Matt Jones to Jax

[White Shogun]

Sorry about double tapping on the message board.. but I had a distinct thought after I posted the last message.



I was thinking that MJ has the kind of talent that will help break,
nay, shatter the stereotypes surrounding white athelticism. The
barriers might start to crumble and talent scounts, GMs and coaches
will start to consider other white players in uncaste like ways for
uncaste positions..



...but the sobering reality is that even if MJ becomes a resounding
success in the NFL, he will be considered a freak, once in a life time
(read once in a lifetime WHITE) athlete who is not only as good as, but
far superior to many of his black contemporaries. The mantra will
be "well, Matt Jones is a GREAT wide receiver, but Bucky
Beaver... I just don't think we should waste a 3rd round pick on that
guy, even if he broke records..."



It will be fun for us as fans to have Jones available to watch and root
for.. but I wonder how much it will actually affect the caste system in
the long run, if at all. And all this is assuming of course that MJ
actually gets a fair chance!



Geez, now I depressed myself!

 

[Black Guy]

Geezuz H, man!

How can it be no one wants this guy to play QB???

You should read the Jaguars site. The Arkansas fans that have seen him play for years can tell you he stinks as a QB. Not to mention he doesnt have the arm strength to play in the NFL and a bad throwing shoulder.

 

[bigunreal]

How can you say Jones "stinks" as a QB? What fans "say" is irrelevant,
because most of them are idiots (and white). The stats Jones put up,
especially the rushing numbers, were quite impressive. He is very
similar to Michael Vick, in terms of being an incredible runner but a
raw passer who needs to be developed. The only differences are that
Jones is much, much bigger (and only about a half second slower) and he
is white. The difference in how NFL teams, and their jock-sniffing
cheerleaders in the media, perceive their relative talents and
potential should tell you everything about the Caste Football
system.

 

[Don Wassall]

Matt Jones as a QB at Arkansas -- 53 passing TDs, just 30 interceptions, 8,392 total yards of offense with 77 total TDs.


Michael Vick's two seasons at Virginia Tech -- 12 TDs in '99, 8 in '00.


Jones has a strong arm but has had trouble with accuracy. Vick has a very strong arm but still has much trouble with accuracy even after four years in the NFL. So if Jones "stinks," what does that say about Vick?


Jones is not polished, but what black quarterback has come into the NFL as a polished, finished product? They have all been works in progress, and Michael Vick still is. Most have failed to become quality pro QBs. There is no conceivable way a record-setting black college quarterback -- Jones is the most prolific passer in Arkansas history, playing against what is reputed to be the best college competition, the SEC -- who was 6'6" with 4.39 speed and great running ability would be shifted to any other position. If he was 5'9" (Randel-El) or 5'11" (Hines Ward) maybe, but not one who is 6'6". Edited by: Don Wassall

 

[Colonel_Reb]

Good point Don, and one I just made in another thread. I'm excited to see Matt go quickly in the first round. I know he will be the go to guy soon, even at Jacksonville. He will make a big impact for white WR's in the NFL and be an inspiration to many in the future.

 

[Black Guy]

Matt Jones as a QB at Arkansas -- 53 passing TDs, just 30 interceptions, 8,392 total yards of offense with 77 total TDs.


Michael Vick's two seasons at Virginia Tech -- 12 TDs in '99, 8 in '00.


Jones has a strong arm but has had trouble with accuracy. Vick has a very strong arm but still has much trouble with accuracy even after four years in the NFL. So if Jones "stinks," what does that say about Vick?


Jones is not polished, but what black quarterback has come into the NFL as a polished, finished product? They have all been works in progress, and Michael Vick still is. Most have failed to become quality pro QBs. There is no conceivable way a record-setting black college quarterback -- Jones is the most prolific passer in Arkansas history, playing against what is reputed to be the best college competition, the SEC -- who was 6'6" with 4.39 speed and great running ability would be shifted to any other position. If he was 5'9" (Randel-El) or 5'11" (Hines Ward) maybe, but not one who is 6'6".

One big difference in Jones and Vick is that Vick has a Cannon for a arm. Jones has a bad throwing shoulder which I mentioned on the other thread. He doesnt have the arm strength to play in the NFL.

