Nick Eatman: Dallas would've drafted Stewart over Jones if he'd been available

[Shake_Tiller]

Yeah, I understand what you're saying about Franco. My convuluted point was... Franco Harris was a great player, but he wasn't going to beat out Dorsett. Number 33 was better. Given that, assuming Dorsett stayed healthy, Harris probably couldn't have been the third down back Pearson was.

The idea is that Felix Jones fits a role other than backup running back. For better or worse, Dallas hitched the star to Barber as the starter. It covered itself by drafting a pure backup in the fourth round, which is where you make that kind of Choice.

Felix could fit two or three roles... he can be the next Pearson as a third down back. He can return kicks. He also can line up in the slot and be a dangerous receiver. And who knows? He might grow into the role of being a full-time tailback in a modern, two horse offense.

I don't think this is a put-down of Mendenhall. His stats speak for themselves. He was a great college player. But I'm a little concerned about his perceived weaknesses... he is not seen as a good pass protector nor as a polished receiver out of the backfield.

Jones is a willing, though not dominating pass blocker and a very good receiving threat. In a sense, the two are very different role players.

 

[Chief]

I have never heard anyone question Mike Jenkins attitude or work ethic. The question is does he take plays off, but never question his attitude. There are big difference between the two.

Uh, "work ethic" and taking "plays off" are sort of the same thing.

And there are questions about his attitude.

My point was the attitude question is coming out now at Valley Ranch about Mendenhall and how that helped Dallas decide on Felix. But what about Jenkins?

Other NFL personnel people are talking about it. Adam posted the stuff below on the news board.

There's definitely a debate going on. Off the top of my head, I can think of four Cowboys draft picks in the past 8 years that had clear attitude questions coming in to the draft -- Dwayne Goodrich, Kareem Larrimore, Quincy Carter and Antonio Bryant.

That's why I have concerns.

You can see the clear debate and disagreement among the NFL people below, so it is an issue. We know which side the Cowboys people are on. Here is the info Adam dug up .......





MIKE JENKINS

"I equate him to Eric Allen, the five-time Pro Bowler," one scout said. "Just the style of play. I think people read Jenkins the wrong way. He's kind of a loner, in a good way."

Criticized by one scout as "having a little prima donna in him. Not the toughest guy. Is he the guy I would want as my locker mate? Probably not."

"But he's not a bad kid at all," a third scout said. "Only reason he didn't go to a major university was because his mom had really bad diabetes and he didn't want to leave her so he stayed at home. Also raised his nephew when his sister couldn't take care of him."

"If he comes to play he'll be the best player out of all of them," Seattle scout Charles Fisher said. "His issue will be in his own mind."

"I think he's a really good kid with a good head on shoulders," a scouting director for an AFC team said. "Just because of the relationship with his mother, that shows a lot of maturity. If that translates over to football is a little questionable. I wish he played with more fire. Can he develop that? I'm not sure. He probably can, but there's some question there, definitely. I think he'll go at the bottom of the first round. Don't think he'd go any later than the top of the second, anywhere from 25 to 35."

"Physically, he's probably as good or better than all the guys," another scout said. "He's probably more raw and plays where he coasts through some games because he's not challenged with some of the teams they play. But I like his body, he's got good acceleration out of breaks, he's real athletic. He's raw from a technique standpoint. His instincts are a little better than average, not great. I wish he made a few more plays. You look at the (teammate) on the other side, Trae Williams makes a lot of plays. He's got like 15, 18 interceptions where Jenkins has a handful. But he's a guy that could develop his skill level to where he could be a really good second corner and possibly a one."

 

[Redball Express]

I am the guy who harps on this ad nauseum and probably should shut up... but... why can't we think about this as being a question of two different positions? When the Cowboys had Dorsett, Preston Pearson was among the most valuable players on the team. In my opinion, he might have been the greatest third down back ever, certainly in the discussion.

Given that Dallas had Dorsett, if they could have chosen between having as his "backup" Pearson, or having, say, Franco Harris, which would have been the better choice (assuming all these guys in their prime years at the same time)? If you knew Dorsett was going to be injured, Harris... if Dorsett were healthy, Pearson was a bigger contributor.

Certainly Barber is no Dorsett. Felix Jones might not be a Preston Pearson. Mendenhall might not be a Franco Harris. But I think the parallels are worth considering.

Interesting points you make. I saw Pearson play and no doubt in my mind that he was a real catalyst in the success Dallas had when he played. In fact, he could and would just kill a team when they over-compensated on Dorsett and Tony Hill and Drew Pearson.

So I'm on board with you on the comparisions about his possible roles that he may play. Like Pearson, I see Felix as a multi-dimensional weapon that Garrett is going to fully exploit.

