Just Wondering... Marion Barber

[muck4doo]

ron springs is who i'd compare him to.

barber was a lot of fun for that short span where he could really play with reckless abandon.

Springs is a good comparison(God rest his soul), but was used very little.

 

[goshan]

springs ran nothing like him. Don't know what you guys are thinking. Springs was a pass catcher and much more finesse.

 

[CATCH17]

Despite Barber's reputation to use his head as a battering ram (which he did frequently) a lot of people forget how NASTY his stiff arm was. Geez, sometimes it looked like he was punching OLBs...

lol because he was. Right in the face too.

 

[noshame]

Actually remimded me of Newhouse. But he wouldn't be in my top 7.

 

[burntricersx]

You play the pass and you have a 230lb running back sticking his helmet right in your chest.

That'd be illegal now in the NFL.

 

[burntricersx]

I rank the Cowboy running backs as follows:

1. Emmitt Smith
2. Tony Dorsett
3. Herschel Walker
4. Don Perkins
5. Duane Thomas
6. Walt Garrison
7. Calvin Hill
8. Preston Pearson
9. Marion Barber
10. Julius Jones

Hard to believe Julius would crack the top 10 but when you Emmitt for as long as we did and then a bunch of nothings in between, I guess it's possible.

 

[Plankton]

Hard to believe Julius would crack the top 10 but when you Emmitt for as long as we did and then a bunch of nothings in between, I guess it's possible.

The only other player who can honestly be considered is Robert Newhouse, and he never had a 1000 yard season. Jones, for all of his warts, did.

 

[JPostSam]

above troy hambrick. roughly equal to julius jones.

 

[KJJ]

Barber was great in the role he had early in his career. He was so good in short yardage and goal line situations that even though he was backing up Julius Jones he made the pro bowl. When his legs were kept fresh he was money in short yardage situations and closing out games. Once Jerry signed him to a big contract thinking he could do every down what he could do situationally it was down hill from there. I knew with MB's seek and destroy style that he wouldn't last long as a workhorse. Even Parcells when asked why he wouldn't start Barber said he wouldn't be as effective every down. He was kept fresh and did most of his damage against tired defenses in the 3rd and 4th quarter.

When the Cowboys (Jerry) decided to start him over Julius in the 07 playoffs vs the Giants he burned out after a great first half of over 100 yards rushing for only 26 yards in the second half. The Cowboys could have used his fresh legs in the second half of that game. Barbers rock em sock em style wasn't conducive to longevity. He was a between the tackles runner who didn't have the speed to get outside. As a starter defenses would stack the box knowing he didn't have the speed to take it to the house from 70 yards out. The Giants saw that during the 07 playoffs when he broke out into the open field in the first half and was quickly chased down.

 

[KJJ]

above troy hambrick. roughly equal to julius jones.

Speaking of Hambrick I started a thread back in 09 comparing Barber with Hambrick. Both were very good as backups which led to them both becoming starters only to watch them disappoint in that role.


http://cowboyszone.com/forums/dallascowboys.php?t=173103

 

[joseephuss]

Player Attempts Yards Tds Receptions Yards Tds Total Yards
Emmitt Smith 4052 17162 153 486 3012 11 20174
Tony Dorsett 2755 12036 72 382 3432 13 15468
Don Perkins 1500 6217 42 146 1310 3 7527
Calvin Hill 1166 5009 39 139 1359 6 6368
Herschel Walker 818 3491 27 232 2556 8 6047
Robert Newhouse 1160 4784 31 120 956 5 5740
Walt Garrison 899 3886 30 182 1794 9 5680
Marion Barber III 1042 4358 47 174 1280 6 5638
Ron Springs 604 2180 28 222 2028 10 4208
Julius Jones 885 3484 18 84 672 0 4156
Felix Jones 569 2728 11 128 1066 3 3794
Dan Reeves 535 1990 25 129 1693 17 3683
Preston Pearson 325 1207 5 189 2274 11 3481
DeMarco Murray 325 1560 6 60 430 0 1990
Duane Thomas 326 1596 16 23 226 2 1822

 

[burmafrd]

just another in Jerruhs long list of mistakes. Giving him that contract when he did.

