ESPN: Barber v. Jones

[burmafrd]

JJ is susceptible to ankle tackles, no arguement. BUT like most backs if you hit him higher he can carry a bigger guy some distance. I remember him carrying a saint LB who outweighed him by 40 lbs an extra 3 yds into the endzone in 2004.

 

[burmafrd]

MB3's longest run of his entire career has been 26 yds.

 

[Alexander]

Actually JJ has a very good burst- his 10 yd times were the best at the combine.

The combine doesn't have players trying to tackle you either. Which generally is the idea in relation to short yardage plays.

 

[burmafrd]

You usually have a clearer route with a short ydg play-less chance of leakage. If your O line is any good at all.

 

[Doomsday101]

Stop with the fantasy football crap! Julius Jones is the better running back, he'll prove that in 2007..

He better because right now Barber has shown himself as the most dependable back we have. I'm tired of hearing about Jones potential he needs to step up big time if not then Barber should start seeing the bulk of the work. Before last season I would have agreed with many around here who feel Jones is the guy but after last season I’ll take Barber

 

[Alexander]

You usually have a clearer route with a short ydg play-less chance of leakage. If your O line is any good at all.

I don't know what on earth you are talking about. In general, it is harder to convert short yardage plays if you are a running back. Particularly if you are one who does not run with power and can break tackles. The same OL is blocking for both backs, one has a better success rate on short yardage than the other. I don't quite understand what you are confused about.

 

[mschmidt64]

Julius Jones was the main threat for Dallas if they had any chance of winning.

When Marion Barber scored, Dallas went 9-2.

When Marion Barber didn't score, Dallas went 0-6.

 

[mschmidt64]

Barber coudn't beat my grandmother in a foot race...

We're dealing with a real genius here.

 

[Doomsday101]

Actually JJ has a very good burst- his 10 yd times were the best at the combine. Its that and his quick feet that allowed him to make the plays he did make in 2004. Actually, in top end speed, he probably is not all that much faster then MB3- but its his acceleration and quick feet that make the difference. Its like a light car with a smaller engine vs a big car with a bigger engine: your 1/4 mile time will be much better with the smaller car, but take it over a mile or two and the difference might be a lot less. JJ has had quite a few runs of 30 yds +. How many has MB3 had. The 20 yd stat is misleading- a lot of slow backs can have 20 yd runs if they catch the D right. 30+ , or better yet 40+ shows who the real burners are.

Barber is not as fast as Jones but he is not slow, he ran in the 4.4's which was faster than Emmitt. Jones shows little balance in his running and goes down too easy. As for the 30 yard runs, Jones is getting almost twice the oppertunities than Barber yet Jones has only 1 more run for more than 20 yards than Barber has? That is not misleading at all.

 

[superpunk]

When Marion Barber scored, Dallas went 9-2.

When Marion Barber didn't score, Dallas went 0-6.

I see where you're going - but that's not legitimate causation.

When we score TDs - we win more games. Barber just scored alot of TDs.

 

[GlitzCowboy]

Stop with the fantasy football crap! Julius Jones is the better running back, he'll prove that in 2007..

A clear-cut assessment? I think not. Not even close. Ignorant if you think so. There's just no way to know unless Barber was placed in that role JuJo has been so graciously gifted with.

And, YAY, we get to wait unitl his contract year to see how great he really is? Hmm, thanks Julius. Thanks for giving it all to us, your team.

 

[Wrangler87]

40 Time:
Julius Jones: 4.47
Marion Barber: 4.49

Your grandma must be fast.

Some other interesting facts:

Broad Jump:
Jones: 10'1"
Barber: 10'7"

Vertical Jump:
Jones: 37-1/2
Barber: 40

Shuttle:
Jones: 4.16
Barber: 4.17

But do go on thinking that Jones is faster or more athletic. Please, do ignore the facts.

Great. Now I know you can't be taken seriously.

Game over!

 

[joseephuss]

It is possible that both backs get better this year. MBIII is going into his 3rd season. He had to have learned a little about the NFL from his last two years that can make him a better back. I don't really care which one is the starter. I do think Julius holds a slight edge as being better based on the last two years in my eyes, but it would not bother me at all if Barber over took him.

