Byron Jones: Are we concerned yet?

[CowboyMike]

The fact that he comes out for Wilcox and is essentially in a rotation with him at safety? How about no interceptions in his career yet?

Are we looking at a possible bust here?

I did see him covering the slot a bit , I just need someone to reassure me because it is concerning.

 

[brymatt94]

Holy **** this fan base is humiliating sometimes.

The fact that this response has so many likes is a little reassuring.

 

[AmericanCowboy]

Hello, my name is Meat and I typically only post when a thread is absolutely absurd and full of false information. Anyone who thinks Byron Jones is a bad pick or bad football player didn't watch him at all last year and doesn't watch highlights. Anyone who thinks he can't tackle clearly did not keep a close eye on him last year. These comments are so far from the truth, that you guys seriously must not watch much Cowboy football at all. Are you guys fair weather fans or what?

Last year, he made play after play. Regardless of no interceptions, he makes splash plays all the time. He did so game after game last year. In fact, he did so well last year he already has a video highlight reel of making so many plays. Can't say that for Barry Church or Wilcox can we? The fact of the matter he makes twice, triple the plays that our other safeties do. At this point, he is no doubt an upgrade to our position from what we had with Church and Wilcox. I'm not going to argue about other players they could have taken, but this so far has been a solid pick.

Zordon, AmericanCowboy, anyone else with mutual thoughts, if you think he tackles poor/doesn't contribute please, please watch this video:

I watched all these plays in this video as they happened last year. Maybe neither of you didn't catch them, so I figured it'd be a good video for you to watch.

As you can see, he makes a lot of plays and tackles well. I'd go as far as saying he's one of the better tacklers on the team besides Sean Lee. He consistently has enough speed to cover receivers/TEs and deflect balls time after time. In the Carolina game, he made 2 back to back plays deflecting balls from Carolina receivers in the endzone. He covered Gronk and limited his play extremely well. He covers all the good TEs and limits what they can do. He's a big, fast, physical defender. He uses his speed and arm length to cut off curl routes right at the tail end over and over. He gets his arm in front of the ball right when a receiver is about to catch it all the time for the deflection.

As far as him coming out for Wilcox - this is a question the media asked Jason Garrett. You know what Jason Garrett said? He said "he likes to keep his players fresh at all times." He didn't come out because he was doing bad. He came out because he wanted a fresh player and wanted to give Wilcox a chance to make some plays. If he isn't making plays this year, it's because the coaches aren't putting him in position to do so. He's obviously a talented player. I mean it really is OBVIOUS. If you don't see it you're oblivious and must not see the good out of anything. People like you only see bad, never good.

You can say he doesn't tackle, you can't say he doesn't contribute, you can say all that but the fact of the matter is you'e flat out wrong. Look at his numbers and tape compared to our other defensive players. Anyone that thinks he's a bad player clearly is just a negative person.

It disgusts me that you guys are Cowboys fans and know none of this. All you have is something negative to say. Go be a fan of another team if you don't watch the games. It amazes me how people can talk so much trash about their own team, it makes you wonder if you're really a fan or just a troll. I don't agree with everything the Cowboys do, but I'm still a fan and it's not in me to talk trash about my own team. Two people talking trash about their own team sounds like two Cowboys haters that secretly like another team, but are too afraid to do it. You picked the team, you either like them or you don't. It amazes me how many fair weather fans there are on here. If you don't like the Cowboys anymore, stop watching them. Stop being a fan. It's like being married and hating your wife but never leaving or doing anything about it. If you don't like her, get a divorce and leave. The Cowboys don't want fans like you, nor do they need you. If you don't like the Cowboys, simply get them out of your life.

Are you 12 years old? Seriously...it disgusts you that there are Cowboy fans who don't blindly worship the players and are critical of them? You must have a hard time reading the news if someone criticizing a professional athelete who gets paid millions and millions of dollars disgusts you. Talk about an overreaction.

Byron Jones is very average. Half of the impact plays came when we were down by 10+ points. It's a highlight video. Do you understand what a highlight video is? It makes everyone look good. Andre Williams, the scrub RB from the Giants who was recently cut, has a highlight video from his time in the NFL. A HIGHLIGHT VIDEO MEANS NOTHING BECAUSE BY DEFINITION IT ONLY SHOWS THE GOOD A PLAYER DOES. That is no way to defend an argument.

