Unbelievable, Acee.

Let me start by getting one thing out of the way. Thank you Kevin Acee for clearing up at least some of the questions I had about how the salary cap next year in your article today. I now know that nobody knows exactly how the franchise tags will work or even if they will exist next year. So informative.

Aside from that, Acee continues to prove that he is AJ's most loyal Stormtrooper. That's right, I'm eschewing the normal Godfather or John Wayne tropes and I'm going with Vader. How ya like them apples?

Let's start here, where Acee lays out his cluelessness for the whole world to see:

"Much of the rhetoric since Jackson made his 2010 debut two weeks ago (not counting his mini-appearance at Indianapolis) has seemed to have a central theme: that Jackson has been so good that he certainly must have shown A.J. Smith his worth.

Not exactly.

Smith didn’t know that before? He has called Jackson a “great” player, been effusive in his praise for his practice habits and how hard he plays, as well as his ability to catch passes. Jackson was second in the league in yards per catch from 2008-09. His 63.6 reception percentage last season was remarkable considering the 68 passes he caught traveled an average of 14 yards in the air, most among anyone who caught more than 45 passes. He has 19 receiving touchdowns since the start of 2008 season, tied for 18th in the league while missing the first 11 games of this season. Smith knew what he had before Jackson went for 112 yards and three touchdowns on Thursday."

Who ever said that AJ didn't recognize Jackson's worth? That would be like calling him literally retarded. The issue all along has been AJ's unwillingness to reward that worth, and Acee's little point here only condemns Smith further.

Now let's focus here at the end of the article, where Acee proves that he has swallowed AJ's "The players are the greedy ones" rhetoric hook, line and sinker. Regarding what happens if Jackson is tagged:

"There is the possibility Jackson could withhold his services again. At the very least, we could be going through the will-they-trade-him drama of 2010 all over again.

But one of the league’s best receivers, a guy who is getting better still, would be under control of the Chargers.

For now, that qualifies as good news."

Yeah, that's great news for everyone. Everyone except Jackson, of course, who only wants to go out and be rewarded in the same manner as most other top performers in the league have been. Listen, people, and I can't stress this enough: Don't let the $ millions involved cloud your judgment, the players are the ones who are like you, not the owners. They are the ones who are doing the work. They are the ones whose employers have their fate in their hands. You may think the market is bloated, but the individual players are not the ones who created the market. You are. If you don't like that people in football make all that money, stop going. Stop buying their merchandise. Until then, rail against the owners who hold you hostage for ticket sales and try to steal you tax dollars so they can make more millions still. The players are the ones you pay to see, so stop being misled by the misers here. Do the players get paid too much? Probably, but the owners make far more money, and don't think for a second that any of the savings they create by withholding a value contract from players like Vincent Jackson is ever passed along to you. Only a shill like Kevin Acee should buy into that.