More criticism of Julius Jones

[J-DOG]

There was somebody on this site after the Saints loss who had a still-frame shot of exactly what the original post is talking about.
Julius was running and there was this huge hole to the right that he did not even consider for whatever reason.
I know Parcells did not want his rb's bouncing everything outside and not getting upfield but that play was completely ridiculous especially with Julius having as much speed as he has. At the minimum he would have had 20-25 yards if he had broke right instead on running it up the gut.
I just hope it was Parcells theory and not Julius' lack of vision that was the reason, because if it was Julius, our running game will always be inconsistent until we get a rb who has the burst and vision.
I like Barber but I am not convinced he has the burst to bounce it outside like the elite rb's do.

 

[dargonking999]

I really have to wonder if you might be correct here. Even I ( ) at some point can't blame Parcells for everything. Julius missed a LOT of holes last year. Why didn't Barber?

This blaming Parcells for Julius poor performance might not be warranted.

We'll see. I for one will not be surprised if you see more of the same from Julius.

Ask yourself this,

If barber was the better runner, why wasn't he starting?

There were many times i saw him make those same cutback moves, and then he'd disappear for series including third downs.

 

[notherbob]

I think we're going to see all kinds of things opening up under the new coaching staff on both sides of the ball and if these guys catch on to the new schemes pretty good then the only things limiting them will be game breaks and injuries.

BP was both the best thing the Cowboys had going for them but also their worst enemy. Hopefully the good he did will live after him and the bad will be interred with his bones a good year, or at least his departure (with apologies to shakespeare and Marc Antony.)

I think BP's 3-4 laid the foundation and Wade's 3-4 is going to open things up. It's the changes on offense that will have to come together for this team to move the ball consistently.

I think there will be an orderly succession and expect a good year.

 

[Sarge]

Ask yourself this,

If barber was the better runner, why wasn't he starting?
.

Barber is the better runner, why wasn't he starting?

 

[InmanRoshi]

Makes you appreciate Curtis Martin all that much more, considering he ran for 14,000 career yards groomed by a guy who supposedly tells his RB's to avoid holes.

 

[GlitzCowboy]

Lmao@all the Julius Bandwagoneers. You've all covered your angles and have an excuse ready for anything said.

And yall scare the living daylights out of me. Because if for just one second you're right, than we have someone so incompetant and easy to control sitting back there at the RB position and we are literally at his mercy.

So my question to you all is; Really? I mean really, that's the kind of player you want holding down that fort?

Just forget his "nice smile" and bright eyes for a second, look at the player. Do you really see someone competant of holding us there for the next 5-7 years? And what happens in a couple when Wade is gone and it's the next coaches turn to "tinker" with him some more? Really, you want a guy who will change his style of play for every bozo that comes around? Imagine just for a second if Jimmy had found it reasonable to change Emmitt's style those first few years.... AND THEN IMAGINE IF EMMITT HAD LISTENED!!

Point is, if a player is able to perform for a forseeable extended period of time in this league, coaches won't mess with it. Nor will a player have to allow it. Obviously something was off with Jones for Parcells to ever think he needed to work so much with him. Obviously something was off with Jones for Jones to think he needed to do this too. And now ALL of that is about to be thrown right out the window.. Thrown out the window because Julius thinks so and has changed his mind again. So I guess where was this strength of character when Bill was here if he was so against it to begin with?

Oh I see, he's the underacheiver that waits for the teacher to leave the room before the rucus begins. Great.

 

[Dave_in-NC]

Could it be JJ just isn't that good and the homerisim is getting the best of some of you? We shall see this season but there a tons of players that start out strong and fade after a season or two.
If this team doesn't live up to the hype that is happening who's fault is it then?

 

[big dog cowboy]

Barber is the better runner, why wasn't he starting?

Would Barbers effectiveness be diminshed if he was the starter and got 267 carries like Julius did last year?

 

[Smashmouth24]

After three years it's clear that he is not a very special back. Better than some give him credit for, but not special. Dime a dozen as NFL starters go.

 

[big dog cowboy]

Makes you appreciate Curtis Martin all that much more, considering he ran for 14,000 career yards groomed by a guy who supposedly tells his RB's to avoid holes.

