Running joke not funny for Cowboys
11:29 PM CDT on Thursday, August 31, 2006
By Tim Cowlishaw/Dallas Morning News
IRVING – Marion Barber was drafted to be a pass-catching third down back, a suitable backup to Julius Jones. I am wondering if the fact that Barber was better than Jones last season and has been better than Jones this summer will ever earn him a starting role with the Cowboys.
Coach Bill Parcells is waiting. He is giving Jones the benefit of the doubt. You have to wonder how long that's going to last.
The Cowboys have real concerns about their ability to run the ball consistently. Bigger concerns than two short misses by Mike Vanderjagt, although the idea that the Cowboys will now automatically win all those games kickers cost them a year ago has been shot down.
If running game woes were not evident after merely average performances against bad New Orleans and San Francisco defenses, they were made clear by a shockingly bad showing against a good Minnesota defense Thursday night.
In a game that would end tied 10-10, thanks to Cowboys turnovers and those Vanderjagt misfires, the Cowboys lost the first-half battle (that's all that counts in pre-season), 7-3. That came after having outscored their first three opponents, 44-3, in first halves.
They were able to throw the ball a little against the Vikings' starters.
They couldn't run the ball at all.
Jones ran eight times for minus-2 yards. In the first half, Barber carried once for 1 yard.
Jones didn't have a single 2-yard gain. He had five 1-yard runs, one for no gain and big losses of 3 and 4 yards on first-and-10s. Jones was given the ball three times on second-and-2 or second-and-1. He got one first down.
Parcells refuses to acknowledge concern.
"They've got a pretty good front," Parcells said. "We struggled a bit. So did they."
Jones finished the exhibition campaign with a miserable 97 yards on 43 carries. That's not quite a 2.3 average. He ran for a 4.9-yard average last summer, looking as if he was going to use his spectacular rookie finish as a springboard to stardom.
It didn't happen.
Both Jones and Barber ran the ball for 3.9 yards per carry last season. The truth is that Barber was the better back.
He showed he was a more sure-handed receiver. He became the goal-line and short-yardage back, more trustworthy in those key situations.
When Barber got a big workload, mostly through injuries to Jones, he made the most of it. Barber had four games in which he ran the ball 15 or more times. He averaged 4.5 yards per carry, and the Cowboys would have won all four games had they not given away the Seattle game.
Jones had one huge afternoon – 34 for 194 vs. Carolina – that obscured the fact that he generally did not benefit from a heavy load. The other seven games in which he carried the ball 20 or more times, Jones averaged 3.7 yards or fewer six times.
Parcells had Barber carrying a football with him everywhere he went in Oxnard to get him to concentrate on not fumbling.
Parcells could be fumbling the chance to put his best unit on the field by not starting Barber.
It's not fair to compare Barber's preseason numbers to Jones' because he played against second-team defenses more often. But there was enough in last year's totals and certainly enough to the naked eye this summer to suggest Barber would give this team more chances to do things and more ways to win games than Jones.
That won't be talked about as much today as Vanderjagt's misses from 33 and 32 yards. That won't be talked about as much as Terrell Owens' one catch for 6 yards.
But without a solid running game, the Cowboys are not a playoff team. And the evidence is mounting that they are a better team with Barber in the backfield.
By Tim Cowlishaw/Dallas Morning News
IRVING – Marion Barber was drafted to be a pass-catching third down back, a suitable backup to Julius Jones. I am wondering if the fact that Barber was better than Jones last season and has been better than Jones this summer will ever earn him a starting role with the Cowboys.
Coach Bill Parcells is waiting. He is giving Jones the benefit of the doubt. You have to wonder how long that's going to last.
The Cowboys have real concerns about their ability to run the ball consistently. Bigger concerns than two short misses by Mike Vanderjagt, although the idea that the Cowboys will now automatically win all those games kickers cost them a year ago has been shot down.
If running game woes were not evident after merely average performances against bad New Orleans and San Francisco defenses, they were made clear by a shockingly bad showing against a good Minnesota defense Thursday night.
In a game that would end tied 10-10, thanks to Cowboys turnovers and those Vanderjagt misfires, the Cowboys lost the first-half battle (that's all that counts in pre-season), 7-3. That came after having outscored their first three opponents, 44-3, in first halves.
They were able to throw the ball a little against the Vikings' starters.
They couldn't run the ball at all.
Jones ran eight times for minus-2 yards. In the first half, Barber carried once for 1 yard.
Jones didn't have a single 2-yard gain. He had five 1-yard runs, one for no gain and big losses of 3 and 4 yards on first-and-10s. Jones was given the ball three times on second-and-2 or second-and-1. He got one first down.
Parcells refuses to acknowledge concern.
"They've got a pretty good front," Parcells said. "We struggled a bit. So did they."
Jones finished the exhibition campaign with a miserable 97 yards on 43 carries. That's not quite a 2.3 average. He ran for a 4.9-yard average last summer, looking as if he was going to use his spectacular rookie finish as a springboard to stardom.
It didn't happen.
Both Jones and Barber ran the ball for 3.9 yards per carry last season. The truth is that Barber was the better back.
He showed he was a more sure-handed receiver. He became the goal-line and short-yardage back, more trustworthy in those key situations.
When Barber got a big workload, mostly through injuries to Jones, he made the most of it. Barber had four games in which he ran the ball 15 or more times. He averaged 4.5 yards per carry, and the Cowboys would have won all four games had they not given away the Seattle game.
Jones had one huge afternoon – 34 for 194 vs. Carolina – that obscured the fact that he generally did not benefit from a heavy load. The other seven games in which he carried the ball 20 or more times, Jones averaged 3.7 yards or fewer six times.
Parcells had Barber carrying a football with him everywhere he went in Oxnard to get him to concentrate on not fumbling.
Parcells could be fumbling the chance to put his best unit on the field by not starting Barber.
It's not fair to compare Barber's preseason numbers to Jones' because he played against second-team defenses more often. But there was enough in last year's totals and certainly enough to the naked eye this summer to suggest Barber would give this team more chances to do things and more ways to win games than Jones.
That won't be talked about as much today as Vanderjagt's misses from 33 and 32 yards. That won't be talked about as much as Terrell Owens' one catch for 6 yards.
But without a solid running game, the Cowboys are not a playoff team. And the evidence is mounting that they are a better team with Barber in the backfield.
posted by The Gryphon at 7:43 AM
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