You go this way. I'll go that way.

This is a tale of two pro football players. One is at the pinnacle of the sport. The other has been shoved out the league. Their link is Draft Day 2005.

Adam "Pacman" Jones and Antrel Rolle.


Let's start from the beginning, shall we?

In high school, both Jones and Rolle were all-everything. Jones played at Westlake High School in Atlanta, GA, and was named his conference's player of the year and received all-state honors as a senior. Rolle played at South Dade High School in Homestead, FL, and was a Parade All-American and was named the second-best prospect in the state by the Miami Herald. College came calling for both. Jones attended West Virginia. Rolle attended the "U" (that's Miami, FL).

In college, both Jones and Rolle were impact players. Emphasis on "impact." In 2003, Jones was sentenced to one year in jail following a bar fight. However, the sentence was later suspended and he was placed on probation instead. Then in 2004, Jones was named an All-American and Big East Special Teams Player of the Year. Rolle was also named an All-American, first-team All-ACC, as well as ACC Male Scholar Athlete of the Year. He was a finalist for the Thorpe Award (best defensive back) and a semifinalist for the Bednarik Award (best overall defensive player). Which would you rather have on your team?

Going into the 2005 NFL Draft, Jones and Rolle were the top two cornerbacks available. Jones was a bit undersized at 5'10" and 186 pounds. Rolle, however, had absolute prototype size, 6'0" and 208 pounds. And as I've said before, the Titans went against all logic when they selected Jones over Rolle with the No. 6 pick. Rolle was selected two picks later by the Arizona Cardinals.

In their rookie seasons, neither player really shined, but if you had to give an edge to one player over the course of that season, it's Jones. He was a good player, not great, but Rolle suffered a knee injury on 2 October and had to miss the majority of the season. It looked like Rolle's career may have been derailed before it really got started. The winter and spring of 2005-06 is where these two players started going in different directions. Rolle spent that time rehabilitating and strengthening his knee, getting ready for the 2006 NFL season. Jones was arrested four times during the offseason leading up to the '06 season (once in February, twice in April, and once in August). And Jones was just getting started. His numerous run-ins with the law finally led NFL commissioner Roger Goodell to suspend Jones for the entire 2007 season.

During the bright spots of Adam Jones' football career, he was best known as a punt returner and a guy you could count on to snag interceptions. What most people don't know is that Rolle has been more proficient than Jones at intercepting opposing quarterbacks. Thru this past season, Jones tallied 4 INTs in his career. Rolle? 8.

Jones' off-the-field exploits finally exasperated the patience of the Titans organization, who sent him packing to the Dallas Cowboys via trade before the start of this past season. For the Cowboys, Jones accumulated exactly zero interceptions, and was arguably the worst player on the field in their final game of the season, a 44-6 romp courtesy of the Philadelphia Eagles. Three of the Eagles' touchdowns went right thru or right past Jones. The loss kept Dallas out of the playoffs this year. For the Cardinals this season, Rolle tallied 89 tackles, and was willing to play some time at safety to fill holes in Arizona's injury-ravaged secondary.

By the time the regular season came to an end, more allegations surfaced about Jones. So right around the time Rolle and the Cardinals were set to square off against the Atlanta Falcons in the first round of the playoffs, Jones was released by the Cowboys due to the investigation of an incident where Jones reportedly arranged a shooting outside an Atlanta nightclub. As for the Cardinals-Falcons playoff game? In the third quarter, trailing 17-14 to Atlanta, Rolle scooped up a fumble and scampered 27 yards for a touchdown, giving the Cardinals a lead they would never relinquish. Arizona then went on to upset both the Carolina Panthers and the Philadelphia Eagles to advance to their first Super Bowl in franchise history.

A tale of two players. Adam "Pacman" Jones is currently out of the league. And he will probably remain that way. Antrel Rolle is at the pinnacle of the sport and has established himself as one of the premier defensive players in the league. And he will probably remain that way.

Was it ever really a question who was going to be the better player out of these two?

I love the game "word association." Don't you?

Everyone know how this game works? Someone says a word or term or shows a picture, and you say the very first thing that pops into your mind. Easy enough. I'll roll through a few. If someone shows me a picture of the Chicago Cubs logo, I'd say: Loser. If someone shows me a picture of Ryan Leaf, I'd say: Bust. See how it works? I'll keep going... Michael Jordan? Champion.
Pacman Jones? Idiot.
Vince Young? Overrated.
Muhammad Ali? Greatest.
Lance Armstrong? Heart.
Mike Singletary? "Can't do it!"
Ray Lewis? Passion.
Utah's football team? True national champions.
Zab Judah? Waste of talent.
Erin Andrews? Mmm... hot.
Tiger Woods? Intense.
But here's one that stumps me: Tony Dungy. For those of you who happen to make your dwelling under a rock, Dungy is (was... whatever, we'll get to that) the head coach of the Indianapolis Colts. And today, 12 January, 2009, he announced his retirement. And the reason his name makes me balk while playing "word association" is for no other reason than I have too many terms come to mind. Words like honor, respect, kindness, loyalty, champion, legacy, etcetera, etcetera, etcetera. Thesauruses are printed and reprinted because of men like Tony Dungy. And it isn't just his accomplishments which impress me. They are, however, quite staggering... He coached 13 seasons in the NFL, six with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the final seven with the Colts. Over that span, he compiled a record of 139 wins and 69 losses. I'll do the math real quick: that means he won 70 more games than he lost! And in this era of the NFL, which prides itself on what it calls "parity," that's nothing short of remarkable. But beyond that, he is the first and only black head coach to win a Super Bowl, which he did with the Colts in 2006. He only had one losing season out of his 13 at the helm of the two franchises, and won division titles six of those years. And it isn't the fact that he had a .759 winning percentage with the Colts, the third highest percentage with one team in NFL history. Nor is it his six consecutive 12-win seasons or his 10 consecutive playoff appearances, which are both (ahem) NFL records. It's the way he treated everyone around him that made Tony Dungy different. The care and respect he had for each one of his players. I read his autobiography, "Quiet Strength," and in it he explains that the most disappointed he's ever been in a player was when one of his players in Tampa skipped out on a speaking engagement to a group of local kids. Dungy and his Colts defeated the Chicago Bears in 2006 to win the Super Bowl. The star linebacker for the Bears and one of the premier talents in the NFL is Brian Urlacher. Upon hearing the news of Dungy's retirement, Urlacher said, "I think he's one of the best and most respected coaches of all-time, and a great man on top of all the football achievements." Herm Edwards, current head coach of the Kansas City Chiefs and a close friend of Dungy, also added, "The League will miss him but obviously never forget him, because of what he's done and the standards he set. Not only for coaches, but especially for black coaches. He's a guy that won a Super Bowl. I think he always looks back at the guys before him that gave him the opportunity. And now he has set up a standard for other guys to follow him." That's the legacy of Tuny Dungy. He will be sorely missed by fellow coaches, players, and thousands upon thousands of fans. At his press conference today, Jim Irsay, owner of the Colts, and Bill Polian, president of the Colts organization, both cried. When does that ever happen in pro sports?? Polian called Dungy "a mentor, a role model, and a cherished friend." Tony Dungy has always carried himself with a level of dignity that is unparalleled in pro sports. He is also a nightmare for people playing "word association." He may have retired, but I will always refer to him as Coach Dungy. May God bless him. I wish the absolute best for Coach Dungy and his family as they begin the next chapter of their lives.