Mosley: X Factor Felix Jones

[viman96]

http://espn.go.com/blog/nfceast/post/_/id/9912/x-factor-felix-jones-cowboys-rb

A look at a player who could be a difference-maker this weekend.

In the 2008 draft, the Cowboys were trying to decide between a feature running back in Illinois' Rashard Mendenhall or a complementary back in Arkansas' Felix Jones. With Marion Barber having just made his first trip to the Pro Bowl, the Cowboys went with Jones, and it appears that they made the correct choice.

After losing a large portion of his rookie season to injuries, Jones emerged as the Cowboys' biggest X factor on offense in '09. He's the home-run threat that offensive coordinator Jason Garrett had been missing in the running game. Jones is not a running back who needs 20 carries to find his rhythm. He can break open a game on one carry, and that's what makes him one of the most-dangerous players left in the playoffs.

In back-to-back weeks, he put an overwhelmed Eagles defense out of its misery with long touchdown runs in the third quarter. In Week 17, he took a toss around the left side for a 49-yard touchdown. And in Saturday's wild-card playoff game, Jones broke free for a 73-yard touchdown to make the score 34-7 and end any hopes of an Eagles comeback.

Of course, the rally cry in Dallas now is to increase Jones' carries. It's a knee-jerk reaction that is completely unnecessary. Jones doesn't require a lot of carries to be productive and you don't want to expose his relatively slight frame to a lot of punishment. The offensive linemen on this team love him because he gives them more margin for error. With Barber in the backfield, linemen need to stay with their blocks for an extended amount of time in order for him to accelerate through a hole. All Jones needs is a tiny seam and he's off to the races.

Jones hasn't yet become a breakout star in the league, but he gives the Cowboys rare speed at running back. With the ability to run the ball early in games, quarterback Tony Romo has found a lot of open receivers in the first half. More than any other player left in the playoffs, I believe Jones best fits the description of an X factor.

 

[Rampage]

way to go out on a limb, Mosley after the game he just had:laugh2:

 

[alohawg]

I see his point on not needing a rhythm to get going but his presence alone allows Tony and the rest of the offense to get a rhythm. Start Jones, get him 4-5 touches per qtr. and the results will be there.

 

[Idgit]

way to go out on a limb, Mosley after the game he just had:laugh2:

He went out on a limb re: the relatively slight frame part.

 

[chuffly]

He went out on a limb re: the relatively slight frame part.

No kidding. Is Felix really that slight? He's no Brandon Jacobs, but he's got a decent enough frame for a running back.

 

[es22]

This year was just a tease for Felix. Watch out for him in 2010.

 

[masomenos]

I know that it's popular to say that we should have taken Chris Johnson instead of Felix. Honestly though, if given the carries, then I'm 100% confident that Felix could break 2000 yards too.

 

[BAT]

The Cat is definitely the most explosive player on the team. But Felix will have a tougher time breaking long runs against a cover 2 team like Minny. Then again, the Vikes safeties are being called out for their poor tackling so who knows.

 

[CoCo]

I know that it's popular to say that we should have taken Chris Johnson instead of Felix. Honestly though, if given the carries, then I'm 100% confident that Felix could break 2000 yards too.

I'm not at all. But then we're both speculating so who really knows.

Felix to me only looks comfortable running when the hole he's shooting for is clear. Its the way he looks returning KO's right now. Very hesitant and uncomfortable. Give him a seam and he's off to the races, but otherwise he just doesn't look like a polished RB to me.

Not intended to be a knock at all. Obviously he's making a huge contribution right now. I've just never been as ga-ga over the guy as many here. All things considered I think I'd take CJ at this point.

But Felix is a nice consolation prize.

Frankly it looks like Felix, Mendenhall and CJ are all blue chip players at this point with very different strengths & styles.

 

[Chocolate Lab]

Felix is the X factor for this franchise for the next several years. I still think, even with his big games lately, that people don't realize just how good he is. He's a very rare talent. All he has to do is stay healthy.

 

[theebs]

Felix is the X factor for this franchise for the next several years. I still think, even with his big games lately, that people don't realize just how good he is. He's a very rare talent. All he has to do is stay healthy.

he talked about that on the postgame show and how as the season has gone on he has learned how to handle the bumps and bruises during the week to keep himself in good shape.

He also had a big smile when brad sham brought up how adrian peterson is considered the best back and everyone will be talking about him all week.

screen passes on allens side of the field?

