Bretsky
05-06-2007, 07:47 PM
Mixed reviews
Opinions differ on Jones
By BOB McGINN
bmcginn@journalsentinel.com
Posted: May 5, 2007
Green Bay - Contrary to some draft-night impressions, the Green Bay Packers weren't guilty of a reach of epochal proportion with their selection of wide receiver James Jones in the middle of the third round.
Wide receiver James Jones, a third-round pick, will try to prove that doubts about his ability were misplaced.
That might have been a little high given questions about Jones' speed and mental acuity. But, as scouts often say, if you really want a certain player you often must overpay to get him.
Late last week, six personnel people with a national focus were asked what round Jones had been on their team's draft board. Three scouts said fourth round, two said fifth round and another refused to be more specific than "second day."
Also, each scout was asked what one player caught them most by surprise being selected in the opening three rounds.
Defensive tackle Jay Alford (third round, No. 81 pick by the New York Giants) garnered two votes. Drawing one vote were fullback Brian Leonard (second round, No. 52, New York Giants), center Samson Satele (second round, No. 60, Miami), cornerback Usama Young (third round, No. 66, New Orleans) and Jones (third round, No. 78, Green Bay).
Even the scout that regarded Jones as the biggest reach of the first three rounds still had him as a fifth-round choice.
"The only negative we had was the speed," the personnel man said. "His speed was on the average side. Not a real threat per se but a respectable player. He's a good player, just not a dynamic player."
On the opposite end of the spectrum was Jim Gruden, a personnel consultant for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and an NFL scout for 23 years.
"I had him in the fourth but only because of his speed," Gruden said. "He kind of reminded me really of a young Sterling Sharpe. I hate to say that because I thought Sterling was great, but he's built like that. Real strong, physical kid. I think Green Bay got a good player, especially for the bad weather. I will be shocked if he's not."
Sharpe measured 5 feet 11 1/4 inches, weighed 201 at the combine in 1988 and ran 40 yards in 4.54 and 4.49, according to the National and Blesto combines.
Jones, 6-0 3/4 and 210, ran 4.54 at the combine in February.
The players that Jones has been told by Packers' coaches and scouts that he reminds them of are Arizona's Anquan Boldin (6-0 1/2, 215, 4.67) and Pittsburgh's Hines Ward (5-11 1/2, 215, 4.55).
"Jimmy Robinson told me that I reminded him of Anquan Boldin," said Jones, referring to the Packers' wide receivers coach. "But I'm not going to worry about playing like Anquan Boldin or Hines Ward. I'm going to play like James Jones."
One AFC personnel director said Jones' strength, though good, wasn't close to Boldin's level. Another scout compared him to Seattle's Bobby Engram, a slot possession receiver for 11 seasons.
"We had him 4.59," an NFC personnel director said. "He had a low test score (9 on the Wonderlic intelligence test). Let me say this. There were enough things to keep him in the second day. But I like him. The problem is nobody had him going that high. James Jones wasn't talked about by other teams."
Jones understood the gravity of his situation. After his nondescript 2005 season at San Jose State, scouts for the two scouting combines gave him free-agent grades. There were even more questions when San Jose State coach Dick Tomey didn't permit his players to run the 40 last spring. Based on tape review, one combine scout estimated his time to be 4.65.
In the 2006 San Jose State media guide, the depth chart at split end listed Jones as no better than a possible starter.
"I didn't make the plays I should have made my junior year," Jones said. "But I trained real hard in the summer and told myself, 'If I'm going to have a chance and change these people's minds, I need to have a blowout senior year.' "
Jones said he lived from "homeless shelter to homeless shelter" from ages 8 to 12 in the San Jose area with his mother, sister and cousin. His aunt was in prison, his father was involved with drugs and his mother had a 24-pound tumor removed from her stomach during his senior year in high school.
"Sometimes you go through the day and you don't eat, sometimes you go through the day and you barely can sleep," Jones said of his homeless years. "It was a rough childhood."
Today, Jones' mother is in good health and his dad has become a strong, supportive factor in his life.
"I'm glad I went through it because it made me a better person," he said. "I just know I've got to work hard and don't take nothing for granted. Because as quick as it came it can be taken away."
One personnel director for an AFC team that had Jones in the fifth round said: "Really a good worker. Long strider. Not real quick in and out of breaks. Didn't have a great feel on routes. Athletic. Hands were below average. They thought he needed some reps there. More of a long-term project."
An AFC director with a fourth-round grade on Jones said: "He's a nice-sized kid. Very consistent. He's just not a speed guy. . . but he plays faster than what he times. And the time wasn't that awful. Good player."
Jones caught 70 of his 126 passes and scored 10 of his 12 touchdowns in '06 as San Jose State finished 9-4, its best record since 1990.
"He just doesn't have that top-end speed that everybody gets all enamored with," Gruden said. "There's a lot of guys that don't run fast but just know how to play. He's very coachable. He's just a football player."
