Eagles, Packers gird for battle of the wideouts

There are star wide receivers, and there are wide receivers who think they are stars.

DeSean Jackson is both.

That doesn't make him any different from most Pro Bowl receivers. Although, on Sunday, there will be another star receiver on the field when the Eagles host the Packers. This guy, though, has nowhere near Jackson's name recognition, nor does he care.

Green Bay wideout Greg Jennings entered this season without a Pro Bowl nod despite two straight seasons with more than 1,000 yards receiving.

Outside Wisconsin, Jennings was probably better known as "that guy" Aaron Rodgers throws to - not one of the NFL's top receivers.

"If I can fly under the radar and not be that guy when they mention receivers," Jennings once said, "it doesn't bother me at all."

But you can be good and unsung for only so long. So when 2010 Pro Bowl rosters were announced last week, Jennings had finally made the list as a reserve - along with Jackson - behind starters Roddy White of Atlanta and Calvin Johnson of Detroit.

His statistics were impressive: 76 catches for 1,265 yards and 12 touchdowns. And they are even better when you consider his slow start. In a torrid final 11 games, he hauled in 62 receptions for 1,082 yards and nine touchdowns as the Packers captured the final playoff spot in the NFC.

There isn't much about the 27-year-old Jennings that screams "star receiver." He isn't especially fast or flamboyant. He isn't big at 5-foot-11, 198 pounds. All he does is get open and make catches.

Jackson, too, is short for a receiver. And like Jennings, he wasn't drafted until the second round. But that's where the comparisons end.

If receivers are the divas of the NFL, Jackson is the Celine Dion of the group. Both can belt out greatest hits, but don't expect a full album's/season's worth of consistency.

In just three seasons, though, Jackson has produced a career's worth of chart toppers. The 24-year-old is a human highlight reel for the video generation. He can score from anywhere on the field, and he can do it in various ways.

This year, he became only the second player in NFL history to score touchdowns via receiving, rushing, and punt return during each of his first three seasons, joining Washington's Dick Todd (1939-41).

He has had 61-, 88- and 91-yard touchdown catches. The last came in the fourth quarter against Dallas last month, with Jackson outracing the Cowboys 80 yards into the end zone. His Nestea plunge across the goal line rankled some, but there's no denying it was great theater.

"I could care less about who likes it and who doesn't," Jackson said in response to his critics, one of whom was Eagles quarterback Michael Vick. "I do it because it's entertainment."

The next week, he topped himself in heart-thumping fashion, returning a punt 65 yards for the game-winning score against the Giants as time expired. It elevated Jackson to stratospheric heights.

But there is a price to be paid for stardom. And Jackson has seen it this season in the form of extra defenders. Life on the gridiron for the 5-10, 175-pound receiver can become a grind. Jackson will get lost for long stretches as he did in the first meeting with the Packers, when he went without a catch in the first half. His 47 receptions this season are 15 fewer than in both of his first two seasons and placed him in a tie for 71st in the league.

But there might not be another player in the NFL who can turn a game on one play. And that's why Jackson is a star.

Just ask him.