He can tackle? Okay? That wasn't the point. From a first round pick you want impact plays. I didn't see any last year.

One of the impact plays is when he gives up a 15 yards catch and then "forces" a fumble because Erick Decker twists his knee. Another one Gronkowski is wide open and drops the ball because of a bad throw.

He is just another guy who hasn't made an impact play in his time here. That's the truth. Please don't question whether or not I am a fan because I don't think every cowboys player is that best player at their position.

I call it like I see it.
Oh, and what are you talking about that there are no highlight videos of JJ Wilcox and Barry Church? Did you even look? I literally just typed it in to youtube and found this:



And here is Barry Church:



Seriously, the fact that Byron Jones has a highlight video may be the worst argument I have ever read in my life that he is good.

 

[Section446]

I'm gonna just sit this right here:



He'll easily be our best safety since Woody.

That's not saying much.

 

[iceberg]

Holy **** this fan base is humiliating sometimes.

they look for failure as if that's their new measurement of success - to be the first to "call it".

annoying as having to watch rosanne barr reruns.

 

[stilltheguru88]

Some of the guys you guys are blaming didn't even play bad to me. Besides the Odell catch Byron looked fine. Lee looked fine. If you want culprits on defense to blame look at the dline and hitchens

 

[bdk76]

Holy **** this fan base is humiliating sometimes.

Most have been ridiculing Jerry for always wanting the "splash players" or the "sexy picks" but when we take a safe pick like Jones, same fans are hating on him because he doesn't make splashy plays. It's a joke. I'll take players like Jones every year. Does his job and does it well, great pick that will continue to get better. What more could you ask for.

 

[Ken]

I'm gonna just sit this right here:



He'll easily be our best safety since Woody.

Not a great example, that is a hold.

But i understand your point but I fear he is a corner and not a FS.

 

[dfense]

The fact that he comes out for Wilcox and is essentially in a rotation with him at safety? How about no interceptions in his career yet?

Are we looking at a possible bust here?

I did see him covering the slot a bit , I just need someone to reassure me because it is concerning.

You really have no clue, do you.

 

[Meat]

Are you 12 years old? Seriously...it disgusts you that there are Cowboy fans who don't blindly worship the players and are critical of them? You must have a hard time reading the news if someone criticizing a professional athelete who gets paid millions and millions of dollars disgusts you. Talk about an overreaction.

Byron Jones is very average. Half of the impact plays came when we were down by 10+ points. It's a highlight video. Do you understand what a highlight video is? It makes everyone look good. Andre Williams, the scrub RB from the Giants who was recently cut, has a highlight video from his time in the NFL. A HIGHLIGHT VIDEO MEANS NOTHING BECAUSE BY DEFINITION IT ONLY SHOWS THE GOOD A PLAYER DOES. That is no way to defend an argument.

He can tackle? Okay? That wasn't the point. From a first round pick you want impact plays. I didn't see any last year.

One of the impact plays is when he gives up a 15 yards catch and then "forces" a fumble because Erick Decker twists his knee. Another one Gronkowski is wide open and drops the ball because of a bad throw.

He is just another guy who hasn't made an impact play in his time here. That's the truth. Please don't question whether or not I am a fan because I don't think every cowboys player is that best player at their position.

I call it like I see it.
Oh, and what are you talking about that there are no highlight videos of JJ Wilcox and Barry Church? Did you even look? I literally just typed it in to youtube and found this:



And here is Barry Church:



Seriously, the fact that Byron Jones has a highlight video may be the worst argument I have ever read in my life that he is good.

My point is your original post was so far from the truth. He's an impact player. Has been since they inserted him into the lineup. We played with backup QBs last year and of course were down and losing a good majority of those games, but it was his rookie year so that's the only tape we have to go by. It doesn't matter how many points if you're down. His job is to make plays regardless of the score, and that's exactly what he did. He made more plays than most other players did on defense. That's not average, that's called being one of the top defenders on the defense.

Wilcox's and Church's videos do not display the same level of talent that Byron Jones does. His talent is still OBVIOUS and you're still MISSING it and you're still WRONG.

I knew you would say something like that Gronk comment, that was pretty predictable. You still fail to realize how football works, and how Byron rattled Gronk the entire game and limited his ability to make plays. Talk about not being able to see the positives out of absolutely anything. People like you only see negative things, not the positives. You're clearly just a negative person. It's hard to call someone a fan if that fan only has negative things to say about the team. Critics are critics, let them be critics, they aren't fans. Fans are supposed to actually like the team, that's why they call them fans, not critics.

