Barber, Jones present similar challenges for Cowboys, Giants
By JAIME ARON
AP Sports Writer
IRVING, Texas (AP) -Although Michael Strahan has never had to chase teammate Tiki Barber in a game, 10 years of practices have taught him what a challenge it is.
So Dallas Cowboys running back Julius Jones should consider it quite a compliment that Strahan calls him ``kind of like a little Tiki Barber.''
``He's quick,'' Strahan said. ``He's fast. He gives us trouble.''
It doesn't take trying to tackle those guys to notice how much they have in common. Some things will jump out to anyone watching the Monday night game between Jones' Cowboys (3-2) and Barber's New York Giants (3-2).
Start with their size. Both are 5-foot-10 and between 205 and 210 pounds, much of it muscle.
Their styles are similar, too. Quick and shifty, they excel at bursting past the line and into the secondary. While they lack breakaway speed, their strength makes it tough to bring them down.
Barber certainly sees the resemblance.
``Absolutely,'' he said.
There also are some quirky similarities.
They wear the same uniform number, 21, and were both second-round draft picks. They also have brothers playing in the NFL: Ronde Barber in Tampa Bay, Thomas Jones in Chicago.
Thomas Jones is even the tie that binds these two. When he was a freshman at Virginia, he was roommates with Barber, then a senior. Barber didn't get to know Julius then, but he heard all about him.
Now Julius is in his third season with the Cowboys and starting to become as reliable and important to his offense as Barber has been to the Giants since his ... fourth season. (Oh well, it can't all line up perfectly.)
Jones has run for 100 yards his last three games, marking the longest streak of his career. He was leading the NFL in yards rushing per game until last Sunday. Who passed him? Barber, of course, by gaining 185, the most by anyone this season.
``He is a tremendous player, probably the best player in the division ... up there with the top four or five in the league,'' Cowboys coach Bill Parcells said.
Parcells was so impressed with Barber's performance last Sunday against Atlanta that he told Jones to study that film.
``There's some good learning on it,'' Parcells said. ``He's patient. He accelerates. He will run through tackles. You don't see him make a lot of 80-, 90-yard runs, but there are a lot of pretty 10-pluses in there, which are a little unusual.''
Barber had nine runs of at least 12 yards against the Falcons, who had been allowing only 69.3 yards per game, second fewest in the league.
Dallas has the NFL's stingiest run defense now, averaging 67.0 yards, but the Cowboys haven't faced anyone as good as Barber.
``He's a little guy, but he just plays big,'' linebacker Bradie James said. ``I think Tiki is in his own league. He will block, he will run, get that tough yard, and if you don't lock him up, he'll get 20 yards and make you look bad.''
Under Parcells, Dallas is 3-3 against New York. Barber's stat line is a perfect gauge for which team wins.
In the Giants' victories, Barber averages 110.7 yards rushing and 35.3 more receiving. He's had at least 110 total yards in all three, scoring a total of three touchdowns.
In the Cowboys' victories, Barber averaged 50.7 yards rushing and 22.3 receiving. He hasn't cracked 100 total yards and hasn't scored.
Jones is 0-2 against New York, but played well both times. He ran for 74 yards and caught nine passes for 88 yards last season, and ran for 149 yards and a touchdown, plus had 46 yards receiving, as a rookie.
The most telling stat is the games played.
Until this year, Jones was always hurt the first time the Cowboys and Giants met. Now that he's made it through five full games, Jones could be developing the durability needed to become an elite running back capable of having a long, productive career - like Barber, who comes into this game with 9,319 yards, only 88 behind Earl Campbell for 20th in league history.
``If Julius can turn out to be what this guy turned out to be, then the Cowboys are going to be in good shape for a long time,'' Parcells said.
Coincidentally, Barber talked this week about retiring after this season and moving into a new line of work.
``I don't know if there is anything that would change my mind,'' he said. ``I know that at some point, as all running backs do, it's not a gradual decline. It's like you step off a cliff, from 1,500 yards rushing to 400 yards rushing. ... I kind of want to go out on my own terms.''
