Cowboys: Philips sticks with "Two-headed monster"
Chad Peters
Express-News staff writer
In the eyes of Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Patrick Crayton, watching running back Marion Barber carry the football is like looking at a miniature version of former Pittsburgh bruiser Jerome Bettis.
“He’s like our ‘Mini Bus,’” Crayton said.
Maybe that’s why the roars to start Barber over Julius Jones seem to grow louder and louder with every carry Barber gets.
Whether it's because of his reckless running style, his penchant for finding the end zone or the way his flowing dreadlocks oscillate with every broken tackle, the third-year back certainly has won people over.
During the team’s two-week stay for training camp at the Alamodome, fans sometimes greeted Barber with as loud of cheers as they gave Tony Romo and Terrell Owens.
But while the fans might be ready to hand over the starting reins to Barber, the Cowboys don’t want to disrupt the two-back system that worked so well for them last season.
“It used to be you had one running back,” coach Wade Phillips said. “Now it's changed where a lot of teams have been able to utilize two good backs. That's the situation I've walked into and I think it's a good situation.”
The shifty Jones, entering his fourth season, started all 16 games last year. Barber, more of a grinder, primarily came in on third downs and near the goal line.
The Cowboys had shown interest earlier this preseason in giving Jones more opportunities near the goal line and feeding Barber more carries in between the 20-yard lines. And in last week’s 28-16 loss to Houston, they distributed the carries by quarter, giving Jones the bulk of the work in the first quarter and Barber the majority of the carries in the second.
But significantly changing either player’s role from last season seems unlikely. And Barber says he’s fine with that.
“I don’t think nothing of it, man,” Barber said of those calling for him to start. “That’s their opinion. Right now I’m looking for the coaches’ opinion. And right now the coaches are using me how they’re using me.”
Meanwhile, Jones, an unrestricted free agent at season’s end, says all he’s worried about is staying healthy and having a chance to produce behind the rebuilt offensive line.
“Everything else will take care of itself,” he said.
Jones surpassed the 1,000-yard mark last season for the first time in his career, finishing with 1,084 yards and four touchdowns.
But his performance deteriorated down the stretch. After rushing for 100-or-more yards in three of the first five games, he cracked the century mark just once more during the rest of the regular season. He also averaged four-plus yards a carry in just one game during that 11-game stretch.
Meanwhile, Barber – who ran for 654 yards – flashed grit and consistency. He finished every month with a four-plus-yard average en route to scoring an NFC-leading 16 TDs.
But is Barber’s production enough to justify phasing out Jones? The Cowboys think not.
“I think they’re a good combination in that one of them is smaller, faster and one of them is bigger, stronger,” Phillips said. “What I’ve noticed already with both of them is they have real good vision. That’s what you need in a running back.
“Julius is kind of a slasher, movement guy, and Marion kind of skips into it and goes. They’re a little different styles, certainly they’re different body types, but they both have good vision. And they both catch the ball. So we’re going to try to utilize both of them.”
And it might not be such a bad idea to avoid forcing Barber into a starting role.
History has shown quality backup runners have a tendency to put up eye-catching numbers, sometimes even better than those of the starter. But that doesn’t necessarily mean the backup always is the better player.
Just last season, New York Giants running back Brandon Jacobs’ nine TDs nearly doubled Tiki Barber’s total of five, while San Diego backup Michael Turner’s average of 6.3 yards eclipsed LaDainian Tomlinson’s 5.2 mark.
But even with the support for Barber continuing to swell, Crayton says he’s not worried the two-back approach will wear on either Jones or Barber.
“They’re not selfish like that,” he said. “There’s no selfishness on this team. They know that each one of them complements the other.
“They’re a two-headed monster.”
Express-News staff writer
In the eyes of Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Patrick Crayton, watching running back Marion Barber carry the football is like looking at a miniature version of former Pittsburgh bruiser Jerome Bettis.
“He’s like our ‘Mini Bus,’” Crayton said.
Maybe that’s why the roars to start Barber over Julius Jones seem to grow louder and louder with every carry Barber gets.
Whether it's because of his reckless running style, his penchant for finding the end zone or the way his flowing dreadlocks oscillate with every broken tackle, the third-year back certainly has won people over.
During the team’s two-week stay for training camp at the Alamodome, fans sometimes greeted Barber with as loud of cheers as they gave Tony Romo and Terrell Owens.
But while the fans might be ready to hand over the starting reins to Barber, the Cowboys don’t want to disrupt the two-back system that worked so well for them last season.
“It used to be you had one running back,” coach Wade Phillips said. “Now it's changed where a lot of teams have been able to utilize two good backs. That's the situation I've walked into and I think it's a good situation.”
The shifty Jones, entering his fourth season, started all 16 games last year. Barber, more of a grinder, primarily came in on third downs and near the goal line.
The Cowboys had shown interest earlier this preseason in giving Jones more opportunities near the goal line and feeding Barber more carries in between the 20-yard lines. And in last week’s 28-16 loss to Houston, they distributed the carries by quarter, giving Jones the bulk of the work in the first quarter and Barber the majority of the carries in the second.
But significantly changing either player’s role from last season seems unlikely. And Barber says he’s fine with that.
“I don’t think nothing of it, man,” Barber said of those calling for him to start. “That’s their opinion. Right now I’m looking for the coaches’ opinion. And right now the coaches are using me how they’re using me.”
Meanwhile, Jones, an unrestricted free agent at season’s end, says all he’s worried about is staying healthy and having a chance to produce behind the rebuilt offensive line.
“Everything else will take care of itself,” he said.
Jones surpassed the 1,000-yard mark last season for the first time in his career, finishing with 1,084 yards and four touchdowns.
But his performance deteriorated down the stretch. After rushing for 100-or-more yards in three of the first five games, he cracked the century mark just once more during the rest of the regular season. He also averaged four-plus yards a carry in just one game during that 11-game stretch.
Meanwhile, Barber – who ran for 654 yards – flashed grit and consistency. He finished every month with a four-plus-yard average en route to scoring an NFC-leading 16 TDs.
But is Barber’s production enough to justify phasing out Jones? The Cowboys think not.
“I think they’re a good combination in that one of them is smaller, faster and one of them is bigger, stronger,” Phillips said. “What I’ve noticed already with both of them is they have real good vision. That’s what you need in a running back.
“Julius is kind of a slasher, movement guy, and Marion kind of skips into it and goes. They’re a little different styles, certainly they’re different body types, but they both have good vision. And they both catch the ball. So we’re going to try to utilize both of them.”
And it might not be such a bad idea to avoid forcing Barber into a starting role.
History has shown quality backup runners have a tendency to put up eye-catching numbers, sometimes even better than those of the starter. But that doesn’t necessarily mean the backup always is the better player.
Just last season, New York Giants running back Brandon Jacobs’ nine TDs nearly doubled Tiki Barber’s total of five, while San Diego backup Michael Turner’s average of 6.3 yards eclipsed LaDainian Tomlinson’s 5.2 mark.
But even with the support for Barber continuing to swell, Crayton says he’s not worried the two-back approach will wear on either Jones or Barber.
“They’re not selfish like that,” he said. “There’s no selfishness on this team. They know that each one of them complements the other.
“They’re a two-headed monster.”
posted by The Gryphon at 11:23 AM
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