Do you remember former Eagles wide receiver Terrell Owens telling then team offensive coordinator Brad Childress, “Don’t say anything to me until I give you the okay”? Do you remember him leading a group of television cameras to his home in Moorestown, New Jersey then him preceding to lift weights and play catch with media members on his front lawn?
This was Owens way of demanding a new contract from the Eagles. Yesterday he was on 97.5 radio with Mike Missenelli and he was telling current Birds wide receiver, DeSean Jackson that he needs to refuse to show up for Sunday’s game against the St. Louis Rams because of his ridiculous salary of $600,000.
“Absolutely not,” Owens said. “I would have to better myself and my family and my situation. That’s ridiculous.” Owens then went into how the teams can cut a player any time they want to, so a players only power is to refuse to play for a bad contract.
The big physical wide receiver said that Jackson, who both has the same agent, Drew Rosenhaus, has been advised to use a different method than he employed to get his new contract. “to go in there, be a man about it and play under the existing contract that he has,” adding, “but I guarantee you — if he goes out and gets hurt, God forbid, he’s not going to get the contract that he probably would have gotten if he held out.”
I think it is amazing that Jackson still doesn’t have a new contract. He’s made two Pro Bowls and the Eagles have signed a bevy of free agents, but he remains severely underpaid.
Looking back on the fact that he, Owens created such a stir with the Birds that he never played here again. He admits that he would
change his behavior if given another chance.
“I probably would have handled it in a more professional way,” Owens said. “………..I still stand by the fact that I never tried to do anything out of the norm to tarnish my relationship with the Eagles.”
Owens is currently rehabilitating his knee after an off season surgery. He plans on playing in the NFL this season. The future Hall of Famer says he would be interested in playing for the Eagles again, if he was given the chance.
“Dude, of course…I loved Philly. I loved playing there. I’ve never had a feeling like scoring a touchdown, going to the sideline and having all of Lincoln Financial Field chant my name. I had the best time of my life and my career in my years in Philadelphia.”
Owens can save his breath in talking about playing with the Eagles again. It’s not ever going to happen.
I think the Eagles not signing Desean speaks VOLUMES as to how they feel about him and their future plans with him.
I personally love Desean and what he brings to the table, but the Eagles are a professionally run football team and they don’t put alot of stock into showboats diva-esque football players…..Desean is just that.
I said it before, and I’ll say it again…..I wouldn’t be surprised if they let Desean walk.
why do you thinm they went and got steve smith hes better than desean and maclin .. hes a step faster than maclin 4.37 40 .. and hes way tougher than desean goes over the middle all day, has that tough giant mentality eagles need some of.. and has better hands.. and runs better routes than both..for only 2 million dollars what a deal
I agree with T.O. here. Jackson’s a game changer. Pay him what he’s worth. If I were Jackson there is no way I do anything but try not to get injured. This guy will sign somewhere for Millions of dollars with a guarantee of 10 or more million. He’s one hit away from losing the ability to make that happen.
I concur.
DJax needs to sit until a deal is done. There’s no way he need to put his future on the line for 600,000 dollars after 2 pro bowl apperances.
You take away the big strike at anytime element he brings to the team and this offense becomes easier to defend.
If this was any other team DJax would have been signed….I’m banking a game day announcement for DJax’s new contract.
He’s been pretty quiet so I assume something has been agreed upon.
To Diverreb
Which is exactly why the Eagles won’t give him that big contract..
You know i posted this article that PFT did on micah’s facebook page and he said it looked interesting and it had to do with this. It showed all the break downs of d jaxs numbers vs defenses and certain qqbs. And to make a long story short it showed that when he matches up against good corners they shut him down and his numbers are very low. Low like 30 yards no touchdowns. But against the weaker secondarys like jacksonville and dallas he had huge games. It basically showed that most of his numbers last year were against week secondarys. We facing better talent he went missing. Maybe that has something to due with it!
i mean certain CB’s
To dawkplex,
You could really say the sdame thing about theentire Eagle Offense whnm going against a good Defense and a good D/Coordinator.. As a team they have struggles whether it’s at the QB,WR & RB positions which is just another reason why this Pass-First Happy Philosophy of COach AR &MM needs to change and become more balanced if they ever want to Win a Super Bowl.. and my hunch says they won’t change it..