AP Sports Writer
IRVING, Texas (AP) -Although Michael Strahan has never had to chase teammate Tiki Barber in a game, 10 years of practices have taught him what a challenge it is.
So Dallas Cowboys running back Julius Jones should consider it quite a compliment that Strahan calls him ``kind of like a little Tiki Barber.''
``He's quick,'' Strahan said. ``He's fast. He gives us trouble.''
It doesn't take trying to tackle those guys to notice how much they have in common. Some things will jump out to anyone watching the Monday night game between Jones' Cowboys (3-2) and Barber's New York Giants (3-2).
Start with their size. Both are 5-foot-10 and between 205 and 210 pounds, much of it muscle.
Their styles are similar, too. Quick and shifty, they excel at bursting past the line and into the secondary. While they lack breakaway speed, their strength makes it tough to bring them down.
Barber certainly sees the resemblance.
``Absolutely,'' he said.
There also are some quirky similarities.
They wear the same uniform number, 21, and were both second-round draft picks. They also have brothers playing in the NFL: Ronde Barber in Tampa Bay, Thomas Jones in Chicago.
Thomas Jones is even the tie that binds these two. When he was a freshman at Virginia, he was roommates with Barber, then a senior. Barber didn't get to know Julius then, but he heard all about him.
Now Julius is in his third season with the Cowboys and starting to become as reliable and important to his offense as Barber has been to the Giants since his ... fourth season. (Oh well, it can't all line up perfectly.)
Jones has run for 100 yards his last three games, marking the longest streak of his career. He was leading the NFL in yards rushing per game until last Sunday. Who passed him? Barber, of course, by gaining 185, the most by anyone this season.
``He is a tremendous player, probably the best player in the division ... up there with the top four or five in the league,'' Cowboys coach Bill Parcells said.
Parcells was so impressed with Barber's performance last Sunday against Atlanta that he told Jones to study that film.
``There's some good learning on it,'' Parcells said. ``He's patient. He accelerates. He will run through tackles. You don't see him make a lot of 80-, 90-yard runs, but there are a lot of pretty 10-pluses in there, which are a little unusual.''
Barber had nine runs of at least 12 yards against the Falcons, who had been allowing only 69.3 yards per game, second fewest in the league.
Dallas has the NFL's stingiest run defense now, averaging 67.0 yards, but the Cowboys haven't faced anyone as good as Barber.
``He's a little guy, but he just plays big,'' linebacker Bradie James said. ``I think Tiki is in his own league. He will block, he will run, get that tough yard, and if you don't lock him up, he'll get 20 yards and make you look bad.''
Under Parcells, Dallas is 3-3 against New York. Barber's stat line is a perfect gauge for which team wins.
In the Giants' victories, Barber averages 110.7 yards rushing and 35.3 more receiving. He's had at least 110 total yards in all three, scoring a total of three touchdowns.
In the Cowboys' victories, Barber averaged 50.7 yards rushing and 22.3 receiving. He hasn't cracked 100 total yards and hasn't scored.
Jones is 0-2 against New York, but played well both times. He ran for 74 yards and caught nine passes for 88 yards last season, and ran for 149 yards and a touchdown, plus had 46 yards receiving, as a rookie.
The most telling stat is the games played.
Until this year, Jones was always hurt the first time the Cowboys and Giants met. Now that he's made it through five full games, Jones could be developing the durability needed to become an elite running back capable of having a long, productive career - like Barber, who comes into this game with 9,319 yards, only 88 behind Earl Campbell for 20th in league history.
``If Julius can turn out to be what this guy turned out to be, then the Cowboys are going to be in good shape for a long time,'' Parcells said.
Coincidentally, Barber talked this week about retiring after this season and moving into a new line of work.
``I don't know if there is anything that would change my mind,'' he said. ``I know that at some point, as all running backs do, it's not a gradual decline. It's like you step off a cliff, from 1,500 yards rushing to 400 yards rushing. ... I kind of want to go out on my own terms.''
posted by The Gryphon at 7:00 PM
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