged 17.6 ypc for his career. That is an amazing figure for someone who played 15 seasons. Normally a guy will slow down as he gets older and the average will drop a bit. DeSean kept his speed. His issue was struggleing to stay healthy. He was like a sports car that was great at times, but spent too much time in the garage as it got older.
Tyreek Hill is the fastest player I’ve seen play. DeSean is number two. It’s amazing that Andy Reid got to coach both of them.
DeSean was released by Chip Kelly after the 2013 season. Shocking doesn’t feel like a strong enough word. The move was highly controversial and sent a signal to everyone that Kelly might not be right for the NFL. DeSean never had a real home after that. He was in Washington for three years and Tampa for two. He came back to Philly in 2019, but couldn’t stay healthy. DeSean then played for the Rams, Raiders and Ravens.
Here are the Eagles QBs that DeSean caught TDs from:
Donovan McNabb Kevin Kolb Michael Vick Nick Foles Carson Wentz Jalen Hurts
Wow.
It really makes you appreciate how long he played. I was hoping Vince Young or Mike Kafka might have hit him for a TD, but no such luck.
DeSean caught 641 passes and had 58 TD catches in his career. You wonder what might have been if he had played with a top shelf QB for an extended period. Tyreek Hill has only played in the league for seven years, but has 598 catches and 63 TDs. He’s on his way to Canton. DeSean won’t be getting in, but he did have a great career. He certainly gave us some of the most memorable moments the Eagles have ever had.
*****
It looks like someone just doesn't like Lane. Doesn't have him in their top 10, lol. They also don't know what they're talking about. The Eagles ask him to block elite edges on an island regularly. Best OL in the game, inc. Trent Williams. Remains insanely underappreciated. https://t.co/hq2TEOEM7Fpic.twitter.com/SdbwUfnlat
An unnamed NFC executive thinks Lane Johnson is overrated. Who might that be?
The executive thinks RPOs give Johnson an edge. He thinks Johnson “talks” too much. This sounds like someone with an agenda.
My guess, and I stress this is just a guess, is Jason Licht, the GM in Tampa.
His RT is Tristan Wirfs, one of the best in the league. Wirfs is overshadowed by Johnson. I’m sure Licht would love his guy to get more credit. That would also give him more credit for drafting Wirfs.
Licht once worked for the Eagles. He lost a power struggle with Howie Roseman. Back in 2010 Michael Silver wrote an absolute hatchet job piece on Howie, with comments from an unnamed source. Connecting the dots, it sure seemed like Licht was the source for that.
In the end, the comment doesn’t matter. It’s dumb. Lane Johnson is a special player and has a very real shot at making the Hall of Fame. That doesn’t mean everyone has to love him, but you can’t ignore his level of play.
*****
Free-agent WR DeAndre Hopkins is expected to sign with the Titans, per source. Deal is expected to become official over the next few days.
He never made sense for the Eagles, but that didn’t stop the speculation. DHop is a good fit for the Titans. I don’t know that he’s good enough to suddenly make them a contender, but they certainly are better.
*****
The NFL held its Supplemental Draft recently. There were two players eligible. The Eagles didn’t go for either.
When you have one of the best rosters in the league, you’re not going to spend future picks on marginal talent, hoping they pan out. Rich people don’t buy lottery tickets.
*****
A few people asked why I left Dawk/Michael Lewis in 2004 out of my safeties piece. The 2004 defense was outstanding. Lewis led the team in tackles and was voted to the Pro Bowl. He only had one pick, but broke up 12 passes. Dawk was Dawk.
I’d already written about a couple of defenses with Dawk and just passed over 2004.
It’s also possible I haven’t forgiven him for this debacle.
That was one of the angriest moments of my life. Ugh.
It led to a great Lito Sheppard play, but I’m not sure that highlight was worth the year or two Lewis took off my life.
