Adam Jones says 'Pacman' and Dallas in his past

CINCINNATI -- Adam Jones has salvaged his career on his last shot with the Cincinnati Bengals, and what a week to reflect.

The Dallas Cowboys are coming to town.

Jones had what seemed to be a "last opportunity" with the Cowboys in 2008, back when he was "Pacman." What a disaster that was.

He was suspended for a couple of games after scuffling with one of the security guards the team assigned to him, then cut the following offseason. At the time of his release in February 2009, it seemed that his career in the NFL was over, washed away because he was too much trouble to deal with.

"Without that experience, I probably wouldn't be where I'm at today," Jones told USA TODAY Sports, as he sat at his stall in a near-empty Bengals locker room. "It made me a better person. I took it as a learning experience and told myself I wasn't going to get back into that situation."

Think Jones will have extra incentive on Sunday?

"It's just another game, but I want to win this game a lot more than a regular game," he says. "I know that might sound a little different. But anytime you've played with somebody, you always have a little extra edge when playing against them."

This week, Adam Jones has grumbled about more than a few things about his Dallas days, including the fact that he has few friends left on the squad that was coached by Wade Phillips. He played just nine games that year, due to the suspension and a neck injury, hardly living up to the hype after being obtained for a fourth-round pick.

"Dallas was a learning experience," he said. "I had been out of football for a whole year. Wasn't in football shape. Wasn't getting the correct coaching that I needed. I was just out there, playing strictly on talent. The speed wasn't there. But I have no regrets."

The Cowboys might regret that their experiment with Jones didn't work as well as it has for the Bengals. In any event, Jones is effusive in his praise of Cowboys owner Jerry Jones and maintains that he is grateful for the team's hands-on approach in addressing some of his off-the-field issues, although he did not demonstrate that at the time. And he speaks highly of Dez Bryant -- the big-play receiver who he will be matched against occasionally on Sunday. Like Adam Jones was, Bryant is provided round-the-clock security and other forms of hands-on support from the team, given a series of off-the-field incidents.

Jones, 29, said that he worked out with Bryant during the offseason in New Orleans.

"I've had a chance to talk to Dez," Jones said. "Dez is a good person. He's got some issues, but like everybody else, it's how you handle the issues."

If anyone can relate to the team's support efforts with Bryant, it's Jones.

"Jerry's going to give his all, he's going to make sure that he's doing everything that he can to make sure that you're successful," Jones said. "In my situation, I wasn't a man yet. I was still a kid. I didn't take advantage of the situation."

He's lived and learned. Jones, who entered the NFL with the Tennessee Titans in 2005 as a top-10 pick, has gone from one of the most notorious figures in the NFL to a poster image for reclamation who volunteered to tell his story at the most recent NFL Rookie Symposium.

In his third season with the Bengals, he is playing extensively as a nickel back and is still an impact punt returner, with a 15.3-yard average runback that ranks third in the NFL.

Most significantly, Jones hasn't drawn attention for the type off-the-field foolishness that once defined his persona.

Jones was suspended by the NFL for the 2007 season following his involvement in a shooting at a Las Vegas nightclub that left a security guard paralyzed, the most serious of a string of off-the-field incidents. The shooting in Las Vegas followed a melee in the nightclub that, according to police reports, began when Jones decided to "make it rain" by showering strippers with thousands of dollars.

After he was cut by the Cowboys, he sat out the 2009 season until signed by the Bengals.

The Bengals gave him a shot, in part because of defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer's close relationship with Deion Sanders, who is also close to Jones.

"The turnaround he's made since sitting right there is incredible in every way," Bengals coach Marvin Lewis says, sitting at a conference table in his office. "As a person, a player, a teammate. He's tried to do everything we've asked. And it's hard on him sometimes. He still has to have the occasional outburst, but they're farther and farther between."

It's interesting that Jones alluded to the coaching in Dallas as one of his pitfalls -- which seems to be a stretch, considering issues that led to him fighting with a bodyguard paid to protect him.

In any event, there's been a correction. Zimmer is a stickler for techniques, and Jones has been a willing student.

After a practice last week, when Jones made a technical error, he quickly owned up to his mistake and as the coach recalled, told Lewis: "Don't call me tonight. I'm fixing it. Don't call or text me. I got it."

"He's still a work in progress," Lewis said. "We've been working on the personal part. Now we're able to fix the football part."

As an example, Lewis says that for a while Jones was content to lift weights just once a week rather than putting in the two required lifting sessions. He was fined repeatedly.

Lewis may have struck a nerve when he reminded Jones that he didn't have to answer to him as much as he would to his wife in explaining why he had less take-home pay.

"It's all those little things," Lewis said. "The other day, he was headed to the weight room and I heard him say, 'I'm going in here to get big. Who's coming in here to get big with me?' That's the thing. No one's ever made him be diligent at being responsible."

The first thing Zimmer told Jones about his chances to succeed with the Bengals?

"I'm not going to let you screw up the chemistry," Zimmer recalled. "I told him that if you're not going to listen to me, not going to do the things that I want you to do, then I don't want you here."

Listen to Jones, and he sounds like a man who learned the hard way.

"I think I'm stronger now because I work every day at it, to be a better person, to help my reputation," he said. "In the past, I was like, 'It is what it is.' But now there's not a day when I don't get up and think, 'Is this good for Adam Jones?' It took me a while."

Jones says all the right things. He loves it in Cincinnati. He's happy. He appreciates his relationship with his coaches. He loves the game.

Still go out to nightclubs?

"I ain't saying that I don't go out, but when I go it's in strategic fashion," he says. "When I go, it's me, my wife and security. It's not me and 20 or 50 homies. I'm a lot smarter than I used to be. Not to say I was a dummy. I've always been book-smart. But I think things out before I react."