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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted at 11:42 p.m., Wednesday, November 19, 2008

NFL: When Pacman blows up again, Jerry Jones will only have himself to blame

By Jean-Jacques Taylor
The Dallas Morning News

HIGHLIGHTS

Adam Jones was reinstated by the NFL and can begin practicing with the Cowboys on Monday.

Jones cannot play in the next two games. He is eligible to return to the field Dec. 7 at Pittsburgh.

The troubled cornerback will have a bodyguard, but he will not be provided by the team.

Jones completed 30 days of alcohol rehabilitation and other treatment during his suspension.

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IRVING, Texas — The NFL's poster child for foolish behavior is returning to the Dallas Cowboys.

That's right, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell has reinstated Pacman Jones, giving him yet another opportunity to embarrass the NFL, the Cowboys and his family.

Jerry Jones didn't have to take him back, but he did.

I wish I could say I'm surprised, but I'm not. Neither are you. Nor should we be.

These days, Jerry is beyond help. Frankly, he needs counseling. His intense desire to win a championship, an admirable quality, has clouded his judgment.

He wants to win so badly he's willing to add Pacman to a team that has no margin for error if it wants to make the playoffs.

Pacman isn't eligible to play until Dec. 7. The Cowboys should make him inactive for the last four regular-season games, but that's too much like doing right.

Then again, that's what 11 years without a postseason victory does to an owner like Jones, who yearns for the euphoria and attention that accompanies playoff wins. There's no other explanation why Jerry would welcome Pacman back to the Cowboys.

Think about it: What did Pacman show us during the six games he played before he was suspended following a scuffle with a member of his own security team at a trendy downtown hotel?

Not much.

He certainly wasn't as good as advertised. He was a bad punt returner and an average cornerback. We probably expected too much, considering he didn't play in 2007 after Goodell suspended him.

Whatever the reason, Pacman wasn't a difference-maker — and he won't be the rest of this season.

While he spent the past four weeks undergoing alcohol counseling, league rules prohibited him from practicing with the team. Whatever he did with his personal trainer is irrelevant.

He's a pulled hamstring waiting to happen.

You can't go a month without training in the middle of the season and expect to be a productive player. Besides — I don't know how many times I have to say this — the Cowboys don't need him.

Since Pacman's been gone, the secondary has stabilized. Anthony Henry and Terence Newman start. Orlando Scandrick plays the slot in the nickel and Mike Jenkins plays the other slot in the dime.

A few weeks ago, Indianapolis lined up a couple of journeyman cornerbacks named Keiwan Ratliff and Tim Jennings against Randy Moss and Wes Welker of the New England Patriots.

Guess what? The Colts won. Surely, the Cowboys can win with their quartet of cornerbacks.

Then there's the trust factor.

If this team wants to make the playoffs, its players can't waste a single minute discussing Pacman's latest controversy or poor decision, whenever it happens. If Jerry doesn't think Pacman's presence creates a distraction, he really has lost his mind.

This team's entire focus must be on winning. It's not good enough to multi-task.

The problem with Pacman is that he's such a talent he'll force the Cowboys to increase his role and put their faith in him.

Then he'll betray that trust. He's done it each and every time at the NFL level.

Why should we expect this time be different than the last? Or the time before that?

The last time Goodell reinstated Pacman, he lasted 41 days before finding trouble.

Ridiculous.

Trust me, he'll find it again. He can't help himself. He's not a bad person; he's just a guy who continually makes bad decisions.

Why Jerry would put him in a position to affect his football team and wreck all the things it has a chance to accomplish this season is beyond me. It's irresponsible and foolish.

When it blows up — and it will — Jerry won't have anyone to blame but himself.