Food for Thought... Our RB future...

[Doomsday]

I love Barber, but there's always a reason backup RB's have better average per carries.

Heck, we were all enticed by Troy Hambrick's bruising 5.0 ypc average.

Barber isnt a typical backup back though, he is feared more by Dallas' opponents then the starter. Comparing his ypc to Hambrick really doesnt do him justice. Hambrick use to pick up a lot of garbage yards, where Barber is in there on 3rd and short and in the red zone where yards are tough to come by.

 

[sbark]

Would be alot of money committed to the secondary with another high 1st round cb stuck in there.......he would have to be a good one......a great one

Premire WR...yes, dont think T.Glenn will be back after this year, really dont

but another WR in Free agency works for me......bypass the training curve

RB's, the good ones, seem to be able to plug in and go vrs. other positions....
---big yr for RB's, take the best one available...

Will be able to see if Tank and Rat can manup the NTackle position, I'd hope Tank can do the job and move Rat back out to DE in Spears spot for some penetration from that spot finally...........

 

[aikemirv]

Well, I watched McFAdden for a whole game for the first time Saturday night, and I would just let JJ go ( cause I also think he does not want to play here anymore) and Draft Mcfadden in a heartbeat if we had the chance.

The only reason they lost that game was because they did not put him back on the field. I think they could have put him back on the field as a decoy and still maintained posession and won that game!

I think you lock up MBIII also. He would still be a very valuable player even with McFadden.

That said, I don't think we will be drafting high enough to take McFadden and I am not for moving up so if JJ does not sign I think Mike Hart would be a nice compliment to MBIII.

 

[VACowboy]

I think that we need an impact player with the Cleveland pick, regardless of position. If McFadden's there when we're up, take him. Jake Long would be a nice consolation.

Is there an elite WR in this class?

 

[JohnnyHopkins]

Hopes will go up or down after the Raiders/Browns play this weekend. The outcome of that game should give a good indication of if the Browns can potentially land in the top two to three picks, where McFadden is possible.

Regardless of if McFadden is an option, I would say that signing Barber long term would be a good idea. If no McFadden, then it seems to me that we have more pressing needs at CB/FS or Wide-Receiver. Pairing Newman or TO (or both) with a high caliber compliment would be ideal, then grab another running back in the second or third round.

Jones is as good as gone as far as a first option goes. If his numbers continue like they are through the rest of this season, I don't think he will be too happy with the offers he will receive via Free Agency.

 

[YosemiteSam]

I'd take McFadden in a heartbeat.


But there's no reason we can't have McFadden AND MB3.

No kidding. Why would you even think about keeping Jones if you could get McFadden? I'm in the mind set that McFadden isn't going to be a big time (LT/Larry Johnson) type back in the nfl, but he should be loads better than Jones.

 

[JeffInDC]

What would you do if:

You could sign BOTH Barber and Jones to matching solid contracts for 3 or 4yrs each

or

Draft Darren McFadden overall number 1?


Where I once leaned toward the latter, I am a huge Marion Barber fan and with the selection of an elite RB such as McFadden or Slaton I think it mitigates MB3's future here in Dallas... I think Julius is the easier replaced back no question, and I also think he thinks he's gonna get a blockbuster deal somewhere else. I tend to think Marion could as well.

Julius is decent and our tandem is EXTREMELY productive as is... we could go defense again or go after the best college wideout or DT or do anything else we wanted in the draft. We could select another RB with similar skills to Julius if we decided not to resign him, but I think MB3 BELONGS here, and I believe that with serious conviction.

I love McFadden, but there are no guarantees and what we have works and works extremely well. IF you draft McFadden, he gets 90% of the carries, and Barber is no longer in the plans clearly.

Gimme some thought on this?

As much as I like McFadden (and realize how high his potential is), I already KNOW WHAT MBIII CAN DO against NFL defenses. The reason I feel even stronger about MBIII this year is how they are using him. No longer is he just the 3rd Down RB, he is basically alternatin series w/Julius. So, no longer can people just say "he's running against tired defenses in the 2nd half to pile up all that yardage". He's now doing more damage in the 1st half of games than Julius is.

So, as much as I like McFadden, Dallas (in my opinion) already has a young stud in Barber. He will also be cheaper than McFadden. Then, you draft a another RB later in Round 1 or Round 2 next year (someone that is built 2 be the 3rd Down, SPEED guy) to pair with him. Personally, that's where I believe Steve Slaton will find his niche in the NFL (ala Reggie Bush - not big enough a 20 carry back, but versatile enough to be a huge big play threat out of the backfield, in the slot, split out wide, and returning kicks). That's just my opinion.


P.S. Keep an eye on two of the best WR's in next years draft that no one really talks about:

1) D.J. Hall - Alabama (averaged 7 catches for 126 yards last year against Florida, Arkansas, Tennessee, and LSU - going for 8 for 142 against LSU's vaunted D)
2) Harry Douglas - Louisville

These 2 are going to be studs @ the next level.

 

[dmq]

I am glad Leftwich was signed by Atlanta. They were for sure the #1 pick in the draft before that.

 

[YosemiteSam]

I find it amusing that the Browns light up the Bengals (who's defense is very questionable in the first place) and all the sudden, the Browns are going to be decent. My bet is the Browns snuck up on the Bengals and exposed that hapless defense. They are going to play the Raiders this week. The Raiders D isn't quite as good as it was, but no way the Browns are dropping 50 on them. Expect Anderson to take some sacks this weekend.

 

[Cowboys22]

Easy solution here.

1. Let JJ go and re-sign Barber to long term deal.

2. With the 4 first day picks next year get a CB, DT, WR, and RB. The RB should be a quick skatback type who can return kicks and catches passes well out of the backfield. Target him in the 2nd or 3rd round and team him with Barber. With Barber locked up longterm, I don't think we need a McFadden or Slaton. Now if we draft either, I won't be disappointed but I prefectly alright with Barber taking on a bigger role.

