In lending support, St. Louis wasn't about to quit on Jones

By Jim McCabe, Globe Staff, 1/31/2002

EW ORLEANS - There is no shortage of teammates who had reason to believe their season would conclude this way, but not Rod Jones.

Super Bowl? Not a chance. Heck, a few months ago, football wasn't even in the picture.

''I went to the team and told them I wanted to quit,'' said Jones, a backup offensive tackle on the Rame. ''I was ready to move on. I was burned out. People had let me down so bad. I didn't have any peace of mind at all. No amount of money or no fame was going to affect my peace of mind.''

So Jones, 27 years old at the time and starting his sixth NFL season, walked out of summer camp and back to his family and friends.

Waging a personal, emotional battle with himself, the 6-foot-5-inch, 235-pound Jones was not the same guy who had helped anchor a pretty good offensive line in Cincinnati between 1996-2000. So good, in fact, that Corey Dillon rushed for an NFL-record 278 yards against Denver in 2000.

It was the only highlight to another dismal season for the Bengals, who immediately set out to make personnel moves. Jones was surprised - and disappointed - to discover he was part of the change. ''I had worked hard. I knew I had had a bad season, but I had worked so hard to prove to them that [I'd be back]. But I wasn't in the plan. It was disappointing because you had to prove yourself again.''

A former star at Kansas who had been chosen in the seventh round of the 1996 draft, Jones felt fortunate to hook on with the Rams. Charley Armey, the Rams' general manager, was a supporter, and for a while the change of scenery did him good.

Then Jones was consumed by misery and depression, so in summer camp he quit. ''I wanted to get a handle on my life and get it back,'' he said.

For three weeks, Jones stayed away. The Rams had hoped Jones would lend even more beef to an offensive line that was quite strong, so instead of writing him off, Armey turned into a counselor.

''He told me, `We don't want you to quit. We're happy with the person you are. We just want to make sure you're OK as a person first,''' said Jones, who missed the first two preseason games before returning to the team. He had lost any chance of earning a starting job, but this time, people had not let him down. Team officials showed him support he had never experienced.

''I happened to be a recluse, they gave me some time and had a lot of patience with me.

''I think highly of the whole organization. Not just the football team, but just in general. In terms of the world, people getting cold, they just don't really care much about people anymore. They stretched their hand out to meet me in my time of need and it's been a great situation.''

No regrets, said Jones. The decision to return had proven to be quite a good one, hadn't it? ''I'm here talking to you,'' he said.