Thoughts on Jacoby Jones

[Daravenator]

I realize most, if not all, Houston Texans fans soured on Jacoby Jones, especially after he muffed the punt in the AFC Divisional Playoff game in Baltimore last year. Although he showed signs of greatness, he seemed to have trouble with drops while playing for the Texans.

So he was released, the Ravens signed him, and he went on to the Pro Bowl, caught a huge pass to tie the game against the Broncos in the AFC Divisional Playoff game, and made a comeback 56 yard catch for a TD and returned a second half-opening kickoff for a record 109 yards in the Super Bowl.

So, do you think he simply had "issues" while playing for the Texans, or was he simply not coached properly? It seems awfully odd that a player would have such a dramatic fall and rise so quickly in the span of one season. Had he remained a Texan, do you think he would have accomplished what he did this year, or would he have been a bust?

[HOU-TEX]

Wrong forum

[nero THE zero]

I think it is a mix of things. He wasn't used properly, as evidenced by his lack of use in kickoffs. The coaches always maintained that his skill set was best used in punt returns but not in kickoffs.

His skills set was also a bad mix with his QB. With Flacco he is able to outrun a defense, but Schaub has never been able to rocket a deep ball to him like Flacco.

He also had a lot of maturity issues here in Houston. I think Baltimore is benefiting some from Kubiak's mentoring of Jacoby. But, once he muffed that punt in Baltimore his time in Houston was done.

I wish him nothing but the best and think he should have been the SB MVP.

[Daravenator]

I don't think it is the wrong forum. JJ was drafted by the Texans, so I am wondering if you believe he didn't pan out in Houston moreso due to his own failures, or was the blame more on Kubiak and the ST coach?

I have heard that Kubiak was hard on Jones, but I do not know that for a fact. It just seems surprising that a player who is released goes on to such a dramatic turn-around in one season.

Do you wish he would have remained a Texan?

[Daravenator]

Originally Posted by nero THE zero

I think it is a mix of things. He wasn't used properly, as evidenced by his lack of use in kickoffs. The coaches always maintained that his skill set was best used in punt returns but not in kickoffs.

His skills set was also a bad mix with his QB. With Flacco he is able to outrun a defense, but Schaub has never been able to rocket a deep ball to him like Flacco.

He also had a lot of maturity issues here in Houston. I think Baltimore is benefiting some from Kubiak's mentoring of Jacoby. But, once he muffed that punt in Baltimore his time in Houston was done.

I wish him nothing but the best and think he should have been the SB MVP.

Thanks for a well-written and thought-out reply.

[Goodwrench3]

Wrong forum²

[HOU-TEX]

No, I do not think we should've kept him. The dude was very immature when we drafted him. Kubiak and Co got him right, but was the king of bumble. We all know how much Kubiak dislikes drops and fumbles. It was time for him to go. Plus, he would've never been right in the head again due to the fans verbal assault. Dude had to quit Twitter. lol

He's got the smallest hands I've ever seen as a WR, so he will drop a lot of balls.

Wrong forum because he's no longer a Texan

[Playoffs]

Originally Posted by HOU-TEX

Wrong forum

Yep.

http://boards.baltimoreravens.com/forum/6-ravens-talk/

[Señor Stan]

not just the football related issues but...

falling asleep drunk at a red light
missing a team plane.

Dude was a knucklehead here.

Getting cut was probably the wake up call he needed to start taking football seriously.

[beerlover]

Jacoby & Holliday are proof, Texans coaching staff headed by Kubiak are uptight & don't connect with a certain type of player (character) who are typical NFL playmakers, from a positional viewpoint historically its always been Texan returners. Which has been coached since Texan inception by Joe Marciano. It should be a no brainer to fire him, but I have this feeling that would be using him as a scapegoat, that the problem is deeper than that. From a draft viewpoint I was in favor of both, talent & playmaker was self evident, at least Rick Smith recognized it & drafted them to help the Texan coaches. How long will HE continue to put up with his own people misuse, & discard talented players who do fit needs for excellent value

[ThaShark316]

Happy for the guy, because people need change. He needed to find "greener pastures", if you will.

I don't know if he's doing THIS in Houston. Elsewhere (especially after getting RELEASED), he needed to show folks he wasn't done or he would be done. NFL does indeed stand for "Not For Long", and if he were to have the same issues he did in Houston, he'd be cut again; possibly out of the NFL altogether.

