Feeling Down on Julius Jones lately... Here's the something for you

[Yakuza Rich]

Didn't he rush for over 190 yards against the Panthers?

The Panthers defensive line certainly doesn't look very formidable in this video.

Jones ran for 194 yards on 34 carries (5.7 yards a carry)

Footballoutsiders.com had Carolina as the 4th best defense and the 12th best rushing defense (Julius' performance must've hurt their standings). They finished 4th in rushing yards allowed and yards per carry allowed (3.59)

One of the problems Carolina faced was MLB Dan Morgan got injured and missed the second half. However, Julius still ran for 87 yards on 17 carries in the first half.

That was probably the best run blocking I've seen out of the O-Line since maybe 2001. Petitti was generally horrible that day, but really ran block well. Gurode had his best game ever. By that point, Al Johnson was doing a pretty good job. Larry Allen was owning people and Torrin Tucker was doing a good job.

Even still, for whatever reason Julius seems like he needs to get his confidence early on. Every good running game he's had he usually reels off a few big runs very early on. When he doesn't get those big runs early on, he doesn't get over 100 rushing yards. When he does, he'll continue to make big runs throughout the game.

At least that's what I've noticed.


Rich.........

 

[EMMITTnROY]

Julius Jones is kind of our X Factor.. people have seemed to forget about him or kind of dismiss him.. but IF he can be the player that we saw the second half of his rookie year, the player that we all think he can be, then our offense will be the best in the league.. if he isnt, then our offense can still be pretty darn good.. but if he can be that player, we are going to be incredible..

 

[Qwickdraw]

jujo is the most over rated guy on our team.

he has one friggin move he almost alway runs left and he will do that stupid stutter move three times in one run.

If he added a spin or somethign to his skill set maybe I could feel better but the guy still runs like he is in college and that just won't fly in the nfl.

I was so happy at the trade rumors too bad it never happened.

one thing I foudn wierd or funny is that underarmor commercial during the draft where it was all rookies(i think) and then julius. the click clack commercial. anyone else notice that?

Eric Ogbogu is in that commercial, too.

 

[pancakeman]

That guy makes for good highlights. I can't wait to see him play this year.

Although somebody was saying he has only one move, I was struck by how he can get by you by

• breaking your tackle
• juking you to the ground
• speedbursting around you

He seems like a natural to me - good skills and good vision. I love it when he's on, and I hope that happens all year this season.

 

[jja050575]

a lot of Julius' problems were that the defenders were hitting him behind the line as soon as the ball gets in his hands. no blocking whatsoever. if he could just get three seconds...watch out!!

 

[Alexander]

I agree with you, but I think it's been drilled into his head by Parcells and the other coaches to "trust your blockers and run the play as it was designed".

Have you noticed how many of our top draft choices (Roy Williams is another example) have come in and had a fantastic 1st year doing what they do best and then once they are harnessed into the "system" they are not as effective.

Very interesting thoughts.

I think it was forgotten the flap about changing his running style last year. He just appeared to be thinking too much and it robbed him of his confidence. Perhaps he just needs to be left alone.

 

[BruceWayne]

Man I needed that. I was at that Carolina game if stays healthy this year and our line holds up I think he goes for 1500. Great Post:starspin

 

[CowboyJeff]

I really do not see JJ having any problem as regards conditioning. He looks ripped all the time. With a running back you have to be carefull as regards weight training as you do not want him to lose any speed or especially for a back like JJ quickness.

Let's not confuse physique with stamina. If you remember, Mike Tyson early in his career was absolutely ripped. He came out on fire, but after the 4th round he started to get tired. Julius Jones can look as ripped as he wants, but if he starts to get tired in the 2nd half, say hello to Marion Barber.

 

[CowboyJeff]

Man I needed that. I was at that Carolina game if stays healthy this year and our line holds up I think he goes for 1500. Great Post:starspin

I also noticed Jones ran better with no fullback in the mix. In the Carolina game, a healthy rested Andre Gurode played all game. I think that may have helped Julius as well.

 

[Fla Cowpoke]

The things I noticed is that Julius does not need much of a hole to make a good gainer...he burst through several slivers there.

Secondly, the great majority of his highlight runs are from the one back set. That being said, in the two back set Barnes was a pretty effective blocker. I am saying that in hindsight.

Third...in all those highlights, watch Al Johnson. He almost always was getting a good block and was the only guy that ever got out to the second level on his blocks. I didn't see him blown up once, despite the fact that some people claim he gets blown up every other play.

Finally, he showed outstanding power on several of those runs. He could be used in short yardage if need be. And Barber can be used at times on first down. I would like to see a little more flexibility on the downs these guys play. Don't always put Barber in on third. Don't always put JJ in on first. Mix it up a little.

 

[TruBlueCowboy]

Apparently, Chicago, Seattle and New York all got a lot better at tackling in one offseason.

I've seen this movie before. It is a good one to let ya remember how awesome Julius looked in his rookie season. Please come back rookie JuJo!

 

[stealth]

Eric Ogbogu is in that commercial, too.

.

lol
really?
so that put jujo and eric ogbogu in the same league then, hmmm sounds about right to me.

 

[Doomsday]

I think Julius has a bit of a problem with his balance as well as nagging injuries in his NFL career to date. The O-Line was just bad at blocking. Even when they weren't facing 8 man fronts, they still couldn't run block very consistently.

I'm not really down on Julius because when he gets some decent blocking like he did in the Carolina game, he can really tear up defenses.


Rich..........

The blocking was horrible but elite running backs have the ability to make the first guy miss and turn losses into gains, something I really havent seen much of from Julius. I like Julius but he is going to have to step it up a notch or 2. Just my opinion.

