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IRVING, Texas – We haven’t seen much evidence of Felix Jones’ explosiveness since he returned from a sprained left knee.
Jones, considered the home run threat in the Cowboys’ three-headed tailback committee, had six carries of at least 16 yards in the first three games of the season. But he came up limping after a 40-yard run in the Sept. 28 win over the Carolina Panthers, causing him to sit out the next two games. Jones hasn’t had a run of longer than 12 yards in the four games since his return.
The difference in Jones’ average yards per carry before and after the injury is startling. He averaged 10.6 yards per carry in the first three games. That has plummeted to 4.0 yards per carry in the last four games, when he’s worn a bulky brace to protect his knee. He averaged 8.9 yards per carry in his abbreviated rookie season.
However, running backs coach Skip Peete insists that Jones is healthy. Peete’s explanation for the drop in production points to an even bigger concern: The NFL might have figured out Jones after getting nine games of film on him.
“You’re not seeing the wide open space so that he’s getting plays like that,” Peete said. “People study you. They watch what you do. Your first year, you have success. The toughest times you have are your second, third and fourth years. They understand how you play.”
That puts the onus on the coaching staff to come up with creative ways to get Jones in the open field.
That certainly hasn’t happened in the last two games, when he had a total of 16 yards on seven carries. Jones might not be able to hit home runs at the rate he did in his first nine games, but there’s no reason he should be doing the equivalent of grounding out to the pitcher on a regular basis.
Jones, considered the home run threat in the Cowboys’ three-headed tailback committee, had six carries of at least 16 yards in the first three games of the season. But he came up limping after a 40-yard run in the Sept. 28 win over the Carolina Panthers, causing him to sit out the next two games. Jones hasn’t had a run of longer than 12 yards in the four games since his return.
The difference in Jones’ average yards per carry before and after the injury is startling. He averaged 10.6 yards per carry in the first three games. That has plummeted to 4.0 yards per carry in the last four games, when he’s worn a bulky brace to protect his knee. He averaged 8.9 yards per carry in his abbreviated rookie season.
However, running backs coach Skip Peete insists that Jones is healthy. Peete’s explanation for the drop in production points to an even bigger concern: The NFL might have figured out Jones after getting nine games of film on him.
“You’re not seeing the wide open space so that he’s getting plays like that,” Peete said. “People study you. They watch what you do. Your first year, you have success. The toughest times you have are your second, third and fourth years. They understand how you play.”
That puts the onus on the coaching staff to come up with creative ways to get Jones in the open field.
That certainly hasn’t happened in the last two games, when he had a total of 16 yards on seven carries. Jones might not be able to hit home runs at the rate he did in his first nine games, but there’s no reason he should be doing the equivalent of grounding out to the pitcher on a regular basis.
