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Underdog · 01-09-2009, 09:20 AM

Writing On The Wall
Ghosts Of Pacman's Past Swallow Him Up

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IRVING, Texas - Part of me just wanted to make this day easy, like just send you into the archives here to read my column from March 24 or April 24.

Part of me wanted to go back to some April emails, one accusing me of being "such an angry person," another saying "you drive me absolutely bonkers with the stupid stuff you picked up along the way" and a bunch of you simply irritated with my habit on Talkin' Cowboys for overly using the word "knucklehead."

But that would be too easy, an uncontested layup of sorts, and when it comes to one of those I-told-you-so's, well, nobody likes that guy.

Hmmmm.

So it took exactly 224 days for Pacman Jones to wear out his welcome with the Dallas Cowboys, who basically on Wednesday stamped his walking papers with NWTT - Not Worth The Trouble.

Though officially unspoken, there was an array of reasons why the Cowboys finally washed their hands of this sociopath, who cunningly conned the likes of former Cowboys like Michael Irvin and Deion Sanders to publicly go to bat for him when he was just looking for another in a long line of another chances once the Tennessee Titans cleansed their hands of their former first-round draft choice.

After all, he had only attracted the authorities a dozen times since he entered the league in 2005, and that heavy-handed and mean Roger Goodell simply picked on him in 2007 when suspending him a year for conduct unbecoming of not only an NFL player but, come to think of it, a U.S. citizen. Right, since all those incidents were circumstantial? Plus, my gosh, he was a first-round talent who just needed some guidance, as if Nashville was some sort of jungle out there.

Well, let's see, Pacman lasted only six games before he gave the NFL commissioner enough reason to suspend him for six more, of all things getting into a public disturbance with the very man hired him to keep him out of trouble - his bodyguard. That's what he got caught doing, but evidently there were various other troubling signs with his petulant behavior and why the commissioner mandated he spend two weeks in a rehab center.

Then there was the neck injury he suffered when sticking his nose in on a punt return in Pittsburgh at the five-yard line where he had no business even attempting to field the ball, muffing and having to dive into an onslaught of Steelers just to recover the ball. Who knows, maybe medically no one liked the look of his spinal column upon closer inspection.

Then there is this impending ESPN report supposedly airing in its entirety on Sunday claiming that Pacman asked an accused murderer to shoot a person he had a verbal disagreement with in an Atlanta strip club back in June of 2007, just three months into his NFL suspension, but just three months after being involved in a similar incident in Las Vegas. While police investigated this story and failed to press charges at the time, evidently the men who were shot at have been more than willing to anonymously air their side of the story on camera, Pacman's presence in the club backed up by a video surveillance camera poised at the entrance of the club.

Oh those past ghosts.

And finally there is this: Was Pacman really worth all this trouble? Seriously? His kick returns were fraught with more panic than production. Given a choice between Pacman and Anthony Henry when Terence Newman was injured, opposing quarterbacks targeted passes his way more times than not, a good reason for those 13 pass breakups. The percentages were with him. And within a 52-second span in the final game at Philadelphia, he totally lost his composure, giving up a 13-yard completion to Reggie Brown, then compounding his problem with a 15-yard flag for hitting him out of bounds, all leading to a Philadelphia touchdown, and then on the ensuing kickoff fumbling the ball away with three seconds left, just enough for the Eagles to kick a half-ending field goal. Look, already bad-enough 17-3 turned into an unrecoverable 27-3 deficit just like that.

If you can't trust a guy off the field, how are you going to trust him on the field when the pressure is really on?

So take your pick as for why the Cowboys pulled the trigger when they did, but there was certainly enough reason to do so even before ESPN began beating its chest for forcing the Cowboys' hand. Heck, who would have argued the point back after Thanksgiving when the NFL reinstated him - again?

But at some point, enough is enough.

The only good to come out of gambling on Pacman is the Cowboys hedged their bet, and for that, Cowboys owner Jerry Jones must get credit for being a shrewd businessman. First of all, the Cowboys didn't give Pacman any money, as in a signing bonus when executing the sign-and-trade deal with Tennessee. He had to earn it, game by game, so he ended up costing them $411,765 for 10 games of service. Releasing him come Feb. 9 will not cost them a dime on the 2009 salary cap.

