Hawks’ Jackson just gets it done
As he sat at his locker the day after catching another long touchdown pass to bail out the Seattle Seahawks offense once again, wide receiver Darrell Jackson welcomed a group of reporters with that little corner-of-the-mouth smile of his last week.
The question was how a receiver as underrated as he keeps making so many good plays.
“I’m not that fast,” he quipped the day after the Oct. 22 loss to Minnesota. “As a matter of fact, I’m not that good, either.”
Jackson, of course, was joking. He is both those things, and he’s also the Seahawks’ big-play receiver – as evidenced by his six touchdown receptions, including one in each of the past three games.
But the fact that Jackson often gets overlooked in discussions about the game’s best receivers isn’t always a laughing matter. In fact, sometimes Jackson doesn’t feel appreciated by his own team.
It’s been a point of contention with Jackson in the past, leading to a 2005 off-season that saw him skip all the voluntary workouts because he was unhappy with his contract. But lately, Jackson has let bygones be bygones.
What Jackson has done when healthy has been no laughing matter. Since he was selected in the third round of the 2000 NFL draft, the Seahawks have drafted five receivers, signed four experienced veterans in free agency and traded for two Super Bowl MVPs (Branch and Jerry Rice).
None of them has supplanted Jackson as the go-to guy.
Jackson has been particularly important this season, helping to bail out the offense on several occasions.
He caught a 49-yard touchdown pass from Seneca Wallace in the fourth quarter of Sunday’s game, temporarily giving the Seahawks a 28-27 lead before the Seattle defense let it slip away. A week prior, he scored on a 72-yard catch-and-run that stood up as the Seahawks’ only score. The week before that, Jackson made a 42-yard touchdown reception in triple coverage to spark the Seahawks in a comeback win over St. Louis.
With his three receptions for 64 yards and a touchdown in Sunday’s game, Jackson ranks 12th in the NFC in receptions (36), third in receiving yards (587) and tied for third in touchdowns (six). Only Steve Largent (817), Brian Blades (581) and John L. Williams (471) have more career receptions in a Seahawks uniform than Jackson’s 414. His 43 receiving touchdowns rank second in club history, only behind Largent’s career total of 100.
Around the league
Chicago fullback Jason McKie signed a five-year contract extension through the 2011 season. … Second-year defensive tackle Mike Patterson signed a seven-year contract extension worth $32 million that will keep him with Philadelphia through 2016. … Pro Bowl center Olin Kreutz signed a contract extension that keeps him with the Chicago Bears through the 2010 season. … David Garrard will make his second consecutive start at quarterback in place of Byron Leftwich on Sunday when the Jacksonville Jaguars host Tennessee.