 

[Black Guy]

How can you say Jones "stinks" as a QB? What fans "say" is irrelevant, because most of them are idiots (and white). The stats Jones put up, especially the rushing numbers, were quite impressive. He is very similar to Michael Vick, in terms of being an incredible runner but a raw passer who needs to be developed. The only differences are that Jones is much, much bigger (and only about a half second slower) and he is white. The difference in how NFL teams, and their jock-sniffing cheerleaders in the media, perceive their relative talents and potential should tell you everything about the Caste Football system.

These are the same fans that have seen him play for 4 years they are not irrelevant. One fan actually said he used to wish things would break down when Matt was QB so he could use his talent to make a athletic play. That should tell you he was not that good of a passer. Micheal Vick has probaly the best arm out of any QB in the NFL save for maybe Manning or Favre. Matt Jones is not even close in terms of arm strength and passing skills. Did you know his throwing shoulder is his bad shoulder? The Arkansas supporters will tell you that.


The thing that hurt Vick last year was that the Falcons brought in a new coach who brought a entirely new offensive system that Vick had to learn.

 

[Don Wassall]

These are the same fans that have seen him play for 4 years they are not irrelevant. One fan actually said he used to wish things would break down when Matt was QB so he could use his talent to make a athletic play. That should tell you he was not that good of a passer.

Doesn't that sum up Vick's style of playing quarterback rather well? Wait for the play to break down then "use his talent to make an athletic play." I thought that was the whole new element that only black quarterbacks allegedly possess.

 

[Black Guy]

These are the same fans that have seen him play for 4 years they are not irrelevant. One fan actually said he used to wish things would break down when Matt was QB so he could use his talent to make a athletic play. That should tell you he was not that good of a passer.

Doesn't that sum up Vick's style of playing quarterback rather well? Wait for the play to break down then "use his talent to make an athletic play." I thought that was the whole new element that only black quarterbacks allegedly possess.

The things is that Vick has a good arm he just needs to develop. Jones does NOT have a NFL arm. Thats why he VOLUNTARILY switched to WR. Nobody made him do that he did it on his own.

 

[white lightning]

It is because all the so called experts labeled him a
tight end.He refused to do that but looked at guys like
Eric Crouch and accepted the wide receiver.A guy as
competetive as Jones is not totally happy about it.The
bottom line is he wants to start his career and not get
cut from a team.You would do the same thing if you were
him.

 

[Don Wassall]

I checked as many "scouting reports" about Jones as I could, and each one was different, as far as the excuse given for claiming he wasn't an NFL caliber quarterback, if one was given at all.


I've seen Jones play and he can throw the ball downfield. His arm is NFL strong. A quarterback's arm doesn't have to be officially certified as a "cannon." Montana didn't have a cannon; neither does Peyton Manning for that matter and a lot of guys playing today like Drew Brees and Chad Pennington. Pure arm strength is a minor factor in the overall picture of whether a guy has what it takes to play in the NFL. In recent years, running ability and "athleticism" have allegedly become much more important, two qualities Jones offers in abundance.


I agree that Jones has had a shoulder problem but that didn't prevent him from playing quarterback in college; the Caste System is what is stopping him from playing QB in the NFL. He didn't "voluntarily" go the NFL and say "I want to switch to another position." He had no choice, and it's only because of his unparalleled combination of size and speed that he wasn't forced to become a tight end. If he was as slow as Mike Williams for example, there's no question that he wouldn't be allowed to play WR.

 

[Black Guy]

Don-


From things I have read Jones has ashoulder problem that prevents him from doing too much excess throwing. If that is not true then correct me please. If that is true then how do you expect him to be a NFL QB and go through Training Camp, a 17 week season and playoffs if he can only do a certain amount of throwing. College is just a 11 game season the NFL begins in the summer and lasts until January. If he has shoulder problems that pretty much rules him out as a NFL QB.

 

[Don Wassall]

That's possible, in fact I believe Col. Reb mentioned that a while ago. However, as I mentioned above, I have also read that Jones lacks arm strength, accuracy and other supposed deficiencies, with the shoulder problem notbrought up at all. I've yet to read a single article about Jones that said he would be playing quarterback in the NFL except that a permanent shoulder problem prevents him from throwing the ball enough. If it was that cut and dried then why hasn't Jones said that and why don't the reports about him reflect that as well?


Just out of curiosity, Black Guy, do you think Matt Jones is capable of playing tailback in the NFL?