 

[YosemiteSam]

The RB should be a quick skatback type who can return kicks and catches passes well out of the backfield.

We have that player. Tyson Thompson

 

[mmillman]

Jones is gone after this season. Barber, while I love him, isn't a feature back. He is too slow and that is compounded by the rest of the offense slowing as we speak. An injection of speed at RB and WR is needed desperately or Romo will have no help soon. Even Witten isn't considered a fast TE that can really stretch the field. Barber as the feature back would be a disaster IMO.

 

[Tass]

The percentage move is to take another player with the early pick (CB?) and use the second number 1 on a replacement for Julius.

^This

 

[BlueStar II]

As it stands now, I think our biggest needs are at CB and WR due to the age of our current WR starters. Of course our needs may change between now and the end of the season as players at other positions produce, or do not produce for us, or become injured. As far as the RB spot goes, I just don't see Jones being here for us next year, no way, so whomever we bring in to replace Jones, I will feel good knowing that we still will have Barber to contribute as well.

 

[Idgit]

So take a lesser player cuz it's for "need" and pass on a possible elite player?

Just cuz we "need" a CB more (we don't really) doesn't mean you take one earlier then he should be taken. If there's an elite RB and a Solid CB available, you take the elite RB.

That would be the "percentage" move.

I like McFadden, a lot, enough that I'd probably roll the dice on him becoming an elite player.

I said 'percentage' because 1. the likelihood of getting an elite RB after the mid-first is probably higher than it is at other positions 2. you need more CBs than you do RBs 3. Barber is a difference-maker already and a player that needs to be on the field a lot in any scenario 4. I can't see how you can make a convincing argument that we're not going to need a player at CB next year, unless you don't want to draft one until the year we *need* to play him. 5. the percentages for getting an elite CB outside the first 10 picks of a given draft are low 6. though this is stretching it, if we're targeting CB, there's a possibility if the CLE pick is high enough that we could move back a few slots, get our player, and pick up some extra draft picks for our trouble.

In any event, nobody is saying to pass up an elite player for a solid one. Not in the top 10 picks of a given draft.

 

[Oh_Canada]

if cleveland has another 30 plus points game in them, then we are not getting the number one pick. what if we let julius jones go, and sign michael turner as an unrestricted free agent? there is no way in hell the chargers would franchise turner with ladanian tomlinson around. turner's style should work well with mb3.

I was thinking along the same lines...not sure if McFadden would be mature enough to handle sharing the workload with Barber. Turner would be a nice compliment to MBIII.

 

[ABQCOWBOY]

I like McFadden and I would love to see him in a Cowboy uniform but, I am not certain that he will be a top 5 pick. He is certainly talented, there is no question of that but, I don't know if he is big enough. The question I would have is, can he be a 20 to 25 carry back in the NFL? If your going to take a RB in the top 5, lets say, then he should be a guy who can either create pressure in both the running game and passing game or he needs to be a BellCow. Now, if he is that back, then I would go ahead and draft him. However, if he is not, then I don't see spending that high a pick on him. McFadden has not demonstrated that he is a RB who can split out and catch the ball on a regular basis the way an LT or a Reggie Bush can do. He only has 30 receptions for his career, to this point. I think he has to be able to be a Reggie Bush or an Eric Dickerson if your going to take him that high. He may be one of those but at this point, I can't say he is for sure.

 

[WV Cowboy]

So, as much as I like McFadden, Dallas (in my opinion) already has a young stud in Barber. He will also be cheaper than McFadden. Then, you draft a another RB later in Round 1 or Round 2 next year (someone that is built 2 be the 3rd Down, SPEED guy) to pair with him. Personally, that's where I believe Steve Slaton will find his niche in the NFL (ala Reggie Bush - not big enough a 20 carry back, but versatile enough to be a huge big play threat out of the backfield, in the slot, split out wide, and returning kicks). That's just my opinion.

This is exactly how I look at it. I would love to get McFadden, but don't want to give up two firsts to get him.

If we can't get McFadden, draft Slaton and keep Barber.

THUNDER & LIGHTNING !!

:storm:

Then use the other #1 get a stud WR to compliment TO for now and for our future WR star.

 

[peplaw06]

I find it amusing that the Browns light up the Bengals (who's defense is very questionable in the first place) and all the sudden, the Browns are going to be decent. My bet is the Browns snuck up on the Bengals and exposed that hapless defense. They are going to play the Raiders this week. The Raiders D isn't quite as good as it was, but no way the Browns are dropping 50 on them. Expect Anderson to take some sacks this weekend.

The Browns caught the sorry *** Bengals defense coming off a win against Baltimore. They're not going to hang that many points on any other defense in their division, and I doubt they sneak up on the Bengals again. 1-5 in the division for them.

There aren't that many teams who have a defense as bad as the Bengals. I figure the raiders will be able to stop them pretty well. I see them getting a few more wins, but I'd be shocked if they get to 5.

It'll probably be between them and ATL for the #1 and ATL is going to take a QB.

EDIT: And drafting McFadden doesn't mean the end for Barber. He splits time right now with Felix Jones, and I wouldn't want to run our future into the ground. MB3 will always have a place here IMO.

 

[ABQCOWBOY]

This is exactly how I look at it. I would love to get McFadden, but don't want to give up two firsts to get him.

If we can't get McFadden, draft Slaton and keep Barber.

THUNDER & LIGHTNING !!

:storm:

Then use the other #1 get a stud WR to compliment TO for now and for our future WR star.

I'll tell ya, a guy like Jamaal Charles of Texas, would be the same kind of complement and probably a lot cheaper.