As we all know by now, Pacman Jones is currently serving an indefinite suspension of at least four games without pay.
We all know about his past indiscretions, but how does his latest suspension affect the future of the Cowboys franchise?
The immediate effect is a sense of embarassment and regret, one of those “if we knew then what we know now” moments.
Jerry Jones looks bad. The players may feel a sense betrayal. Fans are upset at taking the risk and not surprised by it’s outcome.
One thing that cannot be ignored is that the Cowboys were perpared for this scenario.
The Cowboys selected two cornerbacks in last year’s draft, despite already having Pacman in the fold. He had yet to be reinstated and there was no guarantee that he would be.
The team drafted South Florida’s Mike Jenkins in the first round and Boise State’s Orlando Scandrick in the fifth round. Both have seen regular action this season and will see their opportunities increase in the wake of Pacman’s suspension.
Returning punts now instaed of Pacman will be Patrick Crayton. Pacman hadn’t been burning it up as far as punt retruns are concerned and Crayton may actually be an upgrade at the position because he won’t waste a lot of motion dancing around, looking for a hole, a la Pacman.
Overall, I don’t think Pacman’s absence will have too much effect on the chemistry of the Cowboys team. Individually, players may have issues with Pacman and how he chose to handle his opportunity. If there’s one thing players don’t take kindly to, it is one of their own doing something to disrupt the team, especially midseason. Having said that, the Cowboys appear to be a tight-knit group that is willing to embrace anyone who goes out there donning the blue star, working toward a common goal. Pacman had several teammates supporting him before his suspension and if he is allowed to come back, I would not be surprised to see that support continue.
Because Pacman got suspended, the Cowboys picked up a fifth-rounder in next year’s draft. The Cowboys are well positioned as far as draft picks go, as they have nine picks, which could go up to 11 with compensatory picks, due to free agents Julius Jones and Jacque Reeves and how they do with their respective teams.
All in all, the Cowboys took a pretty good PR hit with the Pacman deal, and being the most polarizing franchise in the NFL leads to many people having fun at the Cowboys’ expense. There are many people out there who want to see Pacman fail because he brought a lot of his issues on himself and is unable to get out of his own way. I may be in the minority in saying that I hope Pacman is able to sort out his issues and return to the NFL. I say this because I shudder to think what may become of Pacman if football is longer a part of hs life.