I think Desean Jackson should be paid because
1) He has proven to be a top 10 receiver in the NFL.
2) He has made it to two probowls
3) His presence forces the safeties to step back a few yards. This creates room for other receivers to work with to get open and more space for the runningbacks to run the football and get additional yardage. (if only reid and marty were willing to run the ball more we could exploit this mismatch. we run the ball effectively this forces the safeties to move closer to the box which allows djax to get open deep. It works both ways!)
And last but not least..
4) HE SHOWED UP TO CAMP AND HONORED HIS CONTRACT!!!!. Teams can cut players anytime they wish. But players can’t do much about there contracts other then to honor them or to holdout. The players don’t have any if very little leverage which isn’t fair. Especially with DeSean who clearly outplayed his contract.
If I were the running the FO I would pay the dude. Maybe the FO can’t pay him what he wants because of the limited cap space or whatever it is. I would still show my gratitude and sign him right now to at least a one year contract that gives him at least some more money so he can be happy and show some loyalty to the eagles come free agency. If not I wouldn’t be surprised to see Desean bolt just like Dawkins and take his talents somewhere else. God Forbid to anywhere else in the NFC East.
Of course TO would say that. He is a man without honor. Never learned it. Never will.
everyone can agree desean jackson needs a raise ..but the question is how much guaranteed money.. its not like he catches alot of balls he only had what 8 touchdowns … i love desean and his big play abilty .. but ever since that concusion hes alligator armed some passes and i dont htink hell ever be the same he lost his toughness.. and i dont blame him that was a vicious hit.. but with the new rules they should alieviate some of his concern as far as defensless recievers..
PAY DAMAN, IT’S AS SIMPLE AS THAT. HOW DO YOU HAND OUT THAT MUCH MONEY IN F.A. AND DONT’ REWARD YOUR BEST PLAYMAKER. HOW DO YOU LET THE ENTIRE SPORTS NATION WATCH YOU TAKE CARE OF EVERYONE ELSE AND NOT YOUR PLAYMAKER. IF IT WASN’T FOR OUR PLAYMAKERS,REID WOULD OF LOST HIS JOB 5 YEARS AGO AND LURIE WOULD OF WENT BANKRUPT THEN AS WELL. PAY DA MAN YOU CHEAPOS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
how much should he receive? thats the issue I think… His value isnt in his catches or touchdowns… His value comes from the fact that the safeties play 40 yds deep when he is on the field and if he is used correctly, he becomes a huge weapon that scares defenses to death…
He stretches the field in way, that if the eagles ever decide to balance their offense? they would be unstoppable… stretch the defense and the run the ball.. make the defense collapse because you keep running the ball and then once they do, you go deep to Desean or Maclin… Keep stretching and contracting the defense all game..
his value is in his speed and in his ability to make the defense fall back
IMHO, if he isn’t paid by Sunday, he ain’t getting a new contract. They can Franchise him in the off season, but I don’t think they are going to pay him top 10 $$$ either. I got a hunch, that if Maclin & Smith are healthy & productive this year, DJax won’t be back. That would be a stupid mistake. I agree, that you can’t break the bank on a brittle, injury prone, inconsistent, 1 dimensional player like him, but he is a lightning deep threat & they have to resign him. Something smells a little fishy with this. The Birds normally resign their own young players early on, that they like & want to keep. They might be holding a grudge, because of the Rosenclown effect & DJax holding out.
BTW, TO, STFU you @$$ clown!!!
Rocko — we already PAID our “playmaker”. He got 6 yrs, 100 million.
DD – I hear you. I think that ‘something fishy’ is the weird CBA/ the offseason moves they made this year/ and his unique skillset/size etc…. all lumped together. But I disagree about before game one or never. There’s absolutely nothing that says they can’t rework his deal anytime this season. Players get new contracts during the season all the time. There’s nothing special about getting it done before the rams game, except for maybe some security/peace of mind…and it’s only Wednesday…
I always keep hearing how D-Jax’s Speed opens things up for everyone else which I agree with until a certain point.. If the middle and short zones are so wide open all the time, then how come this Offense doesn’t march on down the field on every possession, are the other WR not gertting open, is th QB not getting the ball to them.. What I have noticed about D-Jax (which is very fixable) is that he takes too many plays off and doesn’t go all out if he is not the primary received.. if he does this, then I do think the other WR’s would fine more open space..
