Atypical Jones Not Defined by Football

NEW YORK -- With headset and microphone in place, Thomas Jones sat at the Kiss-FM 98.7 studio desk last Tuesday morning to tackle queries from the D.L. Hughley Morning Show crew. After offering that Tennessee Titans running back Chris Johnson is a "beast'' and he hopes Johnson gets 2,000 yards and that Drew Brees should be the NFL's most valuable player because "nobody expected the New Orleans Saints to be where they are,'' the conversation was typical Jones.

Old-school with a new-age twist. Honest. Humble.

With this as the emphasis, it is not over yet for Jones or the Jets.

His team is 7-6 with the Atlanta Falcons (6-7) visiting on Sunday. He is 18 yards shy of reaching 9,000 career rushing yards. This season, Jones has five 100-yard rushing games (and another for 99 yards). He has not lost a fumble in 262 carries this season and his 1,167 rushing yards rank fifth among all league backs. He has gained five consecutive 1,000-yard rushing seasons -- the only active players to do that are LaDainian Tomlinson and Steven Jackson.

Jones, 31, despises being considered "typical'' as a man or as a football player. From his hometown of Big Stone Gap, Va., on to the University of Virginia and to three other NFL teams before landing with the Jets, his body of work when more closely examined should be appreciated. There is not a more tenacious running back in the league. But often the focus on this player is on his slow NFL start, his entrepreneurial and showbiz ways and how his intelligence rubs some the wrong way.

Example? His offseason unhappiness with the Jets, reportedly for the franchise not re-working his contract.

"I never said it was about money,'' Jones said. "People and the media took that and ran with it, but I never said that. You can call it a misunderstanding between me and the Jets and I'll leave it at that. I put that aside. I let it go. I wanted what was best for the team. I had six months to do that, get myself ready mentally. I did come to all of the mandatory stuff. I told them I would put it behind me. I've kept my word.''

He has become an axis once again in the Jets offense, with his carries increasing and his impact noticeable. He has done this with the Jets predisposed to phasing him out, earlier in the season ready move on to younger backs and focus the offense on their prize rookie quarterback, Mark Sanchez. He has done it with that lingering thought among the Jets and all of the NFL that 30-year-old-plus NFL running backs often wake up one day and find their wheels have simply fallen off.

But Jones is not typical.

It is not over yet.

In this his 10th pro season, he set the Jets single-game rushing record (210 yards) on Oct. 18 against the Buffalo Bills. In this his 10th pro season, he gained his career-long rushing gain (71 yards, also for a touchdown). With three regular season games left, he is only 169 yards shy of surpassing his career best rushing season of 1,335 yards set in 2005. For the fourth straight year, he is on track to play in all 16 regular season games.

It is not over yet.

His coach, Rex Ryan, went to him when the Jets were struggling most and told him to get ready: he would be getting the ball, the load. Ryan has since called Jones durable, dependable, a leader.

"It would be too typical to say 'Look at me now,' or 'I told you so,'" Jones said. "The way things have gone this season, the way people expected them to go, I don't have to say anything about it.

"My name is not as big as some others. I'm not on billboards. I'm not from the big football schools like Texas or Florida. I've always been an underdog. But maybe it's supposed to be like that. One of my goals has always been to never let football define me. That is a pet peeve of mine. If football defines you completely, then what have you really done? You want people to recognize you, but I've always wanted the right people to recognize me. I know my teammates respect me.''

Jones was 5 years old when his parents bought him a Tony Dorsett uniform with "Jones'' on the back of the jersey. He told his family then that he would play in the NFL.

His grandmother, Velma Jones, now 93, believed him. She would say "... when you get picked ...'' this and "when you get picked ...'' that, Jones said. She was right. Jones was drafted seventh overall by the Arizona Cardinals in the 2000 NFL draft. His brother, Julius, also a running back and now with the Seattle Seahawks, was drafted 43rd overall from Notre Dame by the Dallas Cowboys in 2004.

Thomas Jones grew up in a city of nearly 4,500 people with a high school graduating class of 120 in southwest Virginia. His parents, Thomas and Betty, taught him to be a yes sir, no ma'am child and he still refers to elders that way. Jones said he was one of only two blacks in his graduating class and for three straight years he was class president.

"I grew up with no internet, no iPhones, no reality TV, no Game Boys,'' Jones said. "You would get up early Saturday morning, watch cartoons, get on a bike and be out playing sports. You get hungry, you come back home. We did not have a whole lot of stuff but the Bible, school books and encyclopedias. I was taught early that football was something I could do, it would not be who I am.

"My mom worked miles underground in the coal mines, often in pitch black dark from midnight to 8 a.m. My dad had to drive two hours to his job in his truck with no radio in there.''

