OUT LOUD: Thomas Jones

[Redsz]

So let me get this straight. TJ has matured but when he was a college kid he didn't want to play for AZ...has the gall (apparently) to be honest about how he felt at that time...admits that experience was a learning one for him...and you guys hate him?

Classic. Is it any wonder why athletes speak in old worn out cliches that take no intelligence to utter instead of blessing everyone with the truth? Because fan throw hissies like are on this thread and act like they have been personally insulted.

TJ sucked here...no doubt about it. But to still hate the guy is stupid. TJ grew up from when he was here and fans should grow up as well and forget about him.

Worry about the present and future.

Now that he is suddenly running well for Chicago that excuses how he bahaved here?

Good grief, the guy was joking around with Urlacher about not wanting to play here. 'You goto Arizona. No, you goto Arizona'. What a class act.

So excuse me and others for taking exception to this idiot not only disrespecting the Cardinals but also the oppurtunity he was given.

There is something to be said about the old saying of: 'If life gives you lemons, make lemonade'. Jones did nothing to change the situation he was given, but rather wallowed in his own self pity.

And to me atleast the speaks alot about a person. And it speaks alot about the defeatest attitude and mentality that has riddled this franchise for years that Jones contributed to.

 

[kerouac9]

Now that he is suddenly running well for Chicago that excuses how he bahaved here?

Good grief, the guy was joking around with Urlacher about not wanting to play here. 'You goto Arizona. No, you goto Arizona'. What a class act.

So excuse me for taking offense to this idiot not only disrespecting the Cardinals but also the oppurtunity he was given.

There is something to be said about the old saying of: 'If life gives you lemons, make lemonade'. Jones did nothing to change the situation he was given, but rather wallowed in his own self pity.

And to me atleast the speaks alot about a person. And it speaks alot about the defeatest attitude and mentality that has riddled this franchise for years that Jones contributed to.

Read the story how you want to, but it seems to me like TJ was saying that no one in the draft room wanted to go to Arizona. Not the Great White Hope Urlacher, not Courtney Brown, not Lavar Arrington, not Peter Warwick. There wasn't a player in New York that wanted to go to Arizona. That's not on T.J., that's on Mac, Tobin, and the Bidwills. And it's on the city for not supporting their team.

Jones may have contributed to the losing attitude, but he didn't create it. Jake didn't go to offseason workouts or watch film. No one wanted to get better here; everyone who was good wanted to leave. Even players that wanted to turn the place around (like Simeon Rice) evenutally decided that the town stunk and ownership didn't want to win and was granted their walking papers.

TJ was as good as Michael Pittman when he was here, only he didn't beat his wife. He got a raw deal from Arizona Fans, who put all their eggs in the Marcel Shipp basket. Well done, Arizona Fan. Your over-sensitivity to every player who comes out and says that this franchise stunk until Dennis Green came along only shows the rest of the League how small-time you are.

 

[ajcardfan]

I've got one thing to say to Thomas Jones, perhaps something his father might have told him... "Thomas, you are either part of the solution or part of the problem!" During his time in Arizona, Jones chose to be part of the problem...

Well, I can understand that. But, even players who were part of the solution here, like Aeneas Williams, have admitted this was a very tough place to play in compared to other franchises. Sure, being a Cardinals player would be a dream job for us. But in the fantasy world these guys lived in, it's a cut below.

Notice that I used the past tense in the above paragraph. A change has begun among players INSIDE our team since Jones has left. How much of that has trickled out, who knows? But, it has to be somewhat. Okeafor signed here over Seattle for a smaller bonus. That was completely unheard of in the past.

 

[Big Deal]

Well, I can understand that. But, even players who were part of the solution here, like Aeneas Williams, have admitted this was a very tough place to play in compared to other franchises. Sure, being a Cardinals player would be a dream job for us. But in the fantasy world these guys lived in, it's a cut below.

Notice that I used the past tense in the above paragraph. A change has begun among players INSIDE our team since Jones has left. How much of that has trickled out, who knows? But, it has to be somewhat. Okeafor signed here over Seattle for a smaller bonus. That was completely unheard of in the past.[/quote]

Think he's mad about that?

