There's no question that DeSean Jackson's 2011 season has been eventful. Jackson, in the final season of his rookie contract, arrived at training camp later after a brief, 11-day holdout. The Pro Bowl wide receiver declared upon his arrival that any contract squabbles were in the past, and he was looking forward to helping the Eagles on the field. His season got off to a quick start, with two 100-yard performances in the team's first four games, including a 171-yard game against the San Francisco 49ers, the third-highest total of Jackson's career. Then, in the middle of the season, there was the last-minute deactivation as a result of a missed team meeting, putting Jackson under a different kind of spotlight in which his effort on the field was questioned, no matter the evidence to the contrary. Saturday, while the Eagles were eliminated from playoff contention, Jackson put up another solid performance, catching five passes for 90 yards.
After the win over the rival Cowboys, a reflective Jackson sounded nothing like a player looking to greener pastures elsewhere.
"It's an unfamiliar feeling, an unfamiliar fight. I've never really witnessed this in my four years here. It's a reality check," Jackson said about missing the playoffs for the first time in his professional career. "Everybody has to check themselves. Hopefully we'll finish strong and then come back next year, whatever the case may be, when we're all together and really eliminate the mistakes that we had early on. The miscues, the turnovers.
"I think the future is going to be bright for us. This is really our first year plying together as a whole team with the new additions and things like that. It's kind of a year under our belt, so make sure we come back and just keep doing what we're doing."
When Jackson was asked directly about whether he expects to be back with the Eagles next season, Jackson was a little more guarded, but still hopeful.
"That's out of my control," he said. "Hopefully I will be. I consider Philadelphia my home, and the fans have embraced me and things like that.
"If I had the power to do anything, maybe something would have been different, but I don't know, it's really out of my control."
On the season, Jackson has 54 receptions and a team-high 875 yards. He'll need 125 yards receiving in the finale against the Washington Redskins to reach the 1,000-yard plateau for the third consecutive season and 37 yards to surpass his previous low for a season, 912 yards receiving in his rookie year.
But after the game, Jackson, who has always said he relished games against the Cowboys perhaps more than against any other team, was more concerned with the team's fate as a non-playoff team.
"This year, it's had some ups and downs, but it was just really hard to put your finger on it on who's going to come out of (the NFC East)," he said. "We're just at a position now where we just want to play hard regardless of how we started. We just want to go out swinging."
What will Jackson remember most about the 2011 season? The missed opportunities.
"The miscues, man," he said. "The team trying to find themselves. I'm just glad that's kind of over with and we can look forward."
