Defend Julius Jones

[sk0aL]

I know this topic always pops up after games, but I wanted to discuss this because I think JJ is actually hurting us at this point.

Why? Because opponents don't respect our running game, plain and simple. Our first offensive drive against the Bills on our own goal line told Buffalo all they needed to know about JJ. He damn near got tackled for a safety. Now our offensive line isn't perfect, but holes open and close in the NFL in the blink of an eye and you have to be able to find them. If Barber is able to get it done then so should JJ. I know Barber didn't have a great game against Buffalo, but he only had 8 carries. You have to look at the body of work, and JJ is only managing 3.4 ypc this season as opposed to Barber's 6.0 ypc.

As a result, we abandoned the run and played right into Buffalo's hands because they expected pass every play, which is what we did. We've got to start utilizing Barber earlier and stop using him in obvious situations because the defense always keys on him. You're not going to be able to throw the ball if no one respects your running game.

I was very patient with JuJo, but he's just not getting the job done. Breaking a big run 2-3 times a year like he did last year against the Saints isn't the level a first round pick should be playing at. Hitting a homerun is nice, but a good back has to be able to run between the tackles and pick up chunks of yards so you aren't looking at 3rd and 8+ all the time.

 

[burmafrd]

typical. MB has not been lighting it up either in the first half. BUt of course you don't mention that.

 

[Cowboy from New York]

I won't defend him in the sense that he rarely makes the first guy miss AND he almost never breaks through a tackle.
However, we heard talk that they were going to work in more screens and more perimeter runs to play to his strengths and we have seen very little of that.

 

[sk0aL]

typical. MB has not been lighting it up either in the first half. BUt of course you don't mention that.

Barber isn't lighting it up because he isn't getting the opportunities. The most carries he's had in a game is 15. You have to look at the body of work.

Jones YPC: 3.4
Barber YPC: 6.0

And another thing that should be obvious to everyone - BARBER MAKES PLAYS.

 

[dooomsday]

Barber isn't lighting it up because he isn't getting the opportunities. The most carries he's had in a game is 15. You have to look at the body of work.

Jones YPC: 3.4
Barber YPC: 6.0

And another thing that should be obvious to everyone - BARBER MAKES PLAYS.

I agree on the playmaking. MB is also a much better receiver.


I really have to wonder why we don't see more MB. Maybe its something we dont see in practice? We just stick with JuJo for some reason.

There's certainly room for both. But I would use JuJo's speed a little differently. I'd like to see him in space more frequently.

 

[dooomsday]

I won't defend him in the sense that he rarely makes the first guy miss AND he almost never breaks through a tackle.
However, we heard talk that they were going to work in more screens and more perimeter runs to play to his strengths and we have seen very little of that.

I think it the first game or 2 we saw some screens to JuJo. Since then they have gone to MB.

The 2 are on their way to over 55 combined receptions, or 20 plus more than last year.

 

[Hoofbite]

typical. MB has not been lighting it up either in the first half. BUt of course you don't mention that.

if you've paid any attention, no one on offense has done anything worth mention in the first half.

 

[superpunk]

Barber isn't lighting it up because he isn't getting the opportunities. The most carries he's had in a game is 15. You have to look at the body of work.

Jones YPC: 3.4
Barber YPC: 6.0

And another thing that should be obvious to everyone - BARBER MAKES PLAYS.

They're both garbage early in games. Our ypc in the first half is garbage, and Marion's ypc is inflated due to an enormous 7.5 ypc average in the second half, mostly on his big "closer" runs.

We need a legit starting RB - we don't have one on this roster. But there's nothing we can do about it this year, so why keep harping on Julius? He is running hard, he is running determined, he's not going down easy - you cannot fault the man's effort this year - he's giving it all he's got.