 

[MaoTosiFanClub]

Ask yourselves this: If you were magically given NFL Pro Bowl talent when you woke up tomorrow, would you waste it going 110% for the clown show that ran the Cardinals back in the late 1990s?

 

[Redsz]

Read the story how you want to, but it seems to me like TJ was saying that no one in the draft room wanted to go to Arizona. Not the Great White Hope Urlacher, not Courtney Brown, not Lavar Arrington, not Peter Warwick. There wasn't a player in New York that wanted to go to Arizona. That's not on T.J., that's on Mac, Tobin, and the Bidwills. And it's on the city for not supporting their team.

Jones may have contributed to the losing attitude, but he didn't create it. Jake didn't go to offseason workouts or watch film. No one wanted to get better here; everyone who was good wanted to leave. Even players that wanted to turn the place around (like Simeon Rice) evenutally decided that the town stunk and ownership didn't want to win and was granted their walking papers.

TJ was as good as Michael Pittman when he was here, only he didn't beat his wife. He got a raw deal from Arizona Fans, who put all their eggs in the Marcel Shipp basket. Well done, Arizona Fan. Your over-sensitivity to every player who comes out and says that this franchise stunk until Dennis Green came along only shows the rest of the League how small-time you are.

It was on Mac, Tobin, and the Bidwills for this enviroment. You won't hear me say other wise.

But as it was already said: 'if your not part of the solution, you are part of the problem'. Jones perpetuated this attitude and mentality. Just because he didn't create this attitude doesn't mean he doesn't have any less accountability for how he maintined it or for how he performed here.

And now because he is performing well for a team I could care less for, we are suppossed to pat him on back and say 'oh don't worry about it'? I'll take a pass on that. Because there is nothing worse than someone complaining about the sitaution they are in and then doing nothing about it. It's like someone complaining about Bush and the goverment and then not voting. I don't think I'm overly sensitive or small minded because I hold TJ accountable for his actions here.

 

[Redsz]

Ask yourselves this: If you were magically given NFL Pro Bowl talent when you woke up tomorrow, would you waste it going 110% for the clown show that ran the Cardinals back in the late 1990s?

I would. I wasn't raised to have that work ethic. And I bet Charger fans are glad that LT didn't run off when he had the chance. And I'm sure as heck glad that guys like Boldin and Bertrand Berry didn't ether.

 

[MaoTosiFanClub]

I would. I wasn't raised to have that work ethic. And I bet Charger fans are glad that LT didn't run off when he had the chance. And I'm sure as heck glad that guys like Boldin and Bertrand Berry didn't ether.

And I (like Thomas Jones apparently) was raised to believe that the those who follow the fool are more foolish than the fool himself. And it's hard to argue that Mac, Tobin, and Bill Sr. are anything but incompetent fools.

 

[Redsz]

Only a fool would allow themselves to be a victim of cirumstance. If you don't like the situation you are in, then do something about it.

If TJ had played to his abilities he could of changed the circumstances of his situation. But he didn't. He decided to play soft and live in pity of his situation.

 

[Duckjake]

Well done, Arizona Fan. Your over-sensitivity to every player who comes out and says that this franchise stunk until Dennis Green came along only shows the rest of the League how small-time you are.

Aren't you an Arizona fan?

 

[Chopper0080]

My friend once said it best...if he was blessed with the talent to go to the NFL, he wouldn't enter the draft. He would wait until afterwards that way he could pick where he wanted to go. He would still get decent money and would be in a situation that he liked. If you choose to go to the draft, you take the risk of getting picked by whatever team wants you.

 

[red desert]

Only a fool would allow themselves to be a victim of cirumstance. If you don't like the situation you are in, then do something about it.

If TJ had played to his abilities he could of changed the circumstances of his situation. But he didn't. He decided to play soft and live in pity of his situation.

Thank you. The name Larry Centers ring a bell?

 

[AzCards21]

TJ obviously didn't come here to improve our situation or even play his best. Congrats on your contract you fricken puss. Man, nothing like coming into the league like a loser and not having the nutz to do anything about it.

 

[CardsFan222]

Well, I can understand that. But, even players who were part of the solution here, like Aeneas Williams, have admitted this was a very tough place to play in compared to other franchises. Sure, being a Cardinals player would be a dream job for us. But in the fantasy world these guys lived in, it's a cut below.

