ZONERS: What went wrong with our JJ?

[CrazyCowboy]

Dallas Cowboys running back Julius Jones rushed for 533 yards in his first five games of his NFL career.

What went wrong?

http://www.nfl.com/photo/photo-gallery?chronicleId=09000d5d80342e40

 

[Hostile]

He became a robot and we drafted a backup who plays so hard he demands touches.

 

[cowboys19]

gained too much weight/too muscular.

he dont have the wiggle/burst he had his rookie year.

 

[Nors]

JJ can only fluorish when he has gaping holes to run through. Without that he is hesitant and not very evasive.

I think we were wowed by a few of his big runs and moves downfield in the open.

Unfortunately he struggles to get it into full gear and find the holes.

I think its time to start the Barbarian and still give JJ some touches as the backup.

 

[ayjackson]

I think he's lost a step - particular in his first few leading into the hole.

 

[Chocolate Lab]

I saw that too, on NFLN. On a piece about how great Peterson has done, they had the best rushers through the first five games of their careers, and they included names like Dickerson, Campbell, LT... And Julius. Weird.

But it does show that it isn't just a few crazed Julius fans with faulty memories that think he was great at first. He really was.

I don't know what happened to him.

 

[MapleLeaf]

Dallas Cowboys running back Julius Jones rushed for 533 yards in his first five games of his NFL career.

What went wrong?

http://www.nfl.com/photo/photo-gallery?chronicleId=09000d5d80342e40

...who show promise. A defensive coordinator learns the specifics of the player's ability and begins to game plan defences to negate him.

More often than not it comes down to the RB earning to progress mentally. I don't think that Julius is any slower than when he got to the league, but he has to make the mental leap to look for the right holes and sometimes when the play doesn't develop he has to hit the defenders hard.

Sometimes the play ends up with a one on one battle with a defender and you have to be prepared to "bring it" and either beat him or punish him for taking you down.

That's really Barber's secret I believe. He's not a faster runner, but when he hits the hole he hits it hard. He seems to never give up and the defenders know it.

They probably hate seeing him run for those tough three yards and see him pop back up like a spring after a hard hit. Mentally he's been ramping up every year and he's prepared to challenge defences with his style of play. He doesn't have JJ's physical gifts, but he more than makes up for it with his mental approach to the game.

If what has transpired the first (6) games for Julius is going to be the results of his last (10) games then it may be in his own best interest to find a new start somewhere else.

Maybe a new team, a new city will help him. So far a new head and position coach hasn't brought out the "fire" in him. He's not chopped liver, but he hans't been able to live up to the Dallas ideal of what RBs should be.

 

[BHendri5]

he is what he has always been, "Fools Gold". The Irish is one of 3 teams that I grew up watching, so I am a big fan. I can only remember seeing Jones on the sideline more times than I saw him play in college. I did not think he was good then and I still do not think he is good.

He may have speed, it looks like it, but speed does not always equate to being or becoming a good or great RB.

As I keep telling my son, there is more to being a good RB, than just speed.

Jones, he has no patience, no wiggle, is he even in the top 5, on the team in speed?

He is reminds me of Evander Holyfield (whom by weight training built himself into a heavyweight fighter, but he is a natural , cruiser/lightweight) Jones by weight trainging built himself up to be over 200lbs, he is a natural 185-195 pounder.

He should be, or could have been a great third down back, but he cannot catch nor can he pass block very well.

 

[ZeroClub]

I think he's a 3rd down back who was miscast as a starter.

 

[Clove]

JJ is NOT a playmaking RB. He's a solid RB that will give you greatness, and then sadness (sadness more than greatness) He doesn't run with LOVE, he runs with desperation and anger (reminds me of How RW plays)

 

[Yakuza Rich]

I think going to Parcells' style hurt him and then when he tried to become that instinctive runner again he somehow lost that skill. He's really lost his vision more than anything and isn't nearly as shifty as he once was. I don't think he ever had solid balance, but in 2004 he was great at making defenders miss so he didn't have to worry about breaking tackles and going through a pile as much. Also, the Cowboys are mostly an interior running team and just don't have the O-Linemen suited to run the ball a lot on the perimeter and to do it effectively. I actually think Julius would be very good in Denver's system.




YAKUZA

 

[Yakuza Rich]

been a great third down back, but he cannot catch nor can he pass block very well.

His receiving may not be Reggie Bush or Brian Westbrook, but he's improved greatly where he's very effective out of the backfield now catching the ball. Dallas just doesn't throw many screen passes. I've always thought his pass blocking was spotty. Sometimes it was good, sometimes it's lacking.




YAKUZA

 

[zrinkill]

He is not Emmitt or Dorsett.

And we are spoiled.

 

[alancdc]

gained too much weight/too muscular.

he dont have the wiggle/burst he had his rookie year.

I agree. He doesn't really have any elusiveness at all any longer. He makes no one miss. It is disapointing because I thought we really had something with him man.

 

[STAR GAZER]

Anyone know how many carries he had to produce that yardage? And what teams he was up against? Were they poor at stopping the run at the time?

We didn't have a passing game, and we didn't have a second back like Barber. So I'm guessing he got alot of touches.

There is always the begginers luck factor, and a little of what many of you have mentioned above.

It's an awfully strange phenomonon.

He should come cheap next year when his contract is up for extention.

 

[BrAinPaiNt]

Dallas Cowboys running back Julius Jones rushed for 533 yards in his first five games of his NFL career.

What went wrong?

http://www.nfl.com/photo/photo-gallery?chronicleId=09000d5d80342e40

My sources tell me that some cowboy fan in a crazy mask hypnotized JJ and made him run like a robot but at the same time he made JJ blame bill for it.

 

[big dog cowboy]

He is not Emmitt or Dorsett.

And we are spoiled.

You say that like it is a bad thing.

 

[STSINAZ]

We Need To Start Barber, Run Barber, Throw To Barber,,,let Him Go Full Time...20 Carries....i Want To See Him In That Role...it Could Propel Us To The Next Level...this Mix And Match Stuff Is Not Working...he Could Be Another Walter Payton You Know...or Let Me Say This...a Step Below...but A Step Below Full Time Is Better Than What We Have Now...he Has Alot Of Gas In The Tank...lets Use It!

 

[percyhoward]

Dallas Cowboys running back Julius Jones rushed for 533 yards in his first five games of his NFL career.

What went wrong?

His first five games were the 9th thru 13th games of that season. Maybe he was just fresher than everybody else. After all, his yardage totals were NOT the result of a high per carry average. That first season, he averaged just under 4.2 ypc. Last year, just under 4.1 This year, it's under 3.9, but as soon as he rips off a long one, that will go up.

The major difference in the JJ of 2004 and the JJ of today is the number of carries he gets. Sit him out for 2 months again, then bring him back and he could probably give you around 30 carries a game at 4.2 again.

 

[Zman5]

If you go back and look at all his rookie highlight vids, one thing you definately see is how fast his initial burst was hitting the hole. He also would make some wicked cuts. I no longer see that in him. He looks hesitant when he runs most of the times. That split second being hesitant could be the difference between 2 yard gain and 20 yard gain.