Jones carries burden of workout choice
06:22 PM CDT on Tuesday, June 5, 2007
By Jean Jeaques Taylor
Cowboys running back Julius Jones has chosen to work out on his own in Arizona.
Julius Jones is betting on himself. That's not an entirely bad proposition.
Jones, a free agent at the end of the season, has skipped the Cowboys' off-season workout program and is not participating in organized team activities (OTA).
So there's no way he gets the benefit of the doubt if anything goes wrong in training camp. Jones apparently doesn't care.
He believes Bill Parcells made him too robotic of a runner, so he's doing things his way this time. After all, it's his future on the line.
It's not like Jones has been a bad player since the Cowboys picked him in the second round of the 2004 draft – he owns two of the four highest single-game rushing totals in franchise history – but he's lacked the consistency to make him an elite runner.
Injuries wrecked his first two seasons, and Marion Barber's emergence made him a non-factor in the second half of last season.
The Cowboys don't appear inclined to sign him to a lucrative long-term deal after this season unless he has a monster year. That's probably not going to happen with him splitting time with Barber.
Jones is playing for a contract and his future. It's up to him.
Six months from now, we'll know how much, if any, training in Arizona helped him.
COWBOYS Q&A
Q: What's your take on the latest suspensions handed down by commissioner Roger Goodell?
Paul Hoffman, Whitelaw, Wis.
TAYLOR: I have zero problem with it. He has let every player know the deal. You make a mistake, and law enforcement gets involved, then you are going to miss some time. His penalties have been harsh, which is good because it lets the players know he is serious about changing the perception of the league.
Q: Any chance the NFL might explore packaging each team's seasons, along with any playoff run, and releasing those on multi-disk sets?
Clark Bell, Tulsa
TAYLOR: I think it's a great idea. In fact, they could cut the games to 30 minutes like they offer on the DirecTV NFL package. Then you could probably put them all one or two discs, complete with interviews. Let's just say that if they haven't thought of this, it shouldn't be too long before they do.
Q: I don't really care what Tony Romo he does on his own time as long as it doesn't affect his performance on Sundays. He may not admit it, but I think all the attention and the before games 'sideline dates' with whomever last season did affect his performance at the end of the season. Do you agree?
Glenn Guillory, Baytown, Texas
TAYLOR: This is really funny to me. What would any of you guys say if your boss came to you and said, "I don't want you to take a weekend trip because you might have so much fun it affects your performance at work next week and we have an important project that's due." We're not talking about somebody doing drugs or getting drunk. We're talking about a young guy having some fun in the OFF-SEASON. Please, just give it a rest.
Q: Tony Romo is our first true "bachelor" quarterback since Troy Aikman. Others were family men when they got the job. What do you think?
Scott Buckley, Anna, Texas
TAYLOR: I think Quincy Carter was a bachelor when he was the starter. Just for the record, married guys can have fun too. I'm married, and I have fun hanging out with my wife. I don't think you should care what a player does in his personal life as long as he's not getting into legal trouble. It's none of our business, and we don't have a right to know unless they're engaging in illegal activities. No, I don't think writing a big story about the alleged involvement of Alex Rodriguez, who is married, with another woman is good journalism. That has nothing to do with his ability to perform on the field.
Q: I have always been intrigued by the term "character" as it relates to football players. I think the highest definition of "character" in the football sense is players policing themselves no matter what the coach or organization does. Someone needs to tell these guys that it is an honor to do what they are doing, and that it requires greater sacrifice in order to truly separate themselves from the pack. Here's hoping the true "character" guys on this team will emerge, and that they will learn how to lead the others to do what it takes.
Peyton Rawls, Jackson, Miss.
TAYLOR: We'll see. I don't know if this team has enough leaders. The Cowboys of the '90s won because they had talent and leadership. Troy Aikman, Michael Irvin, Darren Woodson, Charles Haley, Tony Tolbert, Nate Newton and Ken Norton Jr. were all leaders. None of those guys would let another teammate wreck their team or their chemistry. You can't fake leadership. We'll see if enough guys on this team have it because Wade Phillips will give the players more freedom this year. It's their responsibility to make sure they don't blow it.
Q: The Bill Parcells era in Dallas was a failure. Why would you want a new coach to mimic those standards?