Barber was the back up the last two seasons and I think back ups gain certain advantages than starters. I don't know if it can be quantified. It just seems the situation changes for them. With that in mind I am confident in Barber while he is in the game. I never felt that way when watching Troy Hambrick as the back up. He just did not look like a starter in this league. Well, I should say a good starter. He could probably gain 900 yards a year, but that is nothing special. I think Barber can do better than that, but I don't see him as a dominate guy either. He won't be a guy getting 1440+ yards per season, which is an average of 90 yards per game. Emmitt did that for 5 straight seasons.

The reality is both guys are needed and will be used a lot no matter which one is the starter. More of a reality is that both will depend on the O-line improving. The line just has to play better than it did last season.

 

[mschmidt64]

I see where you're going - but that's not legitimate causation.

When we score TDs - we win more games. Barber just scored alot of TDs.

Just pointing out the fact that the statement "Julius Jones was the main threat if Dallas had any chance of winning," is false.

Clearly, Dallas's chances of winning rested on Barber's shoulders.

 

[mschmidt64]

MB3's longest run of his entire career has been 26 yds.

Yeah, but who wants to base the starter decision on a long run that Julius Jones breaks once a year?

Not me.

It's the down-to-down carries that I'm more concerned with.

 

[superpunk]

It is possible that both backs get better this year. MBIII is going into his 3rd season. He had to have learned a little about the NFL from his last two years that can make him a better back. I don't really care which one is the starter. I do think Julius holds a slight edge as being better based on the last two years in my eyes, but it would not bother me at all if Barber over took him.

Barber was the back up the last two seasons and I think back ups gain certain advantages than starters. I don't know if it can be quantified. It just seems the situation changes for them. With that in mind I am confident in Barber while he is in the game. I never felt that way when watching Troy Hambrick as the back up. He just did not look like a starter in this league. Well, I should say a good starter. He could probably gain 900 yards a year, but that is nothing special. I think Barber can do better than that, but I don't see him as a dominate guy either. He won't be a guy getting 1440+ yards per season, which is an average of 90 yards per game. Emmitt did that for 5 straight seasons.

The reality is both guys are needed and will be used a lot no matter which one is the starter. More of a reality is that both will depend on the O-line improving. The line just has to play better than it did last season.

I don't think Barber is a full-time starter type, either. I doubt he'd hold up. I like his current role, but I certainly think he's earned the right to shoot for that #1 spot. In his time on the field, he's been a far more effective RB than Jones has.

Just pointing out the fact that the statement "Julius Jones was the main threat if Dallas had any chance of winning," is false.

Clearly, Dallas's chances of winning rested on Barber's shoulders.

I understood, I just thought it was narrow. That 9-2 mark comes because Dallas was scoring TDs - not necessarily because it was Marion Barber who was scoring them. And since he's our goalline back, clearly he's going to have the advantage there.

 

[InmanRoshi]

It is kind of funny Julius has tried to blame Parcells for all his struggles. I would say, if anything, Parcells was almost irrationally biased towards Julius. Most other coaches would have benched him for the obviously more productive back. I'm not sure the new coaching staff will show that kind of loyalty, nor should they.

 

[Doomsday101]

Another interesting stat

Barber: 1st down 4.7 yards, 2nd down 5.2 yards and 3rd down 5.2 yards

Jones: 1st down 3.8 yards, 2nd down 4.6 yards and 3rd down 4.3 yards.

 

[Alexander]

Clearly, Dallas's chances of winning rested on Barber's shoulders.

It rested on his shoulders mainly because he was given more opportunities to score TDs in short yardage situations.

 

[burmafrd]

I guess, Iman, you like so many others have failed to notice the difference between JJ as a rookie and now. If you cannot notice the difference that is your problem.
JJ has had more then 10 runs longer then MB3's career longest. At least 5 last year alone. MB3 is NO threat to break a long TD run. The D will never respect him in that way. When in 2 years your longest run is 26 yds you are not a game breaker.