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Marion Barber III (1 Viewer)

encaitar

Footballguy
So I was watching the Vikings game today(Childress makes me hate being a Vikings fan) and for the first time in over a year, I was worried about a running back being able to break any given play for a TD on the Vikings run defense.

Now, we all know the Vikings run D is one of the best in the NFL and it doesn't happen very often that they struggle to bring someone down, but Barber gave them fits, even with their swarming defense. There were quite a few plays today that he nearly broke for long TDs. He also had the two longest rushing plays against the Vikings this year (21 yards and 24 yards). Meanwhile, JJ looked a lot less threatening. He didn't have a bad game, but when the ball was in his hands I didn't worry about him taking one to the house.

I understand that many coaches want to keep their RBs fresh late into the game and late into the season, but for as little as Dallas runs the ball versus passes the ball I don't think that is a problem. Now it could be that JJ is a bigger pass catching threat and they want him in the game for this purpose, but still I think Barber should be getting 20 touches a game. There really isn't anyone in the game that runs harder than him right now.

 
So I was watching the Vikings game today(Childress makes me hate being a Vikings fan) and for the first time in over a year, I was worried about a running back being able to break any given play for a TD on the Vikings run defense.

Now, we all know the Vikings run D is one of the best in the NFL and it doesn't happen very often that they struggle to bring someone down, but Barber gave them fits, even with their swarming defense. There were quite a few plays today that he nearly broke for long TDs. He also had the two longest rushing plays against the Vikings this year (21 yards and 24 yards). Meanwhile, JJ looked a lot less threatening. He didn't have a bad game, but when the ball was in his hands I didn't worry about him taking one to the house.

I understand that many coaches want to keep their RBs fresh late into the game and late into the season, but for as little as Dallas runs the ball versus passes the ball I don't think that is a problem. Now it could be that JJ is a bigger pass catching threat and they want him in the game for this purpose, but still I think Barber should be getting 20 touches a game. There really isn't anyone in the game that runs harder than him right now.
I think most consider Barber III a better pass catching back, no?
 
Dallas is 6-1 with the current arrangement. This is why. If they were losing, that might change. But they are winning. To quote Bull Durham "never #### with a winning streak."

 
Dallas is 6-1 with the current arrangement. This is why. If they were losing, that might change. But they are winning. To quote Bull Durham "never #### with a winning streak."
On top of that, Jones had been the more productive runner the past three games prior to the Minnesota game. He had 144 yards and a TD to Barber's 125 yards and 0 TDs. As Troy Aikman noted yesterday, Jones had really picked up his play the previous three games. And he did have some good runs yesterday but it was Barber who got the carries late and when the Vikings' run defense was wore down he gashed them. There's no reason for the Cowboys to change because the rotation at running back continues to work for them. I think the primary concern - and Jones talked about this last week - is that it's rare when one of the RBs gets enough consistent carries to get into a rhythm. Barber got those carries late against both the Vikings and Bears and he did very well. As I've said in numerous other Barber-Jones threads, if two different coaching staffs analyze the situation and come to the exact same conclusion that speaks volumes about why the rotation is in effect. There's clearly something that has led both of these coaching staffs to believe that it's in the team's best interests to rotate the RBs rather than give one of them the bulk of the carries.
 
My only knock on MBIII is that he does not always seem aware of first down markers and yardage. He will keep running even if he is going backwards. He lost a 1st down yesterday when he did this on one play. Now obviously he is the tougher RB to bring down. I don't think he's an every down back though. When he starts picking up 1st downs and not yielding yards I'll annoint him. Even the last 2 plays before halftime I fault him a bit. Romo should have thrown the ball incomplete to begin with but MBIII should have just dropped those passes to save timeouts.