 

[SuspectCorner]

Yeah it was a good game for the Cowboys especially coming off that arse whooping the Commanders delivered the week before.

The entire team was feisty. Terence Newman got in Steve Smith head early.

he sure did. T-New so reminds me of Deion... but without all the egocentrical baggage.

the world is fixin' to find out about #41. he'll end up buying a summer house in Honolulu just so he can go straight from the annual probowl appearance to the off-season routine in one short limo ride.

 

[silverbear]

Yep. Our offense could get scary. Has a WR ever averaged 20 yards per catch because Terry Glenn might have an offensive explosion

Back in 1994, Alvin Harper averaged nearly 25 yards per catch... he had 33 catches for 821 yards and 8 TDs, which works out to 24.9 yard per catch...

 

[Zaxor]

Back in 1994, Alvin Harper averaged nearly 25 yards per catch... he had 33 catches for 821 yards and 8 TDs, which works out to 24.9 yard per catch...

Bob Hayes did it a few times and average it
+--------------------------+-------------------------+
| Rushing | Receiving |
+----------+-----+--------------------------+-------------------------+
| Year TM | G | Att Yards Y/A TD | Rec Yards Y/R TD |
+----------+-----+--------------------------+-------------------------+
| 1965 dal | 13 | 4 -8 -2.0 1 | 46 1003 21.8 12 |
| 1966 dal | 14 | 1 -1 -1.0 0 | 64 1232 19.2 13 |
| 1967 dal | 13 | 0 0 0.0 0 | 49 998 20.4 10 |
| 1968 dal | 14 | 4 2 0.5 0 | 53 909 17.2 10 |
| 1969 dal | 10 | 4 17 4.2 0 | 40 746 18.6 4 |
| 1970 dal | 13 | 4 34 8.5 1 | 34 889 26.1 10 |
| 1971 dal | 14 | 3 18 6.0 0 | 35 840 24.0 8 |
| 1972 dal | 12 | 2 8 4.0 0 | 15 200 13.3 0 |
| 1973 dal | 13 | 0 0 0.0 0 | 22 360 16.4 3 |
| 1974 dal | 12 | 0 0 0.0 0 | 7 118 16.9 1 |
| 1975 sfo | 4 | 2 -2 -1.0 0 | 6 119 19.8 0 |
+----------+-----+--------------------------+-------------------------+
| TOTAL | 132 | 24 68 2.8 2 | 371 7414 20.0 71 |
+----------+-----+--------------------------+-------------------------+

 

[the_h0wey]

Thanks i definately needed that. The only sad thing about that highlight video was so many of the long runs seemed to be following Larry Allen blocks...

 

[the_h0wey]

he sure did. T-New so reminds me of Deion... but without all the egocentrical baggage.

the world is fixin' to find out about #41. he'll end up buying a summer house in Honolulu just so he can go straight from the annual probowl appearance to the off-season routine in one short limo ride.

He got completely screwed out of the pro bowl this year...ticks me off

 

[zalik22]

Sorry but really not true at all. If thats your personal opinion then, I guess thats fine. But no way that is a fact or true statement regarding Julius in his second year.

Now part about being hurt, well that he has to prove you and other doubters wrong. Including me somewhat. But having seen few other Runners overcome their initial injury woes, I have hopes for Julius. Since first two years, heck three years Clinton Portis had injury issues. I think it was first time in four years that Portis played a complete season, last year?

Hi, that's my personal opinion. I am not saying I am right or wrong, that is just how I feel.

Let's compare the two in several key categories for running backs:

Speed: I am pretty sure Jones is faster, so he gets the advantage here. Barber is not much slower though.

Hands: Jones seems to drop half the passes thrown his way and he cannot adjust well to poorly thrown balls (When Bledsoe is about to get hit, he flips it towards Jones). Barber has much better hands than Jones.

Protecting the Ball: I think Jones fumbles more than Barber. This was always a problem in college for Julius.

Blitz pickup: Jones was much better at the start of the season, but Barber picked it up. They are pretty close now, Jones might have a slight edge.

Moves: Jones has more moves than Barber but the problem I have here is that he loses yardage making those moves. Instead of putting his head down and getting 5 more yards, he tries juking the defender and gains 1 yard. Not a big deal on 1st down necessarily, but on 2nd and 8 when you run, it's better to gain the 5 yards and be 3rd and 3 vs. 3rd and 7. This is what kills drives.

Attitude: I think Jones thinks he is a superstar and he doesn't take in as much as he should. He predicted something like 2,000 yards and 20 touchdowns? Even if he was healthy, he wouldn't have even come close. Barber knows he was drafted late, he is somewhat fighting for a roster spot, so he is more willing to be coached.

Throw away the Panthers game and Jones didn't really have any good games. Lots of times he was shut out, and he often gets frustrated with the offensive line. Barber shuts up and plays, you'll never see him whining.

 

[Yakuza Rich]

The blocking was horrible but elite running backs have the ability to make the first guy miss and turn losses into gains, something I really havent seen much of from Julius. I like Julius but he is going to have to step it up a notch or 2. Just my opinion.

The thing is that video shows him turning losses into gains and making the first, second, and even third guy miss. Especially the 2004 game against NYG and even the Carolina game from last year.

I do think it's smart for them to build his lower body as he should be breaking more leg tackles although part of that has to do with him not using his free hand properly. That's one of the many things Emmitt did so great, a tackler would try to wrap their arms around Emmitt and Emmitt would just slap their arms away with his free hand. The other problem with Julius is that his balance sucks for a tailback.

Still, it just seems to me that when he gets a few big gains early he seems to do everything you could want from a tailback and is breaking tackles throughout the game. But when he's not getting the big gains early, he just seemingly doesn't do much as the game progresses.

He's almost like the anti-Eddie George when George was in his prime.


Rich...........