Banged-up Brown being pushed by rookie

By John McMullen  |   Thursday, August 21, 2008  |  Comments( 9 )

Philadelphia Eagles
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With each passing season, I find it tougher and tougher to parse through the coachspeak that pervades the NFL.

The league's head coaches have always been paranoid, but the new breed has taken things to another level. Talking without giving the media anything
substantive has become an art form among the league's mentors.

And if Bill Belichick is the Michael Jordan of coachspeak, Andy Reid is Kobe Bryant. Quite simply, if you want to know what's going on with the
Eagles, ignore what Reid says and concentrate on what is happening on the field.

As Reid enters his 10th year as the head coach in Philadelphia, there is quite the sample size to judge him on.

And, when talking about Reid, one thing is clear: The veteran coach just doesn't trust rookies. In fact, Reid abhors them -- feeling they could never understand and digest his complex offensive system.

That said, undersized rookie receiver DeSean Jackson is forcing Reid to take notice.

When the Eagles selected Jackson in the second round of April's draft, most expected the Cal product to improve the team's punt return game but counting
on the speedster to contribute on offense was, to say the least, a long shot.

Even though the Eagles are sorely lacking big-play talent on the outside, most felt Reid would rely on his "he doesn't know the offense" crutch to keep Jackson on the bench, and it's more than likely that's exactly how things would have shaken out.

However, fourth-year receiver Reggie Brown has opened the door for Jackson. Brown missed the team's opening preseason game with an Achilles problem and
then hurt his hamstring on the first play of the second contest.

In Brown's absence, Jackson has excelled in leading the team with 12 receptions for 122 yards in the preseason.

Of course, that hasn't kept the coaching staff from toeing the company line.

"He is a good player. Let's not let preseason deceive us any, first. He has a lot of hard work ahead of him," offensive coordinator Marty Mornhinweg said
when talking about Jackson. "He does show up, though. I think he's going to be a pretty good player. He has progressed very quickly up to this point and how
quickly he progresses from this point on will determine how productive he will be for us here in the near future."

Mornhinweg is also quick to tout Brown when given the opportunity.

"When he comes back, I would expect (Brown) to play well," Mornhinweg said. "Really, he had a good start. You can't do anything about what has occurred.
When he comes back, I expect him to play at a very high level and consistent."

If Brown is healthy, he will be on the field.

But when a receiver starts suffering a series of leg injuries, things can linger and Jackson offers Reid a better alternative the either Jason Avant or Hank Baskett -- rookie or not.

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About John McMullen

John is the managing editor of The Phanatic Magazine, the assistant managing editor of The Sports Network and the co-host of the highly rated 'Johns on Sports' radio show on WTBQ in New York. Every Saturday from 6:30-9 p.m. (et) you can hear John along with his co-host, John Gottlieb, talk to the...
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CommentsComments: 9  |  Sign Up  View all comments
No.1
10:18 AM
08/21/2008
If you are not in top physical shape to compete in the NFL at the start of the season, Than coaching staff must decide to replace...
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No.2
Cunningham12		12:48 PM
08/21/2008
I'm not sure when this article came out, but it's probably going to be a moot point for awhile as Kevin Curtis recovers from...
No.3
02:55 PM
08/21/2008
Yeah I agree with Cunningham and also I think that's where Jackson will be able to do most of his damage, in the slot.
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