Sean Jones! Who? Sean Jones!

I’ve heard fairly mixed reactions from the SOB Nation regarding Friday’s signing Free Agent Safety Sean Jones, but the Eagles are spinning it as a big plus.  For every positive that I can find in Jones, there is a negative or uncertainty that has yet to be answered.

We will all be watching Jones closely in training camp and and throughout the pre-season, it will be interesting to see how he pans out.   I think he will be given the opportunity to make an impact this season.  Not sure why, but I do feel a lot more comfortable with Jones on the roster than I did a few days ago when Demps was the only remotely viable Safety option outside of Quintin Mikell.

Jones, although coming from a 3-4 defensive scheme, he’s excited about coming to the Eagles and playing in Jim Johnson’s aggressive 4-3 defense:

I watch (defensive coordinator) Jim Johnson. He brings pressure defense and I’ve always admired that. I always wanted to be in that kind of defense. I have experience playing the 4-3 in college. I still have experience doing that. It’s going to be a great opportunity for me to just showcase my skills.

Jones (#26) looks significantly bigger than former teammate Safety Brodney Poole at the :34 mark.

Pro’s

• Youth - Jones is only 27, and because he didn’t play at all in his rookie year he really only has four seasons of tread off his tires.  He is a young enough Dawg to teach new tricks, and a legitimate defensive scheme may do him wonders.
• Size - At 6′1″ 220, Sean’s size lends him to the Strong Safety position.  That said, his ball skills and interception stats show that he is much more than a big hitting Safety and could be used interchangeably.
• Stats - The 2004 second round draft pick 111 tackles in ‘06 and followed it up with 96 in ‘07.  Despite missing the final four games of the ‘08 season, Jones has the third most interceptions (14) over the past three seasons among all NFL Safeties.

Despite playing on for the pathetic Cleveland Browns, Sean Jones shows the type of potential to be an impact Safety in both pass coverage and run support

Con’s

• Team Stats - Cleveland’s defense has been horrible throughout Jones’ entire career, but you can’t blame him for that.  But did the atrocious front 7 of the Browns inflate Jones’ tackle numbers?
• Health - Both of the Eagles Free Agent signings had knee surgery this off-season.  Zoinks.
• Contract Signed - Why was’t Jones pursued aggressively by any other teams?  If he’s so good, why did he have to sign a one year “prove it” deal?  As always, the Eagles think they are smarter than everyone else, but usually there is a reason why no one is going after a player.
• Forced Fumbles - Although the signing of Jones will in no way replace Dawkins, one of the things that made Dawk great was his ability to create turnovers with vicious hits (32 career FFs, 11 in past three seasons).  Jones has forced two fumbles in his 60 game NFL career.
• Uncertainty - The Browns defense has been such a farse that his stats in that situation don’t really mean much.  The young Safety is still very much a question mark, and he will be learning Jim Johnson’s defensive scheme on the fly throughout ‘09.

Demps is already an impact player on special teams for the Eagles, and has the potential to grow into a ball-hawking FS.  Jones gives the Eagles a bigger, stronger option at Safety, and he may end up splitting time with Demps opposite sure-fire starter Quintin Mikell.

The Jones signing reminds me of the Chris Clemons signing from last year a little bit.  Although the money is much more sensible this time around, both are physically impressive players who put up solid stats on a horrible defense.  I wouldn’t be surprised to see Jones struggle early in the season during his adjustment to Johnson’s scheme, but then come into his own in the later part of the season much like Clemons.

With the one-year deal, it appears as though Jones is hoping to position himself for a much more more lucrative free agency in 2010.  When asked about the contract, Jones replied:

I want to be on a team that I feel like a part of. I didn’t want to sign a long-term deal with a team that I didn’t feel like was family. A one-year deal here right now, I will be able to just come out and showcase my talent and hopefully we can let everything iron itself out from there.

Maybe Mikell can teach Jones to be the old Mikell, while the now Mikell grows up to become the future B Dawk.