-
-
-
2008-2009 Offseason: Pacman Has Been
Released
-
- January 7, 2009 At
8:30 PM EST
- By
Eric M. Scharf
Now, finally, mercifully, someone else can pick up after all of the
power pellets Adam “Pacman” Jones was leaving in-and-around Valley
Ranch like so many rotten eggs on Easter Sunday.
I remain not-so-incensed that Jerry tried to convert a
talented-but-completely-misguided juvenile into the real football
player and responsible human being he was never going to become, but
I was irritated that he waited THIS long to remove Pacman from the
future of the organization.
Separate altogether from Packed-up-and-outta'-here-man, but still
laser-focused on the defensive secondary, what was the one task our
corners and safeties excelled at during the season? They had the
mother load of tipped footballs (just as they were ready to land in
the bread baskets of their intended targets).
What were the three tasks our corners and safeties repeatedly blew
all season long? (1) Read-and-reaction to offensive plays was
absolutely poor for at least eight games and probably more, (2)
wrap-up-tackling at the point of contact with the ball carrier, and
(3) dropped interceptions.
-
- Look no further for the biggest guilty
party than Anthony "Doomed-To-Be-A-Safety-Or-Cut-Before-Next-Season"
Henry. Have you ever seen a corner run alongside an opposing player,
rather than triangulate-and-tackle that player, more than you have
with Henry? Everson Walls tackled better (and made a better effort
to tackle) than Henry does.
-
- When people are saying you tackle worse
and run slower than one of "Thurman's Thieves" (who were all about
finesse and beating the opposition to the spot), you just have to know
your days are numbered. You just have to know the garbage man can
smell your stink from down the street, and it is just a matter of
time before he comes to collect.
Do you think Terence Newman (with begrudging respect to his
injury-plagued season) played much better? He is, after all, the man
who has been happy, for a few years now, to shoot through the line,
low-to-the-ground like an ankle-biting ferret, or throw one of his
diminutive shoulders at you. And, during some of his more
entertaining moments, he was the man who ended up getting burnt like
Elvis "Toast" Patterson more often than not as the season wore on.
As I and many others have said before: "The only player who was
capable of avoiding tackles and remaining productive (very
productive) in a pro football defensive backfield, for the majority
of his career, was Deion Sanders. Terence is not Deion. Terence
needs to be a two or three trick pony, whether he likes it or not,
whether he is willing to admit his shortcomings or not.
-
- When you
have a physically-and-mentally limited set of safeties watching your
back, you have no choice, Terence. Many fans believe you are capable
of raising your game to where it needs to be and is expected to be,
Terence, but you need to clear the cobwebs out of your helmet before
you can begin rebuilding.
And Mike Jenkins? The man still has plenty of promise even though he
side-stepped a given tackle on national TV and managed to drop
several sure gimme' interceptions over the course of the season.
Injuries do not excuse failures at the very basic of assignments,
nor does ONE interception for a touchdown either.
-
- Orlando Scandrick
was not perfect this season, but he did, indeed, prove to be an
absolute steal where he was drafted. He gives us hope, but, until
that hope transforms what-is into what-is-needed, you (the
secondary) have to bring the entire skill set and kitchen sink to
make up for your lackluster teammates, regardless of injury.
-
- Remember that you play with what you have available and coaches are
expected to take the same approach when faced with untimely
injuries. That is what professionals do.
What if the entire secondary has mental and physical problems? Well,
then, they can just get in line behind an entire offensive unit with
the same problems. We can just have one big happy "blind leading the
blind" family at Valley Ranch, with Jason "Predictable Heart
Breaker" Garrett, Hudson "Where's My Line" Houck, and Flozell "Deaf
And Don’t I Know It" Adams leading the way.
Yes, this posting was supposed to be about Pacman, however, the
important point here is that Pacman was just part of a larger
problem this season, just like the offensive line performance, just
like T.O.’s continued drops, and just like Romo’s victory-defying
interceptions.
|
