Dallas Cowboys rookie Jones making an impact
The Dallas Morning News
Aug. 4--OXNARD, Calif. -- Marion Barber led the Dallas Cowboys with 975 yards rushing and was named to his first Pro Bowl last season despite not starting a regular-season game.
"I think last year was his year, and he proved himself," coach Wade Phillips said. "Obviously, we feel comfortable with him carrying the load. The other guys, we'll see how they fit in, but he's our bell cow."
But if early indications mean anything -- and sometimes they don't in training camp -- then Barber's backup, Felix Jones, might play a larger role than expected, even with his first-round pedigree.
Jones has been electric at times in training camp, showing impressive speed and vision. Running backs coach Skip Peete raved Sunday about a run Jones had made on a draw play three days prior.
"He came through the line, and the safety started filling, and he bounced it out to the left, and no one was there," Peete said. "He got back to the huddle, and I asked him, 'How'd you know where to go? What made you do that?' He said, 'Well, Coach, I just felt the safety, based on the way the receiver was blocking, that I could get outside of that.'"
Garrett calls Jones an instinctive runner, and Jones takes almost an artistic view of things, breaking it down by jersey colors (blue on defense, white on offense).
"I just try to make a move off of the opposite colors," he said, "or if I see my color in front of me, I try to make a move off them."
Jones' 7.7 yards per carry at Arkansas is second-best in NCAA history to Army's Glenn Davis (8.26 in 1943-46). But Jones is learning that speed can only take him so far.
"Everybody has speed," Jones said. "I can't just get the ball and if there's nothing inside, go run outside. That's a big change for me. You can't really bounce it every play."
Offensive coordinator Jason Garrett does not have a set formula for how the carries will be split between the running backs. Last season, Barber averaged 12.8 carries per game, and Julius Jones, now in Seattle, averaged 10.3.
Given his new contract (seven years, $45 million) and ability, Barber's carries should increase, but perhaps not to the level of, say, LaDainian Tomlinson in San Diego. Tomlinson accounted for 72 percent of the carries made by Chargers running backs in 2007. Barber accounted for 53% of the Cowboys running backs' carries in 2007.
"You want balance between run and pass and balance among the receivers in the passing game, and if you have [multiple] runners handle the ball, that's a good thing," Garrett said. "Obviously, Marion is proven he's worthy of a lot of carries because he played last year, and we're going to continue to feature him, but we'd like to have a role for the others as well. Whatever they prove they can handle, we're going to try to give them."
Aug. 4--OXNARD, Calif. -- Marion Barber led the Dallas Cowboys with 975 yards rushing and was named to his first Pro Bowl last season despite not starting a regular-season game.
"I think last year was his year, and he proved himself," coach Wade Phillips said. "Obviously, we feel comfortable with him carrying the load. The other guys, we'll see how they fit in, but he's our bell cow."
But if early indications mean anything -- and sometimes they don't in training camp -- then Barber's backup, Felix Jones, might play a larger role than expected, even with his first-round pedigree.
Jones has been electric at times in training camp, showing impressive speed and vision. Running backs coach Skip Peete raved Sunday about a run Jones had made on a draw play three days prior.
"He came through the line, and the safety started filling, and he bounced it out to the left, and no one was there," Peete said. "He got back to the huddle, and I asked him, 'How'd you know where to go? What made you do that?' He said, 'Well, Coach, I just felt the safety, based on the way the receiver was blocking, that I could get outside of that.'"
Garrett calls Jones an instinctive runner, and Jones takes almost an artistic view of things, breaking it down by jersey colors (blue on defense, white on offense).
"I just try to make a move off of the opposite colors," he said, "or if I see my color in front of me, I try to make a move off them."
Jones' 7.7 yards per carry at Arkansas is second-best in NCAA history to Army's Glenn Davis (8.26 in 1943-46). But Jones is learning that speed can only take him so far.
"Everybody has speed," Jones said. "I can't just get the ball and if there's nothing inside, go run outside. That's a big change for me. You can't really bounce it every play."
Offensive coordinator Jason Garrett does not have a set formula for how the carries will be split between the running backs. Last season, Barber averaged 12.8 carries per game, and Julius Jones, now in Seattle, averaged 10.3.
Given his new contract (seven years, $45 million) and ability, Barber's carries should increase, but perhaps not to the level of, say, LaDainian Tomlinson in San Diego. Tomlinson accounted for 72 percent of the carries made by Chargers running backs in 2007. Barber accounted for 53% of the Cowboys running backs' carries in 2007.
"You want balance between run and pass and balance among the receivers in the passing game, and if you have [multiple] runners handle the ball, that's a good thing," Garrett said. "Obviously, Marion is proven he's worthy of a lot of carries because he played last year, and we're going to continue to feature him, but we'd like to have a role for the others as well. Whatever they prove they can handle, we're going to try to give them."
posted by The Gryphon at 9:15 AM
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