DMN JJT Blog: SI's Peter King a tad off base

[WoodysGirl]

10:00 AM Wed, Oct 15, 2008 | Permalink | Yahoo! Buzz
Jean-Jacques Taylor http://www.***BANNED-URL***/blogs/images/email-icon.jpg E-mail http://www.***BANNED-URL***/blogs/images/email-icon.jpg News tips

Peter King does his usual insightful job of looking at the Adam Jones saga.
Ironically, though, I think he gave Jones too much credit in his piece.
King writes:

"He played well for the Cowboys, not superbly, and at 25 he was showing signs of re-claiming his position as one of the best combo cornerback/return men in football."​

No one who has watched the Cowboys play every game this season saw any indication that he was on the verge of becoming a star.

He was awful as a kick returner averaging 5.0 yards on 16 returns and spent more time running backward than forward. As a cornerback, he was average at best. He gave up a few plays, but he certainly didn't make that many.

King also writes:

The real downside is on the field, where, because the Cowboys signed Adam Jones, they didn't move aggressively to sign a veteran corner last spring or summer who could have helped them in their dire defensive-backfield straits now​

That's true, but they spent a No.1 draft pick on Mike Jenkins and a fifth-round pick on Orlando Scandrick, who most draft experts had going in the second or third round. It's not like they didn't have a plan in place in case Jones didn't work out.

 

[ddh33]

I thought Pacman was getting better and better corner. I really did. He was so competitive that it helped him. But at the same time, I didn't know a lot of the calls or schemes, and from reports, he wasn't doing his job on the field.

 

[FCBarca]

Sounds like JJT is in spin control, himself

While I wouldn't be in any rush to come to Pac's defense, let's not rewrite history...While he has been inadequate as a punt returner, he's gotten better at pass defense...There's no doubt about that, especially considering the way him and the other DBs are handcuffed with the pass defense employed under Stewart.

And, of course, sweeping under the rug the fact that the guy hasn't played in a year seems to beg of spin

 

[Zimmy Lives]

10:00 AM Wed, Oct 15, 2008 | Permalink | Yahoo! Buzz
Jean-Jacques Taylor http://www.***BANNED-URL***/blogs/images/email-icon.jpg E-mail http://www.***BANNED-URL***/blogs/images/email-icon.jpg News tips

Peter King does his usual insightful job of looking at the Adam Jones saga.
Ironically, though, I think he gave Jones too much credit in his piece.

King writes:

"He played well for the Cowboys, not superbly, and at 25 he was showing signs of re-claiming his position as one of the best combo cornerback/return men in football."​

No one who has watched the Cowboys play every game this season saw any indication that he was on the verge of becoming a star.

He was awful as a kick returner averaging 5.0 yards on 16 returns and spent more time running backward than forward. As a cornerback, he was average at best. He gave up a few plays, but he certainly didn't make that many.


King also writes:

The real downside is on the field, where, because the Cowboys signed Adam Jones, they didn't move aggressively to sign a veteran corner last spring or summer who could have helped them in their dire defensive-backfield straits now​

That's true, but they spent a No.1 draft pick on Mike Jenkins and a fifth-round pick on Orlando Scandrick, who most draft experts had going in the second or third round. It's not like they didn't have a plan in place in case Jones didn't work out.

Well if the great JJT sez Jones was average....

 

[bbgun]

What they didn't count on was Newman and the other RW going down. Gotta suck it up.

 

[theebs]

Preach on jjt.

I am perfectly comfortable with jenkins and scandrick.

Had the criminal never been brought here, people would not be doubting jenkins and scandrick. they would have expectations for them and would be dying to see them play.

We are going to be fine at corner. Not much can help the safety position but I believe we will be fine at corner.

 

[Smith22]

Jones was getting better at CB each week, but his PR ability was lacking. Probably a mix of rust and our crappy special teams play.

 

[Alexander]

The real downside is on the field, where, because the Cowboys signed Adam Jones, they didn't move aggressively to sign a veteran corner last spring or summer who could have helped them in their dire defensive-backfield straits now

Foolishness like this is maddening.

We added three new cornerbacks, all high quality to go with the two we already had.

What great cornerback could we have added in free agency? One of our throwaways ended up signing a sizeable deal with the Texans.

 

[28 Joker]

Pacman should've had about 3 or 4 picks, and he forced a fumble and returned it about 25 yards. The guy played very well, especially if you grade him on a curve for playing in a completely new sheme. The guy was a bump and run/press man to man cover guy in Tennessee. He wasn't asked to play 80 yards off and let people go in zone. Was he perfect? No. Did he make mistakes? Yes. Did he cost Dallas games? No.

However, saying he was "average" just isn't true, imo. His games against the Browns, Packers, Bengals, and Cardinals were far from average. I wish I had all the YPA numbers in those games. I know three of them were outstanding, not average.

I won't defend Pacman's off the field behavior, but I will defend his play.

