Texans' Jacoby Jones looks for success at receiver

By KRISTIE RIEKEN
AP Sports Writer

HOUSTON — Jacoby Jones has made himself a special teams star
in two years in Houston, becoming the only Texan to return two
punts for touchdowns.

Now the Texans are looking for him to show some of that talent
at receiver.

The Texans are deep at the position with starters Andre Johnson
and Kevin Walter as well as Andre’ Davis and David Anderson. But
Houston would love to take advantage of Jones’ speed.

Jones has more than 1,000 yards in kick and punt returns
combined in his career, but just 18 receptions for 230 yards.

“He’s been capable of doing great things for this team, but
we’ve also seen the side that has not been so good,” coach Gary
Kubiak said. “I think it’s about … being consistent. It’s
about maturity.”

Consistency has been a constant battle for Jones, a third-round
draft pick out of tiny Lane College in Jackson, Tenn. He’ll
impress one week and struggle the next. Sometimes he’ll do both
in the same practice, which is what he did Thursday.

A mistake by Jones on a route led to an interception, which drew
the ire of Kubiak. A few plays later, he bolted ahead of the
coverage and stretched out to make a nifty catch in the end
zone.

“It’s time to go play and you should be practicing pretty solid
today and know what you’re doing, and he’s got a few mistakes
today,” Kubiak said. “Pros don’t make mistakes two days before
the game. … But he’s working toward getting better.”

With the talent ahead of Jones, he’ll have to eliminate those
mistakes if he hopes to see more playing time at receiver this
season.

Jones said that it took some time before he stopped being
“wide-eyed” and got used to playing in the NFL. He was the AFC
special teams player of the week twice in 2008, but played even
less on offense than he did as a rookie and finished with just
three receptions.

“I think I’m more mature now,” he said. “I’m ready to help
however they need me.”

It was a process for him to grasp the importance of meetings,
studying the playbook and practice after getting by on pure
athleticism in college.

“It’s a business, but you also have to take your job seriously
and be dedicated to what you’re doing, because this is your
livelihood and this is what you do every day,” he said. “In
college, football is not really a job. When you get here you’ve
got to tune in more.”

Because the Texans practice in Houston, veterans have a choice
of staying at home or at a hotel during training camp. Jones and
the staff decided he should stay in the hotel so he could
concentrate on football full-time.

Though he’s staying with the rookies, Jones is finally starting
to feel like a veteran.

“You feel like it’s your junior year in college where you feel
really comfortable with the playbook and you’re learning the
system and everything,” he said.

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