Dane Smith
TAYLOR: There's a difference between being a control freak like Parcells and having discipline on your team. There's something in between, and Wade Phillips needs to make sure he finds it because I've seen no evidence this team is mature enough to run itself. Again, it might not need a heavy hand every hour of the day, but there's nothing wrong with some discipline. Every good team needs it.
Q: Wade Phillips might be what the players want and need. But is he want the fans want?
Graham Stuart, Belleville Ontario
TAYLOR: Without being too blunt, it doesn't matter what fans want. And any GM or coach who makes decisions based on what fans want is destined to be fired. The only things fans want is wins. Even the most ardent fan doesn't spend 60-70 hours a week studying and preparing for the game, so they have only a fraction of the knowledge a coach has. That's why you don't let fans run your organization. You ask for their support and leave it at that.
Q: Good or bad, Bill Parcells was the leader, and it seems Wade Phillips hasn't asserted himself in that role. What do you think?
Mark Young, Los Angeles
TAYLOR: I haven't been around Phillips enough to know what kind of leader he's going to be – neither has any other media member in this area. We'll find out about Phillips during the season when the Cowboys go through a rough patch or two. Until then, everything else is speculation.
Q: Other than the obvious difference of snapping the ball, what makes the center job unique and what kind of player do you need in there?
Joe Keyes, Fort Worth, Texas
TAYLOR: That's a good question. The center is usually the leader on the offensive line. The center generally makes the line calls, so everyone else on the line of scrimmage knows their blocking assignment based on the defensive front. Ideally, the center is strong and powerful enough to handle the 300-pound defensive tackles and nose guards he must face, while being quick enough to get to the linebackers after making his initial block. The center is usually the most intelligent player on the offensive line and among the most valuable.
Q: Shouldn't Dallas win two or three more games this season based on its talent level. Do you think Dallas will have a top five defense?
John T. Gold, Salt Lake City
TAYLOR: I know a lot of you guys want answers, but it's way too early to make predictions or say how good the defense will be. We'll have a much better idea once training camp starts and guys put on their pads and really start to compete. I would anticipate the defense being better, but the Cowboys are going to run a high-risk scheme. They're going to make a lot of big plays and give up a lot of big plays because of their commitment to pressuring the quarterback.
By Jean Jeaques Taylor
Cowboys running back Julius Jones has chosen to work out on his own in Arizona.
Julius Jones is betting on himself. That's not an entirely bad proposition.
Jones, a free agent at the end of the season, has skipped the Cowboys' off-season workout program and is not participating in organized team activities (OTA).
So there's no way he gets the benefit of the doubt if anything goes wrong in training camp. Jones apparently doesn't care.
He believes Bill Parcells made him too robotic of a runner, so he's doing things his way this time. After all, it's his future on the line.
It's not like Jones has been a bad player since the Cowboys picked him in the second round of the 2004 draft – he owns two of the four highest single-game rushing totals in franchise history – but he's lacked the consistency to make him an elite runner.
Injuries wrecked his first two seasons, and Marion Barber's emergence made him a non-factor in the second half of last season.
The Cowboys don't appear inclined to sign him to a lucrative long-term deal after this season unless he has a monster year. That's probably not going to happen with him splitting time with Barber.
Jones is playing for a contract and his future. It's up to him.
Six months from now, we'll know how much, if any, training in Arizona helped him.
COWBOYS Q&A
Q: What's your take on the latest suspensions handed down by commissioner Roger Goodell?
Paul Hoffman, Whitelaw, Wis.
TAYLOR: I have zero problem with it. He has let every player know the deal. You make a mistake, and law enforcement gets involved, then you are going to miss some time. His penalties have been harsh, which is good because it lets the players know he is serious about changing the perception of the league.
Q: Any chance the NFL might explore packaging each team's seasons, along with any playoff run, and releasing those on multi-disk sets?
Clark Bell, Tulsa
TAYLOR: I think it's a great idea. In fact, they could cut the games to 30 minutes like they offer on the DirecTV NFL package. Then you could probably put them all one or two discs, complete with interviews. Let's just say that if they haven't thought of this, it shouldn't be too long before they do.
Q: I don't really care what Tony Romo he does on his own time as long as it doesn't affect his performance on Sundays. He may not admit it, but I think all the attention and the before games 'sideline dates' with whomever last season did affect his performance at the end of the season. Do you agree?