Regardless, Steve Smith is ? knee surgery? playing a sport as physical as football….some of you need to calm down thinking he can fill DJAX’s or even Maclin shoes!
Hey, Schill, 2 things just reported on WIP, Hanson resigned, Lindley released & Watkins has been demoted for Devan. This is what i’m saying about these clowns. They don’t have a f@$#ing clue. Reid is going to give me an ulcer. What a draft, that 2010 draft is turning into, heh!? Also another wasted 1st round pick in Watkins. I knew he was doomed when he said he was overwhelmed. God in heaven, what a disgrace!!!
“Boney James” needs to lift some darn weights. You’re in the NFL which means Not For Long if you don’t do something about your size. Muscle will not slow him down. Usane Bolt and all the american olympic track stars are rock-a-roney. He’s bone-a-roney.
Let his boney butt walk. I love his big play ability, but he is too easily shut down. Look at his reception total. It’s not even in the top 50. His yards and APC are top 10. But the position is Wide Reciever. Catching the ball is still his primarty responsibility.
Nobody is going to be punting to him after what he did to the Giants. When’s the last time Deven Hester broke one.
Plus Desean looks for more grass than a Pot Dealer. Maclin too. They are soft. Maybe Avant and Cooper could show those 2 a picture of a human heart.
TO –
You worthless, moron. You wrecked a Eagles season, being greedy. You got paid big bucks to come here. I want advice from you, like I want George Bush to show me “how to win friends and influence people”.
BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I think I just blew a gasket! Now we have 2 journeymen mediocre gaurds, an undersized rookie & a RT who hasn’t played there since his freshmen days in college. BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!!!!!
What a f@$#ing cruel, idiotic, joke!!!!
bsm, you are a classic, “boney james”, that’s beautiful, lol
So let me get this straight, you morons criticize the Eagles staff for starting Watkins when he’s not ready…..but yet when they demote him in order to put someone with more experience in his place…..they are still wrong? SMH, some of you just need to go find the highest bridge.
Who doesn’t know what their talking about now!? Negative, huh! The truth is the truth, & reality is reality!
ddcar, you need to calm the f down, damnit, you are going to give me a stroke with all this lunacy
To be honest, put any decent WR in Coach AR’s scheme, and you will put up some good #’s… Steve Smith (if Healthy) would catch 80-100 passes if he was a Starting in this Offense.. D-Jax is great on Deep Routes and that’s about it..
I would have him on the bench once in the Redzone and have have bigger targets in his place once insdie the 25 yard line.. I would have him return punts and kick-offs full time and have only play 30-35 snaps on Off-Season
(then again, this is why I am probably not a NFL Head Coach..)
@Paulman – I agree, gotta go all out on every single snap, body language, explosion, aggression are all indicators to the defense of the possiblities of whats to come…Eagles/Browns game, early on I didnt see many WR’s on intermediate routes, Everything was 10+ yards down the field, up until Vick started getting hit over and over…I think Cooper wasn’t really getting open, on deep routes (although O Line didnt give him much time either) not blaming him just think he should be used according to his strengths…I like his size and I believe he would be solid on those short crossing routes, with his strength and size…think Eagles sent him deep too many times in preseason…
Double teams DJAX/Maclin get, that alone opens up other areas of the field….it comes down to play calling, I think which is not easy, you never know when or who will get double teamed, sometimes…
DDCAR — the truth about what? That Watkins probably wasn’t ready, that he was probably a liability at the line? Everyone knew that and everyone knows that. Apparently Devan has impressed in practice and looked better than Watkins or they wouldn’t have made this move….they would have made Watkins learn on the fly.
I kind of like this. If Devan has impressed like this move indicates, it takes Watkins out of the limelight and lets him work on his game. Good move.
Birdo, the point is, he should have never have been drafted to begin with! That’s the point! Reid is the f@$#ing moron, not us! Get it right!
