Examining James Jones' future with the Packers
By Tom Silverstein of the Journal Sentinel
March 8, 2011
You can't blame Packers WR James Jones for telling a couple of reporters at the team's Super Bowl DVD premiere Monday in Green Bay that he would like to be a starter.
Heck, if he had told them he was happy being a third- or fourth-stringer, many more eyebrows would have been raised.
But there's a certain detachment from reality in Jones' belief that there hasn't been an opportunity for him to be a starter in Green Bay. The way he sees it, as long as Donald Driver is on the roster, every receiver not named Greg Jennings will be a backup.
In some regard, Jones is right, there isn't an opportunity for him right now, but it has less to do with Driver and more to do with Jordy Nelson, who through the course of the last half of the season emerged as the team's No. 2 receiving option.
Jones had the same opportunity Nelson did to seize an opportunity made available when Driver injured his thigh and saw a radical decline in his numbers. Driver went three straight games without a catch - he was inactive for one of them - and then caught 35 passes for 399 yards (11.4 average) and one touchdown in the 10 games leading up to the Super Bowl.
By comparison, Jones had 29 catches for 366 yards (12.6) and five touchdowns and Nelson had 31 catches for 447 yards (14.4) and three touchdowns in those 10 games.
Then, in the biggest game of them all, Super Bowl XLV, Nelson put on a remarkable performance with nine catches for 140 yards and a touchdown, playing the last quarter or so with a left knee that blew up so big he couldn't walk after the game.
Jones caught five passes for 51 yards, including an important back-shoulder 21-yard reception late in the game, but he'll be most remembered for dropping a slant that appeared to be open for a touchdown, the second time he did that in the playoffs and arguably the fifth time he did it for the season.
It's fair to say leading up the Super Bowl, Jones had the opportunity to be more productive than Nelson, but he couldn't. He could have had double-digit touchdowns and a much bigger per catch average, but didn't do it.
When it came down to the biggest game, the game plan didn't shift his way; it shifted toward Nelson.
You can argue that Nelson was as guilty of dropping as many balls as Jones (10) this season, including three in the Super Bowl, but his arrow pointed upward all through the latter part of the season and there's no telling how much his knee negatively affected his performance against the Pittsburgh Steelers in the final game.
Next season, Nelson might not start, but if he's not getting more balls thrown to him than Driver, it will be a major upset. Nelson is entering his fourth season - his contract year - and the confidence he gained through his Super Bowl performance, along with his desire to get paid, should lift his game to a starter's level.
The 36-year-old Driver will still be an integral part of the team, but a little more like Howard Green than Clay Matthews.
Add TE Jermichael Finley to the mix and it will be a crowded field when it comes grabbing QB Aaron Rodgers' attention.
Jones had his opportunity to become a de facto starter in 2011 the way Nelson probably will be, but he didn't gain the trust of the coaches because of his big drops.
As a result, he probably will have to go somewhere else if he wants to be a starter, but it's not because Driver is in his way. If anything, it's Nelson who's in his way and that's because Jones left him an opening when Driver got hurt.
