Pacman Jones
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| Adam “Pacman” Jones | |
|---|---|
| Date of birth | September 30, 1983 (age 23) |
| Place of birth |  College Park, Georgia |
| Height | 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) |
| Weight | 187 lb (85 kg) |
| Position(s) | CB / KR / PR |
| College | West Virginia |
| NFL Draft | 2005 / Round 1 / Pick 6 |
| Stats | |
| Statistics | |
| Team(s) | |
| 2005-present | Tennessee Titans |
Adam "Pacman" Jones (born Adam Bernard Jones on September 30, 1983 in College Park, Georgia) is an American football cornerback and return specialist who currently plays for Tennessee Titans NFL franchise. After attending West Virginia University, Jones was drafted by the Titans as the sixth overall pick in the NFL's 2005 draft.
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[edit] Early life
Adam Jones attended Westlake High School in Atlanta, Georgia, where he currently resides. Jones was selected as the Conference Player of the Year following his senior year after totaling 120 tackles, six interceptions and 1,850 rushing yards. As well, he played in the Georgia-Florida all-star game. Jones also earned All-American honors in basketball and track. His basketball team won two state-championships. Jones' high school totaled the most players in the NFL from one high school in 2005 with six players.
When Adam Jones was six years old, his father was shot and killed. Jones was raised by his mother, Deborah Jones, and his grandmother, Cristine Jones, for most of his life. As a freshman at West Virginia, Jones' grandmother died of cancer. Jones missed a game to attend the funeral, the only game he missed in his three-year collegiate career. On the day of the NFL Draft, Jones wore a t-shirt that featured his grandmother's picture.
[edit] College career
Aside from his collegiate sports career, Jones was an Athletic Coaching Education major and a member of the Athletic Director's Academic Honor Roll.
As a freshman in 2002, Jones appeared in 11 games for WVU as a reserve cornerback and safety. He totaled one interception and one forced fumble.
During the 2003 campaign, he appeared in all 13 games, starting 9 at cornerback, and taking over full-time kick return duties. Pacman Jones' second season resulted in a second team All-Big East Conference selection with his career-high 89 tackles and four interceptions, one being for a touchdown. He also had six tackles for losses, one forced fumble and two fumble recoveries. In one of his best games of the year, against Boston College, Jones scored two touchdowns in a 35-28 win over the Eagles, one a 87-yard kick return and the other a 47-yard interception return.
As a junior in the 2004 campaign, he was the defensive secondary captain and led the team in tackles and interceptions. Jones also played briefly on offense, as well as returning punts and kick-offs. He was named 1st team all Big-East and honorable mention All-American by several sources. He led the team with 76 tackles, also adding two sacks, three interceptions, and a punt return touchdown. Jones was named to Collegefootballnews.com's All-American first-team and was named honorable mention All-American at kick returner. Jones was also named Big East Special Teams Player of the Year as well as making All-Big East first-team as defensive back. His 76-yard return against ECU was his season-long return. He even had a long touchdown run against UConn that was called back due to a penalty. Jones ended his career with a bad mark though, in the 2005 Gator Bowl, when he fumbled a kick return early in the game as the Mountaineers lost.
Pacman Jones is ranked second on West Virginia's school career kickoff return yardage list with 1,475 yards. Jones is considered one of the greatest cornerbacks to play for West Virginia, and one of the greatest specialists, although he had many troubles off-field. Jones is one of the highest players from West Virginia drafted as well, second to Hall of Famer Sam Huff who was drafted third overall. Jones and fellow-Mountaineer great Major Harris also shared the number #9, Harris also being one of the greatest players in West Virginia history.
[edit] Professional career
After his junior year, Jones opted to forgo his senior year and declare eligible for the NFL Draft. He was the first defensive player drafted, taken 6th overall by the Tennessee Titans. He then missed most of training camp, holding out in a contract dispute.
