Pacman talks stall

by Dave Halprin on Mar 31, 2008 10:02 AM CDT in News Comment 25 comments

The Pacman Saga continues to slowly wind its way through the offseason, with every step being cataloged and analyzed. (And yes, I’m as guilty as anybody of doing that). Today we have "news" that the talks between the Dallas Cowboys and the Tennessee Titans have stalled. Wait a minute? Wasn’t the deal done last night? Guess not, ESPN hits us up with the latest.

The Titans are seeking a fourth-round pick in this month's NFL draft and another selection next year, according to the source. The Cowboys are so far unwilling to provide either, believing they are the only team pursuing Jones, who remains suspended for violations of the personal-conduct policy.

Good move by Jerry. When the news broke that the Cowboys had an interest in Pacman a couple of weeks ago, there’s been a real momentum that the deal would happen. The Titans most likely got caught up in that momentum and thought they could squeeze Jerry. But it appears that the Cowboys are the only team bidding at the moment. So he’s doing the right thing by slowing down that momentum and digging in at a low draft pick only.

Hat tip to Longhorn for the link in his diary.

Pacman’s agent concurs that no deal is done.

A report on Rototimes.com said Jones has been dealt, but Manny Arora said he has been told nothing of the kind.
"You would think the Titans would tell me they had traded him if they had," Arora said.

Also, in the article, Arora continues to insist that other teams are interested. He also says they’ll be petitioning the league shortly for reinstatement.

Arora said he plans to have Jones apply for reinstatement to the NFL shortly after April 10. That is the one-year mark of the league's new behavior program.

So that’s the latest. Which led me to only one natural conclusion - put it to song.

Sung to the tune of The Beverly Hillbillies Theme Song.

Come and listen to a story about a man named Pac
A poor Mountaineer, Roger Goodell said he’s wack,
Then one day Jerry was looking for some "wow"
Pac said trade for me I want to join the Cows.

Cowboys that is, Dallas Texas, America’s Team.

Well what everybody knows is Jerry's a millionaire,
Pac’s agent said "Jerry, get him down there"
Said "Dallas is the place he ought to be"
So he loaded up the draft picks and moved Pac to the Valley.

Ranch, that is. Practice fields, helmets with stars.

(closing credits)

Well now its time for the fans to say hello to Pacman.
The strippers of the metroplex want for him to kindly drop in.
Pacman is invited back to this strip club,
To help make it rain and get a little rub

Lap dance, that is. Set a spell, Take your pants off.

Y'all come back now, y'hear?

0 recs | Comment 25 comments

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Comments

Clever, but weak. . .

Uhh. . .real weak. Can you pull together a similar song to Van Halen's Jump? ;)

Bum's Boy Boyz

by JerrodWheeler on Mar 31, 2008 10:20 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs

Grizz...

You officially need a vacation...with alcohol.

"It was a 4-yard run taking the scenic route." -Joe Buck on Romo's Run

by GhettoBear04 on Mar 31, 2008 10:39 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs

You think that was bad

wait until we finally sign Pacman and I re-write Beethoven's 9th - Ode to Joy. It will look something like this:

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by Dave Halprin on Mar 31, 2008 11:30 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

I was groaning until this:

Lap dance, that is. Set a spell, Take your pants off.

Now that's funny.

by grapejoos on Mar 31, 2008 1:49 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Be Ready To Walk Away

A 5th round pick for Pacman is an amazing deal if he stays straight (it's a big if), but it's worth the risk. A 4th round pick plus one next year simply isn't worth the risk, no matter what the guy's upside is.

If the Cowboys get him, I'd give him a 50/50 chance of playing all of next year without violating his contract and going to a strip club. That's not worth a 4th and a late round pick next year.

WTF is the allure with strip clubs, by the way? I love boobies as much as the next guy, but it makes a guy less of a man when he has to pay to see them.

by jmangell0830 on Mar 31, 2008 10:44 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs

I agree...

4th round picks are so valuable, not to mention, I'd have to wait around longer on Sunday to see Big D's plans for the future.

The Titans need to realize that Dallas can easily take a corner or two high in the draft. I'd be disappointed if another team outbid us for Pacman's services, but before this all happened I was salivating at the possibility of some new CB talent in the draft.

Give 'em a fourth next year if he starts every game. They can have our sixth this year. Drop next year's value dependent on conditions of play time.