It's just that "all he's got" isn't all that great, and that is not his fault. Our team-builders have decided to keep rolling with him in a role he's not fit for for three years now. That is their fault. But you can't fault Julius for his limitations - he should not be a starter. This should have been addressed years ago. But for now, I think we should appreciate the effort Julius is putting forth. He runs hard, determined, and tough. He's giving it everything he's got. How can you come down on him for that?

 

[Hoofbite]

For a while I have been more of a fan of Barber but Julius has started to break a tackle or two as of late. I don't know if it is because he knows Barber will take his spot if he doesn't but over the last few games Julius has clearly been running a little harder and stayed on his feet a little more then usual.

 

[Hoofbite]

They're both garbage early in games. Our ypc in the first half is garbage, and Marion's ypc is inflated due to an enormous 7.5 ypc average in the second half, mostly on his big "closer" runs.

We need a legit starting RB - we don't have one on this roster. But there's nothing we can do about it this year, so why keep harping on Julius? He is running hard, he is running determined, he's not going down easy - you cannot fault the man's effort this year - he's giving it all he's got.

It's just that all he's got isn't all that great, and that is not his fault. Our team-builders have decided to keep rolling with him in a role he's not fit for for three years now. That is their fault. But you can't fault Julius for his limitations - he should not be a starter. This should have been addressed years ago. But for now, I think we should appreciate the effort Julius is putting forth. He runs hard, determined, and tough. He's giving it everything he's got. How can you come down on him for that?

well said. As much as I didn't like his excuses in the offseason, he seems like he is really giving it all he has and is running a little harder then in previous years.

 

[sk0aL]

He's giving it everything he's got. How can you come down on him for that?

Because he's not producing results? I don't have anything against JJ, he's just simply not a gamebreaker. Name one key play he's made this year that won a game for us. He might be "giving it his all", but right now he's playing at a Troy Hambrick level which is something any warm body can do, not a first round pick.

My beef with him is his lack of production leads to opponents not respecting our passing game. That, along with poor playcalling, is a big reason romo got picked 5 times this week. I don't expect JJ to be a top 5 RB in this league, but I expect him to be able to get tough yards and keep defenses honest.

 

[Hoofbite]

Because he's not producing results? I don't have anything against JJ, he's just simply not a gamebreaker. Name one key play he's made this year that won a game for us. He might be "giving it his all", but right now he's playing at a Troy Hambrick level which is something any warm body can do, not a first round pick.

My beef with him is his lack of production leads to opponents not respecting our passing game. That, along with poor playcalling, is a big reason romo got picked 5 times this week. I don't expect JJ to be a top 5 RB in this league, but I expect him to be able to get tough yards and keep defenses honest.

He doesn't play at the end of games so thats not really even possible.

He had a pretty big run taken away in chicago in the 4th quarter because of a hold. would have made it 1st and goal but instead dallas kicked a field goal after some botched plays.

He may not throwing out huge numbers but hes solid enough to hold his end and make the rotation work.

 

[TheGoat73]

Barber isn't lighting it up because he isn't getting the opportunities. The most carries he's had in a game is 15. You have to look at the body of work.

Jones YPC: 3.4
Barber YPC: 6.0

And another thing that should be obvious to everyone - BARBER MAKES PLAYS.

anyone know his RAC? It has to be pretty good.

 

[FLcowboy]

I know this topic always pops up after games, but I wanted to discuss this because I think JJ is actually hurting us at this point.

Why? Because opponents don't respect our running game, plain and simple. Our first offensive drive against the Bills on our own goal line told Buffalo all they needed to know about JJ. He damn near got tackled for a safety. Now our offensive line isn't perfect, but holes open and close in the NFL in the blink of an eye and you have to be able to find them. If Barber is able to get it done then so should JJ. I know Barber didn't have a great game against Buffalo, but he only had 8 carries. You have to look at the body of work, and JJ is only managing 3.4 ypc this season as opposed to Barber's 6.0 ypc.

