When a head coach calls out some of his “individuals” the way Antonio Pierce did yesterday, the clock starts ticking. When every single play is captured in hi-def from multiple angles, then is broken down and analyzed by professionals, amateurs, cable shows, social media accounts, YouTubers, analytics geeks, mystics and statistics, it’s only a matter of time that the offending parties begin to get identified.
And since Pierce declared he and his staff are going to fight business decisions with business decisions, some sleuths on the internet have come up with a suspect. Or at the very least, a person of interest. How else can you describe Jack Jones’ decision-making on this play, if not him protecting his business interests?:
Well if it isn’t Patriots fans’ old nemesis:
To be fair to Jones – and I don’t know what’s motivating me to be – it’s not like he’s ever been accused of making business decisions in the past. On the contrary. Getting arrested for carrying a loaded firearm in an airport is very much not good for business. Neither is getting benched for disciplinary reasons in each of your first two seasons. Or getting booted from two major college programs, which bookended your career-salvaging stint at a JUCO. As a matter of fact, I’ll argue that the only business savvy move in the history of Jack Jones Industries was hiring this, um … eccentric woman as his lawyer and beating the gun charges:
So why begrudge him this one?
Besides, it’s just one play. What’s the big deal if he did go after Chuba Hubbard with all the hustle of a bounty hunter chasing down Toddler Leia in Obi Wan Kenobi?
Maybe on all the rest of his snaps, Jones has lived up to the promise he showed when he was the Patriots best rookie three seasons ago.
Spoiler: He hasn’t. Not by a damned sight. As it stands through three games, he’s been targeted 13 times and given up 9 receptions, which is a rate of 69.2%. He’s also given up 2 TDs, to 0 INTs, committed two penalties and has a passer rating when targeted of 126.0. Meaning every time a quarterback has thrown in his direction, he’s been more successful than Josh Allen, who leads the league with 124.2.
On top of that, Jones is missing 22.2% of his tackle attempts. And I’m not sure if that play technically meets the definition of an “attempt.”
Anyway, this just made next week’s Raiders game against Cleveland all the more worth watching. It’ll be interesting to see if Pierce saw what we saw, and if he perceives Jones as being one of those individuals he referred to. If he does, and it leads to a business decision by the Raiders, that will make Jones 0-for-5 when it comes to dealing with head coaches. And I’ll be stunned if Pierce doesn’t keep Jones’ losing streak intact.
