By Adam Jones: “My ability is still at the top level”
October 5, 2011 – 9:00 am by Chris Fedor
Adam “Pacman” Jones has always had a world of talent. There’s a reason why he was the sixth overall pick in the NFL Draft coming out of West Virginia, but he has also had a handful of issues. Whether it was getting in trouble at the “scrip club” or another way off-the-field, his troubles have contributed to him never living up to the enormous talent that he has.
Jones is 28-years-old now, he has been in the NFL for five years, and he is about to re-join the Cincinnati Bengals coming off a neck injury. Jones has ditched the “Pacman” nickname now and says he has worked on becoming a better person off-the-field. Talk is cheap though and as much as he continues to talk about how changed he is and how much more mature he is, he needs to continue to show evidence of that and just a few months ago he was arrested.
Adam Jones joined KILT in Houston with Vandermeer and Lopez to talk about coming off the PUP list, what is the most frequent question he gets from people, how much he has learned from going through the hardships he went through, why he has done away with the nickname “Pacman,” and whether or not he thinks he can still play at a high level in the NFL.
How he feels getting off the PUP list:
“Yeah can’t wait man. Getting ready to get off PUP. Been working hard, my neck is finally 100 percent, I’ve done contact, and I’m just ready to get out there and play now.”
On the most frequent question he receives from people:
“I get a lot of questions about you know how did I get through a lot of situations, how did I stay strong, and the most popular question is how did I get my nickname? Most of my friends know that I’m the leader of the pack, I’m the first kid in my family to go to college, on my dad’s side I’m the first male to see 26, and there’s a lot of things I’ve been through that I’ve conquered I have a lot more to go through and I’m just trying to be a great father, live for my little girls. I’ve pretty much had my fun and what’s the saying when you’re young you do childish things and when you become older you act more as a man. I’m just trying to better myself and be a good person to my family for the most part.”
How tough it was to go through the hardships he went through growing up:
“God takes you through things to bring you to things. It was a big learning experience and I wouldn’t want no other young kid to go through, some people can’t go through the things that I went through. I wouldn’t want nobody to go through what I went through. If I can stop a young man from making a couple bad decisions by talking to him I wouldn’t mind doing it.”
On why he has decided to go away from the nickname “Pacman”
“I’m quite sure one of y’all probably have a nickname that your boys call you or your family calls you. It gets to a time where to me business-wise the ‘Pacman’ has to leave. I’m almost 29-years-old and it just sounds better using Adam. More professional. Football-wise I will probably never lose it but on a business tip that’s why I made that decision.”
Whether or not he can still play at a high level:
“My ability is still at the top level. You watch the games I played last year and I played tremendously good. I had a touchdown, two interceptions, a couple of fumbles caused, a couple of fumble recoveries, and I only played five games. I just have to stay healthy. I had an injury that was lingering and I can’t wait to get back out there so I can show people.”
Listen to Adam Jones on KILT in Houston here
Tags: Adam Pacman Jones, AFC North, Cincinnati Bengals, KILT in Houston, NFL
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