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Kevin Jones in the Mike Martz Offense (1 Viewer)

I've liked what I've seen from KJ in each game except the fumbles and the tendency for the Lions to call these really wide tosses around the goalline. KJ got stuffed on 2 of these yesterday (he really had no chance on either run with the D on him quickly). He gets touches in both the running and passing game and he's the goalline RB. The biggest drawback is playing the Bears during the fantasy playoffs, but I'll worry about that when it comes.

 
ST. LOUIS -- It would have been easy for Kevin Jones to be happy on Sunday.

After all, Jones, the Lions' running back, had a season-high 93 yards on 19 carries (an average of 4.9 yards per carry). For sure, it was his best game of the season. He found holes, made people miss and got to the end zone twice.

But the end result, a 41-34 loss to the Rams, at the Edward Jones Dome took all the glee out of what appears to be a step in the right direction.

"Right now, everybody is pretty down and upset," Jones said. "But we'll be all right."

Especially if Jones can run the ball the way he did here. He also had two touchdowns, including a 35-yarder.

Jones' second score, a 7-yard touchdown run, gave the Lions a 34-30 lead with 11:11 to go in the game.

"Yes, I'm happy with the offense," coach Rod Marnelli said. "The progress they're making running the ball, throwing the ball, has been what I envisioned when I first got here."

Coming into the game, the Lions had gone 20 straight games without having a 100-yard rusher.

In the NFL, if you can't run the ball, it's nearly impossible to win on a consistent basis. It's seems almost crazy that Jones has not been able to crack the century mark over such a long period of time.

It has to do with the fact that the offensive line has struggled for so long.

Last year, Jones was hampered by some injuries, so that slowed him. But Jones also wasn't as consistent as he needed to be.

Still, Sunday was definitely a glimpse of the Jones, the second half of his rookie season when he had more yards than any other back in the league.

Jones, though, would rather focus on the offense as a whole rather than just himself.

"We got better, that's good," Jones said. "But we can get a lot better."

And while the offense is leaps and bounds better than a season ago, the defense has taken a huge step backward.

Jones believes the Lions' offense still could have won the game had they not gone three-and-out and then had a pass intercepted in the two possessions after the Rams scored their final touchdown.

"I'm not blaming the defense," Jones said. "I'm not looking at it like that.

"We want the ball in our hands at the end of the game. But we need to score. We can't have no three-and-outs leading the game

 
Kowalski's article on the game

"The blocking part was atrocious -- running back Kevin Jones had eight yards on 10 carries and quarterback Jon Kitna was sacked five times and pounded into the ground another eight times."

the only positive I saw from the box score was KJ's ability to stay involved in the passing game..

another 4/42/0 receiving

that is a total of 25 receptions through 5 games...

as compared to 28 in 2004 and 20 in 2005

 
Kowalski's article on the game"The blocking part was atrocious -- running back Kevin Jones had eight yards on 10 carries and quarterback Jon Kitna was sacked five times and pounded into the ground another eight times."the only positive I saw from the box score was KJ's ability to stay involved in the passing game..another 4/42/0 receivingthat is a total of 25 receptions through 5 games...as compared to 28 in 2004 and 20 in 2005
any news on KJ's concussion?
 
koj: Tom-why did martz abandon the run?? Makes it easier for the opposing defense

TomKowalski: THERE WAS NO RUNNING GAME TO ABANDON ...

 
most people know this already but:

Lions may be without 3 starting offensive linemen

10/9/2006, 4:04 p.m. ET

The Associated Press

ALLEN PARK, Mich. (AP) — The 0-5 Detroit Lions may have to take on the Buffalo Bills without three of their starting offensive linemen.

With Rex Tucker (knee) and Ross Verba (hamstring) already sidelined, Detroit lost guard Damien Woody to a sprained left foot early in Sunday's 26-17 loss to the Minnesota Vikings.

Lions coach Rod Marinelli said Monday that there was a "good possibility" that all three would be unable to play Sunday against Buffalo.

 
31 receptions for 209 yards through six games

KJ is on pace to give himself

82 and 557 yards

this is :moneybag: in a PPR league..

 
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Kevin Jones ran for 127 yards Sunday, his first 100-yard game in 20 games. Teammate Dan Campbell helped celebrate his seven-yard TD. (RASHAUN RUCKER/Detroit Free Press)

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More Photos Lions 20, Bills 17

Kevin Jones had his best game of the season and his best run since 2004 in Sunday's 20-17 victory over the Buffalo Bills at Ford Field.

Jones sprang for a season-high 52 yards on his first carry of the game. It was his longest run since his 74-yarder on Dec. 5, 2004 against Arizona.

Although he failed to score on a pair of goal-line carries on that drive Sunday, he scored on a seven-yard touchdown run later in the quarter and kept churning out yards, even after getting a hip pointer, until he finished with 127 on 23 carries. He also added three catches for 36 yards to finish with 163 all-purpose yards.

