Pacman trade woes, Jerry loves second chances and Wade Phillips speaks

So the Pacman trade has real problems. That’s how it was termed by a Dallas Cowboys source stating that both compensation and money were holding up the deal.

A discussed trade that would send Tennessee Titans cornerback Adam "Pacman" Jones to Dallas appears to be in jeopardy, a Cowboys source has told ESPN.

Not only are the Cowboys refusing to provide the Titans a fourth-round pick this year and another choice in 2009, but there are disagreements over whether the Cowboys would reimburse the Titans for some bonus money owed to the suspended cornerback.

I’m OK with this so far. Nobody else has showed a real interest and the Titans were really trying to roll this deal fast, but got a little greedy in the process. Jerry did the smart thing by not bidding against himself and waiting the Titans out. Now, if another team enters the picture, legitimately, then Jerry might have to jump back into the game. But for now, patience is a virtue.

Hat tip to Mullin for this diary.

Matt Mosley has a good article about Jerry’s penchant for giving second chances, or seventh chances in this case. Anyway, it’s a good read, but one paragraph about the Cowboys trade for Charles Haley freaked me out. Larry Lacewell, our college scouting director at the time, got a call from San Fran asking if the Cowboys had interest in trading for Haley.

"I'd honestly never heard of the guy," said Lacewell. "I think the note sat on my desk for three or four days before I finally walked it down to Jerry's office. When I told him what it was, he nearly dove over the desk."

WTF! Had never heard of the guy? And just left the note sitting around for four days! Maybe he is engaging in some good ol’ boy revisionist storytelling where you act like a rube to be funny or make things more amusing. That’s all I can say, otherwise, I’m mad. (Not really, but sort of).

But the quote of the article has to go to one unnamed member of the Titans organization.

As one member of the Titans' organization explained to me, "Pacman is good about 85 percent of the time. But that 15 percent is a f------ disaster."

Ha! That sobered me up.

Wade Phillips did some Q&A and the DMN was kind enough to transcribe. A couple of examples.

Is it possible to have a worse regular-season record and still have a better team?

Phillips: That can always happen. Both Indianapolis and Pittsburgh, after they had big seasons, didn't have as many wins the next year and won the Super Bowl. Just like this year, the team that wins the most games doesn't always win the championship. But your odds are better the more games you can win in the regular season.

I like that thinking along the Indy and Pitt lines. Maybe not win as many, but win the ones that count. Like the Giants:

What most impressed you about the Giants?

Phillips: The Giants have a great football team and what they accomplished was almost unbelievable. They lost to us twice during the season. They lost to New England and they lost to Green Bay. Then they went on the road [in the playoffs] and beat all three teams. That was a tremendous accomplishment. Their players came through when it counted – in the playoffs.

Impressive. But that last line: Their players came through when it counted – in the playoffs, really hurts.

Rule changes in the NFL.

• A recommendation to eliminate force-out decisions on pass completions near the sidelines. Now, officials will only have to decide whether a receiver landed inbounds or not. The intended result is more consistency.

Thank goodness, I hated the force out rule. Either you’re in or you’re not.

• The "Phil Dawson field goal rule." Now, certain field goals can be reviewed by instant replay, including kicks that bounce off the uprights. Under the previous system, no field goals could be reviewed.

Yawn.

• Deferring the opening coin toss. This is similar to the college rule. Previously, the winner of the coin toss could only choose to receive or to kick off.

Yawn.

• Eliminating the 5-yard face mask penalty. Now, only the serious face mask will be called (and will be assessed as a 15-yard penalty). The major foul will involve twisting or grabbing the face mask.

Good call. The incidental stuff wasn’t really sufficient for a penalty.

Hat tip to thebigham for this diary.