Well guys, the Matt Jones experience is over...officially. As of 03/16/2009, in the morning hours, Matt Jones was officially released by the Jacksonville Jaguars after he was released from an Arkansas County Jail early on Sunday. This jaunt in jail was due to Jones violating terms of his parole and violating his substance abuse policy that he agreed on in order to stay out of jail when he was arrested last year for possession of cocaine. He admitted to the judge a week ago that he failed his drug test because he had been drinking some beers the day before with some buddies on the golf course. Now...he must have been doing some shots or whatever for the alcohol to stay in his system THAT long. Alas, he was upfront with the whole thing and the judge even gave him some kind words...it just wasn't enough.
General Manager of the Jaguars, Gene Smith, is a no-nonsense type of guy. He cut wide receiver Jerry Porter and corner back Drayton Florence only one year after spending a combined $23 Million dollars on them...all because they weren't "TEAM" players. Matt Jones has had an up and down stint here in Jacksonville. His rookie year was deemed "ok" by my standards where he had 35+ receptions for 400+ yards and a couple of touchdowns, followed by his sophomore season where he had even more production. Then there was his junior year where he just fell off the face of the map and had very little contribution to the team that year. He quickly fell out of favor with the coaching staff because his "I don't care" attitude. Then came his cocaine arrest...which had seemed to light a fire underneath Matt Jones and he came into training camp last year with the idea of succeeding and making a name for himself, a name other than "bust". He proved us all wrong althroughout training camp, pre-season and just about all of last season. Yes, Jones was never that deep threat that the Jaguars needed all of last year, and yes, Jones was not a touchdown machine and at times it seemed as if he didn't make the big play on purpose...BUT...Matt Jones gave his all last season and I have no doubt about that. I think he got a raw deal here in Jacksonville due to his high draft status and his HUGE expectations coming out of college where he was labeled the next big thing and the next prenenial pro-bowl wide receiver. It just wasn't there. Jones was one of the consistent things about the Jaguars last season in 2008, you could count on Jones catching at least 6 balls for 70 yards and you could always count on Jones catching a 9 yard pass when the offense needed 8 yards for a first down...that's what Jones had become, he had become a constant, he had become a "go-to" guy on the offense in which David Garrard could count on.
It's a shame that Jones was never utilized properly here in Jacksonville and he will go to a team where he can be the solid number two guy and not have to worry about HUGE expectations, some place where he can fish, hunt, and just be Matt.
So long Mr. Matt "Coke Zero" Jones!
No comments:
Post a Comment