He's a new player, basically. No more acting a damn fool until it's time to act a damn fool. Jacoby Jones did something great, and him leaving Houston, TX was the best possible thing for him as a player, and maybe even as a man; made him a little more mature.

[Corrosion]

Originally Posted by Daravenator

I realize most, if not all, Houston Texans fans soured on Jacoby Jones, especially after he muffed the punt in the AFC Divisional Playoff game in Baltimore last year. Although he showed signs of greatness, he seemed to have trouble with drops while playing for the Texans.

So he was released, the Ravens signed him, and he went on to the Pro Bowl, caught a huge pass to tie the game against the Broncos in the AFC Divisional Playoff game, and made a comeback 56 yard catch for a TD and returned a second half-opening kickoff for a record 109 yards in the Super Bowl.

So, do you think he simply had "issues" while playing for the Texans, or was he simply not coached properly? It seems awfully odd that a player would have such a dramatic fall and rise so quickly in the span of one season. Had he remained a Texan, do you think he would have accomplished what he did this year, or would he have been a bust?

I think he was and still is a big play or a mistake waiting to happen. He muffed a punt in the Superbowl ..... or does everyone forget that because of the two TD's ?! He's boom or bust.


As for why he didnt stick here .... you need look no further than the boneheaded decision he made in the divisional round against your Ravens.

His lack of development as a reciever here was more due to the fact that he just didnt grasp the complexities of the offense. He was asked to do more than he was capable of ... In Baltimore his job is to run past the coverage and try to catch the ball , he's not expected to run sophisticated routes , that and a big armed QB suited him to a tee.

Hope he doesnt fall asleep drunk in his car at an intersection again or have any other off the field mishaps ....


Im glad the change of scenery worked out for him .... and hope his next contract sucks up a whole lotta Baltimore's cap space.


Boom or bust.

[False Start]

I'll keep it short and simple. I always have, and always will despise him. (wrong forum)

[Corrosion]

Originally Posted by beerlover

Jacoby & Holliday are proof, Texans coaching staff headed by Kubiak are uptight & don't connect with a certain type of player (character) who are typical NFL playmakers, from a positional viewpoint historically its always been Texan returners. Which has been coached since Texan inception by Joe Marciano. It should be a no brainer to fire him, but I have this feeling that would be using him as a scapegoat, that the problem is deeper than that. From a draft viewpoint I was in favor of both, talent & playmaker was self evident, at least Rick Smith recognized it & drafted them to help the Texan coaches. How long will HE continue to put up with his own people misuse, & discard talented players who do fit needs for excellent value

You werent singing that tune when this happened ....




We all pretty much were in agreement that he was done for in Houston after that colossal mistake.


Boom or Bust.

[GP]

Originally Posted by nero THE zero

I think it is a mix of things. He wasn't used properly, as evidenced by his lack of use in kickoffs. The coaches always maintained that his skill set was best used in punt returns but not in kickoffs.

His skills set was also a bad mix with his QB. With Flacco he is able to outrun a defense, but Schaub has never been able to rocket a deep ball to him like Flacco.

He also had a lot of maturity issues here in Houston. I think Baltimore is benefiting some from Kubiak's mentoring of Jacoby. But, once he muffed that punt in Baltimore his time in Houston was done.

I wish him nothing but the best and think he should have been the SB MVP.

I agree with this.

My overriding theory is that this is NOT a good reflection upon Kubiak as a leader and mentor and coach of players. He gives a lot of loyalty to players, but very little real "accountability," and with the way this franchise randomly rewards failure for some players (Amobi Okoye, Travis Johnson, Matt Schaub, etc.) yet randomly cuts that same caliber of player (Jacoby Jones, Eric Winston, etc.) it probably isn't the best way to try and build up a locker room's belief in the team's direction.

This was not a fluke. Jacoby just happens to be a player who more than likely felt like his head coach was always waiting for him to screw up (Gary did this same damn thing to Trindon Holliday, btw). I mean, the head coach doesn't even watch game-deciding field goal attempts. Why? Because he doesn't think we're going to win and he doesn't want to face the disappointment of watching the kick go wide left or wide right. THAT, my friends, although some say it's not a big factor in Gary's skill/talent as a HC, it is a pretty accurate "marker" for me. He thinks the worst instead of the best.