Glenn Guillory, Baytown, Texas
TAYLOR: This is really funny to me. What would any of you guys say if your boss came to you and said, "I don't want you to take a weekend trip because you might have so much fun it affects your performance at work next week and we have an important project that's due." We're not talking about somebody doing drugs or getting drunk. We're talking about a young guy having some fun in the OFF-SEASON. Please, just give it a rest.
Q: Tony Romo is our first true "bachelor" quarterback since Troy Aikman. Others were family men when they got the job. What do you think?
Scott Buckley, Anna, Texas
TAYLOR: I think Quincy Carter was a bachelor when he was the starter. Just for the record, married guys can have fun too. I'm married, and I have fun hanging out with my wife. I don't think you should care what a player does in his personal life as long as he's not getting into legal trouble. It's none of our business, and we don't have a right to know unless they're engaging in illegal activities. No, I don't think writing a big story about the alleged involvement of Alex Rodriguez, who is married, with another woman is good journalism. That has nothing to do with his ability to perform on the field.
Q: I have always been intrigued by the term "character" as it relates to football players. I think the highest definition of "character" in the football sense is players policing themselves no matter what the coach or organization does. Someone needs to tell these guys that it is an honor to do what they are doing, and that it requires greater sacrifice in order to truly separate themselves from the pack. Here's hoping the true "character" guys on this team will emerge, and that they will learn how to lead the others to do what it takes.
Peyton Rawls, Jackson, Miss.
TAYLOR: We'll see. I don't know if this team has enough leaders. The Cowboys of the '90s won because they had talent and leadership. Troy Aikman, Michael Irvin, Darren Woodson, Charles Haley, Tony Tolbert, Nate Newton and Ken Norton Jr. were all leaders. None of those guys would let another teammate wreck their team or their chemistry. You can't fake leadership. We'll see if enough guys on this team have it because Wade Phillips will give the players more freedom this year. It's their responsibility to make sure they don't blow it.
Q: The Bill Parcells era in Dallas was a failure. Why would you want a new coach to mimic those standards?
Dane Smith
TAYLOR: There's a difference between being a control freak like Parcells and having discipline on your team. There's something in between, and Wade Phillips needs to make sure he finds it because I've seen no evidence this team is mature enough to run itself. Again, it might not need a heavy hand every hour of the day, but there's nothing wrong with some discipline. Every good team needs it.
Q: Wade Phillips might be what the players want and need. But is he want the fans want?
Graham Stuart, Belleville Ontario
TAYLOR: Without being too blunt, it doesn't matter what fans want. And any GM or coach who makes decisions based on what fans want is destined to be fired. The only things fans want is wins. Even the most ardent fan doesn't spend 60-70 hours a week studying and preparing for the game, so they have only a fraction of the knowledge a coach has. That's why you don't let fans run your organization. You ask for their support and leave it at that.
Q: Good or bad, Bill Parcells was the leader, and it seems Wade Phillips hasn't asserted himself in that role. What do you think?
Mark Young, Los Angeles
TAYLOR: I haven't been around Phillips enough to know what kind of leader he's going to be – neither has any other media member in this area. We'll find out about Phillips during the season when the Cowboys go through a rough patch or two. Until then, everything else is speculation.
Q: Other than the obvious difference of snapping the ball, what makes the center job unique and what kind of player do you need in there?
Joe Keyes, Fort Worth, Texas
TAYLOR: That's a good question. The center is usually the leader on the offensive line. The center generally makes the line calls, so everyone else on the line of scrimmage knows their blocking assignment based on the defensive front. Ideally, the center is strong and powerful enough to handle the 300-pound defensive tackles and nose guards he must face, while being quick enough to get to the linebackers after making his initial block. The center is usually the most intelligent player on the offensive line and among the most valuable.
Q: Shouldn't Dallas win two or three more games this season based on its talent level. Do you think Dallas will have a top five defense?
John T. Gold, Salt Lake City
TAYLOR: I know a lot of you guys want answers, but it's way too early to make predictions or say how good the defense will be. We'll have a much better idea once training camp starts and guys put on their pads and really start to compete. I would anticipate the defense being better, but the Cowboys are going to run a high-risk scheme. They're going to make a lot of big plays and give up a lot of big plays because of their commitment to pressuring the quarterback.
posted by The Gryphon at 10:02 PM
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