One of the things I can't wait to see is if they will put both MBIII and Felix in the same backfield.

If they do, DMAC and Felix used to play pitch and catch a bunch for big plays often. I beleive MBIII can throw the HB pass pretty well, too.

Should be fun.



:starspin RedBaLL ExPreSS :starspin

 

[joseephuss]

Those two RB's are now forever linked like Ellis/Moss or Ware/Merriman.

I'm still glad we got Jones.

Sort of like running backs Julius Jones/Kevin Jones/Stephen Jackson.

 

[ThreeSportStar80]

Well I have no doubt about Felix Jones character, passion or work ethic, so I'm happy with the pick. He'll bring a young dynamic running style to Dallas!

 

[Oh_Canada]

<snipped larger article>

Now the Cowboys thought there would be a tough decision to make at that pick, but they figured it would be between Felix Jones and Oregon's Jonathan Stewart, whose stock had been hard to read because of his toe surgery after the combine.

In fact, multiple sources in the Cowboys' War Room said the club would've drafted Stewart over Felix Jones had he been available, but it became irrelevant once Stewart was drafted 12th overall by the Panthers.

Stewart, a compact back with home-run speed, combined with the ability and history of carrying the load as the No. 1 back, appeared to be the team's No. 2 overall back on the board behind Arkansas' Darren McFadden.

But with Stewart gone, it came down to Felix Jones and Mendenhall. The Cowboys might have even had Mendenhall rated higher as an overall back, but a few other factors ultimately pushed the tide to Jones' favor.

The speculation was that when the Cowboys inquired about Mendenhall's first two years at Illinois, when he was the backup running back and had just 858 yards in two years, they learned he wasn't the most dedicated player in the weight room. When he wasn't the starting back, apparently Mendenhall didn't get rave reviews about being a team player.

Obviously that was a concern, considering any back drafted by the Cowboys would have to take a backseat to Barber.

http://www.dallascowboys.com/news.cfm?id=9C4B518D-FB62-42A5-563C2812E4C39C77

So we took the "happy-to-be-the-backup" type instead???? That doesn't seem to be a Jerry Jones type to me.

 

[ABQCOWBOY]

Here's my question, and really, it's the same question I had before the draft. If we had Barber and lets say a player like him (Mendenhall), in the Giants game, could the Giants have stopped us late in the game? If we had a fresh back that had a power running game like Barber has, could they have stopped us?

If, as many of you believe, Barber simply ran out of gas and that's why we couldn't win, then why not take a guy who fits into the same mold as Barber? I don't understand why you go away from that?

Everybody raves about how Jones can catch the ball. Maybe he can but if that's the case, why didn't he catch more balls? If it's because they didn't have a very good QB, then it would seem like he would have caught even more balls. After all, when you QB isn't very good, they usually check down a lot and that means plenty of catches for the Rbs but he didn't have all that many.

I don't know. I guess we will see what happens.

 

[big dog cowboy]

MIKE JENKINS

"I equate him to Eric Allen, the five-time Pro Bowler," one scout said. "Just the style of play. I think people read Jenkins the wrong way. He's kind of a loner, in a good way."

Criticized by one scout as "having a little prima donna in him. Not the toughest guy. Is he the guy I would want as my locker mate? Probably not."

We just need to make sure Ware is his roomie.

 

[Chocolate Lab]

Here's my question, and really, it's the same question I had before the draft. If we had Barber and lets say a player like him (Mendenhall), in the Giants game, could the Giants have stopped us late in the game? If we had a fresh back that had a power running game like Barber has, could they have stopped us?

If, as many of you believe, Barber simply ran out of gas and that's why we couldn't win, then why not take a guy who fits into the same mold as Barber? I don't understand why you go away from that?

Like the thread says, we would have gone that route if Stewart had been available. But he wasn't.

So it wasn't just about finding a quick back like Felix, because if Stewart had been there we'd have taken him.

 

[theogt]

Here's my question, and really, it's the same question I had before the draft. If we had Barber and lets say a player like him (Mendenhall), in the Giants game, could the Giants have stopped us late in the game? If we had a fresh back that had a power running game like Barber has, could they have stopped us?

If, as many of you believe, Barber simply ran out of gas and that's why we couldn't win, then why not take a guy who fits into the same mold as Barber? I don't understand why you go away from that?

Everybody raves about how Jones can catch the ball. Maybe he can but if that's the case, why didn't he catch more balls? If it's because they didn't have a very good QB, then it would seem like he would have caught even more balls. After all, when you QB isn't very good, they usually check down a lot and that means plenty of catches for the Rbs but he didn't have all that many.

I don't know. I guess we will see what happens.

What would Mendenhall provide that Felix didn't? Do you think Mendenhall would get more carries and touches than Felix?