Notice that I used the past tense in the above paragraph. A change has begun among players INSIDE our team since Jones has left. How much of that has trickled out, who knows? But, it has to be somewhat. Okeafor signed here over Seattle for a smaller bonus. That was completely unheard of in the past.

When he was here he played his butt off. he was a guy that wanted to change the way things were in Arizona, and if you dont want to play here then tell the team that so we can draft someone that wants to play here

 

[SoCal Cardfan]

Ask yourselves this: If you were magically given NFL Pro Bowl talent when you woke up tomorrow, would you waste it going 110% for the clown show that ran the Cardinals back in the late 1990s?

Yes, but that’s just me maybe.... not to be too cliché, but...
If something’s worth doing, it's worth doing right.

I wonder how many draft picks came here and played with that mentality? How many of those half-assed effort guys are out of football now?

Sure the Cardinals sucked (and still do) but anyone with half a brain should realize; when you work for a crap company (or team) you’re always auditioning yourself to the rest of the non-crap companies/teams of the world.

It worked for me anyway.... I went to better companies not once, but twice, based on my performance at lesser companies.

 

[Redrage]

TJ was as good as Michael Pittman when he was here, only he didn't beat his wife. He got a raw deal from Arizona Fans, who put all their eggs in the Marcel Shipp basket. Well done, Arizona Fan. Your over-sensitivity to every player who comes out and says that this franchise stunk until Dennis Green came along only shows the rest of the League how small-time you are.

Jones was sent packing the offseason after the broken hand incident. There were character concerns. The boy was best friends with DBO for crying out loud!

 

[RedViper]

Jones is a pathetic guy. And there is simply no way to defend his comments where he makes this monumental excuse for his miserable performance by saying he couldn't get past his despair in being drafted by a bad team. He is weak minded and cowardly and thats all that can reasonably be drawn from that excuse.

Sure we Cards fans have all kinds of reasons to hate the guy. He was an absolute waste of a high pick, we picked him over Alexander for the love of Pete. He lost his job to the backup, Michael Pittman each year he played for us. His barfight-telephone answering-lie telling incident was a disgusting and pathetic way to leave the team.

Independent of any of that however, take all that bias the Cards fans have against him out of it, there is no way to defend his excuse that he couldn't play well for us because someone made fun of him twenty minutes after he was drafted.

The other thing about the whole article is it also displays the guy's pure stupidity. On the one hand he tells the story about waking up a six and running those hills, his parents that worked in the mines and every other job to carve out a life. In the same article he says he just couldn't deal with the horrors of being drafted by a losing NFL team. Shrinking away from that challenge doesn't quite match, the toughness he's trying to sell to us in his upbringing. Obviously TJ not smart enough to do an interview without that type of glaring inconsistency.

 

[BACH]

The other thing about the whole article is it also displays the guy's pure stupidity. On the one hand he tells the story about waking up a six and running those hills, his parents that worked in the mines and every other job to carve out a life. In the same article he says he just couldn't deal with the horrors of being drafted by a losing NFL team. Shrinking away from that challenge doesn't quite match, the toughness he's trying to sell to us in his upbringing. Obviously TJ not smart enough to do an interview without that type of glaring inconsistency.

I'm just amazed that the reporter didn'y pick up on this...

This is a classic defense mechanism from Jones. "I sucked because I was on a bad team" and then forgets to mention that he went to the defending champions after Arizona, but didn't have any succes there either.

 

[dogpoo32]

TJ obviously didn't come here to improve our situation or even play his best. Congrats on your contract you fricken puss. Man, nothing like coming into the league like a loser and not having the nutz to do anything about it.

Dude doesn't deserve to wear an NFL jersey. Talent or no talent. No one with an attitude like his deserves 1 friggin cent let alone millions of dollars. Its ridiculous the way athletes today are showered with money and have no respect for their God given or self realized talent. Makes me sick to think that people take advantage of their abilities while thousands of people could be fed for a year on their signing bonus alone. Congratulations TJ. You are above us all.

As far as his not helping the Cards, it just shows his lack of respect for anyone else. He got his paycheck win or lose. 100 yards or 10 yards. Way to show some character.

 

[kerouac9]

I'm just amazed that the reporter didn'y pick up on this...