Remember you are talking about the same coach who stood there every game day last year and allowed us to run the worst 3-4 schemes ever invented by mankind.

1980's BP > 2000's BP

 

[burmafrd]

Its interesting how the JJ bashers refuse to recognize what he did in game after game in 2004. The moves he made, cuts, juking, etc. There is plenty of video around to show it. The last game of the season against the Giants on MNF showcased many plays where he embarrassed the giants defense to the point that madden was constantly talking about it with replays.
So what happened to that player? Ask the coach. There have been plenty of people mentioning that BP wanted a robo back who would do exactly what BP wanted to the letter. Go EXACTLY where the play was supposed to go and do NOTHING else. BP even got on MB3 about trying to free lance.
So if MB3 was doing better why was BP not playing him more?
Because JJ was doing exactly what BP wanted him to do. You remember early last season when BP was saying that JJ was running the way BP wanted him too?
By the way Curtis Martin had his BEST years AFTER BP was gone.

 

[AbeBeta]

Would Barbers effectiveness be diminshed if he was the starter and got 267 carries like Julius did last year?

Absolutely -- folks here seem to ignore the fact that we played a ball control O. The first 15-20 carries in each game serve a very different purpose than the last 10-15. Whoever gets those first initial carries is delivering body blows. It is very much a grind it out beginning to every game -- it is great if the RB breaks one but it isn't his role to try to run around and find holes -- he's got his initial hole - he hits that, gains 3-4 yards and everything else is gravy.

Later in the game, you take advantage of the worn down D. The carries later in the game are for the knockout. That is just how that offense works.

Bill found a combination that worked well - it isn't a common system, having a starter and a closer but given Bill's love for baseball, it makes sense.

I like Barber but thinking that his #s would be the same if he took that grind it out role on at the start of the game is silly.

 

[AbeBeta]

So if MB3 was doing better why was BP not playing him more?
Because JJ was doing exactly what BP wanted him to do. You remember early last season when BP was saying that JJ was running the way BP wanted him too?

Let's keep in mind here that Bill didn't care about stats -- he didn't give a damn if JJ made 1000 (as he showed in STL by not giving him a few more carries in a meaningless game to break it) -- he didn't give a damn if JJ got 100 yard games.

Most coaches in this league are going to let their top guy stay in for a few extra series in games where the team is dominating -- Bill simply wouldn't do that -- he could have left JJ in against Az or TB to get him some carries against a beaten down team, he didn't. When your coach doesn't care about stats then, statistically, you aren't going to have great performances. For a decent comparison, look at NE's RBs -- they run a similar system and their guys just don't put up huge #s (except for one year with Dillon) -- this offensive system just isn't designed for guys to put up huge #s.

If JJ was running how Bill wanted him to then it meant he was doing his job within the system - When Bill said that, we were winning so something was going right.

 

[dbair1967]

I'm looking at the Detroit vs. Dallas game I tivoed and I'm watching Jones carry the ball. I freeze the frame, and I see big holes to his left and right on several occasions that if he just cuts, he's gone for a big gain.

I was actually shocked at so many missed opportunities by him. And these weren't backfield runs. He had run beyond the line of scrimmage.

Is this just a product of Parcells' "training" or is his vision lacking that bad?

I brought my son in the room to see (since he plays tailback). I was trying to show him the concept of running to daylight, i.e., when you see a hole open, you explode through it, even if the play was called to a certain hole.

sorry dude, but you can spin spin spin away, and it still wont erase the fact that for SEVERAL seasons now, our OL has been mediocre to poor at run blocking...it happens...some teams have all around great blocking lines...some teams run block better, some teams pass block better...for several seasons our pass blocking has been better

when you cant run the ball in from the 1 foot line (ala MBIII vs Philly at home) on several tries against a HORRENDOUS run defense team, you have issues other than your RB's inability to see holes...we also had several other bad run total games even when we played extremely poor run defense teams

David

 

[theogt]

So if MB3 was doing better why was BP not playing him more?
Because JJ was doing exactly what BP wanted him to do. You remember early last season when BP was saying that JJ was running the way BP wanted him too?
By the way Curtis Martin had his BEST years AFTER BP was gone.