Then the Cowboys did not cave in to the Titans outrageous trade demands, thinking they were going to get a first in return for the knucklehead. The Cowboys ended up giving the Titans a 2008 fourth-rounder, which ended up being wide receiver Lavelle Hawkins, and promised them a 2009 sixth if Pacman completed the season with a clean slate.

Of course, he did not, which not only voided the sixth-round pick the Cowboys would have owed the Titans, but now forces the Titans to give the Cowboys their 2009 fifth-round pick in return. So if you are scoring at home, the Cowboys essentially gave up the difference between last year's 28th pick in the fourth round for - depending on the playoff outcome - no higher than the 30th pick in the fifth round or potentially, if Tennessee should win the Super Bowl, the 32nd - no more than 36 spots in the draft.

You'd roll the dice on that draft chump change.

And, on top of all that, as was advocated back in April, the Cowboys also had to insure their bet, meaning still draft a first-round quality cornerback because, as Cowboys vice president Stephen Jones pointed out at the time, they had to treat the draft as if Pacman wasn't even there. He would be considered no more than a bonus, not a solution.

And they did, not only taking cornerback Mike Jenkins in the first round but also Orlando Scandrick in the fifth to repair what had been a previously sore position.

Pacman then became the parlay that never paid off.

So the lasting repercussions are minimal. Nothing financial. No trader's remorse. No serious cornerback vacancy. And there can't be any locker room backlash to this move.

Really, just one body guard with bruised feelings.

In the Joneses' previous business parlance, a free drilling of what turned out to be a dry well.

Now as the Cowboys frustratingly brace to watch the second round of the NFL playoffs this weekend, there were those way back in September who predicted this inevitable ending to Pacman's stay in Dallas, already having seen through his temperamental temperament and transparent words. Too bad for Pacman, he had his chance, now squandering another $1.5 million he didn't have to squander.

All meaning in the end, sometimes it's just OK to call a knucklehead a knucklehead.