This is a classic defense mechanism from Jones. "I sucked because I was on a bad team" and then forgets to mention that he went to the defending champions after Arizona, but didn't have any succes there either.

Actually, TJ set career highs yards (627), yards per carry average (4.6), and first downs (34) when he went to Tampa, including beating Michael Pittman out of the starting job in the last month of the season. This was after only starting like four or five games. The Bucs were sad to see him go. He didn't get that big contract in Chicago for showing nothing.

Maybe the problem in Arizona wasn't TJ after all. It seems that Thomas got exactly what he wanted. He got out of Arizona a year ahead of his contract, to a competing team, and now is on a winner. Hard to argue with results.

 

[Pariah]

He got a raw deal from Arizona Fans, who put all their eggs in the Marcel Shipp basket. Well done, Arizona Fan. Your over-sensitivity to every player who comes out and says that this franchise stunk until Dennis Green came along only shows the rest of the League how small-time you are.

Wow, that's a really big horse you're sitting on, K9. some might even call it a high-horse.

Here's an idea: TJ wasn't the same player here in AZ as he is in Chicago. He wanted out and acted like it. The fans didn't run him out of town, he did.

I don't think TJ said anything wrong in the article, but one thing I know for certain is that the Cardinals organization doesn't listen to its fans when it comes to personell decisions. So, to say that we "small-minded" fans had anything to do with it is plain wrong. Also, us "small-minded" fans really wanted TJ to be good. He wasn't. The only reason people started cheering for Shipp is because he showed he was better than TJ and Pittman when they were here.

 

[AzCards21]

Maybe the problem in Arizona wasn't TJ after all. It seems that Thomas got exactly what he wanted. He got out of Arizona a year ahead of his contract, to a competing team, and now is on a winner. Hard to argue with results.

You jump Shipps case every chance you get and now are defending a loafing turd like Jones?

 

[Ouchie-Z-Clown]

Read the story how you want to, but it seems to me like TJ was saying that no one in the draft room wanted to go to Arizona. Not the Great White Hope Urlacher, not Courtney Brown, not Lavar Arrington, not Peter Warwick. There wasn't a player in New York that wanted to go to Arizona. That's not on T.J., that's on Mac, Tobin, and the Bidwills. And it's on the city for not supporting their team.

Jones may have contributed to the losing attitude, but he didn't create it. Jake didn't go to offseason workouts or watch film. No one wanted to get better here; everyone who was good wanted to leave. Even players that wanted to turn the place around (like Simeon Rice) evenutally decided that the town stunk and ownership didn't want to win and was granted their walking papers.

TJ was as good as Michael Pittman when he was here, only he didn't beat his wife. He got a raw deal from Arizona Fans, who put all their eggs in the Marcel Shipp basket. Well done, Arizona Fan. Your over-sensitivity to every player who comes out and says that this franchise stunk until Dennis Green came along only shows the rest of the League how small-time you are.

i agree with all of this except the last paragraph. tj stunk. pittman stunk. tugboat stunk/stinks. we haven't had a legit rb in a long time.

 

[Ouchie-Z-Clown]

Only a fool would allow themselves to be a victim of cirumstance. If you don't like the situation you are in, then do something about it.

If TJ had played to his abilities he could of changed the circumstances of his situation. But he didn't. He decided to play soft and live in pity of his situation.

um, he did do something, he got outta of the circumstances he was in. and you're ridiculous if you think that tj "playing to his abilities" would have changed the circumstances. it was a whole hell of a lot more than tj's performance that's kept this team in the cellar for so long.

 

[Redsz]

He didn't change his circumstances. The Cardinals where forced to trade him because he was such a huge dissapointment.

If TJ played to his abilities maybe the Cardinals would of won a few more games and could of changed the dynamic of a few seasons. Or maybe he could of become a building block for the Cardinals like Tomlinson became for the Chargers. Or maybe he could of left the Cardinals in FA and now be a lot more financialy secure. He didn't do any of that. He just felt sorry for himself.

He isn't the sole reason the Cardinals where in the cellar. I never said that. But he sure as heck contributed to it and did nothing to change the mentality of this team. He could of. He had the talent.

Just because he played on a bad team doesn't make him any less accountable for his play. Just because he is playing well for Chicago I don't have to forget that. Nor do I have to become a fan ether.