After Jones had signed the deal with the Titans, he donated money to the 100 Club, which supports the families of firefighters, police, and emergency workers financially. Also in 2005, Jones' traveled to Pearl Cohn High School in Nashville, Tennessee to help the school after one of its football players had died in a car crash, while others were injured. Jones reached out to the team during the season, and afterwards still made weekly trips to the team to encourage the players, showing up at at least two games that season. Jones also donated money so Nashville firefighters and police officers could get newer uniforms.
During his rookie season he had a total of 44 tackles, 10 pass deflections, but no interceptions. On special teams, Jones totaled 1,399 return yards and 1 TD. Jones and Reynaldo Hill made up the only rookie duo to start at least 10 games each at cornerback in the NFL. Many Tennessee fans felt that Jones was a disappointing pick and even a bust, seeing as how seventh round pick Reynaldo Hill had two interceptions with 39 tackles.
At the end of his sophomore season in the NFL, Jones totaled career-high 62 tackles, one sack, 1 forced fumble, 12 deflected passes, 4 interceptions, 130 return yards, one interception touchdown, 14 passes defended (second-team), 440 punt return yards and tied for NFL-high with 3 punt return touchdowns. The three punt returns also tied the franchise record with Billy "White Shoes" Johnson, which was set in 1975. His 12.9 yards per punt return average led the NFL, edging out Chicago's Devin Hester by a tenth of a yard, while his 26.1 yards per kick return average ranked him 7th in the league and 6th in the AFC. Pacman also caught two passes on offense for 31 yards (one for 17 yards) and rushed twice for 8 yards. His best performance came against the Jacksonville Jaguars in Week 15, when Jones had an 83-yard interception return for a score, a 70-yard kick return, and broke up a touchdown pass to Matt Jones to save the game. Jones broke out in his fifth game of the season against the Indianapolis Colts, when he recorded a then personal season-high five tackles and defended a pass in the 14-13 loss. The very next week against the Washington Redskins, Jones recorded four tackles and stripped the ball from Antwaan Randle El for his first forced fumble of his career. The next week against Houston, Jones tied a career-high tackle total with eight, and picked off a Sage Rosenfels pass for his first career interception, and alos posted his second punt return in his career in the fourth quarter with a 53-yard return. Two weeks later, against the Eagles, Jones recorded his second punt return for a score of the season, this one 90-yards, breaking Billy Johnson's 87-yard franchise record. The next week against the New York Giants, Jones picked off an Eli Manning pass in the fourth quarter that sparked the Titans' 21-point comeback. Against the New England Patriots in the last game of the season, Jones totaled 259 return yards (the NFL's highest total since 2006) along with a punt return score.
Near the 2007 NFL Draft, Jones' off-field issues led many to believe that the Titans' would cut or trade Jones before his third season in the league began. The Titans have not made a move to get Jones out of Tennessee yet, but he is not expected to attend the first summer workouts according to ESPN's SportsCenter. Contrary to ESPN's beliefs, Sports Illustrated reported that the NFL was expecting to suspend Jones for the upcoming 2007 season.
Even with constant off the field controversy, he has emerged as one of the NFL's elite play-makers. He excelled at both returns on special teams and coverage on defense.
