Reid: I'm "Going to Keep an Eye" on Jamaal Jackson

Written By Bob Cunningham On Wednesday, September 08, 2010

Jackson returns after tearing an ACL in late December.



When Jamaal Jackson went down in the Eagles' Week 16 contest against the Denver Broncos, the talk about what Andy Reid and the team would do to replace him for the upcoming season began almost immediately.

Nick Cole's poor performance only heated those talks, and it continued to be a topic of discussion throughout Training Camp and preseason. The Eagles brought A.Q. Shipley in off the street to compete with Cole and Mike McGlynn, and there wasn't an article written about Training Camp without mentioning the battle along with an opinion of who would step in for Jackson.

Well, as it turns out, it was all for naught since Jackson has won the battle and will be starting this Sunday when the Birds take on the Green Bay Packers.

However, the battle's not exactly over. Jackson says he feels good, the doctors have told him he should be okay, but there's really no way other than game reps to truly see whether or not Jackson is at 100 percent -- and Andy Reid understands that.

"I'll tell you that I feel comfortable with (Jackson)," Reid said, "he feels comfortable and the doctors feel comfortable. But, I can't tell you that I'm not going to keep a close eye on him; I will do that. And Mike McGlynn and his experience at that center position is important for those first few weeks."

Jackson will have B.J. Raji over him every single snap in the Packers' 3-4 defense, as opposed to a 4-3 defense that would allow him to either go downhill at a linebacker or combo with the guard.

In other words, his knee is going to be put to the test right away. Raji is 337 pounds of power bearing down on Jackson's surgically-repaired knee, so keeping an eye on Jackson will definitely be necessary as it's impossible to accurately guess how he'll respond.

So McGlynn will be on the ready should the call come, but everyone is hoping Jackson's knee holds up and McGlynn gets a great view of Jackson's first game back from the sidelines.


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