Julius Jones PRO BOWL ? - Dallas Cowboys Forum

smashmouth · 06-03-2005

First off, I was amazed at how fast this guy got through the whole last year. I was in shock that the Cowboys actually found another stud running back. Let's mention this right off the TOP.

Last year the Cowboys were okay but look at last year vs. this year. Last year we had Flo (Was a little out of shape and was less than interested in blocking) after having to block for a statue for a couple of months (Eddie George). This year Flo has “lost weight” and knows that he has a back out there that will make him look even more like the stud we know he wants to be.

L.A. was great as usual, but even he is in better shape this year. Larry cannot do it alone. And with the help of the Right side, now they can’t “T-off both.

Al J. will be one year better and I expect him to go to another level. (We can only hope)

Andre Gurode was pathetic at best and if he would like to have a career in this league, he’d better get his Mind set straight. Most of his mistakes were pre-snap (as was Torin Tucker).

But that doesn’t matter with Rivera coming into town. As long as he’s healthy, we can run through any gap and kill defenses. We will see who steps up from the other guards we have on the roster.

Tucker is a poor-mans Gurode. We’ll see if Vollers takes over.

My point is that this line is going to be in prime shape to kick defenders all over the field.

Last year-

[font=Verdana]1. [/font]Julius was hurt most of the season

[font=Verdana]2. [/font]Eddie and company could not get it done

[font=Verdana]3. [/font]The Passing game was not good, because of Glenn going out with injury. Thus the passing game was lethargic so they could zero-in on the run

[font=Verdana]4. [/font]Our defense was pitiful, so we had very little time on Offense to get things done, mostly playing catch up.

[font=Verdana]5. [/font]Vinny T. was the equivalent of a high school all American (Not an NFL passer) and thus to other teams, who cares about the pass, let’s just stack up on the run.

[font=Verdana]6. [/font] Julius was a rookie.

This year-

[font=Verdana]1. [/font]Better guard play on both ends meaning unpredictable

[font=Verdana]2. [/font]Better QB play because all of our WR’s will be healthy (hopefully)

[font=Verdana]3. [/font]Stronger Defense, meaning we can have more opportunities on Offense.

[font=Verdana]4. [/font]Al Johnson will be twice as good this year.

[font=Verdana]5. [/font]Dan Campbell will be healthy.

[font=Verdana]6. [/font]I loved Anderson but ( his blocking is at best un-appealing )

[font=Verdana]7. [/font]Julius is a year older, stronger, smarter, and possibly faster.

What this means to me is, I’m looking at around 1500 to 1600 yards this year and a pro-bowl appearance. Look for this Kid to light it up all across the field (barring injury). I can see him breaking into the secondary on a normal basis and when he does that, no one will catch him. My prediction is, we will see this kid blow off about 5/ 50 + yard touchdown runs and about 12 touchdowns collectively. YOUR THOUGHTS

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Dyluke · 06-03-2005

I love JJ as much as the next guy....1600 might be a stretch though. Hell, if he gets 1100 yards i'll be happy. If JJ is running for anything more than that, IMO Dallas will be a serious contender in the playoffs. Now excuse me while i go get something to drink...

dargonking999 · 06-03-2005

well first you spelled hole wrong

, but other than that i can see this happening IF.... we didnt have barber and thomas here. For Julius to get that many yards he would have to have the ball alot of the time, and really i think our game will be balanced and barber will run with Julius, now i can see that kind of number in total yards,maybe more but outside of that i see maybe 1200-1400 yards for JJ, still pro bowl though

Duane · 06-03-2005

This isn't a bash on you, I'm just trying to play devil's advocate here. I really hope you're right on these things but I don't want to count my chickens before they hatch.

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1. Better guard play on both ends meaning unpredictable

A lot of people thought the same thing after Gurode spent a full season at guard the year before. Rivera is supposed to be healthy but who knows until he puts the pads on and plays a real game. If he goes down we're pretty much back to where we were last year.

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2. Better QB play because all of our WR’s will be healthy (hopefully)

I hope your right but our top three WRs were all injured at some pont last year.

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3. Stronger Defense, meaning we can have more opportunities on Offense.

After finishing #1 in total defense in 2003 and Ek getting the axe the same could have been said before. This year we're looking at changing to a scheme where the DC has never coached and almost none of the players have played. So there could be a situation where we're on par with last year.

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4. Al Johnson will be twice as good this year.

Again I bring up Gurode and his regression after hopes of him becoming a force on the inside. I don't think this'll be the case with Al but you never know.

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5. Dan Campbell will be healthy.

Hopefully he's healthy this year but all it takes is one play to change all that. Behind him we don't have a decent blocking TE.

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6. I loved Anderson but ( his blocking is at best un-appealing )

And Barnes blocks a lot better? Polite is an unknown at this point, if he even makes the team. I don't see MBIII or A-train being very good blockers either.

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7. Julius is a year older, stronger, smarter, and possibly faster.

Again I hope you're right. JJ flashed some nice talent last year when he was healthy. I think we have a lot more RB by committee this year and while he'll be great for the team, he may not have huge numbers because he won't get 30+ carries a game.

I'm not trying to rain on your parade because I hope you're right on these things. There are just a lot of things that could go wrong with the seven items you suggest to improve.

burmafrd · 06-03-2005

I guess one can always look for the down side of ANYTHING. We could lose JJ, LA, the Hotel, Witten, Ferguson, DAT, Newman, etc to injury. No point in talking about it.
Regressing does not happen often- especially in line play; if it happens it usually is because the player over performed the previous year. There is NO reason to think that of Johnson. STUPID to think so. Gurode ALWAYS has had trouble- he was never totally consistent. There is absolutely NO reason to think that our line will NOT be better then last year. Peterman is back; he showed the kind of potential Johnson did in his rookie year. So even IF RIvera has back problems there is EVERY reason to think that we will get better RG play. Its already seen that the Hotel and LA are looking better then ever.

smashmouth · 06-03-2005

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Originally Posted by burmafrd

I guess one can always look for the down side of ANYTHING. We could lose JJ, LA, the Hotel, Witten, Ferguson, DAT, Newman, etc to injury. No point in talking about it.
Regressing does not happen often- especially in line play; if it happens it usually is because the player over performed the previous year. There is NO reason to think that of Johnson. STUPID to think so. Gurode ALWAYS has had trouble- he was never totally consistent. There is absolutely NO reason to think that our line will NOT be better then last year. Peterman is back; he showed the kind of potential Johnson did in his rookie year. So even IF RIvera has back problems there is EVERY reason to think that we will get better RG play. Its already seen that the Hotel and LA are looking better then ever.

And the same goes for the Receivers. I think at some point a receiver will go down, but then my emphasis would turn towards Drew B. IMO, that's why we brought him in. He should be stronger than Vinny, more accurate meaning for me that more completions. More completions means more opened running lanes. And I think that DB is a better play-action guy too..

Nors · 06-03-2005