DD – benched for 1 game, he has a whole career in front of him. You overreact all the time. For the love of god, do you have an ounce of patience/perspective in you at all?
DD, moving players around/making transactions to better your team is not a sign of bad coaching, it’s COACHING. That’s just business. People are moving/dynamic/everchanging – is that news to you? Managment is about being flexible and making changes when needed. Not getting everything right from the start and being perfect – that’s fantasy, not managment in reality.
Get a clue and take a deep breath, maybe glass of water too….
I heard thru a Pattison Ave source of mine, the Paul Homgrem called Watkins from his hospital bed, and offered Watkins a tryout as Denfenseman for the Flyers when they open camp soon,.. I swear, I can’t make this stuff up..
So let me be clear here…..(Cracking my knuckles)
This is the 2nd year in a row in which we’ve drafted a first round pick (with one of them 13th overall)
Which were declared starters from day one because the Coach knew these were better players in their respective positions compared to what was currently on the roster……
Only to have them beat out by an incumbent who was not the answer and cut because he couldn’t win a backup role on his respective team.
So Watkins was beat out by a journeyman who is below average..and Graham a top 13 pick could not beat out Parker.
What does that say Schill?
To RealTalk777
I agree with your assesment about some the WR’s which is why I don’t consider them an elite group in the NFL is their blizt/formation recognition also.. Many times when Vick is being blitzed, I see D-Jax/MAclin and especially Cooper slow to ract, to see what the QB is doing and then to adjust and react accordingly.. J Avant is pretty godo at this and Steve SMith is real godo at this.. so this should help.. MAclin improved in this area but D-Jax/Cooper have to improve in this area.. You can’t just run your route with your head down and not aware what is happening to your QB and this typically separates the good Recivers in the NFL to the Great Receivers in the NFL and It’s an adjustmen,skill that all young WR’s have to learn and adjust to in the NFL where the Speed,Time and Space is all condensed into very small areas as opposed to their College Days
I do commend them for benching Watkins opposed to forcing the issue when everyone including them knows he’s not ready.
It seems there’s some level of flexbility in Reid’s thinking now and I’d rather him admit a error from the start, than have the team pay by forcing a bum to play and possibly get our franchise quarterback hurt.
Watkins is a bust.
Paste it!!!!!
Who ever is responsible for these first round picks need to be held responsible…We need someone in place who know what 1st round talent looks like.
When was the last time we drafted a first rounder that actually made a pro bowl?
Watkins won’t be a bust, he’s too much of a talent to be a bust. His run-blocking is legit, he just needs to get his footwork down for pass-blocking.
I already posted Andy’s first round picks that made the pro bowl….. Donovan McNabb, Corey Simon, Lito Sheppard, Shawn Andrews, all made multiple probowls — next up is Jeremy Maclin.
Reid’s first round draft picks have had more players than busts. Just saying. You won’t find a coach who has drafted better than Reid in the first round. Not one.
songs, to answer your question, it says that there were 2 consequtive first round picks who weren’t about to start and excell from day one of their NFl careers. If you find that remarkable, unique, shocking, or suggestive of something, I think you don’t understand the NFL.
Please show me examples of players starting game one of their rookie year and succeeding? They exist, but mostly on crapy teams.
The transition from college to the NFL is a big one, and very few, even 1rst rounders, are ready from the get go. That’s common knowledge.
Yeah Songs, the definition of a bust isn’t “didn’t start game one of rookie season”.
List of Bill Belichek first round picks with Pats:
Richard Seymour, Daniel Graham, Ty Warren, Vince Wilfork, Ben Watson, Logan Mankins, Laurence Maroney, Brandon Meriweather, Jerod Mayo, Devin McCourty, Nate Solder.