01-09-2009, 09:20 AM	#38
Underdog Moderator Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: 41.21.1 Posts: 36,143	Writing On The Wall Ghosts Of Pacman's Past Swallow Him Up link IRVING, Texas - Part of me just wanted to make this day easy, like just send you into the archives here to read my column from March 24 or April 24. Part of me wanted to go back to some April emails, one accusing me of being "such an angry person," another saying "you drive me absolutely bonkers with the stupid stuff you picked up along the way" and a bunch of you simply irritated with my habit on Talkin' Cowboys for overly using the word "knucklehead." But that would be too easy, an uncontested layup of sorts, and when it comes to one of those I-told-you-so's, well, nobody likes that guy. Hmmmm. So it took exactly 224 days for Pacman Jones to wear out his welcome with the Dallas Cowboys, who basically on Wednesday stamped his walking papers with NWTT - Not Worth The Trouble. Though officially unspoken, there was an array of reasons why the Cowboys finally washed their hands of this sociopath, who cunningly conned the likes of former Cowboys like Michael Irvin and Deion Sanders to publicly go to bat for him when he was just looking for another in a long line of another chances once the Tennessee Titans cleansed their hands of their former first-round draft choice. After all, he had only attracted the authorities a dozen times since he entered the league in 2005, and that heavy-handed and mean Roger Goodell simply picked on him in 2007 when suspending him a year for conduct unbecoming of not only an NFL player but, come to think of it, a U.S. citizen. Right, since all those incidents were circumstantial? Plus, my gosh, he was a first-round talent who just needed some guidance, as if Nashville was some sort of jungle out there. Well, let's see, Pacman lasted only six games before he gave the NFL commissioner enough reason to suspend him for six more, of all things getting into a public disturbance with the very man hired him to keep him out of trouble - his bodyguard. That's what he got caught doing, but evidently there were various other troubling signs with his petulant behavior and why the commissioner mandated he spend two weeks in a rehab center. Then there was the neck injury he suffered when sticking his nose in on a punt return in Pittsburgh at the five-yard line where he had no business even attempting to field the ball, muffing and having to dive into an onslaught of Steelers just to recover the ball. Who knows, maybe medically no one liked the look of his spinal column upon closer inspection. Then there is this impending ESPN report supposedly airing in its entirety on Sunday claiming that Pacman asked an accused murderer to shoot a person he had a verbal disagreement with in an Atlanta strip club back in June of 2007, just three months into his NFL suspension, but just three months after being involved in a similar incident in Las Vegas. While police investigated this story and failed to press charges at the time, evidently the men who were shot at have been more than willing to anonymously air their side of the story on camera, Pacman's presence in the club backed up by a video surveillance camera poised at the entrance of the club. Oh those past ghosts. And finally there is this: Was Pacman really worth all this trouble? Seriously? His kick returns were fraught with more panic than production. Given a choice between Pacman and Anthony Henry when Terence Newman was injured, opposing quarterbacks targeted passes his way more times than not, a good reason for those 13 pass breakups. The percentages were with him. And within a 52-second span in the final game at Philadelphia, he totally lost his composure, giving up a 13-yard completion to Reggie Brown, then compounding his problem with a 15-yard flag for hitting him out of bounds, all leading to a Philadelphia touchdown, and then on the ensuing kickoff fumbling the ball away with three seconds left, just enough for the Eagles to kick a half-ending field goal. Look, already bad-enough 17-3 turned into an unrecoverable 27-3 deficit just like that. If you can't trust a guy off the field, how are you going to trust him on the field when the pressure is really on? So take your pick as for why the Cowboys pulled the trigger when they did, but there was certainly enough reason to do so even before ESPN began beating its chest for forcing the Cowboys' hand. Heck, who would have argued the point back after Thanksgiving when the NFL reinstated him - again? But at some point, enough is enough. The only good to come out of gambling on Pacman is the Cowboys hedged their bet, and for that, Cowboys owner Jerry Jones must get credit for being a shrewd businessman. First of all, the Cowboys didn't give Pacman any money, as in a signing bonus when executing the sign-and-trade deal with Tennessee. He had to earn it, game by game, so he ended up costing them $411,765 for 10 games of service. Releasing him come Feb. 9 will not cost them a dime on the 2009 salary cap. Then the Cowboys did not cave in to the Titans outrageous trade demands, thinking they were going to get a first in return for the knucklehead. The Cowboys ended up giving the Titans a 2008 fourth-rounder, which ended up being wide receiver Lavelle Hawkins, and promised them a 2009 sixth if Pacman completed the season with a clean slate. Of course, he did not, which not only voided the sixth-round pick the Cowboys would have owed the Titans, but now forces the Titans to give the Cowboys their 2009 fifth-round pick in return. So if you are scoring at home, the Cowboys essentially gave up the difference between last year's 28th pick in the fourth round for - depending on the playoff outcome - no higher than the 30th pick in the fifth round or potentially, if Tennessee should win the Super Bowl, the 32nd - no more than 36 spots in the draft. You'd roll the dice on that draft chump change. And, on top of all that, as was advocated back in April, the Cowboys also had to insure their bet, meaning still draft a first-round quality cornerback because, as Cowboys vice president Stephen Jones pointed out at the time, they had to treat the draft as if Pacman wasn't even there. He would be considered no more than a bonus, not a solution. And they did, not only taking cornerback Mike Jenkins in the first round but also Orlando Scandrick in the fifth to repair what had been a previously sore position. Pacman then became the parlay that never paid off. So the lasting repercussions are minimal. Nothing financial. No trader's remorse. No serious cornerback vacancy. And there can't be any locker room backlash to this move. Really, just one body guard with bruised feelings. In the Joneses' previous business parlance, a free drilling of what turned out to be a dry well. Now as the Cowboys frustratingly brace to watch the second round of the NFL playoffs this weekend, there were those way back in September who predicted this inevitable ending to Pacman's stay in Dallas, already having seen through his temperamental temperament and transparent words. Too bad for Pacman, he had his chance, now squandering another $1.5 million he didn't have to squander. All meaning in the end, sometimes it's just OK to call a knucklehead a knucklehead. __________________ These days being a fan is a competition to see who can be the most upset when your team loses. That proves you love winning more. That's how it works.