Tank Williams is one of three news faces in the Patriots secondary, acquired this off-season along with Jason Webster and Lewis Sanders. That's hardly newsworthy; all three players were signed to add depth and not much else. What does merit a mention, however, is Williams' take on his former Titans teammate, Pacman Jones.
"He was a guy who loved to play the game of football," Williams said. "A lot of guys that come in, leaving college young, it takes them a while to get adjusted to the NFL game, the NFL lifestyle. For some it takes more time than others but one thing that's important, he loves to play the game, and if you love to play the game you'll find ways to get yourself straight no matter what, if it's on the football field or your personal life. You'll want to achieve your goal and that's being out there on Sunday."Well, if the the idea is to, you know, actually play in the NFL for living, Jones has failed miserably. NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell suspended Jones for all of 2007 and it looks like it could be more of the same in 2008.
Of course, Williams has nothing to gain by bad-mouthing Jones, so his comments aren't all that surprising. And unless Goodell starts calling character witnesses to testify on Jones' behalf, Williams can be as laudatory as he wants and not much will change: Jones will continue to petition the league for reinstatment and in the interim he'll have plenty of time for his more noble pursuits.