The Eagles have had several outstanding defenses in the past 35 years. Those units have have great pass rushers, playmaking corners and stud linebackers. The overlooked position is usually safety. When you have the right duo manning the back end of the defense, it allows everyone else to be aggressive and the defense has a chance to be special.
What an amazing group of players. And they had a dynamic pair of safeties running the middle of the field. Andre Waters was the team’s leading tackler and was a force against the run. Wes Hopkins was the rangy playmaker at FS, but was also a lights out hitter. Together, they controlled the middle of the field and the back end of the defense. They made life brutally hard on opposing offenses.
Hopkins is an incredibly underrated player. He was a special FS in the 80’s and early 90’s. He only went to a single Pro Bowl, which is absolutely insane. Hopkins could blitz, play the run and make plays in the passing game. He had 30 INTs in his career. He only played four games in 1986 and 1987 combined or he would probably have the Eagles career record for INTs. He was good when he came back, but the injury robbed him of some of his athleticism.
Hopkins is probably most famous for the House of Pain game in 1991. He unleashed some brutal hits on Houston WRs. They were shots to the head and would get him thrown out and suspended today, but back then it was considered good defense. He broke the nose of Ernest Givens and knocked Drew Hill out of the game.
Football was a wild, violent game back then.
Waters was listed at 5-11, 200. Pound for pound, he might have been the toughest player in the league. Waters wasn’t scared of anyone or anything. Hopkins was the more explosive hitter, but Waters laid his share of big hits as well. He spent more time close to the line of scrimmage and was a key to the Eagles dominant run defense. From 1989 to 1992, the Eagles went 53 straight games without allowing a 100-yard rusher. And that was at a time when offenses were built around RBs. The front seven was key of course, but Waters was the X-factor. He led the team in tackles in that period. Waters was a rugged defender who intimidated some opponents because of his aggressive style of play.
Wes and Andre were a special duo and a big part of the reason I fell in love with the Eagles.
1994
Football is not a sentimental game. The Eagles had a new pair of safeties in place for 1994, Mike Zordich and Greg Jackson. Both came to the Eagles in free agency and both turned out to be good players. The team started 7-2 in 1994, but then lost the final seven games of the year to finish 7-9. The defense was 4th in yards allowed and 11th in points allowed. They held four opponents to 8 points or less. They didn’t give up 30 points in a game until December, when injuries were an issue. Zordich and Jackson were a big part of the reason the defense played so well.
Zordich was the big guy at 6-1, 210. He was a solid hitter and good run defender. Zordich had his limitations in coverage, but was smart and made his share of plays. He picked off 4 passes, had 2 FF and a sack for the ’94 defense. Zordich was at his best in the box, where he could use his size and physicality.  Jackson was the traditional FS. You wanted him playing deep and attacking the ball. He picked off 6 passes and had 32 picks for his career.
Zordich and Jackson had good chemistry and worked well together. They started again in 1995 and the defense was once again 4th in yards allowed. There isn’t much talk about Zordich and Jackson, but they were key players on some good Eagles defenses.
2001
The Eagles drafted Brian Dawkins in 1996. He became a star once Jim Johnson took over as DC in 1999. Johnson unleashed Dawk and used him creatively and aggressively. Zordich teamed with Dawk from 1996-1998. Tim Hauck was the SS in 1999 before giving way to Damon Moore.
The 2001 defense was outstanding. I’m not sure people appreciate how good it really was. They were 2nd in the league in points allowed and 7th in yards allowed. The 2001 Eagles did not allow more than 21 points in a regular season game. That is freakishly good.
Our latest Old School All-22 Review breaks down a seven-sack performance by Jim Johnson’s defense against Seattle in 2001, presented by Golden Nugget Jewelers.#FlyEaglesFlypic.twitter.com/6PBokMhBqS
Dawkins was the secret sauce. He finished 5th on the team in tackles. He had 2 INTs, 2 FF, 2 FR and 1.5 sacks. Dawk had an amazing 17 PDs. Some of those happened at the LOS, but plenty of them were downfield. Dawk had great range and ball skills. QBs thought they had an open receiver down the field and then #20 came flying over to make the play.