He snapped a 19-game streak of rushing for less than 100 yards.

"I'm happy, but I'm more happy about the win," Jones said. "Tired of losing. A hundred yards is icing on the cake."

Jones gave credit to the team's patchwork offensive line, which was missing three starters.

"Without them I couldn't do it," he said. "That's even more credit to them because they had second-team guys stepping up, young guys that actually weren't going to be expected to play at this time. We've got guys hurt and they came in. Big (Damien) Woody is out for the season and they just came in and did their job and it helped me out a lot."

Quarterback Jon Kitna was glad that Jones broke the 100-yard barrier.

"Well, anytime you have a back go over 100 yards, No.1, it means you were in the football game for four quarters," Kitna said. "We were on our way to 100 yards a couple of times in the first five games, but (when) you get out of the game it's hard to keep running the football."

Jones said he couldn't remember what happened on his 52-yard carry.

"I just know I got the ball, seen daylight and ran," he said. "I got caught. Shouldn't (have) got caught. I was just happy to be off to an early start."

Jones said offensive coordinator Mike Martz told him the plan was to feed him the ball.

"He told me he was going to establish the run and try to stick with it a little more today," Jones said.

LEGGING IT OUT: Jason Hanson showed some rare emotion after missing a 56-yard field goal in the first quarter. The Lions had a 10-0 lead when Hanson's attempt fell short.

"I was mad because I've been working hard to hit those and I thought I hit it really good," Hanson said. "I did, then it came up a little short. I couldn't believe it.

"It was more just fury, thinking you've done everything right."

He finished with field goals of 43 and 29 yards and made both of his PAT attempts.

Hanson's 53-yard field goal the week before looked like it could have been a 60-yarder, but he said there aren't any "gimme" field goals at that range.

"This week, I hit it really good, but I hit it a lot higher than I did last week," Hanson said. "It's right at a range of what I do normally."

Hanson said he was mad because "I still want to hit those real long ones."

Hanson said he didn't lobby the coaching staff to attempt the kick. He said he thought he got the green light because he's been kicking well of late and "I think it was ' Let's make some plays.' "

GETTING NOSEY: Pro Bowl defensive tackle Shaun Rogers usually plays on the right side, but with nose tackle Shaun Cody out with an injury, Rogers moved to nose tackle and helped clog up the middle of Buffalo's run offense. "Shaun's a load in the there, wow. He was just sort of disrupting some stuff in there," coach Rod Marinelli said.

INJURIES: Running back Shawn Bryson (knee), fullback Cory Schlesinger (hamstring) and linebacker Ernie Sims (elbow) suffered injuries and will be evaluated today. Bryson's injury seemed the most serious. He was hurt on a kickoff return in the first quarter and did not return. Marinelli didn't want to speculate about the extent of the injury but when he was asked if he thought it was serious, Marinelli said, "Without knowing, kind of."

PLAYING TIME: Rookie receiver Devale Ellis was promoted from the practice squad last week and started the game at the tight end position. He had only one pass thrown at him, along the right sideline on a broken play, but failed to catch it with pressure coming from behind ... Receiver Mike Williams -- the 10th pick in the 2005 draft -- failed to see action for the fourth game this season. Williams wasn't involved much in last week's practice and was the only receiver not activated. Asked about the ongoing enigmatic situation involving Williams, quarterback Jon Kitna chose to punt: "That's ... why are we ... I'm not going to answer that question right now. That has nothing to do with today."

 
Kowalski's take:

Q: You said the offensive line played well. Who out of the five played well?

A: Raiola had another great game. Backus had his worst game of the year, according to him. Buffalo's defensive ends are pretty good, now. After a slow start I thought they did pretty good. After the bye week when Verba and Stokes are back, hopefully Stokes will be 100 percent by then. That should take care of itself.

The big question is whether the defensive line is going to be that hot. You can't get sacks every five games. They have to keep pressure on regularly. We'll see against the Jets if they turned the corner, of if this is just a once-a-month thing.

: How about Kevin Jones? Eight yards rushing one week to 127 yards the next week. Why did that happen?

A: It was a combination of a bunch of things. He had 52 yards early, and they gave it to him 23 times. They also had the lead, and they could run with that. The biggest played was as a receiver, getting that first down. I believe only Reggie Bush has more catches as a running back this year.

 
Yours Truly in teh Kowalski chat yesterday:

Righetti: Tom.. Has KJ's receiving ability really improved from 2005 to 2006 or did the last regime just not use him correctly?

TomKowalski: RIGHETTI ... THAT'S WHAT I'VE BEEN TRYING TO TELL YOU ABOUT THESE COACHES ... GUYS ACTUALLY IMPROVE WITH THEM ... KJ IS A HUGE EXAMPLE ... SO IS ALEX LEWIS ... AND PARIS LENON ... THERE ARE MORE ...

RoadKing: TOM - Jones now an every down guy?

