<\/p>\n
OK. I\u2019m going to try my best not to make too big a deal of this issue\u2026for the rest of the year. But you have to admit, the departure of DeSean Jackson, whether you agree with the move or not, has raised a ton of unanswered questions.<\/p>\n
The initial release of the Philadelphia Eagles<\/a>\u2019 most electric player has been debated for several weeks, and there are more pressing on-field issues that this organization, and its fan base, need to start addressing. But before we turn the page\u2014or at least try to, since this topic will resurface if and when the current receivers have a bad game\u2014there are specific questions I still have. For myself and for many football fans in the Delaware County and Lehigh Valley areas, these questions must be answered before we can even think about moving forward–from an emotional standpoint.<\/p>\n Since the Eagles themselves continue to be tight-lipped and refuse to address this issue, here are the questions I\u2019m going to be asking the Eagles\u2019 beat writers when they are our guests on this Thursday\u2019s \u201cRCN Sports Talk<\/strong>\u201d show (live at 6pm).<\/p>\n 1) The timing of the release?<\/strong> 2) Why a release?<\/strong> My beef is, by releasing him, they left themselves open for the real possibility that any team, including their divisional rivals – Giants<\/a>, Cowboys <\/a>and Redskins <\/a>– could swoop in and pick him up.<\/p>\n Remember the dreadful Cliff Lee<\/a> deal, in which the Phillies <\/a>traded Lee to Seattle <\/a>for three prospects who have yet to taste major league success? At least the Phillies traded him to a team that could not come back to haunt them in their own league. By releasing Jackson and making his salary more flexible for a team to pick him up, they’ve allowed for a team (aka Washington) that can\u2014and will\u2014use Jackson against the Eagles in their two meetings this year. Do you think fans will forget the release if Jackson has a big game against them and keeps them from making the playoffs this year? You\u2019d have a better chance of the national media forgetting the Santa Clause-snowball incident from decades ago. If the Birds only win two games this year, they better hope and pray it\u2019s against the Redskins, if only to avoid a huge public relations nightmare.<\/p>\n 3) Is Chip Kelly\u2019s ego really at the heart of the matter?<\/strong> However, the fact that Kelly refuses to publicly address this issue , and the fact that a positive response to this question would nicely satisfy the first two queries, continues to make me wonder.<\/p>\n It also helps to know if DeSean\u2019s style of play influenced the Eagles’ decision and if they would like to go in a different direction at his position. If they want to replace Jackson\u2019s pure-speed ability with a big, physical receiver, they might have to trade up for a higher draft pick before next week\u2019s NFL draft in order to get a quality player they may covet.<\/p>\n What do you think of DeSean Jackson\u2019s departure from the Eagles? Will it ultimately help or hurt the team this season? Send your comments and questions to RCNSportsTalk@rcn.com<\/a> and we\u2019ll address them on this Thursday\u2019s program, along with a complete preview of next week\u2019s NFL draft and insights on the Eagles\u2019 2014 schedule<\/a>. Plus, remember to bookmark our page and check back in with our blog next week for exclusive insights on next Thursday\u2019s NFL Draft and the latest rumors swirling around the Eagles.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" OK. I\u2019m going to try my best not to make too big a deal of this issue\u2026for the rest of the year. But you have to admit, the departure of DeSean Jackson, whether you agree with the move or not, has raised a ton of unanswered questions. The initial release of the Philadelphia Eagles\u2019…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_relevanssi_hide_post":"","_relevanssi_hide_content":"","_relevanssi_pin_for_all":"","_relevanssi_pin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_unpin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_include_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_exclude_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_no_append":"","_relevanssi_related_not_related":"","_relevanssi_related_posts":"","_relevanssi_noindex_reason":"Yoast SEO Relevanssi index exclude","inline_featured_image":false,"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"episode_type":"","audio_file":"","podmotor_file_id":"","podmotor_episode_id":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"","filesize":"","filesize_raw":"","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":"","itunes_episode_number":"","itunes_title":"","itunes_season_number":"","itunes_episode_type":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[3,4,5],"tags":[100,129,152,202,373,417,451],"class_list":["post-75264","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-featured","category-sports","category-the-sportstalk-shop","tag-chip-kelly","tag-cowboys","tag-desean-jackson","tag-giants","tag-nfl-draft","tag-philadelphia-eagles","tag-redskins"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n
\nOnce the initial shock subsided, this was my biggest question. Why now? Why not at the beginning of free agency when you could have explored bringing in another receiver? Why wait until all free agent options are now gone before opening up that spot? And if you weren\u2019t going to do it earlier, why not wait until you get close to the NFL draft<\/a>? Maybe someone gets desperate, wanting a receiver or looking to maneuver for a different pick, and becomes a willing trade partner so that you get something\u2026anything\u2026for him in return. Since the Eagles didn\u2019t immediately pursue another option, nor have they in the weeks that followed, I\u2019m left to wonder if they really had a plan to replace him at all.<\/p>\n
\nI\u2019ve been told by my football contacts that they would not have gotten very much \u2014at the time they released him\u2014in return for Jackson through a trade. A seventh-round pick? A journeyman linebacker who wouldn\u2019t make the team? What would be the point?<\/p>\n
\nI would hope that the Birds\u2019 second-year head coach is man enough to realize that you can\u2019t let your personal feelings get in the way of achieving success for your franchise. Times have changed and coaches can\u2019t make whimsical decisions with millions and millions of dollars\u2014including taxpayer-designated money\u2014just because their feelings are hurt. I keep coming back to this question and want to believe that it did not. There are certainly enough allegations to speculate there\u2019s more to the story than anyone is admitting.<\/p>\n