His father said that during those early years, he saw his son becoming the thinker and doer that he is.
"He went on to do well in high school in football and in academics. He never let the big letters on his jacket mean he was a big I and you were a little you. His strengths come from the neck up."
-- Thomas Jones Sr.
"I taught Thomas that the game fades away, but character lives,'' his father said. "At age five he would do pushups. He was taught if you can't do six, don't do four. I worked at the University of Tennessee in admissions and sometimes had to stay until weekends. He would tell me even as a child, 'Dad, don't worry, I will take care of things until you get back.'

"My wife would tell me the things he would do, that he was trying to emulate me. Locking all the doors at night before bed. Making sure the dishes were clean. Taking care of his brother. He went on to do well in high school in football and in academics. He never let the big letters on his jacket mean he was a big I and you were a little you. His strengths come from the neck up."

Jones said he talks to his father by phone sometimes two or three times a day. He said the way his parents raised him, the way they taught him, "I still believe in that.'' He said they give him honest opinions. That they remain open-minded.

On his visit to the University of Virginia, former Giants running back Tiki Barber was his host. At Virginia, Jones said his eyes were opened to the world.

"Virginia was the time of my life,'' Jones said. "There were black people there, white, Asian, Mexican, so many races. I saw a rainbow and it was Wow! I met a person who was Japanese and black; I had never seen anybody who looked like that. I met a person who looked like me but spoke Spanish. This is where I also learned to never let football define me. It was a place that held you to a higher standard.''

Jones thought he was perfectly prepared for his NFL career and for all that would come. He was not.

In Arizona he was traded after only three seasons to Tampa Bay: he had 112 carries in each of his first two Arizona seasons and 138 in his final one. Jones said: "We had a situation there where I was having trouble breathing. It was a major breathing issue. Specialist took a look. Nobody could find out why. They put me on various medications. I even used an oxygen chamber. But I later found out that I had three ribs out of socket. They kept saying nothing was wrong with me. That was a bad situation. But Michael Pittman was there as a running back. He taught me how to be a pro."

Jones was traded to Tampa in 2003 and stayed there for one season. He gained free agency the next year and his choice was the Chicago Bears. His carries increased to 240 in his first Bears season and to 314 in his second. By his third season the Bears were in Super Bowl XLI where Jones in that loss to Indianapolis rushed for 112 yards, including a 52-yard run.

"They told me they had drafted Cedric Benson and that he would compete for the job,'' Jones said. "They viewed him in the Adrian Peterson-type category. I think they forgot what I had done in college and what I had done for them. People have short memories sometimes.''

In 2007 Jones was traded to the Jets and signed a 4-year, $20 million extension. But this season the Jets seemed more enamored of running back Leon Washington (who broke his leg and was lost early) and rookie back Shonn Greene.

Jones said: "It's part of the business. You have a good job, somebody is out to take your job. That is life. It's how it is supposed to be. I didn't want anything I did not deserve. I want people to respect me for what I earned. I'm made that way.

"The older you get as a running back, as a player, people are expecting you to decline. It's about perceptions. I could go out now and out-lift most rookies. I have a strong training program and smart diet. I do what it takes to stay strong. I hate the cold tub, absolutely hate it. But I do it."

Jones was asked why teams have given up on him. He is reminded that in each situation with each team, he was the constant.

"Well, there is a business side of this league, not just the football side,'' Jones said. "I learned to lessen my emotions on the business side. But my emotional side is very real when it comes to playing football. I've been practicing that for a long time. I think I can do whatever a back needs to do -- short yardage, goal line, catch the ball when I have the opportunity. I consider myself an old-school back more in line with Neal Anderson and Earnest Byner and Terry Allen. I'm proud to put myself in the category of those guys. People who respected the game. Sometimes guys like that are the last ones to be appreciated.''

Jones has dated the actress Megan Goode for three years. He has been in music videos. He owns a company -- Outta Pocket Entertainment -- that features an R&B and rap artist. And for the fifth straight year he is awarding 30 students from the Big Stone Gap region $2,000 college scholarships per semester.

He said he is doing what he wanted to do since he was 5 -- playing football and making a difference in lives where he can. In that way, he said, his life has been a dream. He has one more season remaining on his contract. The Jets must decide if they will honor his $3 million roster bonus due before the 2010 season. In a landscape of uncertain player salary costs and system due to labor/owner collective bargaining angst, the Jets must decide their future with Jones.

"Our expectations are he will be with us next year and based on his play he is still the type of full-time player that we are looking for and happy to have and I think he will be here for our future,'' Jets general manager Mike Tannenbaum said. "He can run between the tackles, take it the distance, has good ball security, and is a good pass protector. He is good in cold weather and good in warm weather. His conditioning and his workouts are second to none. I think Thomas is the consummate professional. He gives you the intangible of being a leader in the locker room.''

It sounds like Jones will have the chance next season in New York to reach 10,000 career rushing yards. Only 24 players in NFL history have accomplished that.

"I would love to finish my career here, love to be a part of the new stadium and win a Super Bowl in New York,'' Jones said. "You can't predict the future. I'm enjoying this opportunity right now. Every season is different. We have a shot at something and we've still got something to play for. And there are so many more exciting things with my life that I would like to do. It's not over.''