maxpower
09-19-2005, 01:54 PM
http://www.dfw.com/mld/dfw/sports/columnists/randy_galloway/12679126.htm
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'Triplets' carried quite a workload
Randy Galloway
IN MY OPINION
The Jimster comes to town tonight. Flies in from LA where he spends weekends this time of year doing the Fox TV gig.
Of interest here is Jerry Jones is sending his private jet to California to pick up Jimmy Johnson.
Eleven years ago, Jerry gladly gave Jimmy one million in cash to leave town.
Now Jerry is spending about that much in jet fuel, based on current pump prices, to bring him back for just one night.
(All together now, let's do a group hum of Friends.)
But the Cowboys' Ring of Honor parties started this weekend, the lead-in to the induction ceremony Monday night.
And the way Jerry sees it, you can't throw a party for "The Triplets" without having The Jimster there, sipping on his wretched Heineken over ice.
The Dynasty damage was done long ago, but the rebuilding of a shattered owner-coach relationship is an on-going yet seemingly successful process.
Too bad, huh, that if the Jerry-Jimmy friendship can be re-invented, the same can't be said for "The Triplets."
Common sense indicates that Emmitt-Michael-Troy were a once-in-a-franchise lifetime luxury. But the Cowboys already had a first one with Roger-Tony-Drew back in the '70s, so those odds were beaten.
A third edition won't be happening anytime soon, although you do have to wonder if Julius Jones might not become one-third of the equation.
Speaking of Julius, I'm not comparing him to Emmitt, OK?
But in a conversation with Jimmy last week, I admitted to having an Emmitt flashback.
Bill Parcells has recently been heard fretting over the workload that Jones will be asked to carry.
Big Bill is on record as saying he wants to lessen that load on the youngster, and 30 carries are unacceptable.
When Parcells said it before the season opener against San Diego, I laughed.
When I told Jimmy that his pal Bill had said it, he laughed.
"That is press-conference talk," said Jimmy. "Most all coaches will stand up in front of the media and declare they don't want the star running back carrying it over 25 times.
"But on game day, I don't know of any coach who won't run him as much as it takes to win. That's one thing that will never change."
Then Johnson asked a question. "How many carries for Julius last week?"
Twenty-six, officially, but two other nice runs were called back by penalties.
"OK, that's 28 in the first game," replied Johnson. "Don't worry, if Bill needs him to win Monday night, Julius will tote it 30 to 35 times."
Quick story.
The Cowboys opened the 1991 season in Cleveland, and hammered out a win with second-year running back Emmitt Smith carrying 32 times for 112 yards.
A humanitarian/sportswriter (that would be me) confronted the head coach about it after the game.
The lecture went something like:
"Jimmy, this is a young horse. You're gonna ride him into the ground. What are you gonna do when the horse breaks down?"
Without a pause, Johnson answered, "Go buy a new horse."
Jimmy still remembers that conversation. And remembered the jubilation, and my lack of concern, at the end of that season when the Cowboys made a surprising late surge to earn the franchise's first playoff berth in five years.
In those final five games of '91, Emmitt averaged 30 carries a game.
And was also still running the football in 2004.
But Johnson also had a disclaimer.
"When you talk about the career lifespan of running backs in the NFL, you immediately eliminate Emmitt from the conversation. He is like no other when it comes to durability, workload and production."
Career-wise, running backs come and they go. It's the position with the shortest lifespan in the game. Ninety percent of them reach a peak quickly, and then fade, mainly because of the injury toll.
"You can't protect them, not if you have to have them to win games, and most teams do," said Johnson. "With a good quarterback, you think about preserving him for eight to 10 years. With a good running back, it's year to year. You run him, that's what you do."
But running backs are also plentiful.
"If you do your homework, you can eventually find a good one, maybe even a premier one, in the draft," said Johnson. "Compare that to quarterback. There are teams still looking 10 years later for even a good one, much less premier."
Big Bill may say he's backing off on Julius' workload.
But he won't.
"If it's about having the chance to win a game, Bill will ride that horse," added Johnson, laughing like a guy who knows.
Randy Galloway's Galloway & Co. can be heard weekdays 3-6 p.m. on ESPN/103.3 FM.
