IRVING, Texas — Pro Bowl voting will wrap up in the coming weeks, and the Seattle Seahawks could be in danger of being shut out for only the second time since 1980.
In Thursday’s game against the Dallas Cowboys, left tackle and longtime Pro Bowl staple Walter Jones had a chance to make a case for his ninth appearance — and failed to impress the critics.
The 34-year-old Jones got beaten for two sacks in the first half, allowing Pro Bowl linebacker DeMarcus Ware to sprint past him on speed moves to the outside. Jones has now given up five sacks this season, a team-high.
“Everybody’s going to say, ‘Oh, he’s lost it,’” right tackle Sean Locklear said after the Seahawks lost 34-9 in a nationally-televised game. “But you can ask other people; they don’t think he’s lost it.
“It happens. People are going to make plays. It happens to the best.”
Jones actually isn’t having a bad year — his team-high total of sacks allowed has a lot to do with the fact that he’s the only Seattle lineman who faces one-on-one matchups every snap — but his reputation might have taken a hit after a nationally-televised game seen by millions.
Also hurting Jones is the fact that some younger, established tackles (the Cowboys’ Flozell Adams, Minnesota’s Bryant McKinnie, Washington’s Chris Samuels and Philadelphia’s Jon Runyan) and a couple up-and-comers (the New Orleans Saints’ Jammal Brown and Carolina’s Jordan Gross) are garnering more attention this year. And, of course, the Seahawks’ 2-10 record will hurt any Seattle player hoping to get to Hawaii.
The candidates coming into the season have mostly faded along with the Seahawks’ playoff chances.
Cornerback Marcus Trufant has rarely been tested, and his interception Thursday marked the first one he’s had all season.
Middle linebacker Lofa Tatupu has been hampered by injuries and a lack of big plays.
Outside linebacker Julian Peterson has five sacks but has not generated as much of a pass rush as he has in past seasons.
And players like quarterback Matt Hasselbeck and defensive end Patrick Kerney have missed too many games to merit serious consideration.
And so Jones looks like the Seahawks’ best hope.
But his Thursday performance did little to enhance his reputation.
Ware actually had three sacks on the day, including one that came when he lined up across from right tackle Locklear alongside a blitzing safety that left that side of the Seahawks’ line undermanned.
The only time the Seahawks could stop him was late in the third quarter, when Ware slipped and appeared to hyperextend his knee. Jones inadvertently fell on Ware’s back with a 325-pound frame, leaving the Cowboys’ defensive end crumpled on the turf for two minutes. Trainers rushed to Ware’s aid and, with several concerned teammates looking on, tended to him until Ware finally stood and jogged off the field under his own power.
Ware did not return to the game because of what was being called a left knee sprain. But he did plenty of damage while he was in there.
“You go out there, and you don’t want it to happen, but that’s part of the game,” said Jones, who also gave up sacks to the New York Giants’ Justin Tuck, Miami’s Joey Porter and Arizona’s Bertrand Berry this season.
Despite his age, Jones doesn’t like to admit that he might have lost a step. Giving up sacks are part of the game, he said with a shrug.
“I guess you get used to a certain thing, and then everybody’s like: ‘It can’t happen,’” Jones said. “But it can happen. I never want it to happen, but I still know that this is football, and it can happen. I try my hardest not to give up sacks, but it happens.”
The Seahawks gave up seven sacks in Sunday’s game, including the three turned in by Ware.
Perhaps the most surprising thing was that Jones got beaten on two of them.
“I don’t think Walter was 100 percent today,” Locklear said, referring to Jones’s health coming into Thursday’s game. “I know people are going to say: ‘He’s lost it, Walt doesn’t have it anymore.’ But it’s not like that.
“(Ware) just made a couple plays. You’ve just got to give it to DeMarcus.”
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