I would stay about even with Reid in terms of talent and what they got out/getting out of their first round picks.
except for a franchise qb waitng to be groomed, any way you slice it/dice it a first round pick is generally expected to be an impact player his first year, and right now reid is not looking good with graham and watkins, but this talk is for the offseason, there is a game this sunday, you mfers focusing on this are idiots, let the damn season play out, there will be plenty more to worry about, trust me
Out of of 32 1st Rounds pIcks every season, they are usually only a handful of players that play right out of the gate and play well. Let’s take a look at last years Group who were prductive and played from the get go
2010 Draft picks —
#1) Sam Bradford QB Rams (#1 Selection Overall)
#2) N Suh – DT Lions (#2 Overall)
#3) E Berry – Safety Chiefs (#5th Overall)
#4) J Hayden – CB Browns (7th Overall)
#5) A Davis – OT 49ers (11th Overall)
#6) E Thomas – Safety Seahawks (14th Overall–should have been w/Eagles)
#7) M Pouncey – Center Steelers (18th Overall)
There were some other players from the 1st Round who played well but did not play from the get go and were not startes or were hurt and didn’t play an entire season OT R Okung from Seahawks, J Pierre Paul from the Giants,
OT T Williams of the Redskins, WR D Bryant of the Cowboys,etc,etc …
All in all, I list 7 players out of the 32 Selected that played well and frmo the Week # 1 and stayed healthy all season long.. This is approx 21% of the 1st Round Selections..
I will dig back into the 2009 & 2008 Rookie Seasons to see how the numbers shape up for those 1st Year players..
songs, you are like the general crapping his pants on the way to battle,, “whose responsible for these recruits,”,lol
Patriots just released DT T Warren today and signed FB D Gronkowski..
They have released a lot of Veterans this past week or so..
(WR B Tate, Safety B Merriweather, CB D Butler and now DT T Warren and these players were are highly drafted and touted)
paulman, your stats belie the fact that the teams expect a first round pick to be an impact player in the first year, regardless of the outcome, and teams plan accordingly, skips the stats, any gm worth his salt epects his frst rounder to play and make an impact
jake – “you mfers focusing on this are idiots, let the damn season play out, there will be plenty more to worry about, trust me” YEP
That said,
” the fact that the teams expect a first round pick to be an impact player in the first year, regardless of the outcome, and teams plan accordingly” – Oh yeah? Who said that? Where did you get that? You just ‘know it’?
I think that’s a misconception and I think teams would tell you otherwise. I’d say they HOPE for that, but I think that they’d call ‘expectations’ of that foolish. Team know how unpredictable any player transitioning into the NFL is. They know it’s a guessing game/gamble, and that’s why they do all the hard work to try to figure it out. But they know at the end of the day, that it takes time, effort and chance to tell for sure. I think for teams to EXPECT anything out of the draft picks is a bad move and they know that. Thats why they plan for vet backups, or multiple tries at a position (see them drafting multiple safeties, multiple OL, multiple LBs…etc.etc.etc.. too.
All I am trying to point out Jakedown that only about 20% (1 in 5) players Drafted in the 1st Round in 2010 actually started and contributed from Day 1 in the NFL last year… so it’s still a crap shoot and some players,teams & Coaches take longer to adjust and contribute to the NFL than others.. I do agree that All GM’s & Coaches expect to have their 1st Round Picks be productive players and usually selected for a position in need for the team that Drafts them, I still want to point out that it’s not that easy to do.. and some of th esamrt teams especailly at the end of ROund #1 may actually select players for 2-3 years down the road who don’t have as many glaring needs as the Top 20 Team’s Pick’ s most likely do..
I WAS BORN A EAGLES FAN AND WILL DIE A FAN: I WOULD NOT BLAME HIM FOR “NOT ” SHOWING UP! WHAT A FUKIN JOKE FO, BETTER DO IT NOW! WTF
Fellas, i am going to have to roll with you guys on this one. I don’t understand the Eagles on this one. Hey if you are concerned about paying DJax and he gets hurt, then DJax rightly should have the same concern. So I am sure there is a number somewhere that will satisfy both camps concerns.
By the way we keep focusing on him getting hurt, what if he does not. This is my big negative on the Eagles, show some class. We all know that you got the guy signed, but it comes down to doing what is right from a personal and business stand point.
As an employee nothing would make me look side ways at my company more than this kind of situation. Normally I would say for the player to honor his contract as in the case of Lito, and Brown, but here I side with Jackson.
Eagles you know I am one of your postitive supporters and defenders but look, stop your arse playing freaking games, it gets tiring and I am tired of it already.
Rasheed, great point on the contracting offensive plan, I think it would work.