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/multimedia/photo_gallery/2005/02/03/emmitt/smith04.jpg
http://img11.imageshack.us/img11/4514/triplets6aq.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
bugmenot.com Bypass Compulsory Web Registration
'Triplets' carried quite a workload
Randy Galloway
IN MY OPINION
The Jimster comes to town tonight. Flies in from LA where he spends weekends this time of year doing the Fox TV gig.
Of interest here is Jerry Jones is sending his private jet to California to pick up Jimmy Johnson.
Eleven years ago, Jerry gladly gave Jimmy one million in cash to leave town.
Now Jerry is spending about that much in jet fuel, based on current pump prices, to bring him back for just one night.
(All together now, let's do a group hum of Friends.)
But the Cowboys' Ring of Honor parties started this weekend, the lead-in to the induction ceremony Monday night.
And the way Jerry sees it, you can't throw a party for "The Triplets" without having The Jimster there, sipping on his wretched Heineken over ice.
The Dynasty damage was done long ago, but the rebuilding of a shattered owner-coach relationship is an on-going yet seemingly successful process.
Too bad, huh, that if the Jerry-Jimmy friendship can be re-invented, the same can't be said for "The Triplets."
Common sense indicates that Emmitt-Michael-Troy were a once-in-a-franchise lifetime luxury. But the Cowboys already had a first one with Roger-Tony-Drew back in the '70s, so those odds were beaten.
A third edition won't be happening anytime soon, although you do have to wonder if Julius Jones might not become one-third of the equation.
Speaking of Julius, I'm not comparing him to Emmitt, OK?
But in a conversation with Jimmy last week, I admitted to having an Emmitt flashback.
Bill Parcells has recently been heard fretting over the workload that Jones will be asked to carry.
Big Bill is on record as saying he wants to lessen that load on the youngster, and 30 carries are unacceptable.
When Parcells said it before the season opener against San Diego, I laughed.
When I told Jimmy that his pal Bill had said it, he laughed.
"That is press-conference talk," said Jimmy. "Most all coaches will stand up in front of the media and declare they don't want the star running back carrying it over 25 times.
"But on game day, I don't know of any coach who won't run him as much as it takes to win. That's one thing that will never change."
Then Johnson asked a question. "How many carries for Julius last week?"
Twenty-six, officially, but two other nice runs were called back by penalties.
"OK, that's 28 in the first game," replied Johnson. "Don't worry, if Bill needs him to win Monday night, Julius will tote it 30 to 35 times."
Quick story.
The Cowboys opened the 1991 season in Cleveland, and hammered out a win with second-year running back Emmitt Smith carrying 32 times for 112 yards.
A humanitarian/sportswriter (that would be me) confronted the head coach about it after the game.
The lecture went something like:
"Jimmy, this is a young horse. You're gonna ride him into the ground. What are you gonna do when the horse breaks down?"
Without a pause, Johnson answered, "Go buy a new horse."
Jimmy still remembers that conversation. And remembered the jubilation, and my lack of concern, at the end of that season when the Cowboys made a surprising late surge to earn the franchise's first playoff berth in five years.
In those final five games of '91, Emmitt averaged 30 carries a game.
And was also still running the football in 2004.
But Johnson also had a disclaimer.
"When you talk about the career lifespan of running backs in the NFL, you immediately eliminate Emmitt from the conversation. He is like no other when it comes to durability, workload and production."
Career-wise, running backs come and they go. It's the position with the shortest lifespan in the game. Ninety percent of them reach a peak quickly, and then fade, mainly because of the injury toll.
"You can't protect them, not if you have to have them to win games, and most teams do," said Johnson. "With a good quarterback, you think about preserving him for eight to 10 years. With a good running back, it's year to year. You run him, that's what you do."
But running backs are also plentiful.
"If you do your homework, you can eventually find a good one, maybe even a premier one, in the draft," said Johnson. "Compare that to quarterback. There are teams still looking 10 years later for even a good one, much less premier."
Big Bill may say he's backing off on Julius' workload.
But he won't.
"If it's about having the chance to win a game, Bill will ride that horse," added Johnson, laughing like a guy who knows.
Randy Galloway's Galloway & Co. can be heard weekdays 3-6 p.m. on ESPN/103.3 FM.
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/multimedia/photo_gallery/2005/02/03/emmitt/smith04.jpg
http://img11.imageshack.us/img11/4514/triplets6aq.jpg (http://imageshack.us)