The Cincinnati Bengals are one of the darkhorse candidates to win next year’s Super Bowl in online gambling odds and the team made an interesting move this past week as they signed Adam “Pacman” Jones. The Bengals seem intent on giving troubled players second chances and it will be interesting to see if Jones makes an impact on the online gambling odds next season at Internet gambling companies.
Online gambling odds list the Bengals at 28-1 to win next year’s Super Bowl. The Bengals are the defending AFC North champs and they have some talent. Bringing Jones onto the team is a high risk move though as he could be more trouble than he is worth. The Bengals signed Jones to a two-year deal but they put language into the contract that protects them in case Jones gets into more off the field trouble.
Jones did not play in the league last year. He was with the Cowboys in 2008 but was released by the team. He was a first round selection in 2005 by the Tennessee Titans. He played well when he was on the field for the Titans but for the most part he got into trouble off the field and it kept him out of action. Jones was suspended for the entire 2007 NFL season and he was suspended for six games in 2008 for violating the NFL’s conduct policy.
Why the Bengals are taking a chance on Jones is somewhat of a mystery to those who wager at Internet gambling companies. The defense and the secondary were not trouble spots for the Bengals last year. They had the fourth best defense in the league and their cornerbacks are two excellent ones. Jonathan Joseph and Leon Hall will be tough to beat out for starting jobs and rookie Morgan Trent played very well last season for Cincinnati. The team also took Brandon Ghee from Wake Forest in the third round.
Jones has been in trouble throughout his NFL career. He wore out his welcome in Tennessee and he didn’t do much better in Dallas. In fact, his production at Dallas was poor as he started in six games with no interceptions. Even his punt return average was weak as online gambling stats listed it at 4.5 yards per return.
Cincinnati has had success with players who had questionable resumes. The Bengals have gotten a lot out of running back Cedric Benson who was released by the Bears. Online gambling indicated that they are also taking a shot with Matt Jones who didn’t play in the NFL last season.