What are you trying to say? What's your point? That Byron Jones is average? His play proves you wrong over and over. No one in the secondary is making interceptions and it sounds like you're basing your entire theory off the lack of interceptions (don't even bring up Carr's game 1), not the lack of impact plays.

I still question if you truly are an AmericanCowboy and if you like the Cowboys. You certainly show no positive signs that you're a fan other than your name.

 

[Ken]

You really have no clue, do you.

Not sure if a question or statement....

I have more of a clue than most on this board will ever understand. I am concerned with Byron Jones as a 1st round pick for the Dallas Cowboys. A legitimate concern. He is being taken off the field at times for Wilcox and is playing a safety position that saw him accumulate 1 tackle (Wilcox had 3) in a game where the rb's were getting to the 2nd and 3rd level fairly consistently.

When you draft someone in the first round, you expect them to make an impact. He hasn't made much of one going into his second season. The book is not written on him but there should be a concern.

If you don't have one then maybe it is you who has no clue.

 

[AmericanCowboy]

My point is your original post was so far from the truth. He's an impact player. Has been since they inserted him into the lineup. We played with backup QBs last year and of course were down and losing a good majority of those games, but it was his rookie year so that's the only tape we have to go by. It doesn't matter how many points if you're down. His job is to make plays regardless of the score, and that's exactly what he did. He made more plays than most other players did on defense. That's not average, that's called being one of the top defenders on the defense.

Wilcox's and Church's videos do not display the same level of talent that Byron Jones does. His talent is still OBVIOUS and you're still MISSING it and you're still WRONG.

I knew you would say something like that Gronk comment, that was pretty predictable. You still fail to realize how football works, and how Byron rattled Gronk the entire game and limited his ability to make plays. Talk about not being able to see the positives out of absolutely anything. People like you only see negative things, not the positives. You're clearly just a negative person. It's hard to call someone a fan if that fan only has negative things to say about the team. Critics are critics, let them be critics, they aren't fans. Fans are supposed to actually like the team, that's why they call them fans, not critics.

What are you trying to say? What's your point? That Byron Jones is average? His play proves you wrong over and over. No one in the secondary is making interceptions and it sounds like you're basing your entire theory off the lack of interceptions (don't even bring up Carr's game 1), not the lack of impact plays.

I still question if you truly are an AmericanCowboy and if you like the Cowboys. You certainly show no positive signs that you're a fan other than your name.

LOL Okay. I have watched every single cowboy game since 1999.

Byron Jones is average. His play proves me right over and over. No team in the world in scheming to get their players away from Byron Jones. I promise you. Therefore, he is average,

Why was my response about Gronkowski predictable? Because you saw the exact same thing in the video that i did?

Wilcox's and church's video do not display the same level of talent that Byron Jones video does? How? That seems rather subjective to me.

It's a highlight video. I see Wilcox making interceptions in his video. I see Barry Church lighting people up. There was a time on this forum where many people talked about what a steal we got with Barry Church and how he was going to grow into a great player. It never happened.

The same exact thing happened with JJ Wilcox, it never happened.

Now Byron Jones is losing snaps to JJ WIlcox at key moments in the game after all offseason everyone and their mother talked about how terrible JJ Wilcox is.

Fans are supposed to blindly follow whatever the team does and not have a criticism of them? That is news to me.

But you are right, you know WAY more about football than me because you used a highlight video as evidence that Byron Jones is so much better than Wilcox and Church.

Also, you are not a fan if you simply worship every player on the team for everything they do and never hold them accountable.

 

[CalPolyTechnique]

Holy **** this fan base is humiliating sometimes.

x10,000

 

[ConceptCoop]

Byron Jones is average. His play proves me right over and over. No team in the world in scheming to get their players away from Byron Jones. I promise you. Therefore, he is average,

Why was my response about Gronkowski predictable? Because you saw the exact same thing in the video that i did?

Now Byron Jones is losing snaps to JJ WIlcox at key moments in the game after all offseason everyone and their mother talked about how terrible JJ Wilcox is.

Fans are supposed to blindly follow whatever the team does and not have a criticism of them? That is news to me.

A player being average 17 games into their career, while playing and learning a new position, is a very good thing. The kid hasn't reached his upside yet, so it's silly to put a cap on it.

Here's what PFF said about Jones's rookie season. BTW, they named him the second runner up for DROY.

