Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver DeSean Jackson was criticized last year for not giving a full effort in a bid to avoid injury. On Monday, he admitted that criticism was on point.
"I let it get to me, even though I tried not to let it. I was trying to protect myself from getting hurt -- now I'm just giving it all," Jackson told ESPN's Lisa Salters.
This probably will be used against Jackson as some "Gotcha!" sound bite. We'll hear ex-coaches talk about how players never did such things back in the day. (Except when they did.)
It was obvious that Jackson was distracted last season and that his effort was lacking. It is regrettable but also predictable, considering the money at stake. We criticize athletes for vanilla answers and then kill them when they are honest.
I'd rather Jackson just admit the truth and move on. It couldn't have bothered the Eagles that much since they still gave Jackson a big contract in the offseason.
Follow Gregg Rosenthal on Twitter @greggrosenthal.