 
My only knock on MBIII is that he does not always seem aware of first down markers and yardage. He will keep running even if he is going backwards. He lost a 1st down yesterday when he did this on one play. Now obviously he is the tougher RB to bring down. I don't think he's an every down back though. When he starts picking up 1st downs and not yielding yards I'll annoint him. Even the last 2 plays before halftime I fault him a bit. Romo should have thrown the ball incomplete to begin with but MBIII should have just dropped those passes to save timeouts.
saw the game and I totally agree about that 1st down play when he tried to fight and wound up losing about 4 yards and the first down
 
My only knock on MBIII is that he does not always seem aware of first down markers and yardage. He will keep running even if he is going backwards. He lost a 1st down yesterday when he did this on one play. Now obviously he is the tougher RB to bring down. I don't think he's an every down back though. When he starts picking up 1st downs and not yielding yards I'll annoint him. Even the last 2 plays before halftime I fault him a bit. Romo should have thrown the ball incomplete to begin with but MBIII should have just dropped those passes to save timeouts.
Ouch... I saw the play when he lost the first down. He was hit by like 3 guys... I'll take a guy who wants the extra yard any day over a a guy who will get to the marker and step out of bounds when he could have had 4 more yards. Over the course of the season the Barber will get you those first downs more times then not compared to the guy who does not want the contact. As for the pass plays Romo could have throw the ball in his direction at his feet on into the ground...
 
As I've said in numerous other Barber-Jones threads, if two different coaching staffs analyze the situation and come to the exact same conclusion that speaks volumes about why the rotation is in effect. There's clearly something that has led both of these coaching staffs to believe that it's in the team's best interests to rotate the RBs rather than give one of them the bulk of the carries.
:shrug: Packersfan knows whats up.
 
My only knock on MBIII is that he does not always seem aware of first down markers and yardage. He will keep running even if he is going backwards. He lost a 1st down yesterday when he did this on one play. Now obviously he is the tougher RB to bring down. I don't think he's an every down back though. When he starts picking up 1st downs and not yielding yards I'll annoint him. Even the last 2 plays before halftime I fault him a bit. Romo should have thrown the ball incomplete to begin with but MBIII should have just dropped those passes to save timeouts.
saw the game and I totally agree about that 1st down play when he tried to fight and wound up losing about 4 yards and the first down
How was that not a first down anyway?!?!?!?He got the first down, got hit backward, but broke the tackle. He then started back upfield, but was met by two more defenders. They (the refs) punished him for breaking the tackle. IMHO he should have been given the first down with forward progress. He didn't run backwards, he was hit backwards. It isn't his fault it takes three people to bring him down.As far as JJ vs. Barber, yes obviously Barber is the better back, but JJ isn't as bad as he seems. JJ often doesn't have the same room Barber does. For some reason they use JJ inside the tackles and he is usually met by a defender almost immediately, or when he does get a good run, it more times then not is called back because of holding. Im sure any JJ owners who watch the games could attest to that. I bet he has lost 100+ yards to penalties this year.JJ wears down the D, Barber comes in to finish them off. In other words, it ain't broke so don't fix it.
 
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Im sure any JJ owners who watch the games could attest to that. I bet he has lost 100+ yards to penalties this year.
This may seem like hyperbole but it really isn't. I can think of two receptions where Jones got about 30 yards that were called back. He really has had some bad luck when it comes to penalties.
 
My only knock on MBIII is that he does not always seem aware of first down markers and yardage. He will keep running even if he is going backwards. He lost a 1st down yesterday when he did this on one play. Now obviously he is the tougher RB to bring down. I don't think he's an every down back though. When he starts picking up 1st downs and not yielding yards I'll annoint him. Even the last 2 plays before halftime I fault him a bit. Romo should have thrown the ball incomplete to begin with but MBIII should have just dropped those passes to save timeouts.
saw the game and I totally agree about that 1st down play when he tried to fight and wound up losing about 4 yards and the first down
How was that not a first down anyway?!?!?!?He got the first down, got hit backward, but broke the tackle. He then started back upfield, but was met by two more defenders. They (the refs) punished him for breaking the tackle. IMHO he should have been given the first down with forward progress. He didn't run backwards, he was hit backwards. It isn't his fault it takes three people to bring him down.
If he had went down he would have gotten forward progress. But he made "a football move" by trying to get away.
 