Moore wasn’t special in any way. He was just a solid player. He finished 3rd on the team in tackles and added 2 INTs, 2 FF and a sack. Moore is most famous for his play to seal the late season game with the Giants that gave the Eagles their first NFC East title in more than a decade.
I came close to having a heart attack as Ron Dixon ran down the sideline. Thank god Moore hustled and made the play. The Miracle that wasn’t.
2008
The two best defenses of the Reid era were 2001 and 2008, with Dawk as the star of both groups. The 2008 unit finished 4th in points allowed and 3rd in yards allowed. Dawk’s running mate in ’08 was Quintin Mikell.
Mikell was one of the great success stories of the Reid era. He was a UDFA who made the team in 2003. He became a key STer and then was given a chance as a role player. Mikell was the starting SS from 2007-2010. He made one Pro Bowl and was 2nd team All-Pro twice. Mikell wasn’t special like Dawk, but he was versatile. He could play in the box and stuff the run. He was solid in man coverage. He also could play deep.
In 2008 Mikell was 2nd on the team in tackles. He had 3 INTs, 2 FFs and 2 sacks. He broke up 9 passes, showing his ability to make plays in the passing game.
— Random Philly Athletes (@PhillyRandom) March 6, 2021
Dawk did more blitzing in 2008. He only picked off one pass, but had 3 sacks and 11 TFLs. He was a force at the LOS. He also had a career high 6 FFs. There were a couple of highlight moments for Dawk that year. He had a key sack of Ben Roethlisberger to seal a win over the Steelers. Dawk saved his best for last, creating a pair of TDs in the legendary 44-6 romp over the Cowboys.
Dawkins contributed in a BIG way in one of my favorite games as a fan (44-6). Top 3 pic.twitter.com/wuEP4wFe6N
Dawk left in free agency after the 2008 season. Safety was unsettled for a while, but that changed when the Eagles signed Malcolm Jenkins in 2014. He brought stability, leadership and playmaking ability to the deep patrol. Rodney McLeod joined Jenkins in 2016 and gave the Eagles another special pair of safeties. They were key to the 2017 defense finishing 4th in points and yards allowed. They also won a big game vs the Pats at the end of the year, in case you forgot.
I have no idea why the Saints let Jenkins go. He was 26 years old, productive and a high character guy. What a terrible decision, but it worked out great for the Eagles. Jenkins became a key player and team leader for the Eagles. He was everything you want in a safey. He was smart and tough. He was versatile. He could line up in the slot or back deep. He could play the run. Jenkins was a perfect fit for the Eagles and the city of Philadelphia. He was a tough, emotional player that quickly became a fan favorite.
Jenkins was 2nd on the team in tackles in 2017. He had 2 INTs, a FF and a sack. McLeod was 5th on the team in tackles and had 3 INTs. Jim Schwartz liked interchangeable safeties. McLeod and Jenkins weren’t twins, but both could do it all. That gave Schwartz the freedom to be creative with his play-calls. Both players had key moments in the Super Bowl.
— Random Philly Athletes (@philly_athletes) June 29, 2022
That play came on 3rd down and prevented a TD.
2022
The Eagles finished 8th in points allowed and 2nd in yards allowed last year. The pass rush was dominant. Safety CJ Gardner-Johnson proved to be a special playmaker. He picked off 6 passes to lead the league, despite missing four games due to injury.
Marcus Epps was the other starter. He wasn’t much of a playmaker, but did finish 3rd on the team in tackles.
*****
The future is wide open at safety. It would be great if Reed Blankenship and Sydney Brown became the next duo to add to this list. They are young and talented. We’ll have to wait and see how they do.
It is clear, if you want to have a top defense, you need oustanding safety play.