Jackson, Vick Won’t Play Sunday Against Tennessee

Added on Oct 18, 2010 by Jason Kearney in

NFL

The Philadelphia Eagles have been hit harder by injuries than most NFL teams this season and it doesn’t appear if that’s going to get any better in the short term. Wide receiver DeSean Jackson will almost certainly miss Sunday’s road game at Tennessee following a brutal helmet to helmet hit that left both him and Atlanta safety Dunta Robinson with concussions. All things considered, Jackson is in reasonably good shape though he says he doesn’t remember the hit and is suffering some soreness in his neck and shoulders.

As has become his maddeningly stupid habit, Andy Reid wouldn’t just say that Jackson is out:

“I will tell you that it would be a stretch for him, a real stretch, for him to make it this weekend.”

Not only is it a stretch for him to make it, Reid would have no business playing him anyway. The Eagles’ coach went on to talk about the hit and aftermath:

“He got a pretty good jolt, now. That was a big hit. I’m not sure I’ve seen one here quite like that one in our stadium. That was a big hit for both guys. It’s not like amnesia set in. He remembered his touchdowns and all the things that happened.”

“This was like a ‘Rocky’ movie. Very seldom do you see two guys collide and they’re on the canvas there.”

And obviously you weren’t going to get a straight answer on the Eagles’ quarterback situation either. Michael Vick is still recovering from his rib injury and every indication is that Kevin Kolb will once again start this weekend. At this point it would be tough to pull Kolb even if Vick could play–he hit 23 of 29 passes for 326 yards with three touchdowns against one interception on Sunday. According to Reid, Vick is still the starter once he’s healthy enough to play though he gave this non-answer in response to his status:

“You’re dealing with one of the most competitive guys you’re ever going to meet, so does he want to play? Absolutely, he wants to play. And does he want to be a starter? Absolutely. Does he know he can be a starter? Absolutely.”

The Eagles have a bye after the Titans’ game and return to action on November 7th, so it appears that Reid is just going to maintain the status quo and reassess the injury situation after the open date.