Everyone knows Scooby-Doo right?
But, do you remember the cartoon called “A Pup Named Scooby-Doo”?
It was an underrated cartoon where the younger version of the Scooby-Doo gang solved mysteries in their neighborhood. All the stories followed the same pattern and without fail during one part of the show Freddie would assume the culprit was “Red Herring”.
At a young age, I didn’t get the joke, but as we know now a “Red Herring” is something that misleads or distracts from a relevant or important issue. In short, it is something to throw you off the trail of the real answer.
The more and more I thought about the DeSean Jackson situation, the more I think the whole gang affiliations was simply leaked to hide the real reasons why the Eagles released him. Could the real reasons why DeSean was cut was his professionalism, being late to meetings, being insubordinate, problems with coaches and teammates (you notice you haven’t seen many Eagles players come to his defense) and basically just being uncontrollable. You add in with his salary and the fact Chip Kelly just didn’t seem to care for him, you have a recipe for release. DeSean has displayed these activities in the past. 2011 & 2012 were littered with drama between him in the Eagles, where his professionalism was questioned.
The only problem was that in 2013 DeSean had a career year, so it would be a hard sell to just release him, so that is where the “Red Herring” comes into play.
It isn’t breaking news about DeSean Jackson’s associates and friends. This is something that has been known to the Eagles, NFL and general public for many years. I myself have written many articles about DeSean’s rap label, throwing up gang signs and some of the people he is affiliated with. I never accused him of being a gang member, my concern was that the people he associated himself with didn’t have his best interest at heart (I believe when his house was robbed in was an inside job). So, when all this alleged “breaking news” came out, I wasn’t surprised by and frankly most people weren’t either.
If it was the Eagles plan to smear DeSean it backfired, because most rational people came to his defense, on the gang affiliations part. Rappers, athletes and entertainers all rallied around him. Fans from other teams who are desperate for a playmaker couldn’t could less about DeSean’s friends as long as he is producing on the field. Many of us shared stories of our friendships with people who some would be considered shady or in some cases dangerous. Players like Richard Sherman and others pointed out that the Eagles have some nerve re-signing Riley Cooper, but jettisoning DeSean away because of his friends.
But, what if……..
It had nothing to do with gangs, it was simply some behind the scenes things that the Eagles and Chip Kelly thought made DeSean a loose cannon that couldn’t be controlled especially with Michael Vick not around to keep everyone in check (if not for Vick, Riley Cooper would have been ostracized).
If that is the case, the Redskins just took a huge gamble ($16 million guaranteed gamble), because their team imploded last year. They have a new coach and a lot strong personalities in that locker room. What happens if things start to go wrong or DeSean isn’t being the used the way he thinks he should? Does he revert to the 2011-12 DeSean or does he become disinterested because he has his money? What happens if the RG3 vs. Cousins QB controversy arises, how will DeSean react? Will he respect the new head coach even though the Redskins courted him like a kid trying to get Kate Upton to go to prom with them?
The mystery will only be solved once the season starts. If only Velma was around, she unlike Sway always has the answers.
Solid cartoon intro here.