I'm pretty close to subscribing to this conspiracy theory. Even though Barber was getting more out of runs than Jones, he wouldn't exactly what Bill wanted and Julius would. So Bill wouldn't give him the rock.

 

[Dave_in-NC]

sorry dude, but you can spin spin spin away, and it still wont erase the fact that for SEVERAL seasons now, our OL has been mediocre to poor at run blocking...it happens...some teams have all around great blocking lines...some teams run block better, some teams pass block better...for several seasons our pass blocking has been better

when you cant run the ball in from the 1 foot line (ala MBIII vs Philly at home) on several tries against a HORRENDOUS run defense team, you have issues other than your RB's inability to see holes...we also had several other bad run total games even when we played extremely poor run defense teams

David

 

[theogt]

Let's keep in mind here that Bill didn't care about stats -- he didn't give a damn if JJ made 1000 (as he showed in STL by not giving him a few more carries in a meaningless game to break it) -- he didn't give a damn if JJ got 100 yard games.

Most coaches in this league are going to let their top guy stay in for a few extra series in games where the team is dominating -- Bill simply wouldn't do that -- he could have left JJ in against Az or TB to get him some carries against a beaten down team, he didn't. When your coach doesn't care about stats then, statistically, you aren't going to have great performances. For a decent comparison, look at NE's RBs -- they run a similar system and their guys just don't put up huge #s (except for one year with Dillon) -- this offensive system just isn't designed for guys to put up huge #s.

If JJ was running how Bill wanted him to then it meant he was doing his job within the system - When Bill said that, we were winning so something was going right.

My problem is that he doesn't care about stats in that he would rather have 3.0 YPC rather than 3.6 YPC, as long as the play is ran exactly as designed.

He would prefer the back to run as designed and gain 3 yard runs 5 times in a row (15 total yards/3.0 YPC), rather than ad lib and get 2 yard runs 4 times in a row and a 10 yard run on the 5th run (18 total yards/3.6 YPC).

Now, in theory, I'd prefer the former too. But if you've got a back that can do special things (like Julius showed in his 1st season), you've gotta expect that he'll get more out of those 5 carries ad libbing.

 

[theogt]

sorry dude, but you can spin spin spin away, and it still wont erase the fact that for SEVERAL seasons now, our OL has been mediocre to poor at run blocking...it happens...some teams have all around great blocking lines...some teams run block better, some teams pass block better...for several seasons our pass blocking has been better

when you cant run the ball in from the 1 foot line (ala MBIII vs Philly at home) on several tries against a HORRENDOUS run defense team, you have issues other than your RB's inability to see holes...we also had several other bad run total games even when we played extremely poor run defense teams

David

I believe his point was that the hole was there.

 

[Chocolate Lab]

Not saying JJ is TD, but if you have a chance watch the 77 Cowboys America's Game.

Landry was stifling TD, starting Pearson, trying to get Tony to run the play as designed.

In a practice Tony cut all the way back against the defense and Landry was screaming no, no, no that will never happen in a game.

They come out on Sunday, call the play, Tony cuts it back and breaks a long TD run...on Monday in the offensive meeting Tom comes in and says, "Guys, Tony is a different kind of runner, from now on just lay a hat on somebody and get out of the way!"

Parcells was too damned stubborn to ever do anything like that, always pounding square pegs.

Good post.

Landry and TD...

 

[Dough Boy]

Has anyone seen that stuff on NFL Network from last training camp where they miked up Bill Parcells? At one point he's talking to an assistant coach and he says something like "I wish we just had a compu-back. You know, just type in the play *makes typing noise* and he's just programmed to run in that direction." or something to that effect. That's your answer right there.

It was not last year. I remember Troy Hambrick being in the frame while Bill was talking. I think it was Bill's first year. And I agree, that you are on to something. Bill actually said, I need a compu back. You just program him and click click click and he goes where you want him to go. Those are Bills words not mine or yours. So for all the bashers, they should check out that video. Bill was the ultimate control freak, down to the point of over coaching at times. Jones in his first year and Jones last year are two different backs. No one can argue that point. The question is why? I agree with Cowboy Mike. Parcells heavy hand.

I remeber after the Monday Night game in Seattle, when Al Michaels says, "and the NFL's newest start, Julius Jones" as Jones and Angela Kramer go to their interview.