Deion mentoring Pacman
Source: DallasCowboys.com
IRVING, Texas - Deion Sanders made it clear Wednesday that Adam Jones is someone he believes in - believes in enough to make him like a family member.
"I have a love for this kid that is insatiable," Sanders said outside the locker room here at Valley Ranch in front of a throng of reporters after Jones' second OTA workout with the Cowboys following his partial reinstatement by NFL commissioner Roger Goodell on Monday. "When I look at him, I don't want to call him my son, but I see something in him that I want to love him."
Sanders first talked to Jones during a phone call placed nearly a year ago. Since then the former Cowboys cornerback (1995-99) has brought Jones into his inner-circle in an effort to mentor the player who is more known for his three years off-the-field problems than his two seasons of on-the-field play.
Jones has spent time with Sanders' kids and wife, a chance for him to see a healthy family environment, according to Sanders. He even went on a fishing trip with the Sanders clan, tying lures on the kids' fishing rods.
"It's one thing to hear," said Sanders, who still lives in the Dallas area, "but to see how I interact with my family, friends and children."
Sanders is hoping Jones will learn by listening and observing, and has talked with Jones about what mistakes he made in hopes Jones will avoid some of the same pitfalls. They are lessons Sanders wishes he could have received when he was still playing.
"I wish somebody would have taken me, and that's why I'm passionate about taking all these guys under my wing, because nobody did it with me," Sanders said. "I mean, I really made a lot of mistakes and I don't want them to repeat them."
Sanders admits the Cowboys signing of Jones is a risk, but turned it around by listing off previous Cowboys who were risks, guys such as Charles Haley and 1988 first-round draft choice Michael Irvin. Sanders singled out himself and his acquisition before the 1995 season as a risky move for the team, if not expensive at that time. He also mentioned freshly-extended Terrell Owens as a huge risk that paid off recently for the Cowboys.
"Every single guy in this locker room is a risk because you've paid them millions of dollars and to some extent you don't know what you're going to get," Sanders said. "You don't know how they're going to act when they're under pressure or when they leave the facility. Everything in life is a risk."
Sanders said the Cowboys' handling of Tank Johnson and the way he has become a part of the team shows how effectively so-called problem players can become contributors.
And Sanders said there is no better place for Jones to be right now than Dallas.
"Moving somebody to the right atmosphere I think can alleviate a large part of the risk," Sanders said. "I'm happy he's here. God brought him here and there's no better place to be."
The Cowboys' infrastructure gives players with troubled pasts a chance to succeed in turning around not only their lives, but their careers. And that's something Sanders said other NFL teams need to be doing - providing a better support system for their personnel.
The Pro Bowl corner in his day knows the Cowboys should be looked at as the model for their work.
"I applaud Jerry Jones for what he brings to the table, not only as an owner but a facilitator to get his players in the correct position to win on and off the field," Sanders said.
Sanders firmly believes Adam Jones is getting the support he needs off-the-field so he can become a consistent standout on the field. He didn't mince words about his potential, calling him "a big play waiting to happen." Jones' problems outside of football overshadowed what he can contribute as a player, and Sanders is convinced the third-year NFL corner wants to change that.
That means getting rid of the rust accumulated from being suspended. Sanders is trying to help Jones out by watching past game tape and giving him pointers on things he should improve on.
"He has a long way to go, you've got to understand that, he's still young at the game," Sanders said. "So, route recognition, knowing what happens on third-and-10, and fourth-and-10, the different formations."
It all sums up to an intensely personal involvement from Sanders. An involvement he thinks is only fair.
"It amazes me how some people with a pen and a pencil or a camera could really say a guy doesn't deserve a second chance when we've all deserved second and third chances," Sanders said.
A chance Sanders is trying to make better for Jones.
IRVING, Texas - Deion Sanders made it clear Wednesday that Adam Jones is someone he believes in - believes in enough to make him like a family member.
"I have a love for this kid that is insatiable," Sanders said outside the locker room here at Valley Ranch in front of a throng of reporters after Jones' second OTA workout with the Cowboys following his partial reinstatement by NFL commissioner Roger Goodell on Monday. "When I look at him, I don't want to call him my son, but I see something in him that I want to love him."
Sanders first talked to Jones during a phone call placed nearly a year ago. Since then the former Cowboys cornerback (1995-99) has brought Jones into his inner-circle in an effort to mentor the player who is more known for his three years off-the-field problems than his two seasons of on-the-field play.
Jones has spent time with Sanders' kids and wife, a chance for him to see a healthy family environment, according to Sanders. He even went on a fishing trip with the Sanders clan, tying lures on the kids' fishing rods.
"It's one thing to hear," said Sanders, who still lives in the Dallas area, "but to see how I interact with my family, friends and children."
Sanders is hoping Jones will learn by listening and observing, and has talked with Jones about what mistakes he made in hopes Jones will avoid some of the same pitfalls. They are lessons Sanders wishes he could have received when he was still playing.
"I wish somebody would have taken me, and that's why I'm passionate about taking all these guys under my wing, because nobody did it with me," Sanders said. "I mean, I really made a lot of mistakes and I don't want them to repeat them."
Sanders admits the Cowboys signing of Jones is a risk, but turned it around by listing off previous Cowboys who were risks, guys such as Charles Haley and 1988 first-round draft choice Michael Irvin. Sanders singled out himself and his acquisition before the 1995 season as a risky move for the team, if not expensive at that time. He also mentioned freshly-extended Terrell Owens as a huge risk that paid off recently for the Cowboys.
"Every single guy in this locker room is a risk because you've paid them millions of dollars and to some extent you don't know what you're going to get," Sanders said. "You don't know how they're going to act when they're under pressure or when they leave the facility. Everything in life is a risk."
Sanders said the Cowboys' handling of Tank Johnson and the way he has become a part of the team shows how effectively so-called problem players can become contributors.
And Sanders said there is no better place for Jones to be right now than Dallas.
"Moving somebody to the right atmosphere I think can alleviate a large part of the risk," Sanders said. "I'm happy he's here. God brought him here and there's no better place to be."
The Cowboys' infrastructure gives players with troubled pasts a chance to succeed in turning around not only their lives, but their careers. And that's something Sanders said other NFL teams need to be doing - providing a better support system for their personnel.
The Pro Bowl corner in his day knows the Cowboys should be looked at as the model for their work.
"I applaud Jerry Jones for what he brings to the table, not only as an owner but a facilitator to get his players in the correct position to win on and off the field," Sanders said.
Sanders firmly believes Adam Jones is getting the support he needs off-the-field so he can become a consistent standout on the field. He didn't mince words about his potential, calling him "a big play waiting to happen." Jones' problems outside of football overshadowed what he can contribute as a player, and Sanders is convinced the third-year NFL corner wants to change that.
That means getting rid of the rust accumulated from being suspended. Sanders is trying to help Jones out by watching past game tape and giving him pointers on things he should improve on.
"He has a long way to go, you've got to understand that, he's still young at the game," Sanders said. "So, route recognition, knowing what happens on third-and-10, and fourth-and-10, the different formations."
It all sums up to an intensely personal involvement from Sanders. An involvement he thinks is only fair.
"It amazes me how some people with a pen and a pencil or a camera could really say a guy doesn't deserve a second chance when we've all deserved second and third chances," Sanders said.
A chance Sanders is trying to make better for Jones.
posted by The Gryphon at 8:24 AM
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