"Second runner-up
Byron Jones, DB, Dallas Cowboys

Dallas’ first-round draft pick showed his versatility in 2015, spending time at outside cornerback, in the slot, and at safety in the first year of his career. He was solid against the run, but it was his play in coverage that earned him a spot as a top-three defensive rookie, where he notched six pass breakups over the course of the year. The Cowboys had the foresight to uncover his versatility, and by the end of the season, Jones had played 249 snaps as an outside corner, 185 as a slot corner, 270 as a free safety, and 186 as a strong safety or extra linebacker in the box. With front offices now salivating for that chess piece player who can move all across the defensive backfield, Jones thrived in his varying role in the Cowboys’ defensive backfield."

Also, Jones isn't losing snaps to anyone; they rotated everyone on the defense with the exception of Carr and Lee. Jones started, finished, and played a lot more snaps than Wilcox.

 

[ConceptCoop]

Not sure if a question or statement....

I have more of a clue than most on this board will ever understand. I am concerned with Byron Jones as a 1st round pick for the Dallas Cowboys. A legitimate concern. He is being taken off the field at times for Wilcox and is playing a safety position that saw him accumulate 1 tackle (Wilcox had 3) in a game where the rb's were getting to the 2nd and 3rd level fairly consistently.

When you draft someone in the first round, you expect them to make an impact. He hasn't made much of one going into his second season. The book is not written on him but there should be a concern.

If you don't have one then maybe it is you who has no clue.

Jones was defending the slot for a large portion of the game. If he's not getting tackles in that spot, it means he's doing his job. He allowed just one reception yesterday, and broke up a pass. The Giants had 3 WRs on the field 75+% of the time and lined Donnell up in the slot. That means Jones, who is a flex and not a straight FS, was defending in man coverage for most of the game. Meaning, again, when you don't hear his name, it means he's doing his job.

Byron Jones make an impact last weekend and was one of our better defensive players on the field. The boxscore means nothing without some context.

 

[Common Sense]

Byron Jones should be the least of anyone's concern right now.

 

[coult44]

Holy **** this fan base is humiliating sometimes.

And 20 years of losing isn't?

 

[Ken]

Jones was defending the slot for a large portion of the game. If he's not getting tackles in that spot, it means he's doing his job. He allowed just one reception yesterday, and broke up a pass. The Giants had 3 WRs on the field 75+% of the time and lined Donnell up in the slot. That means Jones, who is a flex and not a straight FS, was defending in man coverage for most of the game. Meaning, again, when you don't hear his name, it means he's doing his job.

Byron Jones make an impact last weekend and was one of our better defensive players on the field. The boxscore means nothing without some context.

Jones played in the slot occasionally....but I saw Scandrick in the slot quite a bit and when he wasn't there because of injury, it was Brown. Brown was the one who gave up the touchdown to Sheppard from the Slot...

But either way you look at it, 1 tackle is not a productive game.

 

[ConceptCoop]

Jones played in the slot occasionally....but I saw Scandrick in the slot quite a bit and when he wasn't there because of injury, it was Brown. Brown was the one who gave up the touchdown to Sheppard from the Slot...

But either way you look at it, 1 tackle is not a productive game.

Slot isn't a singular location on the field, and the Giants play Donnell in the slot often.

There's really no point in arguing with someone who's only willing or able to look at boxscores, so I'll pass.

 

[ActualCowboysFan]

Not sure if a question or statement....

I have more of a clue than most on this board will ever understand. I am concerned with Byron Jones as a 1st round pick for the Dallas Cowboys. A legitimate concern. He is being taken off the field at times for Wilcox and is playing a safety position that saw him accumulate 1 tackle (Wilcox had 3) in a game where the rb's were getting to the 2nd and 3rd level fairly consistently.

When you draft someone in the first round, you expect them to make an impact. He hasn't made much of one going into his second season. The book is not written on him but there should be a concern.

If you don't have one then maybe it is you who has no clue.

Holding Gronk to his worst non injury influenced output in four years = impact.
Shutting Jordan Reed down = impact.
Shutting Donnell out Sunday = impact.
Tackles = stats.

Jones is a swiss army knife that teams are all salivating for. The ability to match up with multiple spread looks is extremely valuable in today's NFL. I don't want to discredit your opinion because I don't think you're one of the many blind posters that have flooded the board, but Jones is playing his role to a T.