Walk away, Cowboys — Pacman isn't worth gamble
by Clifton Brown
www.sportingnews.com
Somebody needs to distract Cowboys owner Jerry Jones. Take his cell phone. Siphon the fuel from his jet. Make him the next contestant on Dancing with the Stars. Do whatever it takes to keep him from trading for Pacman Jones.
If Jones is granted reinstatement to the NFL, somebody will take a chance on him. But it should not be the Cowboys, who have the talent to contend for a Super Bowl without Pacman and his baggage.
There is enough drama in Dallas already. The Cowboys have a wide receiver, Terrell Owens, who can't avoid the spotlight. They have a quarterback, Tony Romo, who can't avoid the tabloids. They have a coach, Wade Phillips, on the hot seat, and a hot assistant, Jason Garrett, looming in the wings.
There will be enormous pressure on the Cowboys next season after their disappointing playoff loss to the Giants. Neither Phillips nor Romo has ever won a playoff game, and the team hasn't won one since 1996, an elephant in the room that the Cowboys will have to deal with all season. Even if Romo has another Pro Bowl season and the Cowboys go 15-1, skepticism will remain until they get it done in the postseason.
For Dallas, a team with legitimate championship hopes, adding Pacman to the mix is risky. Actually, adding him to any locker room is risky. He has been in trouble not once, not twice, but numerous times. He has made a series of bad choices, ignoring countless warnings along the way to his suspension.
Maybe, hopefully, Jones has finally changed. But even people who know him well are not convinced he will have a long NFL career if he is allowed to resume it.
"It's really up to Pac," says Floyd Reese, the former Titans general manager who drafted Jones. "The strip clubs, his friends, the lifestyle -- he's the one making the choices. You can choose to go to those places, to hang out with certain people, or you can choose not to. It's always been up to Pac. I've heard him say that he's one step from falling off the cliff, and maybe he realizes he can't mess up again. But only he really knows.
"I think his chances are better with a team like the Cowboys, where there are already a bunch of Pro Bowl players in the room. You're not asking him to be the man in Dallas. Either he falls in line or they move on without him. I can understand the Cowboys' interest because with Pac, talent has never been the issue. But there's no way around it. Any team that takes him is taking a gamble."
You can legitimately argue that trading for Jones is a good risk/reward gamble. The Titans, tired of Jones' antics, would likely trade him for a low draft pick and perhaps a player the Cowboys won't miss. Jones is still only 24. He is one of the league's best punt returners and perhaps one of the league's top 10 cornerbacks. Pairing Jones with Terence Newman would give the Cowboys one of the league's best corner combos. And if Jones were to get in any more trouble, commissioner Roger Goodell would undoubtedly suspend him again, at which time the Cowboys could move on without him.
However, what if Jones were to get in trouble at the worst possible time, such as before a playoff game? What if he didn't fit into the Cowboys' locker room as smoothly as they had hoped? Remember, some Titans didn't like the vibe Jones gave off from the beginning, even before his off-field problems became more serious. If Jones were to do anything to hurt the Cowboys' Super Bowl chances, they couldn't act surprised, not with his track record. And the price -- a potential lost championship -- would be steep.
Yes, Randy Moss worked out well with the Patriots last season. But Moss is not Jones, and locker room leadership alone does not keep players in line. Jones got into trouble with the Titans not because their locker room couldn't control him. He got into trouble because no one could control him.
Jerry Jones has always been a risk-taker. He sees in Jones a talented cornerback and returner who could help put the Cowboys over the top. But this is one gamble Jerry Jones should pass on. He already has a winning hand. He should not give Pacman the chance to spoil it.
Clifton Brown is a writer for Sporting News.
www.sportingnews.com
Somebody needs to distract Cowboys owner Jerry Jones. Take his cell phone. Siphon the fuel from his jet. Make him the next contestant on Dancing with the Stars. Do whatever it takes to keep him from trading for Pacman Jones.
If Jones is granted reinstatement to the NFL, somebody will take a chance on him. But it should not be the Cowboys, who have the talent to contend for a Super Bowl without Pacman and his baggage.
There is enough drama in Dallas already. The Cowboys have a wide receiver, Terrell Owens, who can't avoid the spotlight. They have a quarterback, Tony Romo, who can't avoid the tabloids. They have a coach, Wade Phillips, on the hot seat, and a hot assistant, Jason Garrett, looming in the wings.
There will be enormous pressure on the Cowboys next season after their disappointing playoff loss to the Giants. Neither Phillips nor Romo has ever won a playoff game, and the team hasn't won one since 1996, an elephant in the room that the Cowboys will have to deal with all season. Even if Romo has another Pro Bowl season and the Cowboys go 15-1, skepticism will remain until they get it done in the postseason.
For Dallas, a team with legitimate championship hopes, adding Pacman to the mix is risky. Actually, adding him to any locker room is risky. He has been in trouble not once, not twice, but numerous times. He has made a series of bad choices, ignoring countless warnings along the way to his suspension.
Maybe, hopefully, Jones has finally changed. But even people who know him well are not convinced he will have a long NFL career if he is allowed to resume it.
"It's really up to Pac," says Floyd Reese, the former Titans general manager who drafted Jones. "The strip clubs, his friends, the lifestyle -- he's the one making the choices. You can choose to go to those places, to hang out with certain people, or you can choose not to. It's always been up to Pac. I've heard him say that he's one step from falling off the cliff, and maybe he realizes he can't mess up again. But only he really knows.
"I think his chances are better with a team like the Cowboys, where there are already a bunch of Pro Bowl players in the room. You're not asking him to be the man in Dallas. Either he falls in line or they move on without him. I can understand the Cowboys' interest because with Pac, talent has never been the issue. But there's no way around it. Any team that takes him is taking a gamble."
You can legitimately argue that trading for Jones is a good risk/reward gamble. The Titans, tired of Jones' antics, would likely trade him for a low draft pick and perhaps a player the Cowboys won't miss. Jones is still only 24. He is one of the league's best punt returners and perhaps one of the league's top 10 cornerbacks. Pairing Jones with Terence Newman would give the Cowboys one of the league's best corner combos. And if Jones were to get in any more trouble, commissioner Roger Goodell would undoubtedly suspend him again, at which time the Cowboys could move on without him.
However, what if Jones were to get in trouble at the worst possible time, such as before a playoff game? What if he didn't fit into the Cowboys' locker room as smoothly as they had hoped? Remember, some Titans didn't like the vibe Jones gave off from the beginning, even before his off-field problems became more serious. If Jones were to do anything to hurt the Cowboys' Super Bowl chances, they couldn't act surprised, not with his track record. And the price -- a potential lost championship -- would be steep.
Yes, Randy Moss worked out well with the Patriots last season. But Moss is not Jones, and locker room leadership alone does not keep players in line. Jones got into trouble with the Titans not because their locker room couldn't control him. He got into trouble because no one could control him.
Jerry Jones has always been a risk-taker. He sees in Jones a talented cornerback and returner who could help put the Cowboys over the top. But this is one gamble Jerry Jones should pass on. He already has a winning hand. He should not give Pacman the chance to spoil it.
Clifton Brown is a writer for Sporting News.
posted by The Gryphon at 8:07 PM
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