Leading up to the unveiling of the Pro Bowl squads, there was a debate.
Should DeSean Jackson be in the Pro Bowl as a wide receiver? Should DeSean Jackson be in the Pro Bowl as a return man?
Why not both?
Jackson became the first player in NFL history to be voted into the Pro Bowl at two positions on Tuesday. He is a starter at wide receiver and the return man for the NFC squad.
When head coach Andy Reid told Jackson the good news, the second-year playmaker immediately thought of his father, Bill, who lost his battle with pancreatic cancer in May.
"I was kind of lost for words for a minute. I didn't know what to say. The only thing that came to my mind was my father," Jackson said. "He always said you haven't seen anything yet until you get to the NFL. He motivated me so much to want to go out there and achieve things like this and with the success of the team that we're having right now, it's easier for me to go out and make these things happen."
And Jackson said that he wouldn't mind standing on the sidelines during the Pro Bowl. He'd rather be playing a week later in the Super Bowl.
"At the end of the day, we want to go out and win a Super Bowl," Jackson said. "If we get to the Super Bowl, then I'm not worried about the Pro Bowl. The Super Bowl is way more important."
After a record-setting rookie year in 2008, one in which Jackson set the franchise record for most receiving yards by a rookie, Jackson has assaulted the team and league record books in 2009.
Jackson has tied the NFL record for most touchdowns of 50 yards-or-more in a single season with eight joining Elroy "Crazy Legs" Hirsch (1951) and Devin Hester (2007). Jackson's average of 52.8 yards per touchdown is the highest in NFL history among all players with at least 10 touchdowns in a season. Jackson's 72-yard punt return touchdown against the Giants on Dec. 13 set the team record for most in a career with three. Jackson is only the fifth player in NFL history to have scored a rushing, receiving and return touchdown in each of his first two seasons.
Jackson has 60 catches for 1,120 yards and nine receiving touchdowns this season. Jackson is only the third player in the Reid era to crack 1,000 receiving yards in a season. His 18.7 yards per catch is tied for the best in the league. Jackson has two punt return touchdowns and leads the league with an average of 16.0 yards per punt return. Jackson also has a rushing touchdown that came on a 67-yard run against the Redskins on Oct. 26.
The NFL has recognized Jackson with four awards this season. He was named the NFC Special Teams Player of the Month for September, NFC Special Teams Player of the Week for the win over Carolina and the second win over the Giants and NFC Offensive Player of the Week for the first Redskins win.
-- Posted by Chris McPherson, 8:50 p.m., December 29
