Getty DeSean Jackson looks toward the field during the June 10 Los Angeles Rams practice. On Wednesday, Jackson caught a deep pass on day one of Rams camp that wowed the spectators and convinced others that Jackson still has plenty of speed left.
We got our early sample of why the Los Angeles Rams made sure to sign DeSean Jackson.
And that sample came on day one of training camp on Wednesday at Crawford Field held on the UC Irvine campus.
The newcomer Jackson, known for striking fear into defensive backs with his speed throughout his 14-year NFL career, showed on one play that his speed isn’t nowhere near empty. In fact, it appears he has perhaps a half a tank of gas left. One L.A. Ram fan managed to capture the first of what could be multiple deep connections between new Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford and “D-Jax” seen here in this 15 second clip.
Stafford to Jackson! @RamsEmpire @RamsNFL 👊🏼💥🤘🏼
A Breakdown of the Connection
From what the angle on the video looks like, Jackson was operating out of the slot receiver spot.
Jackson is pedal-to-the-medal after the snap. He zips by two Ram defenders and is all alone for the score. The nearest Ram defender appears to have a 15-yard gap between he and “D-Jax.”
On Stafford’s end, he does something that he’s masterfully done in all his years in Detroit, but this time pulls off in front of Ram fans: The pump fake, which fools the defenders originally responsible for “D-Jax.”
It’s clear that there was miscommunication by the defense on that coverage call. But Jackson takes advantage and the crowd bellows out an excited cheer that could be heard loud and clear through the cell phone video.
Reactions Pour in After the Deep Connection
That play clearly drew the most cheers when reading about how Rams camp went on day one.
Then, Rams beat reporters and other spectators who watched the play unfold posted their social media reactions online on Twitter, first from Rams beat reporter Jourdan Rodrigue of The Athletic.
Jackson’s mother approved of the Rodrigue tweet by sending this reaction to her.
Rams team reporter Stu Jackson gave his verbal response to the play by detailing the moment from the play to the fan reaction from the sidelines.
Matthew Stafford with a deep completion to DeSean Jackson during 11-on-11s, drawing cheers from the crowd. Jackson’s speed on display – outran the secondary with a good amount of distance between him and the last defender.
The NFL Network’s Andrew Siciliano was in attendance as well when that play unfolded in front of the Rams.
Stafford hits DeSean Jackson on a deep ball. Crowd goes wild.
But outside of the social media universe, Stafford spoke with the L.A. media about that deep lob to “D-Jax” by commending how the play unfolded to the offense’s liking.
“I think it was good play design,” Stafford said. “It helps to have a guy that can still run like that. It’s a play that I’m familiar with, I’ve run in the past. DeSean just did a nice job of sneaking behind the second level of the defense and I was able to put it out there for him. He’s an impressive guy. Just fun to be able to break the huddle with a guy like that, that’s done it at such a high level for a long time.”
Lastly, head coach Sean McVay spoke on the play: Describing how a deep connection like that goes both ways in terms of it looks good for the offense, but leads to corrections needing to be made on defense. Still, McVay liked what he saw when asked about the deep score.
“It was a little bit of both,” McVay said. “I think it’s a little bit of coverage where we need to have a little bit of better coverage integrity too. But, they made the play and those are the things we’re looking for. There was a lot of good things on both sides of the ball and I was encouraged by that one.”
For a Rams team hoping Jackson is the guy who reopens up the long ball attack, they discovered there’s plenty of speed left in his 34-year-old legs on that training camp touchdown.