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Jones In different world of NFL Monday, Oct 31, 2005 By Harry King ST. LOUIS - Used to the football in his hands and the media in his face, Matt Jones is in a different world. Sunday afternoon, he stood in the Jacksonville dressing room to answer questions from an Arkie in town for an update on the former Razorback quarterback and a Little Rock-based television twosome. Most of the media wanted Jacksonville quarterback Byron Leftwich, not Jones, who although never a great quote at Arkansas was a must for a post-game interviews because he seemed to be in the middle of every big play - good and bad - for more than three years. One of a kind at Arkansas, Jones is one of 1,400-plus in the National Football League. The Sunday St. Louis Post-Dispatch had a half-dozen stories on the St. Louis Rams vs. Jones' Jaguars and the only place Jones could be found was on the numerical roster. Yet, he is so appealing in his home state that hundreds of Arkansans made the trip north. "Definitely cool," Jones said later with high praise for Razorback fans. Just before leaving the field and ducking under the Ram-blue awning, he spotted an Arkansas football shirt and tossed the man one of his gray gloves. Listed as the Jaguars No. 3 receiver and the backup for Reggie Williams on the depth chart, it is difficult for Arkansas fans to comprehend Jones being third on any list or backing up anybody. In the 24-21 loss to the Rams, he had four catches for 38 yards, another game with meager personal numbers. The second touchdown of his NFL life covered 15 yards and put the Jaguars ahead 21-17 in the third quarter. He kept the ball and trotted up the sidelines to the other side of the 50 before pitching it to an equipment manager. That one might go to his parents, he said. The first one will probably be presented to his grandmother. "It's memories ... something that's pretty cool," he said. It's not the nuance of the position that is slowing Jones as much as it is gaining Leftwich's confidence. Through the first six games, Jones had caught 12 for 109. Sunday's game was his second with four catches and the TD pass was his longest reception. He misses being a quarterback, but knows that wide receiver is his position in the NFL. His dad, Steve, will tell you that Matt has been surprised by the all-day, job-like routine of the big time. The daily dose of running has also been a surprise. At Arkansas, Jones was less than diligent about practice. Coach Houston Nutt had no leverage with Jones and both of them knew it. When Jacksonville started looking hard at drafting Jones, some of the staff visited with Nutt and he told him the truth. Jones is learning to go hard all the time at practice, said Jacksonville wide receivers coach Steve Walters, and such a work ethic is mandatory for Jones to sell Leftwich. "The quarterback has got to anticipate, got to get the ball gone before he comes out of the break," said Walters, a Razorback himself in 1969-70. "It's kinda a matter of trust that he will be where he's supposed to be. He's gotta see you do it." Jones should be encouraged that Leftwich tried for him on each of the Jaguar's final three plays. Linebacker Brandon Chillar dumped Jones on a second-down throw across the middle; the next one was a hair behind him, and the final toss was short when Jones went long. Walters says Jones is making progress every week, but that it's only noticeable if you watch daily. "The biggest change is the work load, running hard and long every day and every play," Walters said. "He's got to get used to it." "I'm so much better now than I was even at the end of two-a-days," Jones said, citing Jimmy Smith as a veteran worth watching. Bending and stretching on the sideline, Jones got the cue for his appearance on the Jaguars' fourth play of the game. On third-and-6, he lined up in the slot to the left, started in motion to the right and then returned to his original spot where he jogged in place until the snap. He turned into the middle and was upended by safety Jerome Carter when Leftwich threw to him. On the field for the second series, he ran a slant from the right side. On the same pattern from farther outside, Reggie Williams was the intended receiver, but he went down and stayed down. Jones stayed in and immediately screened cornerback DeJuan Groce on Fred Taylor's 71-yard touchdown run. Midway through the first quarter, Jones caught his first pass, good for 9 yards, on a little out pattern. In the first six games, his only touchdown came on a one-handed catch against Pittsburgh. Steelers coach Bill Cower argued that Jones did not have possession, but anybody who saw him dunk over the crossbar against Ole Miss last November knows his hands are plenty big enough for one-handed control. He celebrated with a little jig and a spike. That might have been a bit of frustration because he gets single coverage most of the time and thinks he is open often. On Sunday, he said, "Some of my friends were asking me what I was going to do on my first touchdown pass and I just went ahead and spiked it. I haven't went to the Chad Johnson school of touchdown celebration so maybe I can get that in year two." "He can make hard things look easy," Walters said. "He has great hands and great judgment skills. Nobody ever told Willie Mays how to get to the ball in deep left center, but he was there." In the slot most of the time, Jones is off the line of scrimmage which makes it almost impossible for a defensive back to jam him. "We'd like for them to get up and press him because he is such a big, strong guy," Walters said. Walters, who graduated high school in Springdale and has a daughter in school at Arkansas, said he first heard about a "big tall guy faster than anybody else," when Jones was in the eighth grade at Van Buren. Walters said he told Jones that many people said the Jaguars were reaching when they picked him in the first round. "A lot of people are betting against you," he told Jones, "betting you can't become a receiver. We wouldn't have drafted you if we didn't think you were going to be a great one. You will have to fight through some things and it won't happen overnight. Try not to get frustrated ... it just takes time." ----- Harry King is sports columnist for Stephens Media Group's Arkansas News Bureau. His e-mail address is hking@arkansasnews.com. |
