DeSean Jackson Took Reps With… Third Teamers

Share

So far, Chip Kelly's basically taken a jackhammer to the NFL's standing conventional wisdom. Practice structure, player positions and even nutrition have all been up for referendum, and the first-year Eagles coach apparently isn't stopping there.

"Demotions" are in play, too. No matter your status.

DeSean Jackson told Tim McManus of PhillyMag.com that he's taken reps with second-teamers, even third-teamers at times this offseason.

“He just expects everyone to do things a certain way,” Jackson said.

Jackson presumably wasn't.

Obviously, the merits of that way remain to be seen. But that Kelly seems to have set the organization's culture and direction -- and, apparently, earned his players' respect -- is encouraging. Not just for a first-year head coach or first-year NFL man. But also for a guy who inherited quite a bit of institutional turmoil from his predecessor, who seemingly lost the ability to do such things.

Worth noting is Jackson's attitude in all this. Upon briefly being made an example of, Jackson, an adult, approached Kelly, also an adult, and, you know, had an adult conversation.

"For myself, I just had to really hear it from his mouth to get that rapport with him and be on the same page with him. When I went in there, he said he expects everybody to buy into the system and do everything the right way.

“And if there is any little thing a player doesn’t want to do, that’s his way of reacting to it. The best thing I did was go talk to him instead of just sitting back and being mad.”

It's also worth pointing out that who works with the first, second, or third team during OTAs may have minimal meaning to Chip Kelly's offense in the long run. Don't need to look much further than the QB position for another example. This could simply be a teaching tool for him as a way to get through to D-Jacc that he's one guy on a team -- albeit an important guy.

And DeSean seemed to handle the move in a mature way, by talking it out. Maybe he learned something too.

Contact Us