Keeping Maurice Jones-Drew In Check
By Luke Sims
It’s tough to get past MJD in Jacksonville. He’s been the face of the franchise since Fred Taylor left and he has had us all wrapped around his finger with his marvelous play since he was drafted. Whether it’s he almost 900 yards he popped off his rookie season or leading the league in rushing last year, Jones-Drew has us all captivated.
But he’s losing that audience.
When he shows up it won’t be to a team who welcomes him with open arms, it will be to a team that has moved past him. A team that he will have to impress again in order to get back “in.” According to reports, the players want him fined at least some amount of the ~$1 million he now owes the team from sitting out.
Even if the Jaguars start the season 1-5 and he’s still missing, I doubt that his presence will be the knight in shining armor that the season needs. Maybe the team would win a couple more games, but who’s to say that wouldn’t occur with Rashad Jennings taking the majority of the carries? MJD isn’t Emmitt Smith with the Cowboys. He’ll need to prove his worth.
The best part is that the front office won’t even have to worry about it.
Whether it’s contract dispute MJD, holdout MJD, or trade MJD, the check against Jones-Drew is going to come from the fans and players more than it needs to come from the front office. They can sit back and observe as his world generally falls apart around him. And it’s his fault.
He’s keeping himself in check. Removed. Barred. Held out.
When he returns, that’s just the way it’s going to be for a while. That’s fine with me and seems to be fine with most of the people who are a part of the Jaguars.
Some holdouts don’t go the way the player wants. That’s definitely the case for Jones-Drew. He’ll have to go back to the drawing board and start inching back in with the team before Blaine Gabbert, Jennings, Justin Blackmon, Daryl Smith, and Terrance Knighton steal the spotlight away from him.
– Luke N. Sims
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