Tag: NFL

Is the Media Evil or Is DeSean Jackson Saying Too Much?

DeSean Jackson has been finding himself in the headlines a lot this week.

One interview with The Sporting News has turned into a giant fiasco, pitting Jackson against his former quarterback and his offensive coordinator.

When Jackson took the interview, I don’t think he had any intentions of bad mouthing, throwing under the bus, or anything else. However, Jackson’s words have been put in the national spotlight with a negative connotation. He’s even been compared to T.O. in terms of his attitude off the field.

So now we’re forced to ask the question: is DeSean Jackson’s mouth a problem?

First of all, the comments that involved Donovan McNabb were blown way out of proportion.

When asked how the team would be without McNabb, did you really expect Jackson to say “we’re screwed”? Regardless of whether or not he thought that (which I really don’t believe he does), he’s not going to say it. If Ty Detmer was announced as the starter in 2010, Jackson would still say positive things even though we’d all very well know the Birds would be screwed.

Jackson’s comments were to simply state that he is confident in Kevin Kolb and believes Kolb will pick up right where McNabb left off.

However, the media took Jackson’s comments and made it sound like he was simply bad-mouthing McNabb. They then fed McNabb these quotes out of context and McNabb made his typical defensive comments. Since then, Jackson has come out wished McNabb the best of luck, basically an apology.

I don’t think this was necessary but I suppose it was the “right” thing to do.

After everyone had a couple days to dwell on the Jackson-McNabb battle and the dust seemed to settle, the stories started breaking about Jackson’s comments on Marty Mornhinweg. This was a surprise, as you wouldn’t think a coach would rush a player back from a head injury. The Eagles coaches certainly shouldn’t be the ones rushing players back after seeing what happened with Brian Westbrook firsthand.

Obviously, the Eagles offense is better when DeSean Jackson plays, but there should be no pressure on a player to come back from an injury like that or judge their toughness.

I heard a radio interview with The Sporting News writer who interviewed Jackson, and he said that there was no remorse in Jackson’s voice when speaking of the incident. From what I heard, it sounded more like Mornhinweg really wanted Jackson to play due to the importance of the game. Of course, the media loves to blow the words out of proportion to make good headlines.

Overall, I think this interview was probably a good experience for Jackson.

He’s a superstar on the rise and is going to see a lot of attention in the future. After this interview, he’s seen first hand how anything you say can be misconstrued and turned against you. From this experience, you would think Jackson will start to be more careful about what he says.

I hope he does.

DeSean Jackson

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New York Yankees Turn on the Jets Late, Split Double-Header

As the Yankees broke their first three game losing streak of the season, Phil Hughes just kept on rolling.

After a Brett Gardner single and steal of second in the first inning, Alex Rodriguez singled him in with two outs. In the third with one out, Derek Jeter walked and stole second, and was driven in by Mark Teixeira , again with two outs.

Meanwhile, it was smooth sailing for Phil Hughes right along through seven. The Yanks broke it open in the eighth as Robinson Cano led off and was hit by a pitch. After a Randy Winn fielder’s choice, Greg Golson got the first hit of his big league career. Francisco Cervelli followed with an RBI single, followed by a walk to Ramiro Peña to load the bases. Jim Leyland proceeded to remove Phil Coke and bring in Figaro. Singles from Gardner and Teixeira broke the game open to 6-0, and Alex Rodriguez added an RBI double. Teixeira scored on a Figaro wild pitch to make the game 8-0.

Mariano Rivera finished off the game with a 1-2-3 ninth inning.

Notes

  • Derek Jeter went 0-for-4 with 2 runs scored, dropping his season average to .270
  • Brett Gardner went 3-for-5, with an RBI and two runs scored
  • Mark Teixeira went 2-for-5 with 3 RBI, bringing his average back over .200 (.203)
  • Alex Rodriguez went 2-for-5 with a double and 2 RBI
  • Robinson Cano went 0-for-3 with a walk
  • Nick Swisher went 0-for-3
  • Marcus Thames went 0-for-3 (3-for-13 vs RHP this season)
  • Francisco Cervelli went 2-for-4 with a double and an RBI
  • Ramiro Peña went 0-for-3, dropping his average to .138
  • Phil Hughes’ line: 7 IP, 5 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 8 K
  • Joba Chamberlain’s line: 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K (15 pitches, 11 strikes)
  • Mariano Rivera’s line: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 BB, 1 K

UPDATE: Nick Swisher left the game early due to tight biceps, and is listed day-to-day

Thoughts

  • It’s really incredible how Brett Gardner has gone from a sub-par/par outfielder to a vital part of the Yankee lineup in just one offseason. He’s batting .337 and has proven to be able to perform at the top or bottom of the lineup. He saw 27 pitches (by far the most of all Yankees) and didn’t walk! And although we knew the speed would be there, it is hard to believe that the Yankees have a contender to lead the league in stolen bases (Rickey Henderson was the last in 1988).
  • Phil Hughes moved to 5-0 and dropped his ERA to 1.38. After throwing over 40 pitches through 2 innings, he finished seven with only 101 pitches (71 strikes). He’s moved into the early Cy Young talks.
  • Joba looked great in the eighth inning yet again. His slider was filthy tonight as well, topping out at 90 mph (?!). I hope everyone can agree that he should stay in this role for now.

Lines of the Day

I thought I’d split the lines of the day to two deserving Yanks:

Phil Hughes’ line: 7 IP, 5 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 8 K

Brett Gardner: 3-for-5, RBI, 2 R, SB

Quote of the Day

“He’s made some huge strides for us,” manager Joe Girardi said. “We expected him to be a good starting pitcher coming out of spring training, but I think he has exceeded even what we were hoping we’d get.” Amen.

Up Next

  • @ Detroit, Thursday, May 13: LHP CC Sabathia (4-1, 3.04) vs. RHP Justin Verlander (3-2, 4.50)

Around the AL East

  • Toronto 3, Boston 2
  • Baltimore 5, Seattle 2
  • Tampa Bay 4, Los Angeles 3

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