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I hope to see more Tyson Thompson next year.
I like Barber. Barber should start. So if they trade him thats fine by me
I hope to see more Tyson Thompson next year.
Me too, he was kicking ass before he broke his ankle last year
Running Back Position Not Among Expected Changes
Nick Eatman - Email
DallasCowboys.com Staff Writer
March 15, 2007 6:18 PM Change Font Size A A A A
Julius Jones reached the 1,000-yard mark for the first time in his career last season.
IRVING, Texas - With a brand new coaching staff, change is always expected.
As the Cowboys transition from Bill Parcells to Wade Phillips, there will be a mul ude of differences from what we've seen here in the last four seasons.
But one thing Parcells never wavered on the last two years was how he rotated his two-running back system of Julius Jones and Marion Barber.
And according to team owner Jerry Jones, don't expect that to be one of the major changes next year under Phillips.
Despite recent rumors the Cowboys might be shopping Julius Jones in a potential trade, the Cowboys owner not only dismissed that notion, but said he expected Jones and Barber to remain as the team's 1-2 backfield punch.
"We have got a team that's going to need some great plays from that position and I like what we've done there with (Barber)," Jerry Jones said. "More than likely, unless we have an opportunity in the draft to do something, it's likely we'll be going with the running back group we ended the season with."
And it should be even better than that, considering the Cowboys return a healthy Tyson Thompson, who suffered a fractured tibia last October and spent the final 12 weeks of the season on injured reserve.
But as the owner suggested, Julius Jones and Barber should split most of the carries once again. In fact, the Cowboys will be like most teams in the league that are relying on more than just one tailback to carry the load.
"It's the one that is bearing out," Jones said of the teams using a two-back system. "What you'd really like to do . . . there is an advantage if you can have one back to do it. But it's probably not realistic any more. Emmitt (Smith) was an exception."
Smith, the NFL's all-time leading rusher with 18,355 yards, led the Cowboys in rushing for 13 straight seasons from 1990-2002, with his backup rushing for more than 500 yards only once (Troy Hambrick, 579 yards in 2001) in that span.
Although the Cowboys had their first 1,000-yard rusher in five years when Julius Jones rushed for 1,084 this past season, Barber also had 654 yards along with a team-high 14 rushing touchdowns. It was the most rushing yards by a Cowboys back who wasn't the top rusher since Herschel Walker gained 737 yards in 1986. Tony Dorsett led the team with 748 yards that season.
And while Barber had one of the finer seasons by a Cowboys' No. 2 back in years, he also showed he was one of the NFL's top non-starting tailbacks as well.
Of all the second-leading rushers around the league, only three players had more yards than Barber's 654 yards, including Atlanta quarterback Michael Vick (1,039). Jacksonville's Maurice Jones-Drew (941), New England's Laurence Maroney and Denver's Mike Bell (677) were the only backup running backs with more yards than Barber.
And while Barber often showed a tougher, more aggressive running style than Jones, Parcells and the Cowboys never diverted from the original plan. Jones continued to start all season, while Barber was used predominantly on third-down, short-yardage and goal-line situations.
As a result, Barber finished the season with 14 rushing touchdowns, ranking third in the NFL behind only LaDainian Tomlinson (28) and Larry Johnson (17). Meanwhile, Jones had just four touchdowns, including just one in the last nine games of the season.
And with Jones now entering the final year of his four-year contract, the question has at least been posed just what the Cowboys will do with their starting running back after this season. But apparently, trading him doesn't seem to be a likely option.
"I don't see that happening," Jerry Jones reiterated this week.
Now Jones would likely listen to trade offers, probably for any of his players. That doesn't exactly mean the Cowboys would actually entertain the thought of a trade scenario.
And if the recent trade between Buffalo and Baltimore for Willis McGahee is an example, the Cowboys probably wouldn't get as much as they would want for Jones.
The Bills traded McGahee last week to Baltimore for two third-round picks and a seventh-rounder. McGahee, a first-round pick in 2003, rushed for 990 yards last season, while missing two games to injury. McGahee had 1,128 and 1,247 rushing yards in the last two seasons.
But the Bills are looking for more speed in their backfield, which was one reason why they parted with McGahee, a career 3.9-yard average runner in his three seasons in the league.
While Buffalo could draft a running back in the first round, the Bills did re-sign Anthony Thomas, who spent the early part of the 2005 season with the Cowboys backing up Jones.
The Bills seemed content with swapping a former first-round pick who has averaged more than 1,000 yards the last two years for two third-round picks and a seventh, but it's not likely the Cowboys are willing to do the same. In fact, it's doubtful they would get even that much for Jones, which is probably another reason why the Cowboys insist their starting running back is not on the trading block.
They may not be ready to label Jones, or Barber, a long-term answer at the running back position, but it appears the Cowboys know their intentions for the duo this year. And it won't be much different than the previous two seasons.
He can't take the load of more carries. Julius will never be more than a component of running back by committee. He finally got his carries down to the level where he didn't miss time, and that was 16.7 per game.
I dont think a couple extra redzone carries would really wear him down, but who knows
At 19.7 he missed 3 games. At 24+ he missed 8 games. He's your home run hitter, but Barber is a tougher goal line/short yardage runner. That's why he gets the red zone carries.
No, I get there roles, but you also have to realize that his brother had the exact same knocks on him his first couple of years in the league, and know he is a great every down back
I personally think that barber would not be near as effective without Julius Jones in the Line up. Having both is great, there are always going to be teams that defend Julius well and teams that defen Barber well. This reminds a lot of when Hambrick was the back up to Emmitt. Everyone thought he was ready to take over the reigns but the minute Emmitt was gone and Hambrick was the guy defenses were able too shut him down very easily. I think people give jone a bad rap because Barber gets all of the touchdown carries and has some mind blowing plays from a tough running perspective. If he played every down his YPC would go down dramatically.
actually he just gets frustrated easily. Marion i think finishes plays and gets extra yards better, but Julius is definitely not a soft player
yeah, i really cant say it any better.
i agree
Anything Dallas does regarding Julius Jones has nothing to do with salary-cap space. They have plenty of cap room to do whatever they want. They don't think he's an elite runner. They're likely going to ship him off on draft day.
-- Dallas Morning News
Holy balls. Well, they better draft a good back in the second round. Booker, Bush, Pittman, Irons would all be ok with me
should be some good backs available then. it would be nice to have someone a little better catching screens - not sure if parcells didn't trust him with them or he just wasn't any good catching passes out of the backfield.
That were I think a guy like Booker from Florida ST. would be a great pick. He is fast as , and is a great reciever
chris henry/arizona is getting alot of run based on his workout at the combine.
Great plan fix their O-Line then trade their best back.
Well, they would def have to draft someone, Barber cant carry the whole load
IMO might be hard to get a back as good as JJ in the second or third round. I guess I am missing the point don't think anyone would give more then a late second for him.
I doubt they could even get that. Im thinking mid third. I know the Boys really like Tyson Thompson, so maybe they feel like he could fill Jones spot, and use the pick for somethin else. I still dont know if i beleive it though, just last month Jerry said that they probably not going to move him.
I meant to say they werent going to move him
Last edited by mardigan; 04-18-2007 at 03:33 PM.
March 14, 2007
Cowboys owner Jerry Jones quelled recent rumors on Wednesday that the team is shopping starting running back Julius Jones. Might be a smoke screen then.
I think this had more to do with the offensive line not being able to execute a screen more than it did with JJ. At Notre Dame he was a great screen runner and very good receiver out of the back field.
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