Having said that, I think Mike Jenkins has the talent to be a Super Star, and Orlando Scandrick has off the charts talent, and he is ready to play right now, just like Jenkins. These players are ready for bigger roles. Will there be growing pains? Yes. However, at the end of the day, Dallas will benefit by playing them when the playoffs come.

 

[CrazyCowboy]

I miss pacman on the field already.....let me tell you right now--Pacman played hard for us.....that NOONE can disagree with!

 

[tyke1doe]

Sounds like JJT is in spin control, himself

While I wouldn't be in any rush to come to Pac's defense, let's not rewrite history...While he has been inadequate as a punt returner, he's gotten better at pass defense...There's no doubt about that, especially considering the way him and the other DBs are handcuffed with the pass defense employed under Stewart.

And, of course, sweeping under the rug the fact that the guy hasn't played in a year seems to beg of spin

How was JJT spinning?

What had PacMan been doing that suggested he was getting better?

He was average. He couldn't intercept a ball to say his life, and he had several go through his hands.

He was repeatedly beat by Larry Fitzgerald, not that that's a bad thing considering LF has burned many a corner. But I don't recall one play that PacMan made that made you say "ooohhh!"

If I'm missing one, please let me know.

 

[InmanRoshi]

How was JJT spinning?

What had PacMan been doing that suggested he was getting better?

He was average. He couldn't intercept a ball to say his life, and he had several go through his hands.

He was repeatedly beat by Larry Fitzgerald, not that that's a bad thing considering LF has burned many a corner. But I don't recall one play that PacMan made that made you say "ooohhh!"

If I'm missing one, please let me know.

And considering the claims of rampant freelancing, there's no telling how many passes were completed due to PacMan's blown responsibilities.

 

[FCBarca]

How was JJT spinning?

What had PacMan been doing that suggested he was getting better?

He was average. He couldn't intercept a ball to say his life, and he had several go through his hands.

He was repeatedly beat by Larry Fitzgerald, not that that's a bad thing considering LF has burned many a corner. But I don't recall one play that PacMan made that made you say "ooohhh!"

If I'm missing one, please let me know.

Not sure how you can claim Pacman was playing poorly because he didn't have any INTs...How many did any of the other DBs have?

I contend that the scheme and his long layoff played a role in his up & down play...But overall, he did not play poorly IMHO at corner.

Now, on the other hand, his punt returning was pretty bad...But, that too, can be chalked up to still having rust...He hadn't played a game in over a year, I'm not too worried about his skills diminishing...It's his head that I'd be worried about.

 

[FCBarca]

Pacman should've had about 3 or 4 picks, and he forced a fumble and returned it about 25 yards. The guy played very well, especially if you grade him on a curve for playing in a completely new sheme. The guy was a bump and run/press man to man cover guy in Tennessee. He wasn't asked to play 80 yards off and let people go in zone. Was he perfect? No. Did he make mistakes? Yes. Did he cost Dallas games? No.

However, saying he was "average" just isn't true, imo. His games against the Browns, Packers, Bengals, and Cardinals were far from average. I wish I had all the YPA numbers in those games. I know three of them were outstanding, not average.

I won't defend Pacman's off the field behavior, but I will defend his play.

Having said that, I think Mike Jenkins has the talent to be a Super Star, and Orlando Scandrick has off the charts talent, and he is ready to play right now, just like Jenkins. These players are ready for bigger roles. Will there be growing pains? Yes. However, at the end of the day, Dallas will benefit by playing them when the playoffs come.

Well said...I think there should be a way to distinguish between the person and the player...We all know the player can play...It's the person that is in question

 

[dcfanatic]

Pacman should've had about 3 or 4 picks, and he forced a fumble and returned it about 25 yards. The guy played very well, especially if you grade him on a curve for playing in a completely new sheme. The guy was a bump and run/press man to man cover guy in Tennessee. He wasn't asked to play 80 yards off and let people go in zone. Was he perfect? No. Did he make mistakes? Yes. Did he cost Dallas games? No.

However, saying he was "average" just isn't true, imo. His games against the Browns, Packers, Bengals, and Cardinals were far from average. I wish I had all the YPA numbers in those games. I know three of them were outstanding, not average.

I won't defend Pacman's off the field behavior, but I will defend his play.

Having said that, I think Mike Jenkins has the talent to be a Super Star, and Orlando Scandrick has off the charts talent, and he is ready to play right now, just like Jenkins. These players are ready for bigger roles. Will there be growing pains? Yes. However, at the end of the day, Dallas will benefit by playing them when the playoffs come.

Come on with the shoulda, coulda, woulda stuff.

Pac wasn't horrible, but he wasn't anything above average. Half of these INT's he was supposed to have were just overthrows and were easy catches that he flat out dropped.

And I can't say he wasn't bad in Arizona. He got torched on the same play twice in a row by Fitz.

As for the punt returning. Did nothing for me. Maybe it was the poor blocking, but he was still going for the home run way too many times by running backwards.