The other big mistake with MB3 was using him as a every down back. His style could not possibly allow him to last long that way.

He was a closer type; short yardage type. Not an every down back.

 

[joseephuss]

just another in Jerruhs long list of mistakes. Giving him that contract when he did.

The other big mistake with MB3 was using him as a every down back. His style could not possibly allow him to last long that way.

He was a closer type; short yardage type. Not an every down back.

Marion Barber was 24 years old and had only rushed the ball 477 times during his career at the time he signed his 7 year deal in May 2008. Why was that a bad time to give him a contract?

 

[Bullet22]

If you are going on talent and impact until Jim Brown got ahold of him...D. Thomas is one of the best....

 

[NJ22]

Above Troy Hambrick and behind Demarco Murray, neither of which are on anybody's "all-time" list.

 

[Plankton]

Marion Barber was 24 years old and had only rushed the ball 477 times during his career at the time he signed his 7 year deal in May 2008. Why was that a bad time to give him a contract?

It's not giving him the contract that was the problem - it was the length, dollars and guaranteed money that was the issue.

Anyone who watched the way Barber ran knew that he was going to have a short shelf life as a player. Also, being that the RB position is fluid and specialized in today's NFL, paying big money to a RB is not a sound model to follow. Of course, there are exception cases, but very few of them.

 

[kojak]

Player Attempts Yards Tds Receptions Yards Tds Total Yards
Emmitt Smith 4052 17162 153 486 3012 11 20174
Tony Dorsett 2755 12036 72 382 3432 13 15468
Don Perkins 1500 6217 42 146 1310 3 7527
Calvin Hill 1166 5009 39 139 1359 6 6368
Herschel Walker 818 3491 27 232 2556 8 6047
Robert Newhouse 1160 4784 31 120 956 5 5740
Walt Garrison 899 3886 30 182 1794 9 5680
Marion Barber III 1042 4358 47 174 1280 6 5638
Ron Springs 604 2180 28 222 2028 10 4208
Julius Jones 885 3484 18 84 672 0 4156
Felix Jones 569 2728 11 128 1066 3 3794
Dan Reeves 535 1990 25 129 1693 17 3683
Preston Pearson 325 1207 5 189 2274 11 3481
DeMarco Murray 325 1560 6 60 430 0 1990
Duane Thomas 326 1596 16 23 226 2 1822

He sure had an appetite for the endzone! One of my favorite players to watch.

 

[JohnsKey19]

To me, he was the heartbeat of of our team's success during that 2-3 year period. His ability to grind out yards on the ground and wear teams down is what made us potentially special. Romo, TO and Witten were all outstanding, but Barber was the X-factor.

 

[CATCH17]

To me, he was the heartbeat of of our team's success during that 2-3 year period. His ability to grind out yards on the ground and wear teams down is what made us potentially special. Romo, TO and Witten were all outstanding, but Barber was the X-factor.

Without a doubt.

 

[joseephuss]

It's not giving him the contract that was the problem - it was the length, dollars and guaranteed money that was the issue.

Anyone who watched the way Barber ran knew that he was going to have a short shelf life as a player. Also, being that the RB position is fluid and specialized in today's NFL, paying big money to a RB is not a sound model to follow. Of course, there are exception cases, but very few of them.

Burm talked about the timing of when Dallas gave him the contract.

The length of the contract really doesn't matter since they aren't guaranteed. It is not like they ever thought he would be around the full 7 years.

He was guaranteed $16 million. Is that a lot? How does that compare to other guys?

The Cowboys had to sign him to something or he was going to walk. Perhaps they could have fought for a less expensive deal, but I don't think it would have been significantly less. And most people thought Dallas should sign Barber at the time.

The plan was never to have Barber carry the ball over 300 times a season. He was always going to split time in the backfield with someone. Dallas wasn't trying to put a heavy workload on Barber, so they never intended him to have a long shelf life. Perhaps get 4 productive years out of him out of the 7 years of the contract. Unfortunately it didn't work out that way.