Why Julius Jones might be better than Steven Jackson

[Hoffa]

let's look at their 2003 total stats..


Jones: 2003 - 229 1268 5.5 10
Jackson: 2003 - 350 1545 4.4 19

The stats that stick out to me I bolded. Jones' yards per carry average was over a full yard better than Jackson's. Despite having 121 more carries than Jones, Jackson only managed 277 yards more than him on the year, despite playing a much weaker schedule. Taking into account Jones' YPC, I think it's safe to assume that given the amount of carries Jackson had, he would have surpassed Jackson's season total. Especially against the schedule Jackson played.

Oregon State and Notre Dame played 3 common opponents. They are..

USC
Washington State
Stanford

USC - Jones: 18 84 4.7 1
USC - Jackson: 22 62 2.8 1

Neither had a spectacular game, but Jones runs for 22 more yards, on 4 less carries, with almost 2 more yards per carry. Given as many carries as Jackson, Jones probably would have reached the 100 yard mark.

Wash. State - Jones: 11 72 6.5 1
Wash. State - Jackson: 28 85 3.0 0

Jones runs for 13 less yards on 17 less carries, at over 3 more yards a run. Given the amount of carries Jackson had, I think it's safe to assume Jones would have gone well over 100 yards.

Stanford - Jones: 23 218 9.5 1
Stanford - Jackson: 21 148 7.0 1

70 more yards and over 2 more yards a carry for Jones. Although he did have 2 more carries, I doubt Jackson would have made up those 70 yards on 2 carries. They both had comparable games against Stanford, but Jones' was better.


I suppose none of this really means Julius Jones is better. But it makes me feel a little bit better about the trade.

[Erik_H]

Give it one year, after Buff's 1st rounder is in camp with us, then the trade will feel much better.

Took me some time to adjust, but I'm OK with it now.

[da_boyz_mk]

that's good research...nice post.

[Rack Bauer]

Nice research, but it's useless. They didn't run behind the same OL, and Jackson's OL was horrible. Jackson is the better RB. Just because Julius Jones is a cowboy doesn't mean we have to live in denial.

[phdefense]

this is something to think about

[dmq]

My question is, why did JJ seem to get so few carries? I heard another poster state that teams could stack the line against ND because they were limited on offense. So, if you got a guy averaging 5.5 a carry, why not give him the ball more. Did ND have another solid runner?

[Jimz31]

Rushes Yards
11 72
11 42
14 32
7 6
24 262
18 84
15 40
18 76
33 221
35 161
23 218
20 54

These are Julius Jones numbers this past year. Really nothing to write home about.

Never caught more than 2 balls in a game.

We'll see how he pans out.

[AJM1613]

Cocaines a hellava drug.

[viman96]

Not trying to defend Jackson but living in Oregon and watching him play, I can say one thing about last year. His OL sucked. He really had to work for everything plus the he was their only real weapon. So many teams loaded up on him.

I have no idea what it was like for Jones in ND.

All I know is that Jones is wearing the Star and Jackson is not.

[Jimz31]

Here's Steven Jackson's numbers.....you tell me who seems better.

Rushes Yards
23 129
34 128
35 166
30 122
26 105
35 227
22 49
28 85
28 107
21 148
18 68
22 62
28 149

He also was involved in the passing game....even going over a hundred yards in one game.

Now, they are both even until the end of this next season.

[Phrozen Phil]

Comparing them at this point is moot, as they have been drafted, but there are some other points to ponder. I would love to have had SJ in a Dallas uniform, but the picks Buffalo offred were too good to pass up. Is SJ a better RB than Jones? I think so, but I beleive the deal given is a good one.

[Jimz31]

Originally Posted by Phrozen Phil

Comparing them at this point is moot, as they have been drafted, but there are some other points to ponder. I would love to have had SJ in a Dallas uniform, but the picks Buffalo offred were too good to pass up. Is SJ a better RB than Jones? I think so, but I beleive the deal given is a good one.

I agree which is why I put that they are all even until the end of this year.

It would be a tough deal to turn down.

[DLK150]

Originally Posted by dmq

My question is, why did JJ seem to get so few carries? I heard another poster state that teams could stack the line against ND because they were limited on offense. So, if you got a guy averaging 5.5 a carry, why not give him the ball more. Did ND have another solid runner?

Going into the season, Ryan Grant was the starter. He carried the load the year before and had a solid if unspectacular year, while JJ was in AZ. Jones didn't start until later in the season, once they figured out he was a better runner than Grant. (Grant has a lot of heart, not quite as much talent.)

Their line wasn't exactly peaches and cream, either. They had 4 new starters on the line, including their C. Their C from the year before was Jeff Faine, who was drafted in the 1st by the Browns last year. I think one was a freshman and the other was a soph. They also ended up starting a freshman QB.

Anyway, their line wasn't exactly dominant last year. far from it, actually.

[big dog cowboy]

The bottom line for me is that we wouldn't have been terribly better with Jackson over Jones. But throw in the Bills first rounder next year and this was clearly a slam dunk deal for BP and JJ.

[TheHustler]

thats some good info. thanks! i really like the JJ pick.