 

[wileedog]

http://espn.go.com/blog/nfceast/post/_/id/9912/x-factor-felix-jones-cowboys-rb

Of course, the rally cry in Dallas now is to increase Jones' carries. It's a knee-jerk reaction that is completely unnecessary..

Why is it a knee jerk reaction to want your most explosive, productive back on the field more over the guy who is obviously slowed up by injuries?

 

[bayeslife]

I'm not at all. But then we're both speculating so who really knows.

Felix to me only looks comfortable running when the hole he's shooting for is clear. Its the way he looks returning KO's right now. Very hesitant and uncomfortable. Give him a seam and he's off to the races, but otherwise he just doesn't look like a polished RB to me.

Not intended to be a knock at all. Obviously he's making a huge contribution right now. I've just never been as ga-ga over the guy as many here. All things considered I think I'd take CJ at this point.

But Felix is a nice consolation prize.

Frankly it looks like Felix, Mendenhall and CJ are all blue chip players at this point with very different strengths & styles.

How many times do we have to hear this?

Kickoff returns are not the same as carries!
Kickoff returns are not the same as carries!
Kickoff returns are not the same as carries!
Kickoff returns are not the same as carries!
Kickoff returns are not the same as carries!

 

[DallasEast]

I'm not at all. But then we're both speculating so who really knows.

Felix to me only looks comfortable running when the hole he's shooting for is clear. Its the way he looks returning KO's right now. Very hesitant and uncomfortable. Give him a seam and he's off to the races, but otherwise he just doesn't look like a polished RB to me.

Not intended to be a knock at all. Obviously he's making a huge contribution right now. I've just never been as ga-ga over the guy as many here. All things considered I think I'd take CJ at this point.

But Felix is a nice consolation prize.

Frankly it looks like Felix, Mendenhall and CJ are all blue chip players at this point with very different strengths & styles.

 

[Eskimo]

I agree that giving Felix the ball 25-30 times like we often did with Emmitt would be a mistake. However, I see no reason to limit him to 5-10 carries a a game. I would like to see him get the ball 15-20 games or about 250 carries on the season. I would also like to see 3-5 catches to get him the ball in space and on the move.

Felix was not the feature back at Arkansas because they chose to start McFadden - he was thought to be a better college player. Felix has a running and body style better suited to the pro game. I think people have come to the wrong conclusion that Felix can't be a starter in the pros because he wasn't in college - that is just how the chips fell in Arkansas.

The current evidence suggests that Felix is a RB with rare talent whose ypc thus far in his NFL career is unprecedented. It has not been established that his alleged fragility is related to the amount of carries per game he has. In fact, two of his three injuries were entirely non-contact His third injury was a freak PCL injury in a game in which he had under 10 carries.

I think Felix will be great if used properly and is the third most important player on our run to the SB behind Romo and Ware. I do hope Garrett has seen enough to realize that an offense with Barber as the feature back is much less potent than an offense with Felix as the feature back.

 

[Thomas82]

I see his point on not needing a rhythm to get going but his presence alone allows Tony and the rest of the offense to get a rhythm. Start Jones, get him 4-5 touches per qtr. and the results will be there.

This year was just a tease for Felix. Watch out for him in 2010.

 

[dmq]

I do hope Garrett has seen enough to realize that an offense with Barber as the feature back is much less potent than an offense with Felix as the feature back.

Absolutely correct. I love Barber, but he is our third best rb right now.

 

[Thomas82]

Absolutely correct. I love Barber, but he is our third best rb right now.

Deep down, I bet the o-line feels that way too.

 

[CCBoy]

Slight frame huh...and who was the Cowboy Hall of Famer just before Emmitt Smith and from Pitt again? Tony Dorsett...and he wasn't a Jim Brown either.

 

[TNCowboy]

Mendenhall would not have been a bad choice. He was fantastic for the Steelers after Parker got hurt, and also showed he could catch the ball.

Jones is a more explosive player which fits better right now, but I wonder if you aren't better off in the long run with the workhorse....

Jones, Mendenhall, and of course, Chris Johnson. Dallas couldn't have gone wrong with any of them, even though I'm not usually keen on taking RBs in the first round.

My only complaint with Jones (not really a complaint about him) is that they just don't get him involved enough. He's clearly a better RB than Barber, yet when healthy, they keep feeding Barber the ball more than FJ.