 

[Black Guy]

Don-


That is good question. I never thought of that. Maybe he could play RB. He certainly has the speed. But the question is could he take the pounding that the NFL players will give him.Large backs eventually wear down in the NFL from all the hits they take. Plus RB have the shortest career span of any player and when they lose a step they lose them fast. Look at Jerry Rice you will never see a RB play as long as Jerry Rice did. They take too many hits at that position


Trust me its in Matts best interest to bea WR he can have a much longer and prosperous career.

 

[Don Wassall]

I agree with you on that. His height may work against him there and every defender would be gunning for him. I think Eric Dickerson at 6'3" was the tallest successful running back.Jones may be too tall to be a tailback, but he would be a hell of a running quarterback! But I'm excited about his prospects at wide receiver.

 

[SteveB]

I think WR is the best position for Jones. He could be bigger version of Terrell Owens or a faster version of Ed Macaffrey. At QB, he eventually would have to be a pocket passer to survive. If you look at the mobile QBs, they all became better when they actually stayed in the pocket and threw the ball (ala McNabb, Culpepper). Vick will have to learn this as well. Steve Young took how many concussions before he learned. He once said that he became a good QB when he learned that his job was to get the ball out of his hand as quickly as possible.

 

[Don Wassall]

I agree with that. Jones is not being given a shot at quarterback for reasons we have discussed in detail, but he probably has a better chance to be a major starat WRthan at QB.

 

[white lightning]

All of you guys on this board have to see the extended
highlight version of Matt Jones over at Jaguars.com
It must last for almost 10 minutes and it is incredible.
They also on the training camp video have highlights of
him making catch after catch.This guy will be increcible!
I can't wait for the fall.What impresses me so much
about Jones is his ability to cut on a dime at his
size.He even stiff arms people.He is just a natural to
play any speed postion.

 

[Colonel_Reb]

Your right white lightning. It is unreal what he can do considering his size. I hope he becomes their primary receiver.

 

[Don Wassall]

What a great highlight package! I highly doubt that one with that many long runs could be compiled of Michael Vick from his days at Va. Tech and the Falcons combined.


I also like the interview with Jones. He comports himself very well. He also said that he has yet to drop a ball in practice!

 

[KD52171]

Being from Arkansas, I have seen this guy play and he is one of the top 3 athletes that I have seen in the state.


Me being one

He can be the best WR in the NFL if he gets his head on straight.


Remember what I say. I hope he does great but I see a motivation problem.


Sure hope not but we will see.





Congrats to Matt.

 

[jaxvid]

Was in Jacksonville the other day and the fans I talked to were pretty high on Matt Jones. Not a "wasted pick" comment among them. The Jax have done a good job of selling this pick so far. An older black gent that I talked to was really high on him and he never mentioned his race.

 

[bigman]

I just watched the Matt Jones video highlights from the www. jaguars.com site posted 5/2... and all I can say is that is utterly amazing that a kid that big could run that fast.... it is a numbing set of clips to watch...

 

[BonnieBlue]

Whenever Arkansas would play on TV, I always made a point to try to catch some of the game because I knew no matter who they were playing or what the score was, I would be entertained by Matt Jones. I'm going to miss that. He probably won't have as big an effect on gamesin the NFL. I don't think anyone has suggested this, but don't you think he would make an excellent kick returner. After watching that highlight package on the Jaguars website, its clear Jones is an excellent open field runner. He's got great field awareness and knows when to turn on the speed. That's whatmakes for an excellent returner, not just quickness and speed. Another thought: inthose clips from what look like Senior Bowl practice, does Jones look like a QB? He looks like he's been playing receiver for years. Obviously, he's a talented athlete. I hope he does well if for no other than apsychological reason (destroying myths about white athletes). Even if Jones does excel, I'm afraid that he will be portrayed as a "freak" and an exception. Prejudices die hard.

 

[Animalmuther0]

Did you guys read the bio on Jones? That kid has some phenomenal numbers! RB, WR, QB anywhere you want to go with this guy. I can see why NFL teams were leary about him and the sportscasters don't know what to say.


If I were a coach with the power to control the teams destiny (hardly few are) I would make this guy an option quarterback. A guy like this could keep defenses on their toes. You could design gadget plays all day with player of his athleticism. Academically gifted, well-grounded, and athletic. White or black or green, I like these kind of ball players.