Opinions differ on Jones
By BOB McGINN
bmcginn@journalsentinel.com
Posted: May 5, 2007
Green Bay - Contrary to some draft-night impressions, the Green Bay Packers weren't guilty of a reach of epochal proportion with their selection of wide receiver James Jones in the middle of the third round.
Wide receiver James Jones, a third-round pick, will try to prove that doubts about his ability were misplaced.
That might have been a little high given questions about Jones' speed and mental acuity. But, as scouts often say, if you really want a certain player you often must overpay to get him.
Late last week, six personnel people with a national focus were asked what round Jones had been on their team's draft board. Three scouts said fourth round, two said fifth round and another refused to be more specific than "second day."
Also, each scout was asked what one player caught them most by surprise being selected in the opening three rounds.
Defensive tackle Jay Alford (third round, No. 81 pick by the New York Giants) garnered two votes. Drawing one vote were fullback Brian Leonard (second round, No. 52, New York Giants), center Samson Satele (second round, No. 60, Miami), cornerback Usama Young (third round, No. 66, New Orleans) and Jones (third round, No. 78, Green Bay).
Even the scout that regarded Jones as the biggest reach of the first three rounds still had him as a fifth-round choice.
"The only negative we had was the speed," the personnel man said. "His speed was on the average side. Not a real threat per se but a respectable player. He's a good player, just not a dynamic player."
On the opposite end of the spectrum was Jim Gruden, a personnel consultant for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and an NFL scout for 23 years.
"I had him in the fourth but only because of his speed," Gruden said. "He kind of reminded me really of a young Sterling Sharpe. I hate to say that because I thought Sterling was great, but he's built like that. Real strong, physical kid. I think Green Bay got a good player, especially for the bad weather. I will be shocked if he's not."
Sharpe measured 5 feet 11 1/4 inches, weighed 201 at the combine in 1988 and ran 40 yards in 4.54 and 4.49, according to the National and Blesto combines.
Jones, 6-0 3/4 and 210, ran 4.54 at the combine in February.
The players that Jones has been told by Packers' coaches and scouts that he reminds them of are Arizona's Anquan Boldin (6-0 1/2, 215, 4.67) and Pittsburgh's Hines Ward (5-11 1/2, 215, 4.55).
"Jimmy Robinson told me that I reminded him of Anquan Boldin," said Jones, referring to the Packers' wide receivers coach. "But I'm not going to worry about playing like Anquan Boldin or Hines Ward. I'm going to play like James Jones."
One AFC personnel director said Jones' strength, though good, wasn't close to Boldin's level. Another scout compared him to Seattle's Bobby Engram, a slot possession receiver for 11 seasons.
"We had him 4.59," an NFC personnel director said. "He had a low test score (9 on the Wonderlic intelligence test). Let me say this. There were enough things to keep him in the second day. But I like him. The problem is nobody had him going that high. James Jones wasn't talked about by other teams."
Jones understood the gravity of his situation. After his nondescript 2005 season at San Jose State, scouts for the two scouting combines gave him free-agent grades. There were even more questions when San Jose State coach Dick Tomey didn't permit his players to run the 40 last spring. Based on tape review, one combine scout estimated his time to be 4.65.
In the 2006 San Jose State media guide, the depth chart at split end listed Jones as no better than a possible starter.
"I didn't make the plays I should have made my junior year," Jones said. "But I trained real hard in the summer and told myself, 'If I'm going to have a chance and change these people's minds, I need to have a blowout senior year.' "
Jones said he lived from "homeless shelter to homeless shelter" from ages 8 to 12 in the San Jose area with his mother, sister and cousin. His aunt was in prison, his father was involved with drugs and his mother had a 24-pound tumor removed from her stomach during his senior year in high school.
"Sometimes you go through the day and you don't eat, sometimes you go through the day and you barely can sleep," Jones said of his homeless years. "It was a rough childhood."
Today, Jones' mother is in good health and his dad has become a strong, supportive factor in his life.
"I'm glad I went through it because it made me a better person," he said. "I just know I've got to work hard and don't take nothing for granted. Because as quick as it came it can be taken away."
One personnel director for an AFC team that had Jones in the fifth round said: "Really a good worker. Long strider. Not real quick in and out of breaks. Didn't have a great feel on routes. Athletic. Hands were below average. They thought he needed some reps there. More of a long-term project."
An AFC director with a fourth-round grade on Jones said: "He's a nice-sized kid. Very consistent. He's just not a speed guy. . . but he plays faster than what he times. And the time wasn't that awful. Good player."
Jones caught 70 of his 126 passes and scored 10 of his 12 touchdowns in '06 as San Jose State finished 9-4, its best record since 1990.
"He just doesn't have that top-end speed that everybody gets all enamored with," Gruden said. "There's a lot of guys that don't run fast but just know how to play. He's very coachable. He's just a football player."