© St. Petersburg Times, published July 31, 2002
LAKE BUENA VISTA -- When it comes to Marcus Jones, the choices are never simple. So, sooner or later, you must pick sides.
For instance, should he line up left or right?
And will he dominate or disappear?
Furthermore, is he coming or is he going?
The guy has been around for seven of these Tampa Bay training camps and still Jones is one of the most difficult players to figure. Already, he has gone from bust to boom to rust. All before his 29th birthday.
Here is a player left unprotected by the Bucs in the expansion drafts of 1999 and 2002. Offered to Cleveland and Houston for absolutely nothing. Yet, somewhere in between, Tampa Bay handed him a $40.25-million contract.
Remember the buzz around Jones last training camp? He was pausing at brilliant on his way to being terrific. He had a new contract, a new side of the defensive line and a new level of respect in the NFL.
Today he has a new challenge.
Prove himself all over again.
They will tell you this is true of every player. That every season is a new war. That every day is a new challenge.
That may be reality for marginal athletes, but it is hardly so for your stars. Derrick Brooks and Warren Sapp can have one down season, but no one thinks significantly less of them for it.
In the case of Jones, it is more difficult to judge. He remains the starter at left end, but players whisper of the strong offseason impression made by free agent signee Greg Spires.
It was hard to argue, at this time last season, that Jones was an emerging star with clear skies all around. He had one of the greatest sack seasons in team history in 2000 and the switch from right end to left was supposed to make him an even greater threat to quarterbacks.
But, somewhere along the line, he became something less than ordinary. His backup, Steve White, finished with more sacks and more tackles.
Of the five players left unprotected by the Bucs in February's expansion draft, Jones is the only one still around. You could argue the reason he was unprotected was the size of his contract. But if he was performing at a level commensurate to his salary, wouldn't Houston have considered taking him?
So Jones calls this the most important season of his career. Not because he needs to prove himself to others but because he expects it of himself.
"I come out and have a good year," Jones said, "and last year will just be a bad memory."
If memory serves, last year began with visions of glory. After getting seven sacks on the left side as Chidi Ahanotu's backup in 1999, Jones was moved to right end and racked up 13 sacks in 2000.
Moving back to the left side in 2001, he would see lesser competition. Instead of facing left tackles, the premier players on the offensive line, he would line up against the right tackle.
It sounded right. It just didn't feel that way.
Jones said he was uncomfortable on the left side. Right tackles are usually bigger than left tackles and Jones, a power rusher, could not move them as easily. He put on weight to handle bigger foes, but it left him less mobile.
"In my mind I was saying to myself, 'I'd really like the chance to play the right side again,' " Jones said. "At the same time I had to say, 'You know what? They had confidence and faith enough to play me on the left side. Dammit, it's my job and my duty to prove them right.' "
Defensive line coach Rod Marinelli suggests Jones is too hard on himself. The statistics can be deceiving, he said. He talks of the responsibilities of containment. And of quarterbacks with more mobility.
Instead of trying to outmuscle his opponent, Jones will try more speed and finesse this season. He reported to camp around 275 pounds, as opposed to the 294 pounds he carried at the start of last season.
"He just has to understand the position a little better," Marinelli said. "He can be great there. He did it in '99. I expect him to do it again."
Jones has been down this road before. A first-round pick in 1996, he admittedly did not take the NFL seriously enough early on.
Not only was he unprotected in the '99 expansion draft, but he was buried on the depth chart heading into that camp. A coach, he says, told him it was important for him to demonstrate good work habits in the preseason. That way, when he was cut, coaches could put in a good word for him around the league.
His situation today is not nearly as dire. But, as he was in 1999, Jones is in a ticklish situation. A player struggling to match potential with performance.
There is much to like about Jones. He has the body of an enforcer. He is quick-witted and extremely personable. He enjoys the game and seems to approach life with a sense of boyish wonder.
As he stands outside the locker room and talks of his struggles last season, he is neither defensive nor apologetic. Just honest.
"I don't want to use excuses," he said. "I put it all on me."
On the first day of this camp, he dropped 10 pounds during the morning practice. He said he lost another six in the afternoon.
After spending an hour in the trainer's room to replenish his fluids, he continues sweating profusely in the late afternoon sun.
As metaphors go, this is as good as any. The heat has been turned up on Jones.
It is up to him to respond.
His career can profit or perish.
There are two sides to every story.