Everyone talkin' about how DeSean Jackson needs more touches… more contact with punts… more mojo in the game plan.
Maybe they're right. But I prefer to use Peanut as a selective weapon. I want my big-money little guy inserted into very favorable match-ups and pitch-counts. I want to platoon him.
Okay, that makes me either an Andy Reid disciple, an advocate for little people, or a complete idiot. But I'll take my chances with my choice to contribute to the Great Peanut Preservation Society.
You see, in my vision DJax is a "closer", to use baseball terminology. You bring him into full-contact jeopardy only when the game is at a tipping point—or on the line. Kinda like Mariano Rivera…
The conventional thinking is simple: Get your most potentially explosive offensive player the ball as often as possible…
But over the wear and tear of a 16-game regular season (20 games if you want to project a Super Bowl appearance), you may want to consider picking your spots for a guy like Jackson— again, in baseball parlance, you want to have him available for the save or the win.
DeSean Jackson averaged over eight touches per game his rookie season. That dipped to under seven his sophomore year and tumbled to under five before Andy Reid was shown the door.
Much of that has to do with his decreasing role as a punt returner. Jackson returned one punt last season, compared to 50 his rookie year, 29 his second season and 20 in year three. The former Pro Bowl returner has fielded fewer punts every year of his career, a discouraging trend for a player people pay to see with the ball in his hands.
Frankly I thought that was a wise move by Reid. It would have looked like a great move if only the Eagles had developed a punt return specialist to better handle the "middle inning" punts.
Chip Kelly may go in the opposite direction with Jackson as a punt return guy—but I hope he heeds my cautionary words. Jackson was one of five players (including Damaris Johnson, Jeremy Maclin, Nick Miller and Russell Shepard) returning punts at practice this week. He expects to do it during the season.
"Punt return is going to be a big factor, kind of bring my niche back out there and help that punt return team," said Jackson, who holds the franchise record for punt return touchdowns with four, twice as many as greats like Brian Westbrook and Brian Mitchell. "Not only that, but just go out there and make plays, get that electrifying unit back out there to be able to go out there and score touchdowns."
Of course I must admit there is the "pitch around" factor when DJax is back there awaiting every punt in a game.Teams often punted away from Jackson in the past, routinely giving the Eagles better field position than the past two years when Jackson rarely returned punts.
Jackson realizes his value increases if punt-returning — even on a part-time basis — is part of his responsibilities. It's why he discussed the topic with Kelly not long after the new coach was hired.
"It's kind of both. He wanted me back there and I wanted to be back there myself as well," Jackson said. "Last year being able to have Damaris come in here and take on that role helped me out a lot. I still missed a lot of opportunities where I was able to do things in the past, whether it was 20 yards, 50 yards or a touchdown. You really don't realize but it helps out a lot."
The Eagles averaged just 10.3 yards per punt return this past season. Opposing teams averaged 13.6 yards per return.
Kelly was a bit more coy than Jackson about who will be his returner this season. He cautioned not to look too deeply into who was returning punts at practice in mid-May. When asked about Maclin being among the candidates, he said it didn't mean much.
"Does that mean he's going to be our starting punt returner?" Kelly said. "I have absolutely no idea right now."
Jackson's excited about the new Chippa design, especially about the possibility of being used in a similar way to De'Anthony Thomas, who was Kelly's all-everything with the Ducks. That includes touching the ball on running plays as well, something Jackson did earlier in his career. He averaged 15 carries a season his first three years in the NFL, but just five the past two years. He had three rushing touchdowns in his first three seasons, none since.
"Right now, that's the big thing because we're able to motion from side to side and go behind the quarterback, go in front of the quarterback, things like that. So for a defense and defender to be on the run with a guy like myself or Maclin and being able to have blockers in front of you when you're coming over to the other side, and bubble routes and fakes and going downfield, there are just so many different options," Jackson said. "That's the biggest thing I can say. This offense really doesn't have any limits."
That's the tape you want to put into your opponent's head, I can agree with that— but when it comes down to crunch time in a real game, I much prefer a very selective use of DJax as a difference-maker— I prefer his role to be specialized, much like a perfectly roasted Peanut that becomes the final ingredient in a winning recipe.
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