For Gary, if the game came down to a game-deciding FG attempt....well, for Gary it means his guys just didn't execute on Sunday like they had all week in practice leading up to the game. He'll find ways to mentor and coach and build 'em up in the next week's practice.

Gary's system is very devoid of any real, tangible "game day" feeling to it. It's all automated. Do this, like we practiced, and it will work. We ran this a hundred times in practice, running our routes down to the very inch on the field where we were supposed to make the cut...so therefore they can't stop us when we're on our game on Sundays. We are good guys. Our fans love us. Our owner loves us. Our head coach is fanatical and cult-like in his defense of us if things go wrong. Our head coach will stand at a podium and say "It's on me, as a head coach, I have to get them in better position."

All these things lead to what I think is really a sham of a football program when it all gets boiled down to its base element. Boil the water and see what remains. What I see, as proven by Jacoby Jones in the post-season games versus Denver and in the Super Bowl versus 49ers, is that Gary Kubiak is not nearly the adaptive, creative guy some people think he is today.

Which means "What if the players, across the board, have caught onto this?" At some point this season, and I think it was after the two OT games we won, the locker room fell flat for Gary. It was almost like they were tired of winning. But hey, Gary will have them ready "next time." See a pattern?

[Dread-Head]

Originally Posted by False Start

I'll keep it short and simple. I always have, and always will despise him. (wrong forum)

Duck Judas Jones!

My sincerest hope is that the next time the Carrion...excuse me Ravens play the Texans his former team mates light his 3itch ass up like a Christmas tree every time he FANTASIZES about TOUCHING the football! He can shove THIS and the ring he sold his former team out for up his @$$ and SPIN on it at 3500 RPM. May MANY cracked ribs and concussions be in his future.

[Big Lou]

Thoughts. Well he's been winning playoff games for the Ravens for two years now, so great job Jacoby.

Ten bucks says we see his SB Ring on an episode of Pawn Stars within two years, because he hawked it.

[jaayteetx]

Jacoby needed to grow up and maybe he did in Baltimore, we'll see.

[eriadoc]

A couple things in reply:

1.) Jacoby Jones got himself out of Houston. He never learned to secure the ball the entire time he was here. He bobbled and/or fumbled the ball on special teams so often that no one felt comfortable with him back there. The fateful fumble in the playoff game last year was just the logical conclusion to a series of indicators. Jacoby Jones is no victim and any attempt to paint him as such should be categorically rejected. He did it to himself (and us).

2.) Jacoby Jones had a chance to shine as the #1 WR when AJ went down. In his first game as the #1 WR, against OAK, he was targeted 11 times and managed to pull one in. Many players never get one chance in the NFL. Those that fail on that one chance don't often get a second chance, unless they're a high round draft pick. Kubiak came back to JJ again and again and again. Hell, in the Super Bowl, he showed that his hands still aren't good when he managed to pull that one catch in off his face.

Jacoby Jones is in BAL because he blew it in Houston, not because Houston abandoned him. Houston took a chance on him, gave him multiple opportunities, and finally parted ways only when he finally proved beyond the shadow of a doubt that he couldn't be trusted.

[JCTexan]

Originally Posted by Daravenator

I don't think it is the wrong forum. JJ was drafted by the Texans, so I am wondering if you believe he didn't pan out in Houston moreso due to his own failures, or was the blame more on Kubiak and the ST coach?

I have heard that Kubiak was hard on Jones, but I do not know that for a fact. It just seems surprising that a player who is released goes on to such a dramatic turn-around in one season.

Do you wish he would have remained a Texan?

I don't know if I should take this post seriously. Jacoby Jones' statistics were actually down in practically every category this year. He had his worst year as a WR since 2008. The only area he did better as a Raven was kick returner and Houston didn't use him at all in that capacity last year.

Jacoby Jones is the player he was last year for the Texans. Nothing at all changed (imo). He is still only a #3 WR who has dangerous speed and can make a game-changing play (either bad or good for his team). Jacoby Jones is a player I always cringed when he caught a punt. Although he didn't make as many mistakes this year as a Raven, he is still that player. I do not miss him being in a Texans uniform at all.