Jones a keeper for Cowboys
by Todd Archer
TOM FOX / DMN
IRVING – The Cowboys are not trying to trade Julius Jones. This may be a battle of semantics, but they would listen to offers for their starting running back. They would listen to offers on just about anybody on the roster.
The untouchables would be tight end Jason Witten, quarterback Tony Romo, linebacker DeMarcus Ware, cornerback Terence Newman and safety Roy Williams. Add a few more if you want, but you get the picture.
Julius' brother, Thomas, has been traded from Chicago to the New York Jets. Willis McGahee went from Buffalo to Baltimore. Buffalo needs a runner. Green Bay needs a runner. That led to reports that the Cowboys have made Jones available, which owner and general manager Jerry Jones refuted on Wednesday.
Unless the Cowboys have their socks blown off by a team looking for a running back (say, second- and fifth-round picks this year), they should keep Jones.
It's a gamble because Jones is entering the final year of his contract. It's a gamble because while Jones has shown many flashes of greatness, he has not sustained it long enough to convince everybody he is the next great Cowboys running back.
But Jones is coming off his first 1,000-yard season (1,084 yards) and owns two of the top four rushing games in team history. If Jones has a better 2007 season, that helps his bargaining position entering free agency, but it also helps the Cowboys.
In three less-than-full seasons, Jones has 2,896 yards rushing and 16 touchdowns, but he remains something of a mystery.
Last year, he had four 100-yard games, but only one after Oct. 15. In six of the first eight games, he had at least 20 carries. That happened just once in the final eight games.
Bill Parcells kept saying he wanted Jones fresh for the stretch run, but he never used Jones down the stretch. Maybe because he felt Marion Barber's ability to close games was too great to see on the sideline. Maybe because he felt Jones couldn't handle the job. Maybe Parcells made a mistake.
Jones was peeved at the lack of work but did a decent job hiding his frustration publicly.
Is he the next one to follow Tony Dorsett and Emmitt Smith? Maybe not those heights, but he's not exactly Troy Hambrick either.
In 2004, the Cowboys passed on the chance to take Kevin Jones (he was going to be their first-round pick, not Steven Jackson) when Buffalo offered up its No. 1 in 2005 and then-offensive coordinator Maurice Carthon said he did not see a difference between the Joneses and Jackson.
So the Cowboys took Julius and he went nuts in the final eight games of the season. Think Seattle. Think Carolina. An ankle injury slowed him in 2005, but he had a decent '06.
Can he be better in '07? Yes. He's proven he can handle a 16-game season. He continues to have breakaway ability. He's gotten better at picking up the tough yards. He is entering a contract year.
Jones does a better job of reading holes, according to those who break down the film, while Barber can make 4 yards when the play is blocked for 2 yards. The difference is Barber will sometimes take a 2-yard run and turn it into no gain. Jones did a good job of eliminating bad runs.
If the Cowboys do trade Jones, do they know Barber can be the every-down back? Can Tyson Thompson take on a bigger role? Would they want to dip into the early part of the draft for a runner?
With Jones and Barber, the Cowboys have one of the better tandems in the league.
Why mess up a good thing?
TOM FOX / DMN
IRVING – The Cowboys are not trying to trade Julius Jones. This may be a battle of semantics, but they would listen to offers for their starting running back. They would listen to offers on just about anybody on the roster.
The untouchables would be tight end Jason Witten, quarterback Tony Romo, linebacker DeMarcus Ware, cornerback Terence Newman and safety Roy Williams. Add a few more if you want, but you get the picture.
Julius' brother, Thomas, has been traded from Chicago to the New York Jets. Willis McGahee went from Buffalo to Baltimore. Buffalo needs a runner. Green Bay needs a runner. That led to reports that the Cowboys have made Jones available, which owner and general manager Jerry Jones refuted on Wednesday.
Unless the Cowboys have their socks blown off by a team looking for a running back (say, second- and fifth-round picks this year), they should keep Jones.
It's a gamble because Jones is entering the final year of his contract. It's a gamble because while Jones has shown many flashes of greatness, he has not sustained it long enough to convince everybody he is the next great Cowboys running back.
But Jones is coming off his first 1,000-yard season (1,084 yards) and owns two of the top four rushing games in team history. If Jones has a better 2007 season, that helps his bargaining position entering free agency, but it also helps the Cowboys.
In three less-than-full seasons, Jones has 2,896 yards rushing and 16 touchdowns, but he remains something of a mystery.
Last year, he had four 100-yard games, but only one after Oct. 15. In six of the first eight games, he had at least 20 carries. That happened just once in the final eight games.
Bill Parcells kept saying he wanted Jones fresh for the stretch run, but he never used Jones down the stretch. Maybe because he felt Marion Barber's ability to close games was too great to see on the sideline. Maybe because he felt Jones couldn't handle the job. Maybe Parcells made a mistake.
Jones was peeved at the lack of work but did a decent job hiding his frustration publicly.
Is he the next one to follow Tony Dorsett and Emmitt Smith? Maybe not those heights, but he's not exactly Troy Hambrick either.
In 2004, the Cowboys passed on the chance to take Kevin Jones (he was going to be their first-round pick, not Steven Jackson) when Buffalo offered up its No. 1 in 2005 and then-offensive coordinator Maurice Carthon said he did not see a difference between the Joneses and Jackson.
So the Cowboys took Julius and he went nuts in the final eight games of the season. Think Seattle. Think Carolina. An ankle injury slowed him in 2005, but he had a decent '06.
Can he be better in '07? Yes. He's proven he can handle a 16-game season. He continues to have breakaway ability. He's gotten better at picking up the tough yards. He is entering a contract year.
Jones does a better job of reading holes, according to those who break down the film, while Barber can make 4 yards when the play is blocked for 2 yards. The difference is Barber will sometimes take a 2-yard run and turn it into no gain. Jones did a good job of eliminating bad runs.
If the Cowboys do trade Jones, do they know Barber can be the every-down back? Can Tyson Thompson take on a bigger role? Would they want to dip into the early part of the draft for a runner?
With Jones and Barber, the Cowboys have one of the better tandems in the league.
Why mess up a good thing?
posted by The Gryphon at 7:40 PM
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