Problem Child

I wasn't at all surprised that the Philadelphia Eagles decided that they'd had enough of receiver DeSean Jackson. The release of the talented, yet troublesome, football player brought back the unfortunate memories of the 2007 University of California football team. The team started the season on fire. They were a play away from an early season #1 ranking in the nation. Something rarely seen in Berkeley. A freshman quarterback mistake resulted in a shocking loss to Oregon St. and a tantrum from Jackson. The season fell apart from there. Head coach Jeff Tedford lost the team and Jackson was a big reason. It's probably not too much of a stretch to say that the beginning of the end of the Tedford era started that night with the loss to Oregon St. and the explosion of a selfish receiver. A receiver that only cared about his Heisman hopes and his own goals. It was probably a relief within the Cal football world when the junior receiver declared for early entry into the NFL Draft at the end of the 2007 season.

When DeSean Jackson dropped to the second round of the 2008 NFL Draft he blamed Tedford and Cal. He could never admit to himself that his piss-poor attitude at Cal and his "me-first" approach to everything was the reason for his drop to the second round. I was surprised that he didn't drop further. NFL teams tend to find out about issues like this when they prepare for the draft. DeSean Jackson has always frustrated me. I watched his high school press conference to announce his college choice. There was a Cal cap. A brutal USC cap. There was an Oregon cap. Chip Kelly would have been his offensive coordinator. The man that would find no other choice but to cut Jackson. There was even a California Angels cap on that table. I was ecstatic when he chose that Cal cap. Watching from the Memorial Stadium stands, the freshman DeSean Jackson was everything that I had imagined. Then little emotional outbursts started to appear. Tantrums. He was always upset about something. Eventually, the outbursts became more frequent than the big plays. He simply became annoying to watch. Here is a player that is so naturally skilled that he can do pretty much anything that he wants on a football field. Yet, I grew so tired of him being on my college team and didn't want him anywhere near my professional team. It was frustrating to watch someone so entertaining, so talented be such a pain-in-the-ass. 

Some of Jackson's stunts with the Philadelphia Eagles were comical. I once watched him dart out-of-bounds on a punt return rather than challenge the punter. The punter! I've never seen a supposed football player cower in front of a punter. Another time, he took a detour through the Vikings bench area to confront head coach Brad Childress for something that he had said in the days leading up to the game. In describing Jackson's unique athletic skills Childress had referred to him as a "pogostick." Oooh, burn. That truly warrants an in-game visit on the sidelines. Jackson signed a new contract in 2012. It made him one of the best paid receivers in the league. He started bitching about needing a new contract as soon as the 2013 season ended. He'll get a new contract now. With a new team.

The only thing that surprised me about the Philadelphia Eagles' release of DeSean Jackson was that it didn't happen earlier.