Julius' Rookie Year to Now: A Theory

[Hostile]

I don't think I'm alone in my belief that Julius Jones as a rookie was exciting and fun to watch. I expected great things from him. I think most of us did. He was setting goals of 1500 yards and 20 TDs and I was drinking the Koolaid.

Those expectations have never been met. Part of it is the emergence of how valuable Marion Barber is to the offense. I think denying that would be a bit foolish.

Julius put the onus on Parcells, but the Big Tuna is gone and the rookie phenom still isn't back. (I disagreed with his analysis on that robot theory BTW.)

He's playing well, please don't get me wrong. I am not complaining about his efforts at all. I'm talking only about the expectations after his rookie year.

What happened?

Does anyone remember how much muscle he put on in the 2005 off season? I said then that I felt he had limited his flexability and agility, and therefore his speed. Some scoffed at it. Nothing wrong with that.

More than ever I am convinced that my "diagnosis" was right. I see a tremendous difference in Julius' muscle mass from his rookie year of 2004 to now...for his upper body. I don't see nearly the proportional gains in his lower body.

Upper body is great for looking good for the ladies, but a RBs bread and butter are his legs. I think he is concentrating too hard on his guns, and not hard enough on his wheels. In doing so he has shifted his center of gravity higher. This makes him have less balance. Hence why we all complain that he is knocked over too easily any more.

I want you to look at the difference between his legs and Barber's. Look at Emmitt's. Look at Maurice Jones-Drew's, even as short as he is. Julius is more like Barry Sanders you say? Look at Barry's. All of them generate their power with their legs.

Julius' legs are not sticks by any wild stretch of the imagination, and he can certainly still have tremendous power and speed with the legs he has. But his legs were never the same huge power generators that those other guy's were. Where he has erred (IMO) is in pushing his upper body beyond where his lower body had an equal balance. He's certainly more durable with the upper body mass, but he is not near as fluid and he's too young to blame it on age slowing him down.

If he had worked his pistons as hard as he has his guns, he'd be so much closer to his lofty goals than he has been.

Just a theory.

 

[Crown Royal]

No - I still go by my theory. ever since Sparano took over the offensive line (which was after Jones' rookie year), we have had problems blocking on the interior. Even Barber's runs are usually off tackle. Jones is an inside runner, and the holes aren't there for either RB. Jones isn't as good a creator as Barber is, and is a between the tackles kind of guy.

 

[dallasfaniac]

I agree with this.

Look no further than David Boston years ago when developed those monster guns of his. He went to pot as a WR real quick.

 

[theebs]

you should see him in person. He looks very unproportioned.

I have no idea if that has anything to do with his running ability positive or negative, but his upper body is ripped and his calves, quads and hamstrings are very small...

My wife asked me during warmups sunday..."why are julius jones legs so small"

who knows if that matters though, I will say this he looks to be an above average player when thrown the football, I wish we would throw him the ball about 5 times a game.

 

[burmafrd]

Certainly a thought. I do think that BP messed with his head and schooled him to not go with his instincts- and maybe that is something that once lost you cannot get back. Loss of balance and quickness- hmmm. BUT if that was the case surely someone on the Cowboys training staff, someone would have figured that out and had him do some different training to aleviate the problem. Though I have on occasion wondered if our trainers are all that good.

 

[heavyg]

I was saying this about JJ two years ago. He has what I call a prison build. If anyone has ever worked in or around a prison you know what I am talking about. Most inmates work out real hard on thier upper body and neglect thier legs. Its really funny looking.......lol

 

[Everlastingxxx]

I agree. Backs with powerful legs can’t be brought down with arm tackles. But Julius greatest assest will be his speed. Much like Reggie Bush, these guys are fast but can’t break many tackles. I believe that Julius is a streaky back. When he’s on, he’s really on. But because he doesn’t get many carries in a game like he used to, we don’t see what could have been. And just like his rookie year, some games he seemed to vanish.

