Packers' Jones seeks handle on situation
By Tom Silverstein of the Journal Sentinel
Snip...
The Packers had to look at Jones' issue two ways.
On the one hand, he was dropping clutch passes. On the other, he was consistently getting open deep, often when he drew one-on-one coverage.
When Jones got home, he went back and looked at the tapes of his drops and came to the conclusion that he needed to work on over-the-shoulder catches. So that was the focus of his off-season.
"I was throwing and catching every day, just different kind of throws coming over your shoulder," Jones said. "Sometimes they'll throw them straight, sometimes they'll throw them in the air. But I spent a lot of, lot of, lot of, lot of time working on those catches.
"As a competitor and athlete you don't want to let the same ball keep getting away from you, so you have to work on it if it does."
Jones went home to northern California and went to work catching passes from any quarterback he could find. He worked out with the San Francisco 49ers quarterbacks, his former receivers coach at San Jose State and his former quarterback there who now plays in the Canadian Football League.
Upon his return, Jones started working for the first time under new receivers coach Edgar Bennett. One of the most detailed coaches in the business, Bennett specializes in repetitive drills that strengthen fundamentals and make every action almost routine.
Jones doesn't think concentration was a problem, but Bennett isn't ruling that out and thinks he spotted a common problem with receivers - trying to run too soon after the catch. Bennett is a stickler for making sure his players watch the ball into their hands and his receivers are finding out how serious he is.
"There's certain drills we can use to emphasize those areas," Bennett said. "We'll continue to work on those areas."
So far, Jones has been relegated to standing on the sideline because players who sign free agent contracts aren't eligible to begin practicing until Thursday. Because of that, Jones' attempt to put his drops in the rearview mirror begins now.
"(I want to) come back and be an impact player for this ballclub," Jones said. "Whatever I can do to help this team win."