[edit] Career Stats
DEFENSE
| Year | Team | G | Tk | Solo | Ast | PD | Sck | FF | FR | TD | Int | Yds | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | TEN | 15 | 53 | 44 | 9 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2006 | TEN | 15 | 63 | 51 | 12 | 12 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 130 | 1 |
| TOTAL | 30 | 116 | 95 | 21 | 23 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 130 | 1 |
RETURNS
| Year | Team | G | PR | YDS | TD | FC | LNG | KR | YDS | TD | FC | LNG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | TEN | 15 | 29 | 272 | 1 | 8 | 52 | 43 | 1127 | 0 | 0 | 85 |
| 2006 | TEN | 15 | 34 | 440 | 3 | 3 | 90 | 20 | 521 | 0 | 0 | 70 |
| TOTAL | 30 | 63 | 712 | 4 | 11 | 90 | 63 | 1648 | 0 | 0 | 85
[edit] Legal troublesAs of March 2007, Jones has been arrested ten times since he was drafted by the Titans in 2005. Many NFL commentators are quick to point out that Jones has more arrests than interceptions since being in the NFL.[1] [edit] 2005On July 13, 2005 Jones was arrested on charges of assault and felony vandalism stemming from a nightclub altercation. On September 5, 2005 Jones was a guest at the annual Nashville Sports Council Kickoff Luncheon. After a loud verbal tantrum when he was told to wait in line for his vehicle later that evening, Jones was counseled by the police. He also refused to pay for any valet services used that evening. In October 2005, in a petition filed by the State of West Virginia, it was alleged that Jones had not made regular and sufficient contact with his probation officer and that he did not report his July arrest in Nashville in a timely fashion. The court ordered the probation extended for a period of 90 days, although the state requested it to be extended one year. [edit] 2006On August 25, 2006, Jones was arrested in Murfreesboro, Tennessee for disorderly conduct and public intoxication after claiming that a woman stole his wallet. She claimed that she did not steal anything and Jones spat on her. Police officers said they ordered Jones to leave several times, but he refused, continuing to shout profanities at the woman. A judge granted him six months probation on the conditions that he stays out of further trouble and away from the nightclub.[2] On October 26, 2006. Jones was cited for misdemeanor assault for allegedly spitting in the face of a female student from Tennessee State University during a private party at Club Mystic, a Nashville nightclub. He was suspended by the Titans for one game and was scheduled to be booked on the charge on November 17, 2006. [edit] 2007During the 2007 NBA All-Star Game weekend in Las Vegas (Feb. 16-18, 2007), Jones is alleged to have been involved in an altercation with an exotic dancer at a local strip club. According to the club's co-owner, Jones approached the stage with a garbage bag filled with approximately $81,000[3] in one-dollar bills. Jones proceeded to throw the money into the air over the exotic dancers for a dramatic effect, an act known as "making it rain" or performing a "rain dance". Becoming enraged when one of the dancers began taking the money without his permission, Jones grabbed her by her hair and slammed her head on the stage. A security guard intervened and scuffled with members of Jones' entourage of half a dozen people, during which time Jones allegedly bit the guard on the lower leg. Jones then allegedly threatened the guard's life.[4] After the patrons of the club exited, the club owner says a person in Jones' entourage returned with a gun and fired into a crowd, hitting three people, including the security guard involved in the earlier skirmish. Although the guard was shot twice, one of the people hit, former professional wrestler Tommy Urbanski, was paralyzed from the waist down.[5] Jones maintains that he did not know the shooter, although the club's owner insists that Jones did.[6] On March 26, 2007 the Las Vegas Police recommended to the city's district attorney that Jones be charged with one count of felony coercion and also a misdemeanor count of battery and a misdemeanor count of threat to life. [7]. More trouble followed Jones after the altercation, when drug dealer Darryl Moore reported to the police after being busted during a deal about his phone conversations with Jones. "We gotta slow down, man. We gotta get him focused on football, man. He's focused on too much other shit," Moore is alleged to have said. Wiretapped phone conversations between Moore and his friends revealed Moore talking about how Jones bet on college games to earn quick money. "You know, I was talkin' to him the other day about smokin', and he was like 'man, if I didn't smoke I couldn't take all the stress that I'm dealing with right now,'" Moore said.[8] Jones also is set to appear in a Fayetteville, Georgia court in 2007 for his February 2006 incident on subpoenas for felony and misdemeanor obstruction of justice charges for an incident outside a home. The charges of marijuana in the same state were dismissed.[9] Jones has not been connected to the Moore drug arrests or convicted for the Vegas stripper incident. But Titans management have said they will talk to Jones about his future with the Titans, and that there is always a possibility of letting him go. The NFL has issued an investigation into the situation, which is looking into setting up stricter penalties for off-field conduct.[10] Jones met with NFL commissioner Roger Goodell on April 3rd to discuss his future. [edit] References
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