Syracuse Football: There Must Be Something In The Water (Arthur Jones)

Syracuse football (The Arthur Jones Story) is a continuing thread of a four-part series. On this edition Paul A. Esden Sr explains a “pump-fake”.

This story-line is going to be a little outside the normal box for “Inside the Loud House”. We will break down his sons in the coming weeks, two of which laced up their cleats for the Syracuse Orange. If you missed, Part 1 you can read that below:

UFC: There Must Be Something In The Water, Part 1

While we (knowledgeable football fans) understand the concept of the ‘pump fake’. It has become a part of our everyday vernacular. So to translate it to a media term: I left you last time with a cliff hanger with the promise of Part Two jumping into Jon ‘Bones’ Jones well I am pulling a bait and switch. This article will discuss another World Champion in the Jones family instead (to allow time for the suspense to build) and to stick to a football theme since this is the Spring Game weekend.

Arthur Willis Jones III is the oldest of the Jones Championship Triplets. He was born in Rochester, New York later moving to Endicott where he was a two sport star in wrestling and football. Now here is the ‘reveal’ of why I started with Arthur instead of jumping into his more flashy and controversial brother. Drum roll please…Arthur played the toughest and most unappreciated position in football…the Nose Tackle.

Breaking down the Nose Tackle position:

So let me break down this position for the readers who may not be football savvy. The Nose Tackle plays directly opposite of the center. His job is to hold the line. This means his job is to engage the center, take on double or triple teams to free up the linebackers to make the tackles and get the glory. Every snap for this position is a fist fight or gauntlet if you will, 20 seconds of fighting for your life; getting punched, eye poked and sometimes bitten.

The person covered with blood, sweat and dirt at the end of the game that gets pushed to the side so the the cameraman and reporter can get to the quarterback or wide receiver with the crisp clean uniform after the game for an interview on how ‘tough’ they played the game. The phrase ‘unsung hero’ was coined with this position in mind. This is the position that I played but I digress…

Syracuse Football: The Arthur Jones Story

Arthur, with several scholarships on the table, opted to stay local and attended Syracuse University. He was redshirted his freshman year and went on to play in four campaigns for the Orange. One of the more resilient players to ever lace the cleats up; he participated in every game of his career with the exception of his final three games due to a knee injury. Impressive for someone fighting it out every snap in the trenches. His final two seasons he was an All-Big East first team selection. He still holds the all-time Orange record of 38.5 tackles for loss most by an interior defensive lineman.

Arthur was drafted in the fifth round by the defensive minded Baltimore Ravens with head coach

More from Inside the Loud House

John Harbaugh. He started slowly seeing minimal playing time in his first two years. Although his coming out party was during Super Bowl XLVII when he played a pivotal role in the Ravens win over the San Francisco 49ers; he recovered a fumble and sacked the then elusive Colin Kaepernick.

Championship Pedigree:

This earned him his place in the Jones Championship Trio although he was beaten to the punch by Jon ‘Bones’ Jones who had earned his spot the year prior (more to come on this in Part 3 or maybe 4 I know the suspense is killing you). He went on to play one more year for the Ravens before signing a five-year contract with the Indianapolis Colts in 2014.

While Arthur’s career has entered a downward spiral as he was suspended for the first four games of 2016 for violating the league’s substance abuse policy on performance enhancing drugs. He returned with a solid performance and started in eight games before a groin injury sidelined him for the remainder of the season. While in late March, Arthur became the latest victim of the salary cap and was released by the Colts.

Next: Syracuse Football: Top 5 Things To Watch For At Spring Showcase

While Arthur, who at 30 years, has plenty of gas left in the tank. I’m confident will land on feet and sign with another team prior to the start of the season. After all there is something in the water…

See you for Part 3…

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