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…where is there to go?

The reports that the NFL’s pariah had a landing spot in Winnipeg proved incorrect. From the Blue Bombers this morning:

“It is unfortunate that this situation became public; however, our position has remained consistent,” Blue Bombers coach Mike Kelly said in a statement. “We will pursue athletes that we believe will contribute to our organization on and off the field. We have completed our assessment and due diligence and at this time we will not be pursuing the services of Adam Jones.”

What due diligence? Googling him? Canvassing the opinions of owners of strip clubs in the area?

Where now, for Pacman?

The latest train wreck exported from the NFL’s junk yard is none other than Adam “Pacman” Jones. As you know, Pacman had some trouble with the NFL (and society at large) because of, well, everything. No NFL team contacted him. No UFL team contacted him. As far as we know, nobody from Dancing With The Stars contacted him. In short, to continue playing football, and to earn a pay check, he had little choice but to pack up and head north. The struggling 3-5 Winnipeg Blue Bombers decided to take a chance on him as they try to turn their season around over the second half of the CFL season. Let’s put aside Canada’s reputation as an inevitably forgiving liberal haven for a moment and consider the NFL versus the CFL as being societies unto themselves. The CFL is, frankly, a very conservative traditionalist establishment that has contested the Grey Cup for a century. Outspoken, boorish, bombastic, self-promoting behavior is not only frowned upon but will most often get you a ticket out of town. Consider the situation that Arland Bruce recently found himself in as a result of on-field antics and overly-vocal criticism of everyone under the Sun. In this league, you cannot be a distraction and keep your job. All this on top of a very strict anti-drug policy. Unless Jones has undergone an extraordinary personal transformation, this is a terrible move by Winnipeg. The other side of the coin is that this may turn out to be the best thing that ever happened to Jones; gaining experience in a mellower social climate and being able to play the game where there will be a relative minimum of media reminding him of past indiscretions. Hopefully, he’ll take advantage of this. Second (or third or fourth) chances are not easy to come by and this is his.

Jones is not the first to use the CFL in an attempt to rehabilitate himself. One of the more high-profile specimens recently was Ricky Williams who signed for a season with the Toronto Argonauts. Pacman can look at Williams as an example of using the CFL to forge a new life for himself and using the Canuck league as a stepping stone to get back to the big show. Much like Williams, the issue with Jones was never one concerning his skills as a football player. Jones is blessed with superb natural speed, makes intelligent adjustments on routes and has an excellent set of hands. No, the problem is that every team in the NFL is fed up with his even more natural habit of finding trouble for himself which has resulted in an NFL-wide consensus of Jones not being “worth the hassle”, as it were.

Frankly, I don’t expect Jones really knows what he is getting himself into. Aside from the CFL game being so very different from that which is played in the NFL, the society and culture into which he is entering is unlike anything he knows. There is a dearth of bling, a distinct absence of firearms, strangers smile and say hello and both apologize profusely should they accidentally bump into each other on a sidewalk. During the winter months, Winnipeg is the coldest city in the galaxy. Check out Portage and Main when winter lays claim to the prairies and where “severe wind chill” is a distant luxury compared to the remarkable cold that settles in for months. Worse, Canadian dollar bills don’t exist. Neither do two dollar bills. No, it’s all coinage; loonies and toonies. Most Canadians carry around about a pound of the stuff in their pockets in lieu of paper money. So, regrettably, you can’t really “make it rain” with all those metal bits. Although, when you think about it, I suppose you could “make it hail”.

Just a little further north than he probably preferred.

No, not Buffalo.

Winnipeg.

Assuming he retains his speed, he should rather enjoy returning kicks and punts on the larger field.