 

[jackrussell]

Suggesting a theory is certainly more of a welcome read than the standard excuse and blame game.

I do remember awhile back someone had posted an in depth scouting report on Julius while still at ND. I've looked high and low for that report to no avail. The reason I remember it so well is because everything it said about him at ND matches exactly as to what his pro career has become.

I'm thinking while we bang our heads coming up with theories, or boring us with inane blame and excuses...it may be as simple as he is what he is and has always been, nothing more, nothing less.

 

[percyhoward]

2004 he averaged 4.2 per carry at 25 carries per game.
2005 he averaged 3.9 per carry at 20 carries per game.
2006 he averaged 4.1 per carry at 17 carries per game.
2007 he averages 3.8 per carry at 11 carries per game.

His opportunities have been steadily decreasing, but his per-carry production hasn't. He's basically a 4.0 back.

I sure was glad to see him get 4 catches last week, though. That's the part of his game that could help us most.

 

[NoLuv4Jerry]

you can't just work out and get massive legs....his genetics play the biggest part in how he is built. I will never forget how Mickey Spagnola was always trying to tell people that just because Aveion Cason and Emmit weighed the same...they were built differently, therefore Emmit had the physical makeup to be an every down back and Cason was just someone to give a 1st string RB a breather.

 

[Hostile]

you can't just work out and get massive legs....his genetics play the biggest part in how he is built. I will never forget how Mickey Spagnola was always trying to tell people that just because Aveion Cason and Emmit weighed the same...they were built differently, therefore Emmit had the physical makeup to be an every down back and Cason was just someone to give a 1st string RB a breather.

I disagree with this. If you look at my family, they all have skinny legs. I mean all of them. Brothers, sister, parents, cousins.

I've got big legs and it is exactly because I worked them out like a freak for years. I have the same genes that they do.

You have to work out right, but you can increase strength, flexability, and power in legs just as you can upper body.

 

[WoodysGirl]

here's a theory proposed by DMN's Albert Breer in his tale of the tape blog. Thought it was interesting...


----------------------
 Finally, I’m starting to see the difference in how Julius Jones is used. The trouble with Jones, to me, seems like it has as much to do with how he fits his linemen as anything. Jones is at his best on zone running plays where he’s charged with reading the defense, finding a seam, and making one cut into the opening upfield. It’s for the same reason he was good on screens Sunday: Jones works well in space because he has burst and can change direction quickly. The way he cuts can catch defenders, influenced in a direction by the blocking, off balance. Well, the trouble appears to be that the Cowboys line isn’t well-fit to run much zone. Yes, they can do it, but the massive front is better in man-blocking situations that require less movement and quickness. And those looks fit Marion Barber like a glove – he’s aggressive into the hole and can beat guys one-on-one with his shake or his shoulders. That’s not to say that Jones is better than Barber. I think it’s clear that Barber’s been better. But it is to say that Barber has been put in a better position to succeed with a line and scheme that fits his style better.

Posted by Albert Breer at 5:59 PM (E-mail this entry)

 

[cowboys19]

I agree with Hos.

Its clear that he runs differently than he does now. he doesn't have the same agility, or burst. He is still ok at it, but not as good his rookie year.

 

[ejthedj]

If Breer is right, then I wonder...

WHAT happened to the draw play?! That was his bread and butter his rookie year and we never run them now.

And that seems like the kind of blocking that our line could do--let defender engage them thinking it is a pass

 

[diehard2294]

you can't just work out and get massive legs....his genetics play the biggest part in how he is built. I will never forget how Mickey Spagnola was always trying to tell people that just because Aveion Cason and Emmit weighed the same...they were built differently, therefore Emmit had the physical makeup to be an every down back and Cason was just someone to give a 1st string RB a breather.

