Paying special tribute to Jamaal Jackson

I would be remiss if I didn't take some time to give a special tribute to what Eagles center Jamal Jackson has been through this week. He missed practice all week for what the team called "personal reasons." These reasons weren't disclosed at the time.

However, it later came out that on the Sunday before the Dallas monday night game Jackson got a phone call saying older brother Kamar was killed by a drunk driver.

By then, Jackson faced a brutal decision. Fly home to be with his devastated family? Or fly to Dallas with his team and play on Monday night?

"I thought about it," Jackson said after honoring his brother with a solid performance in the Eagles' 15-6 victory over Pittsburgh. "My sister-in-law was great. She said, 'Do your best.' My family is all football fans. They understood."

"I don't know how he did it," left tackle Tra Thomas said. "He could have left right then. I don't know what I would have done. That was tough, man. He played a great game, too."

Jamaal spent this week back home in Florida to help his family and attend his brothers funeral. He flew back to Philadelphia late on Saturday and got the Novacare complex early yesterday for a crash course on the game film with offensive line coach Juan Castillo.

Having two brothers myself, I'm not sure I would have the strength to go straight back to work , let alone a job that has me in front of 12 million people on TV the next night. I want to extend not only my personal admiration for Jamal Jackson, but on behalf of the entire BGN community express our condolences.

This is one of those stories that we can only hope reaches someone out there and makes them think twice before they get behind the wheel of a car drunk.

I encourage everyone to read Phil Sheridan's story today that gets a bit deeper into the story. Tough time for Bird's Jamaal Jackson.