As a result, we abandoned the run and played right into Buffalo's hands because they expected pass every play, which is what we did. We've got to start utilizing Barber earlier and stop using him in obvious situations because the defense always keys on him. You're not going to be able to throw the ball if no one respects your running game.

I was very patient with JuJo, but he's just not getting the job done. Breaking a big run 2-3 times a year like he did last year against the Saints isn't the level a first round pick should be playing at. Hitting a homerun is nice, but a good back has to be able to run between the tackles and pick up chunks of yards so you aren't looking at 3rd and 8+ all the time.

Barber has broken 2 or 3 big runs, thus his higher per carry average. Those big runs came late in the ball game. His first half performance is similar to Jones. The problem here is the O-line. Go back and watch the game again. Kosier spent more time in the backfield than Jones did.

 

[dooomsday]

He doesn't play at the end of games so thats not really even possible.

He had a pretty big run taken away in chicago in the 4th quarter because of a hold. would have made it 1st and goal but instead dallas kicked a field goal after some botched plays.

He may not throwing out huge numbers but hes solid enough to hold his end and make the rotation work.

Eh, I dont know about that. On 10 more carries than MB his numbers don't stack up at all. It works really due to MB. JuJo alone would have pretty bad numbers. 200 yards and a TD over 5 games. Not very good.

But, as a player, he has something to offer.

 

[superpunk]

Because he's not producing results? I don't have anything against JJ, he's just simply not a gamebreaker. Name one key play he's made this year that won a game for us. He might be "giving it his all", but right now he's playing at a Troy Hambrick level which is something any warm body can do, not a first round pick.

My beef with him is his lack of production leads to opponents not respecting our passing game. That, along with poor playcalling, is a big reason romo got picked 5 times this week. I don't expect JJ to be a top 5 RB in this league, but I expect him to be able to get tough yards and keep defenses honest.

He gets his carries in the first half, when the entire offense is terrible. Tough to pin that on one guy who is clearly giving it his all out there. Why not start a thread about how Romo needs to figure out how to get his head in the game in the first quarter? He's just as much to fault as our running game.

The bottom line is Julius and Barber in the first half are poor RBs, so far this year. Neither one is producing. So what's to complain about? We all know Julius will be replaced next year. It's not like Barber is setting the world on fire early, so what do you want done? We've had a flawed philosophy regading the RB position for years now, and we're currently paying for it. But there's nothing we can do about that until after the season, so there's no reason to bag on a guy who is doing all that he is capable of in a role he isn't suited for.

 

[Yeagermeister]

Neither one did jack squat last week.

 

[joseephuss]

Jones was hit in the back field on his first two carries coming out of the endzone. How is that his fault that he almost got tackled for a safety on both plays? He did all he could to make sure it wasn't a safety.

I understand he has limitations and is not a great back. He also is not the best back on the team, but he does have a role in Dallas this year. There is no one out there that is going to come in and magically and drastically improve the running game. Even Barber getting more carries won't solve everything.

 

[Yeagermeister]

Jones was hit in the back field on his first two carries coming out of the endzone. How is that his fault that he almost got tackled for a safety on both plays? He did all he could to make sure it wasn't a safety.

I understand he has limitations and is not a great back. He also is not the best back on the team, but he does have a role in Dallas this year. There is no one out there that is going to come in and magically and drastically improve the running game. Even Barber getting more carries won't solve everything.

I guess he's supposed to jump in the air and spin like in the matrix.

 

[silverblue]

Julius is a more disciplined runner and is therefore used more early in the game where he is BETTER than MB3. Julius will run into whatever hole is called and get whatever yards are there which is often very crucial early in game to get something established. Barber always tries to bounce and create something which can be good, but often leads to negative plays especially early in game when defenses are fresh. Barber is obviously a more punishing running and is BETTER at closing out a D. All in all, we have two running backs and it is working fine. The run blocking wasn't all that great last game, but our running game has been pretty good this year. I think even with last game we are 7th or 8th in the league running.