by Jordan Raanan from www.eaglesville.com
7/0/2008- AM Practice
The head coach talked and the rookie listened. That’s the way it’s supposed to work in the National Football League. That’s the way it worked at Lehigh University with rookie wide receiver DeSean Jackson and Eagles coach Andy Reid.
Just one day after Reid said, “[Jackson] needs to get healthy and get back out there is what he needs to do,” the second-round pick was back on the field. Jackson had missed the previous two days with a slight hamstring problem.
Whether it was Reid’s words or not — Jackson said Monday he would be back in a day or two from his hamstring “tweak” — the bottom line is he returned to practice for the first time in three days. Surely the comment was recognized by the Eagles’ projected punt returner and probably provided an extra little kick in the butt.
"The biggest thing is that it's hard to not be on the field practicing when your team is practicing and you're sitting out here doing extra work to try and get healthy," Jackson said.
Will remaining healthy be a constant struggle for the diminutive Cal product? Jackson missed the team’s final minicamp with the same injury to the same hamstring. And has all the missed time hampered his progress and growth?
“I feel like I’m not behind,” Jackson said. “I’ve been at every meeting.”
It’s doubtful Reid would agree with Jackson on that. Being on the field is a little different than learning in the classroom. Reid doesn’t normally make harsh comments about injured players like he did to the rookie dynamo on Tuesday. It’s clear, however, that the rookie was listening.
Jackson looked solid during the workout, getting open constantly during contact and 1-on-1 drills. But he did muff a booming punt from Sav Rocca.
“It got up high on me,’ Jackson said. “I took my eye off it. You have to keep focus.”
Well, the rookie’s not perfect. He has looked good though --- (insert the dreaded caveat) when he’s been on the field. And he was on the field practicing on Wednesday.