TomKowalski: JONES HAS BEEN AN EVERY-DOWN GUY ALL YEAR ..

silky_d: Tom just wanted to know if u believe tha b calhoun was a wasted pick since they seem only to use him so little?

TomKowalski: I DON'T THINK CALHOUN CAN BE CALLED A WASTE AT THIS POINT ... GIVE THE KID A CHANCE ... LET'S SEE WHAT THE BEST ROLE FOR HIM WILL BE ... HE'S NOT GOING TO TAKE ANYTIME FROM KJ AT THIS POINT ...

electriclion: Tom Sorry if I missed it what is Brysons Status

TomKowalski: BRYSON APPEARS TO BE DONE FOR THE YEAR ...

RoadKing: TOM - Is there ANYONE that can take over for Martz and run his system if he leaves?

TomKowalski: MARTZ CAN'T BE REPLACED ... IT'S NOT JUST THE OFFENSE --- IT'S HIS PLAYCALLING ...

tororider: TOM, if they "open up the checkbook" for Martz, would he consider staying, or is he bolting for the prestige of a HC position?

TomKowalski: OPENING THE CHECKBOOK FOR MARTZ -- TO ME -- IS A MUST ... HE WANTS TO BE A HEAD COACH , BUT IF YOU'RE GOING TO PAY MOOCH FIVE MILLION A YEAR NOT TO COACH, WHY NOT PAY SOMEONE THAT MUCH TO BE CREATIVE AND PRODUCTIVE?

CarlosG: Tom, don't you think every game that Martz has gone to the pass at a critical time in the game when he should have run KJ

TomKowalski: ACTUALLY, I THOUGHT MARTZ MUFFED IT IN ST. LOUIS, BUT I LIKED HIS PLAYCALLING AGAINST BUFFALO ...

TomKowalski: I DIDN'T SAY THEY WERE ALL EXECUTED RIGHT, BUT I LIKED THE CALLS ... THE BOMB TO WILLIAMS THAT WAS PICKED OFF WAS AGREAT CALL ... A GOOD THROW AND IT'S A TOUCHDOWN ...

 
...electriclion: Tom Sorry if I missed it what is Brysons Status TomKowalski: BRYSON APPEARS TO BE DONE FOR THE YEAR ... ...
Good stuff, thanks. This point is actually rather important as Bryson had a TD earlier this year. Was he really in on a lot of snaps or was it purely a give-KJ-a-breather type of thing?Either way Calhoun might be a good guy to grab this week if you've got the space.
 
half way through the season he got

136/584/6 and 41/296/1

that is on pace for

272/1168/12 plus 82/592/2

incredible half-way mark considering his 2005 campaign

 
half way through the season he got136/584/6 and 41/296/1that is on pace for272/1168/12 plus 82/592/2incredible half-way mark considering his 2005 campaign
:thumbup: Great season so far for KJ to redeem himself from last year.As an aside, ironically enough SJax also has 41 rec thru 8 games.
 
RoyJonesKitna: Tom: Roy / Jones /Kitna....can this trio continue to carry the offense ?

TomKowalski:IT'S NOT JUST THE TRIO ... OTHER GUYS HAD BIG PLAYS, INCLUDING JUST THAT ONE CATCH BY MCHUGH ... AND IT ALL STARTS UP FRONT ...

FLLion: TOM - How about KJ's picking up the blitz?

TomKowalski:KJ IS PLAYING WITH SOME MUSCLE ... HE AND WILLIAMS GIVE THE TEAM AN ATTITUDE ... NOT TO MENTION THE LINEMEN LIKE VERBA, STOKES AND TUCKER ... BACKUS THINKS THEY'RE ALL INSANE -- BUT IN A NICE WAY ...

consordia: Tom, is the short yardage blocking the toughest to do and the lack of playing together is the reason we struggled so much with it yesterday?

TomKowalski:THE CHEMISTRY ISN'T THERE YET SO THE SHORT YARDAGE STUFF IS TOUGH ... BUT THERE WERE OTHER FACTORS ...

onehop: Jones hit on Webster YOUR thoughts

TomKowalski:JONES HIT WEBSTER ABOUT THREE DIFFERENT TIMES ... HE WAS CRUSHING HIM ... BELIEVE ME, UPCOMING OPPONENTS SEE THAT ON FILM ...

LT2: Tom, KJ on pace to make the pro bowl?

TomKowalski:IT'LL BE INTERESTING TO SEE WHAT KIND OF PRO BOWL CONSIDERATION JONES AND WILLIAMS GET ... THEY HAVE TO WIN A FEW MORE GAMES FOR THAT TO REALLY KICK IN, THOUGH ..

 
antdance: Good KJ question.. should we start to consider him a disappointment

TomKowalski: KJ A DISAPPOINTMENT? WHAT GAME DO YOU GUYS WATCH?

not much from Kowaski after this game

 

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