Jackson catching Eagles' attention, but it's still early

THERE IS A buzz in the land about DeSean Jackson, the Eagles' rookie wide receiver. That they were fake games does not matter. Jackson's catches and his athleticism were real. People think he might be something, and quickly. People are talking. "I don't know, I couldn't even really tell you," Jackson said, but the quick smile that he almost managed to suppress during the asking of the question, almost but not quite, told you that he was lying. He has heard. He does know what people are saying. After a second solid exhibition performance on Thursday night against Carolina, Jackson is well aware that the public expectations of what he might be able to do in his rookie season are starting to catch up with his own personal expectations. There are people who think he is the best receiver on the team, right now. Arriving at the NovaCare Complex yesterday, given all of that, it seemed natural enough to be wielding a bucket of cold water. It is unpleasant work, but somebody has to do it. It is what you do in this kind of a situation, after all - introducing a ration of reality, warning about youth and inexperience and the false promise of August. As it turned out, there was no need. Donovan McNabb handled the task quite nicely without any help. "I think he has done a great job right now," McNabb said, when asked about Jackson's potential impact this season. "I have been here a while so I've seen when they see rookies come in and catch a couple balls and everyone gets excited. All of a sudden, the question [turns to], 'What happened and why isn't he still playing or making a lot of plays?' " It is the nature of the business. It is especially the nature of the business with the Eagles and this particular coaching staff and this particular offense. Andy Reid, McNabb and the fellas have a track record with rookies in skill positions. For the most part, it is cautious. The complexity of the thing works against the kid, and then there has been a very real pattern of one or two drops/mistakes leading to an unceremonious banishment for weeks at a time. Reggie Brown - now nursing a hamstring - had the best rookie season of a skill guy in this offense, with 43 catches for 571 yards. That would be a fine aspiration for Jackson - who is going to have his hands full enough with punt returning as it is. To project anything more is really reaching, despite what we have seen in two exhibition games. This is still going to be about Brown and Kevin Curtis most of all. "I don't think it's fair for people to look at it and say, all of a sudden, that he is going to be the next Steve Smith and compare him to some of the greats," McNabb said. "You kind of have to give people an opportunity to get adjusted to this league. I think we also have to put him in a position to make plays. That's something this year that will be very important for us - to get guys involved and call plays for them." It is possible that Jackson can be an issue for the Eagles in the middle of the field, at least sometimes. That is true. But the Eagles were productive in the middle of the field last year as it was. Everybody knows that the problem last season was down near the goal line, in the red zone, and it is really hard to believe that a rookie receiver who could very comfortably play in a 6-foot-and-under basketball league is going to be a significant factor for this team down there. Everybody knows that the issue for Jackson, at his size, will be dealing with physicality at the line of scrimmage. If he were to play a lot for the Eagles this season, and opponents were to gameplan for him, getting off of the line of scrimmage - past the 5-yard combat zone allowed by the NFL - would be the task that they would force him to master. Jackson said he has dealt with all of that in college at California and says, "I don't think it will be any different here." Well, OK . . . "The biggest thing for me, every time I get an opportunity, is to do great things for this team," Jackson said. The only point is that he isn't likely to be tested much by defenses in the summertime. "This is the preseason," McNabb said. "Most teams that we have played play coverages sometimes where they are not pressed and up on [receivers]. Like I said, they are pretty much vanilla." All of which qualifies as neither a knock nor an endorsement - just the truth in the middle of August.