DeSean Jackson offered his initial thoughts on Chip Kelly last week, but he was able to expand on them today during an interview in New Orleans with NFL.com.
The Eagles’ speedy wide receiver said he’s familiar with Kelly’s style of play and sounds legitimately excited to be playing for the new head coach.
“Talking to Chip Kelly, he actually said, ‘I was on the opposite side, watching you score touchdowns,’” Jackson said. “So now, it’s actually a good situation because I am very familiar with the play style, his offensive style, and I think in the NFL, he’s going to have defensive coordinators going crazy. I’m just excited, and hopefully he’s able to come in here and just throw that twist to it.”
Jackson played against Kelly and Oregon in 2007 when Kelly was the Ducks’ offensive coordinator. He had a monster game – 11 catches for 161 yards and two touchdowns – in a 31-24 Cal victory.
While it seems likely that Kelly will get creative in how he uses the wide receiver, like everyone else, Jackson isn’t sure who will be throwing him the football.
“It’s up in the air right now, honestly,” he said. “I think Chip Kelly is evaluating everybody. I’m even being evaluated myself. He’s looking at film. Whoever is getting the job done, hopefully their job will be secure. And whoever’s not, hopefully we can bring somebody in to get the job done.
“As far as [Michael] Vick and [Nick] Foles, I think we have two great quarterbacks. Michael Vick being the style of quarterback that can be good for the Oregon-style offense, and Nick Foles being a Pac-10 player, I think he’ll be doing good as well too. I’m really honestly excited to see how it’s going to go.”
Last year, with Vick at quarterback, Jackson was averaging 76.2 yards per game. That equates to a 1,219-yard season. He only played five quarters with Foles, coming up with three catches for 14 yards before suffering a season-ending injury.
“I’m looking for sky’s the limit. Hopefully I can touch the ball 15, 20 times a game. About three, four, five, six touchdowns a game,” Jackson joked. “I’m looking for all of that.”
While he seemed genuinely excited to be playing for Kelly, Jackson acknowledged that the new coach will have to get some of his teammates to buy in.
“There’s going to be a lot of players that Chip Kelly’s going to have go into that locker room and just get a lot of respect from,” he said. “And I think it’s going to come with time, because he’s coming from college, and college is totally different from the NFL. You’re dealing with grown men now.”
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