Off-the-field issues would keep Pacman off the field in Dallas

By Anthony Bialy  |   Thursday, March 27, 2008  |  Comments( 0 )

Dallas Cowboys
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Wait for the draft. There will be plenty of cornerbacks that Dallas can acquire next month fresh from college, and that’s far from the best or only reason to avoid Pacman Jones like a germ. The Cowboys will be fine without bringing aboard a dangerous headache, a one-man crime factory who creates mayhem wherever he goes to a degree that far offsets his talents.

The naughty player’s name is being connected to the Cowboys due to the reality that corner is a concern for this team. They were 13th in pass defense last season, giving up 213.1 yards per game in the air; a squad with a reasonable chance to not only make the playoffs but win January games should be looking to improve in that area. Obtaining someone to serve as the second corner behind Terence Newman is a priority, as Anthony Henry is 31 and even shaky but one-time next-best option Jacques Reeves is gone.

That isn’t their only hole heading to New York City for the college player selection process, either: the Cowboys have to look at adding a wide receiver, too, and they must pick up a running back, although Marion Barber has shown enough promise that they don’t need to spend a pick on his backup in the opening round or even rounds. But, Dallas is no different than any other team that with multiple draft needs, and it would be better to groom a young candidate than add a veteran who carries a freight car filled with baggage.

This team doesn’t need to roll the dice on another infamous troublemaker, as Dallas already appeared desperate when they added the notorious Tank Johnson last season; Johnson and Jones would be less like teammates and closer to cellmates. Football players don’t need to be angels, but there’s an important difference between colorful characters and those that instigate serious trouble. Jones would create more problems between games than he would alleviate during them.

Once considered the anti-Raiders, the Cowboys would be in peril of looking like a Central Standard Time version of Oakland if they added Jones, as the franchise would face the perception that they are willing to consider adding any player regardless of previous transgressions. Dallas has to be careful to avoid looking like it’s creating a haven for miscreants and hoodlums who happen to possess talent.

And this isn’t just a matter of feeling uncomfortable cheering for someone wearing your team’s jersey. Think of this in football terms: Jones, whose current suspension has not been lifted and could conceivably be extended by a commissioner who’s less tolerant of unsavory behavior than Joe Friday would have been at Woodstock, will be banned again at some point after he returns from his wrestling/waking up late and watching The Price Is Right/full-time felony days. The idea that Pacman will be barred once more is as close to fact as an opinion on the future can be.

Someone who can’t stay on the field is a poor gamble no matter what he can do when he actually gets out there, not to mention how untoward it would be to employ someone with an established track record of thuggery. Jones is going to continue to live a troubled life streaked with violence, and he’ll sadly likely be the target someday.

Unfortunately, he’s brought whatever has happened and will happen entirely upon himself. This is an individual who can’t even manage enough self-control to just sit and behave while watching strippers; Jones doesn’t exactly put the gentleman in gentlemen’s club. Tornadoes leave a milder trail of destruction than he causes, and is there any chance of reform here? Should the Cowboys really consider someone who they desperately and futilely hope will not be arrested or injure people in the community?

It’s a miserable way of approaching personnel decisions, and Dallas is much better risking its future on a pick that might not pan out than on a trade for a fast playmaker who can’t get on the field to defend passes because he’s too busy defending himself from warrants and juries.
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