I agree,if the whole family has small legs,it's in their genetics, he can have strong legs without looking massive and still be affective. Hos is right the legs on a running back are more important then anything. I believe he lost his balance once he started running through holes with 2 arms wrapped around the ball,he is a slasher now and Barber just fits the oline blocking scheme better IMO. I do miss the rookie JJ

 

[cowboyz]

yeah i have noticed this as well, the guy has no freaking neck and can't touch his hands over his head to catch a ball.

he needs to go to the roy williams fat *** school of weightlifting

 

[junk]

No - I still go by my theory. ever since Sparano took over the offensive line (which was after Jones' rookie year), we have had problems blocking on the interior. Even Barber's runs are usually off tackle. Jones is an inside runner, and the holes aren't there for either RB. Jones isn't as good a creator as Barber is, and is a between the tackles kind of guy.

I agree with a lot of this.

I think Jones was also very efficient at draw plays. A mobile center like Al Johnson in the middle was probably a little better at these plays than someone like Gurode.

I remember that year a couple of announcers made the comment that the Saints had recognized that the draw play was Jones' bread and butter and they were looking to stop it. This was after a 150 yard and 198 yard performance in the preceeding 2 weeks.

NO held Jones to 88 yards on 23 carries for a 3.8 average. Although he closed out with a strong game against NY, his next 2 games after NO were 80 and 52 yards with a 3.2 and 2.6 average.

Except for a couple of random games here and there, he's pretty muddled along with that same level of mediocrity ever since.

I'm pretty sure he walks next year. Wouldn't be surprised to see him end up someplace like Denver where his style would probably be pretty effective.

 

[Nors]

JJ hit some wide open holes in his hot Rookie finish.Its then that he can put moves on a secondary. There are no glaring holes and JJ has poor vision and runs into blockers, tacklers and is an easy target.

MB3 has better vision and moves to the opening and then has the power to make something out of nothing or bounce off tacklers.

MB3 is attacking and JJ runs passive. Unless he's in open.

 

[jimmy40]

Suggesting a theory is certainly more of a welcome read than the standard excuse and blame game.

I do remember awhile back someone had posted an in depth scouting report on Julius while still at ND. I've looked high and low for that report to no avail. The reason I remember it so well is because everything it said about him at ND matches exactly as to what his pro career has become.

I'm thinking while we bang our heads coming up with theories, or boring us with inane blame and excuses...it may be as simple as he is what he is and has always been, nothing more, nothing less.

I believe it was me. I think this is the part your talking about.
From NFL.com on Julius Jones' negatives coming out of Notre Dame:

Not really a self-motivated player and does not take well to hard coaching … Is just a little too lazy digesting the playbook … Has adequate power, but not enough to take on defenders one-on-one … Not mentally tough, letting minor injuries linger … Just used on screens, as he is a marginal route runner who looks late for the ball … Needs to protect the ball better and show better anticipation for contact … Will sometimes run up the back of the offensive lineman, but has enough pick-and-slide agility to gain yards inside … Prone to go down from the initial tackle, especially when defenders attack his feet … Has good foot quickness and change-of-direction agility, but is not sudden off cuts, gathering himself before accelerating.

 

[Dave_in-NC]

I believe it was me. I think this is the part your talking about.
From NFL.com on Julius Jones' negatives coming out of Notre Dame:

Not really a self-motivated player and does not take well to hard coaching … Is just a little too lazy digesting the playbook … Has adequate power, but not enough to take on defenders one-on-one … Not mentally tough, letting minor injuries linger … Just used on screens, as he is a marginal route runner who looks late for the ball … Needs to protect the ball better and show better anticipation for contact … Will sometimes run up the back of the offensive lineman, but has enough pick-and-slide agility to gain yards inside … Prone to go down from the initial tackle, especially when defenders attack his feet … Has good foot quickness and change-of-direction agility, but is not sudden off cuts, gathering himself before accelerating.

If it wasn't you, that take is pretty good.