Sean Jones rewarded for believing in Tampa Bay
When he was a free agent last offseason, former Georgia safety Sean Jones never could get past the potential of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
The Tennessee Titans wanted Jones, and he could have chosen their stability with coach Jeff Fisher (the longest current coach with one team in the NFL) and running back Chris Johnson (the league’s leading rusher last season).
But there was something about the potential of Tampa Bay second-year coach Raheem Morris and second-year starting quarterback Josh Freeman that Jones couldn’t resist. In his heart and with his eyes, Jones could see the Bucs improving.
Jones’ faith in Tampa Bay’s potential has paid off. The Bucs are one of the surprise teams in the NFL.
Jones, who played at Westlake High School, will get a chance to play in his hometown Sunday when the upstart Buccaneers (5-2) play the Falcons (5-2) in a showdown for first place in the NFC South.
Jones is excited about the chance to return to Atlanta with his new team.
“I’m loving Tampa, and it’s good to be back in red and black,” he said.
Jones knows the drill of what it’s like to play in front of family and friends in the Georgia Dome. Since his immediate family tries to go to each of his games, he has to take care of them first with the tickets. After that he has to ask his teammates and his team for some extra tickets for his outside family and friends.
Right now Jones is not sure how many family and friends will be at Sunday’s game, but he thinks it will be a lot.
“I’ve played in the Dome when I was with Cleveland, and I played in the Dome when I was with Philadelphia last year, so I know what its like,” he said.
One thing that helps Jones in his return is that he’s having a decent season, and his team is playing well. He is sixth on the team in tackles with 27 (22 solos and five assists) as the starting strong safety.
But more important than his tackles is the attitude he has brought to the Tampa Bay secondary. Jones, who is a 6-foot-1, 220-pound seventh-year player, still goes after the big hit just as much as he did when he played at Georgia, and he’s willing to take on any and all when it comes to stopping the ball.
“Receivers and running backs beware” is pretty much the unwritten rule when it comes to Jones.
“The thing I do best as a player is being around the ball,” he said. “I try to be good at that.”
Tampa Bay has allowed more points (163) than it has scored (136) this season, but the defense always seems to come up with the big stop or the big play when it matters. The result has put Freeman in a position to lead the team to six fourth-quarter comebacks in his 16 starts.
Ultimately that’s all that matters to Jones and his teammates -- having the defense do what it takes to put the team in a position to win.
“We say we have to get the ball back and give our team a chance to score,” he said. “It’s forcing turnovers and getting the ball. We want to keep playing aggressively.”
After stops in Cleveland, which drafted him in the second round in 2004 draft, and Philadelphia last season, Jones has no thoughts on life after Tampa Bay.
The problem with Cleveland was that it seemed like the Browns have been rebuilding for the past 10 years, and Jones was there for five seasons. Philadelphia is a good place, and coach Andy Reid is one of the better coaches in the NFL, but there always is some kind of quarterback drama that takes away from the team, and Jones experienced that last season.
The weather in Tampa is good, so he doesn’t have to worry about playing or living in the cold. And based on this season, the Buccaneers’ future looks bright.
“That’s one of the reasons why I chose the Buccaneers,” he said. “This is a young, vibrant team. Last year, they were in games, but they just didn’t win them.”
