I want to see more of Gus Johnson

[Canada180]

He's a slower version of MB3. I actually think he'll be more useful to us than Dunbar.

I just don't see any zip in his game. Im faster than him running uphill with a Volkswagen on my back

 

[JDSmith]

I just don't see any zip in his game. Im faster than him running uphill with a Volkswagen on my back

If you can pick up the dirty yards, I'd try out for the Cowboys. I keep hearing that they are desperate for help.

 

[Canada180]

If you can pick up the dirty yards, I'd try out for the Cowboys. I keep hearing that they are desperate for help.

Not so desperate as to want a slug like Johnson. If you like Johnson son., you are seeing desperate in your rearview mirror. The dude is slow man, and will not get the dirty yards you seek from him. You need some pop even for dirty yards

 

[Bullflop]

Whether we take it as a good thing or bad, Gus Johnson is logging some promising results so far in the Cowboys' backfield. In the longrun, Randle might end up being better in terms of yards per carry but his pass protection so far in the preseason has been a failure. Consider that Garrett admonished him on the sidelines Sunday for exactly that. There's far more than simple speed and quickness to qualify a RB for holding that position in the NFL. It's unlikely that Randle will be able to develop pass blocking consistency during the short time left in TC.

Getting your QB sacked is one of the quickest ways to ensure a RB's presence on the bench. McFadden is the leader in the area of blocking so far. That alone should qualify him for 3rd down presence, if nothing else. He'll still be left to prove his ability to grind out the rushing yardage going forward, though. In essence, an important RB spot may still be up for grabs. Let's face it, this isn't a healthy situation for this team as they get closer to the regular season. Time is of the essence and there's not much of it left to solidify their RB dilemma.

We may ultimately be left to keep our eyes open for whatever possible solution yet to come in terms of actually latching on to a productive RB in Dallas. What we're seeing in the current situation just doesn't appear to offer anything special as yet. It might easily come down to acquiring whatever this team can glean from the waiver wire or via a trade to find an answer for the team's needs at RB. If so, let's wish them godspeed in doing so.

 

[jobberone]

Of all the Cowboys running backs, Gus Johnson showed me the most in terms of making the most out of very little last night. Sure, he was playing vs the 49ers 3rd team, but I like his running style. He's also the biggest & most powerful of the tailbacks, & we could sure use more of that at that position. I'm hoping that Jason Garrett saw the same thing, & gives Johnson the chance to show what he can do behind the first team O-line in the preseason.

Look for him to go to the PS

 

[Bleu Star]

Sadly.. Gus is far behind the 8 ball due to the FO's inexplicable love affair with Dunbar. Gus can help this team in those 3rd & short/4th & short situations. He's big, can run, and can catch the ball out of the backfield. The perfect guy to have in there in short yardage situations. To me, he carries more value than Dunbar but I know these decision makers are going to allow another team to have a crack at him. Frustrating. . . Because we will need that niche capability to find success.

 

[The Natural]

JAG

 

[Bleu Star]

Dunbar, lower JAG

 

[PJTHEDOORS]

Dunbar, lower JAG

Dunbar at least will be on the 53. Gus will be...

 

[Bleu Star]

Dunbar at least will be on the 53. Gus will be...

Like I said... inexplicable love affair

 

[AbeBeta]

He isn't making the 53 man roster and Dallas doesn't want to show other teams that he may have some upside so they probably want to get him through the waiver wire and put him on the practice squad

The #1 priority is getting through pre-season with enough backs. We aren't going to hide some practice squad candidate when our top three guys are limited.

 

[HellCrowe]

Gus is not a bus. Drives more like a bumper car. The only time he'll probably run you over is when you're not looking.

 

[HellCrowe]

The #1 priority is getting through pre-season with enough backs. We aren't going to hide some practice squad candidate when our top three guys are limited.

Limited is the right answer. That's why we need 3. Not 2, not 1, but 3.

 

[jterrell]

Gus Johnson has looked the best this pre-season.
But that's not at all surprising. He is literally running for his NFL life every play.

I do like him and think he is our PS guy to start this season.
He could be a part of the mix as soon as someone gets injured.

But good grief fans need to seriously tap the breaks on pre-season evaluations.
They are largely fools gold.

 

[jterrell]

Michael Hill (34) had a couple nice runs, too, given the competition.

michael hill will not be on any NFL roster because he can't block a lick.
he might make a practice squad.

 

[jterrell]

The third down back is a valuable and I am sure they see plenty of Dunbar in practice, but I don't know why they don't give him the ball in preseason. Last preseason they did the same thing. You know Dunbar wants to show he can be more than a specialty back. Why not give him the ball 10-15 times in a preseason game and see how he responds. It is not like his role is invaluable where they can risk any injury to him.

when you have a guy whose biggest limitation is health the last thing you want to do is risk injury unnecessarily.

dunbar is similar to claiborne.
the team has to maximize what they get out of them as they have special ability but perhaps a limited number of snaps at that rate before injury reduces them to average or even below average.

it is not unlike how they handled romo last year, which worked very well.

 

[Iron_Man]

I agree....i like what he has done in both games.

I do worry about our short yardage and goaline running offense. I would feel better with him doing it from what we have seen so far.

We got dunbar for the short yardage and goal line. j/k - I have not had a chance to watch the SF game, it is on my dvr however Gus has impressed me. He was the lower body power that no other running back has. Imagine how strong he would be next year under the off-season workouts. He could be good this year, be really good in the future. At least a solid backup I think.

 

[erod]

I want to see more of Gus because I want him to get hurt instead of the ones that will actually be here.

 

[chicago JK]

when you have a guy whose biggest limitation is health the last thing you want to do is risk injury unnecessarily.

dunbar is similar to claiborne.
the team has to maximize what they get out of them as they have special ability but perhaps a limited number of snaps at that rate before injury reduces them to average or even below average.

it is not unlike how they handled romo last year, which worked very well.

It is a mistake to lump Romo and even a former high pick in Claiborne with Dunbar. We heard the same things about Dunbar last year about not wanting to get him hurt in preseason and wanted to protect him. Dunbar touched the ball less than 50 times last season. He is not that valuable. For a specialty player, I don't think you have much to lose to give him a game with 10-15 carries in preseason to test him. If he gets hurt, you only need to replace 50 or so touches if his projection matches last year. If he shows he can handle a bigger load, maybe he can be a guy who could get some additional carries this year. I just heard the same thing with Dunbar last year and when the season started, he was barely used. I think he is a classic case to see how he responds to a heavy load in a preseason game.

 

[DeaconMoss]

Gus Johnson has looked the best this pre-season.
But that's not at all surprising. He is literally running for his NFL life every play.

I do like him and think he is our PS guy to start this season.
He could be a part of the mix as soon as someone gets injured.

But good grief fans need to seriously tap the breaks on pre-season evaluations.
They are largely fools gold.

Given the glass backs ahead of him. Gus is looking like he will be getting some snaps this season. He is already vary far ahead of any other back that could be signed as a FA or in a trade simply because he has been in camp and know the system. Given our starters health concerns, I think he makes the roster and would be interested in him getting some ST snaps this week to see if he has any value as a blocker and or in coverage units.