That #38 sure can hit!

by Aaron Novinger on Mar 31, 2008 11:47 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

I disagree that a 4th round pick is so valuable

Look, I'm all about getting the best deal possible, and if Jerry knows he's the only one in the mix, by all means string the Titans out and make them accept what we're offering. However, let's not lose sight of the goal here: to get a great CB with big character problems on the cheap. If he's the guy we think we're getting, then he's worth a 4th round pick just as much as he is a 5th round. This is, of course, why a conditional pick is much more palatable than a guaranteed 4th, and why Tennessee should agree to it.

The problem we face is that if Jerry low-balls the Titans too much, they're going to say screw it and wait until he gets reinstated to deal, and at that point I bet other teams will be interested. Then we'll end up paying more or not getting the player at all.

We'd be ok even if the deal doesn't go through, but this isn't the time to say that a 4th vs a 5th round pick is too valuable. Our 1st round picks aren't going to be impact players, much less 4th round. It's not a good attitude to have long-term, but for this team, this year, it makes sense to me to ensure this deal goes down. I have a hunch we trade down at 28 and can pick up a pick to offset it anyway.

by grapejoos on Mar 31, 2008 1:48 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Why

Why wouldnt our first round picks be impact players?

by Carl Shelton (GloryDayz88) on Mar 31, 2008 2:02 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

This is my reasoning

Now, first off, they could end up being impact players. Injuries can change things in a hurry; look at Boss and Bradshaw for the Giants. But this is why I said it (though it's really a throw-away comment): if we brought in Pacman, that gives us 3 high-quality veteran CBs. I'd still want to draft a CB in the first, but he's not going to play much this year until one of the starters goes down for whatever reason. So, no big impact there. There is definitely a chance for a rookie RB to come in behind MB3 and be an impact player, so clearly I overstated things as far as our #2 RB slot goes. Still, to the extent that we have a pro-bowl starter at the position, I'm not expecting a huge impact over what JJ gave us last year (though it'd be great if we can get one). As for WR, I'm just not sure the players are there in the draft, and even if they are, we have a high-quality, if not rapidly aging WR corps. Throw in a more seasoned Hurd and a healthy Stanback, and a hopefully healthy Glenn, and it's going to be hard for a rookie WR to get on the field. Every other position we already have starters locked in, and we even have starters waiting in the wings at some (particularly LB, hopefully O-line too).

Point is, other than #2 RB, there are not a lot of opportunities for rookies to contribute to this team next year until injuries take their toll. While that's significant, we have 4th rounders from prior years who haven't even had a chance to play yet, and we don't exactly have cap space to waste, even if only at a 4th round level. Hell, we cut Green after picking him in the 4th round in the same season (not exactly a model to follow, but it happened). Compared to the likely impact of a 4th round player, getting a a guy like Pacman who was a 6th overall pick and has shown the ability to perform at a pro-bowl level at both CB and in the return game is a heist. Especially considering that we're already offering a 5th round pick (according to some reports, anyway), kicking it up to a 4th is a very small increase in value, and refusing to go to a 4th from a 5th is not worth letting this opportunity pass by.

by grapejoos on Mar 31, 2008 2:47 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

I disagree

if for some reason we don't trade for Pacman or he's not reinstated, then I feel a rookie CB could make significant contributions as both nickel back and punt returner.

In Romo we Trust

by Terry on Mar 31, 2008 3:00 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

That's why I said "if we brought in Pacman"

I agree that if we don't make the trade, a rookie CB will have a chance to make a big impact on our team. I conditioned the statement on the Pacman trade.

However, none of this has anything to do with whether a 4th round pick is far too valuable to trade for a guy like Pacman. That's what I was originially disputing. 4th round picks have become great players for us, but they are not that valuable a resource when compared against a stud player. Ask Green Bay, who refused to give up a 4th round pick for Randy Moss last offseason.

by grapejoos on Mar 31, 2008 3:10 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

I agree Grape...Pac well worth a 4th....

I'd even give them a 3rd rounder in '09...If we had to.

True Cowboys diehard since 1975.

by BoyzRback07 on Mar 31, 2008 11:07 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

I'm sure glad you're not the cowboys GM

no other suitors for a troubled player thats still suspended by the league and you want to give away draft picks like candy.

