Packers' Jones making a new name for himself
Green Bay - Don't go there. Jordy Nelson doesn't want to hear the d-word. His temper rises. His head shakes.
Yes, the Green Bay Packers wide receiver is well aware James Jones has gone nine games without a drop.
"I don't know why we need to talk about this," said Nelson, accidentally knocking another reporter's voice recorder to the ground.
But, Jordy, he has zero drops this season. Zero.
"I know! Quit talking about it, man!" Nelson said. "You just want to be that guy, don't you?"
Jinxes aside, Jones is in the midst of a near-flawless season. The sixth-year wideout is catching everything in his vicinity. One acrobatic grab at a time, Jones is shedding a label he believes he never should have had, a label that probably cost him millions of dollars. To fully understand Jones' 2012 season, you have to go back to 2010. Deep, embarrassing drops tainted an otherwise solid season for Jones.
And, as luck would have it, he was a free agent the following off-season. Point blank, NFL teams told Jones' agent they didn't want him because of the drops. To them, the drops defined Jones.
Smiling, Jones says he will not reveal the teams. But he has kept a mental list. That misperception drives him.
"They didn't feel like I could catch a ball," Jones said. "They didn't feel like my hands were good enough. . . . When I play those teams, I have a little bone to pick with them."