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Jones' game on, off
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Good outing marred by mental mistake
By TOM SILVERSTEIN
tsilverstein@journalsentinel.com
Posted: Aug. 23, 2007
You can see why the Green Bay Packers like rookie wide receiver James Jones so much.
You can also see how he just might turn the rest of quarterback Brett Favre's hair gray.
In the Packers' 21-13 exhibition loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars on Thursday night at Lambeau Field, Jones alternated looking like the wide receiver who could inject new life into the Packers' offense and a liability who could strangle the life out of a drive with a costly mental error. It was only his third NFL game, but his uneven performance sounded a warning alarm about his readiness for the regular season.
"I hold myself to a high standard," Jones said after the game. "I want to play better. But you're never going to play a perfect game. I want to learn from this and get ready (for the regular season)."
Jones' role come Sept. 9 could be much bigger than expected if the right foot injury suffered by starting receiver Donald Driver is serious. Driver has rebounded quickly from injury in the past and the Packers have two weeks until the opener, but no one knows for sure whether he'll be available.
The Packers will be OK if the good Jones shows up in the regular season.
On Thursday night, he continued to show aplomb running short routes across the field and making himself a big target, hauling in six passes for 80 yards and getting wide open at the goal line for what would have been a touchdown had Favre's pass not been batted down at the line of scrimmage midway through the second quarter.
All six of Jones' receptions resulted in first downs, including five in which he caught the ball short of the marker and gained the needed yardage to move the chains. He caught three consecutive passes for 23, 11 and 14 yards during a second-quarter touchdown drive led by backup quarterback Aaron Rodgers.
"James Jones is extremely bright," Rodgers said. "He's done a great job mentally. I'm not worried about him. I think he's going to have a good season. He continues to improve and he'll be an important part of our offense."
As impressive as his plays were, he also failed to react to a blitz read on the third play of the game and instead of breaking off his route he ran down the field. Favre was facing a two-man blitz off his left side and looked to hit Jones in the flat, but had to take a sack when Jones wasn't there.
Favre slammed the ball down on the ground after picking himself up off the ground, obviously frustrated with Jones' failure to read a single-safety coverage that requires him to cut off his route.
"We're supposed to read the coverage," said Jones, a third-round pick. "Brett just told me to be decisive with my route. That's something I'll learn from."
Despite the mistake, Favre came back to Jones on the same drive and threw a short pass to him for a first down on third and 3, and on the next series hit him on an in-route on third and 10. Jones had the first down and more, but safety Sammy Knight grabbed both of his arms from behind and the ball came shooting loose.
Jacksonville recovered at its 43 to kill the drive.
"I had it, but I was bobbling," Jones said. "I should not have let it get away from me."
On the next series, Favre went to Jones on third down again. Jones ran a crossing route but when he ran into traffic in the middle of the field he stopped. Favre led Jones with the pass, which skidded onto the turf several yards to Jones' left, ending the drive. "He should have kept coming," offensive coordinator Joe Philbin said. "It's not a settle route where you read the coverage. We have guys running off the route. He should have continued."
In his halftime comments distributed to reporters through the Packers' public relations department, Favre did not single out Jones but made reference to the No. 1 offense being "off with some route running."
It's not the first time Jones has made mental errors. Against Seattle last week, he scored a touchdown on a crossing route that he mistakenly ran. Donald Driver, who was lined up next to him, was supposed to run the route.
Despite the mistakes, the powerful Jones proved again he can do something when the ball is in his hands.
On the scoring drive, he took advantage of cornerback Rashean Mathis' gamble to intercept an out route along the sideline and turned a short pass into a 23-yard reception. On the next play, Jones caught a pass at the line of scrimmage after a scramble by Rodgers and turned up field for an 11-yard gain.
He came back again and caught an in route and turned it upfield for a 14-yard gain, setting up the Packers with a first down at the 12-yard line.
"I think he's shown he can be productive," Philbin said. "You don't want to say you can overlook his mistakes, but you feel better about it when you see him make things happen. We anticipate him getting better and keep coming along."
[b][b]
Good outing marred by mental mistake
By TOM SILVERSTEIN
tsilverstein@journalsentinel.com
Posted: Aug. 23, 2007
You can see why the Green Bay Packers like rookie wide receiver James Jones so much.
You can also see how he just might turn the rest of quarterback Brett Favre's hair gray.
In the Packers' 21-13 exhibition loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars on Thursday night at Lambeau Field, Jones alternated looking like the wide receiver who could inject new life into the Packers' offense and a liability who could strangle the life out of a drive with a costly mental error. It was only his third NFL game, but his uneven performance sounded a warning alarm about his readiness for the regular season.
"I hold myself to a high standard," Jones said after the game. "I want to play better. But you're never going to play a perfect game. I want to learn from this and get ready (for the regular season)."
Jones' role come Sept. 9 could be much bigger than expected if the right foot injury suffered by starting receiver Donald Driver is serious. Driver has rebounded quickly from injury in the past and the Packers have two weeks until the opener, but no one knows for sure whether he'll be available.
The Packers will be OK if the good Jones shows up in the regular season.
On Thursday night, he continued to show aplomb running short routes across the field and making himself a big target, hauling in six passes for 80 yards and getting wide open at the goal line for what would have been a touchdown had Favre's pass not been batted down at the line of scrimmage midway through the second quarter.
All six of Jones' receptions resulted in first downs, including five in which he caught the ball short of the marker and gained the needed yardage to move the chains. He caught three consecutive passes for 23, 11 and 14 yards during a second-quarter touchdown drive led by backup quarterback Aaron Rodgers.
"James Jones is extremely bright," Rodgers said. "He's done a great job mentally. I'm not worried about him. I think he's going to have a good season. He continues to improve and he'll be an important part of our offense."
As impressive as his plays were, he also failed to react to a blitz read on the third play of the game and instead of breaking off his route he ran down the field. Favre was facing a two-man blitz off his left side and looked to hit Jones in the flat, but had to take a sack when Jones wasn't there.
Favre slammed the ball down on the ground after picking himself up off the ground, obviously frustrated with Jones' failure to read a single-safety coverage that requires him to cut off his route.
"We're supposed to read the coverage," said Jones, a third-round pick. "Brett just told me to be decisive with my route. That's something I'll learn from."
Despite the mistake, Favre came back to Jones on the same drive and threw a short pass to him for a first down on third and 3, and on the next series hit him on an in-route on third and 10. Jones had the first down and more, but safety Sammy Knight grabbed both of his arms from behind and the ball came shooting loose.
Jacksonville recovered at its 43 to kill the drive.
"I had it, but I was bobbling," Jones said. "I should not have let it get away from me."
On the next series, Favre went to Jones on third down again. Jones ran a crossing route but when he ran into traffic in the middle of the field he stopped. Favre led Jones with the pass, which skidded onto the turf several yards to Jones' left, ending the drive. "He should have kept coming," offensive coordinator Joe Philbin said. "It's not a settle route where you read the coverage. We have guys running off the route. He should have continued."
In his halftime comments distributed to reporters through the Packers' public relations department, Favre did not single out Jones but made reference to the No. 1 offense being "off with some route running."
It's not the first time Jones has made mental errors. Against Seattle last week, he scored a touchdown on a crossing route that he mistakenly ran. Donald Driver, who was lined up next to him, was supposed to run the route.
Despite the mistakes, the powerful Jones proved again he can do something when the ball is in his hands.
On the scoring drive, he took advantage of cornerback Rashean Mathis' gamble to intercept an out route along the sideline and turned a short pass into a 23-yard reception. On the next play, Jones caught a pass at the line of scrimmage after a scramble by Rodgers and turned up field for an 11-yard gain.
He came back again and caught an in route and turned it upfield for a 14-yard gain, setting up the Packers with a first down at the 12-yard line.
"I think he's shown he can be productive," Philbin said. "You don't want to say you can overlook his mistakes, but you feel better about it when you see him make things happen. We anticipate him getting better and keep coming along."
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