Give the titans a sixth in 09 with a condition if the idiot stays out of trouble this year, it becomes a fifth in 09,thats it.

a fourth and third rounder in 09, now thats funny!!!

Trade up a few spots to get ahead of Houston and draft Jonathan Stewart, thee best all around Back in the draft.

by Deke on Apr 1, 2008 10:13 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

A Dallas Cowboys Video Game in the Works???

Since Grizz is plopping Pacman's pop culture appeal into song, perhaps it will inspire Atari or whoever invented "Pac-man" to come out with a Cowboys version. He'd be eating up footballs and QB ego-dots while being chased by Giants and Eagles. On level 4, he'll kiss the Division Trophy. What will it take to meet the Lombardi? Hopefully, we'll find out this season.

That #38 sure can hit!

by Aaron Novinger on Mar 31, 2008 11:43 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs

Heh

I love the new Grizz. You've been much more light-hearted recently.
Let's get a collaborative performance going! If you want to put lyrics to a song, I'll play it. I dabble with the piano/keyboard.

http://heartbreakplex.blogspot.com/

by BudLight on Mar 31, 2008 12:57 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

looks like Im not the only one who

thinks signing Pacman is a bad idea.

"I wouldn't have him on my team," Kansas City coach Herm Edwards told Cole. "I just wouldn't. I won't get into the reasons why."
And then, there was this: "Most guys who are trouble like that, you can get them to pay attention and step right for a year or two, maybe," said a team executive who wished to remain nameless. "But after that, they just go back to what they really are."

link

Couldn't have expressed that better.

In Romo we Trust

by Terry on Mar 31, 2008 3:05 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

That could be

But I'll take a year or two of Pacman on the straight and narrow (followed by an eventual regression) and a Super Bowl title than neither. That is where reasonable minds differ on the Pacman conundrum, methinks.

by grapejoos on Mar 31, 2008 3:13 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

see, I don't think that Pacman

will be the difference between winning a SB or not. The Cowboys have plenty of talent to win a SB without Pacman, he's not that good.

In Romo we Trust

by Terry on Mar 31, 2008 3:19 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

I agree that we have enough to do it without him

But, I think he helps a lot. He's a relatively cheap fix at a position that is horribly broken, and we don't have the cap space to afford a proper solution here.

It's definitely a duct-tape-and-coat-hangers kind of move, but I think it could work. All I know is that I'm desperate for CB to be a strength for this team and not its only glaring weakness. Desperation does make people do stupid things, but I don't think this is one of them. We don't have to make this move, it's just a good opportunity. I look at it a lot like Randy Moss being available for pennies (in terms of trade compensation) last year, except that Pacman's salary will be very cheap (relatively speaking) as well.

by grapejoos on Mar 31, 2008 3:51 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

CB position depth is a glaring weakness

our starters are pretty good. Getting in a nickel back and 4th CB is our priority this season, and I feel that can be accomplished in the draft.

In Romo we Trust

by Terry on Mar 31, 2008 4:34 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

They are, when healthy

But, I think Pacman is clearly better than Henry and, if you throw in all of the normal enormous IFs about him, can be better than Newman. It's a potentially huge upgrade. I agree we can get the depth via the draft, and I still think we need to spend a high pick to try to get a future starting CB from this draft. Still, draft picks are not sure things either, and I think we can get even more by making this trade.

When I think about this, I don't compare Pacman to a first round CB, I compare him to whatever player we would draft with the low-level pick we give up. Even with only a 50% chance of Pacman playing, that's not even close in my opinion.

by grapejoos on Mar 31, 2008 4:46 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

and for those who think our strong

veteran leaders will sit Pacman straight, look what he said to Keith Bulluck.

Jones wants life on his terms right now. Of course, this always has been the case. Before he had ever played a game in the NFL, the West Virginia product did an appearance in Los Angeles with a bunch of other rookies. With him was an assistant whose job was to carry Jones’ cell phones. There were more than two.
While with Tennessee, Pro Bowl linebacker Keith Bulluck was asked to speak with Jones. The coaching staff was hoping that another star player might be able to talk some sense into him.
Jones’ sarcastic response to Bulluck: "Man, I was the No. 6 overall pick, what can you tell me?"

whats that old saying? a leopard doesn't change his spots, I think we're going to be in big trouble with this guy, sooner or later.

In Romo we Trust

by Terry on Mar 31, 2008 3:17 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs