BigJim®
Footballguy
Trying to digest this column from Cowboys.com... and whether it changes anything.
In The RunningParcells Looking To Rotate 3 Different BacksOXNARD, Calif. - Some interesting developments have transpired at the running back position in the last three days.Cowboys head coach Bill Parcells told reporters Tuesday that if second-year back Marion Barber stays healthy, he will have a "major role on this team."Barber's reps with the first-team offense have continued to increase. If that's not enough, Tyson Thompson also has run behind the first-team offensive line the last two days, and Parcells said Wednesday he wants the second-year veteran to get in the running back mix as well.So what does all this mean for Julius Jones, the projected starting tailback who all of sudden is surrounded by competitors left and right?"I'm no stranger to competition," Jones said following Wednesday morning's practice. "I've been competing ever since I went to college. I competed for a job in college and I'm competing for whatever job here. I'm no stranger to it and I welcome it."But running back, especially with the Cowboys, is unlike other positions where the first-teamers get the bulk of the reps.In fact, Parcells has said all along he prefers to rotate his running backs - and he's not changing his tune now. The coach said Wednesday he wants to see Barber and Jones get significant playing time, and possibly even Thompson as well."In this day and age, having a multiple-back system, if you have the talent to do it, is advantageous to your team," Parcells said. "I'd always been a coach that had a lead back and a supplemental carrier. And then sometimes I had the advantage of having a third-down guy, too. There were always three guys in the mix every week."While Parcells wants to keep the three-back philosophy intact, he said there isn't much difference between Jones and Barber."I think they're pretty much interchangeable," Parcells said. "With those two, I'm more inclined to change the runners and I'm trying to get Tyson ready to be part of this mix as well, where he could maybe be a change-up runner. That means Marion could be the third-down guy and something else. And then Julius could be the lead runner and you'd have two guys to change up and one guy for the third down."That's what I'm trying to do if I could do it, but I don't know if I can."That certainly isn't music to the ears of die-hard fantasy football players who will have hard time gauging just how many snaps each back will receive from week to week.But that's exactly how Parcells wants it.He wants to force opposing teams to prepare for three different backs instead of just one."You want to get more than one runner ready each game," Parcells said. "I'd like to get three. Sometimes you don't have more than one. But if you look around the league, there aren't many teams anymore that rely on just one back. You just can't do it."Parcells doesn't want to, and won't have to.And it seems the coach has instilled that message to his players."I think it's good to have a lot of guys to count on," said Barber, who rushed for 538 yards and five touchdowns last season, which included two starts in place of Jones (high ankle sprain). "All of the running backs are cool. It's all about family. That's what is going to help us win."While Parcells reiterated he plans to use more than one back, he continues to speak highly of Barber, whose father, Marion Barber, Jr., played seven years in the NFL with the Jets (1982-88)."He just came into the league ready to play . . . you could see that," Parcells said. "He's been around the game and really understands it. So he already knew how to do a lot of things. He's well-rounded. I like the way he blocks and catches the ball. He's got good vision."But Parcells still can chew on Barber's well-rounded game. After fumbling twice during team drills last week, Barber has been ordered by the coach to carry a football with him at all times."Dinner, lunch, everywhere," Barber said. "I have to take it with me everywhere I go. He wants me to be thinking football 24-7."While that might be Parcells' way of humbling a second-year player with so much upside, make no mistake, the coach sees nothing but a bright future for Barber."I'm really happy with his progress," he said. "If he stays healthy, there is no reason why he can't be a real good player."Parcells was speaking about Barber, but the same statement could be made for Jones, who has rushed for 1,812 yards in two years despite missing 11 games because of injuries.Staying healthy is the biggest, and virtually the only goal Jones has for this season, where the third-year back wants to silence his detractors."Always, you always have something to prove," Jones said. "To myself, to everyone. I want to play 16 games and get through the whole season. But I think you always have to play like you've got something to prove."Jones missed three games last year with the ankle injury, which he said didn't completely heal until a month after the season. While he was limited in the second half of the season, Jones still managed to rush for 194 yards and two touchdowns in a Christmas Eve win at Carolina. That was good enough to rank fourth in club history on the team's single-game rushing records, behind only Emmitt Smith (237 yards), Tony Dorsett (206) and yes, Jones, who rushed for 198 yards against Seattle as a rookie in 2004."I still know what I can do," said Jones, who just missed a 1,000-yard season, rushing for 993. "I haven't lost any confidence in myself. That's why I'm not really talking about numbers or stats right now. I know that if I go out there and stay healthy all year, the yards will be there. I'm sure about that."But no one is sure just how the carries will be divided in the regular season, especially if Thompson indeed gets into the picture.Arguably one of the team's fastest offensive players, Thompson was relegated to mostly kickoff returns last season as he struggled to pick up the system.But Parcells said things have changed now."Yes, he's better," Parcells said. "Much better, way better, 100 percent better. Now, he's a little less than perfect. But he's 100 percent better."Thompson is expected to get plenty of action Saturday night in Seattle, but he might have to do some time-sharing of his own. The Cowboys' official depth chart actually lists first-year back Keylon Kincade as the third-team back ahead of Thompson and rookie free agent Demetris Summers."We're going to try to play a lot of people here in the preseason," Parcells said. "We've got a few moving parts at that position. So I'm not sure exactly how it's going to end up right now. But at least we've got a few options."And from the looks of things, Parcells is hoping to use them all.
Hello Gopher fan.Kidding, I agree completely. I've been targeting MBIII in every draft I've done since the end of last season. He will have not only a major role this year (Jones is brittle as anyone in the league) but I think Bill wants him to be his next Curtis Martin, and I think he's got the tools.
I don't see a huge upside that everyone else sees, either. MB *is* going to get quite a few carries.