My only knock on MBIII is that he does not always seem aware of first down markers and yardage. He will keep running even if he is going backwards. He lost a 1st down yesterday when he did this on one play. Now obviously he is the tougher RB to bring down. I don't think he's an every down back though. When he starts picking up 1st downs and not yielding yards I'll annoint him. Even the last 2 plays before halftime I fault him a bit. Romo should have thrown the ball incomplete to begin with but MBIII should have just dropped those passes to save timeouts.
saw the game and I totally agree about that 1st down play when he tried to fight and wound up losing about 4 yards and the first down
How was that not a first down anyway?!?!?!?He got the first down, got hit backward, but broke the tackle. He then started back upfield, but was met by two more defenders. They (the refs) punished him for breaking the tackle. IMHO he should have been given the first down with forward progress. He didn't run backwards, he was hit backwards. It isn't his fault it takes three people to bring him down.
If he had went down he would have gotten forward progress. But he made "a football move" by trying to get away.
I understand, just seems silly. It isn't like he ran backwards.
 
As I've said in numerous other Barber-Jones threads, if two different coaching staffs analyze the situation and come to the exact same conclusion that speaks volumes about why the rotation is in effect. There's clearly something that has led both of these coaching staffs to believe that it's in the team's best interests to rotate the RBs rather than give one of them the bulk of the carries.
:thumbup: Packersfan knows whats up.
uhh maybe ... maybe notwhat if ... the new coaching staff, not wanting to rock the boat of a playoff team left to them coached by a hall-of-fame coach that they trusted, decided to go "status-quo" until they had a chance to evaluate fully. Now they have a team that is winning and they are gonna let it rideor maybe they just buy in to the new fad of the two-back systemmy guess is that when it gets to nut-cuttin time in games involving homefield advantage and then into playoff games, we will know what the new guys really thinkcould be you are right though or we could see Barber in 3 out of 4 series ..who knows?
 
When I die and hopefully go to Heaven I wanna know a few things. Who really killed Kennedy. What's the mystery behind the Sphynx? Where do all the single socks go? Why does the hottest woman I have ever seen think she's fat? Did Clause Von Beulow poison his wife? Why is MBIII not the starter in Dallas?

Mysteries of the universe that may never be solved....

Oh, and I don't own any of these guys in any league....

 
When I die and hopefully go to Heaven I wanna know a few things. Who really killed Kennedy. What's the mystery behind the Sphynx? Where do all the single socks go? Why does the hottest woman I have ever seen think she's fat? Did Clause Von Beulow poison his wife? Why is MBIII not the starter in Dallas?Mysteries of the universe that may never be solved....
...and how many licks does it take to get to the center of a Tootsie Roll lollipop?
 
I've been pushing Barber for two full seasons now and all I'd ever get is "so I guess you know more than a hall of fame coach and several other coaches"? I don't hear that much from those guys anymore about MBlll. I guess while I'm still playing GM I'll say that MJD and J. Norwood should also be getting a good bit more playing time as well. It's obvious to anyone who follows football that these guys give their teams a better shot to win than the guys starting over them. I'm sure I'll get the typical "so how long have you been an NFL GM or coach"? But sometimes coaches are stubburn and some just don't like change and some are even just plain idiots. :lmao:

 
TheFanatic said:
When I die and hopefully go to Heaven I wanna know a few things. Who really killed Kennedy. What's the mystery behind the Sphynx? Where do all the single socks go? Why does the hottest woman I have ever seen think she's fat? Did Clause Von Beulow poison his wife? Why is MBIII not the starter in Dallas?Mysteries of the universe that may never be solved....Oh, and I don't own any of these guys in any league....
:lmao: Due to injuries, I had to start Von Bulow this week. :goodposting:
 
SR388 said:
I understand, just seems silly. It isn't like he ran backwards.
It's not that he willingly ran backwards (he didn't), it's that he willingly tried to run forwards after he had been knocked backwards. If he had just given up, he would have gotten the original first down. You don't get two bites at the apple.
 
Lash said:
Sigmund Bloom said:
packersfan said:
As I've said in numerous other Barber-Jones threads, if two different coaching staffs analyze the situation and come to the exact same conclusion that speaks volumes about why the rotation is in effect. There's clearly something that has led both of these coaching staffs to believe that it's in the team's best interests to rotate the RBs rather than give one of them the bulk of the carries.
:goodposting: Packersfan knows whats up.
uhh maybe ... maybe notwhat if ... the new coaching staff, not wanting to rock the boat of a playoff team left to them coached by a hall-of-fame coach that they trusted, decided to go "status-quo" until they had a chance to evaluate fully. Now they have a team that is winning and they are gonna let it rideor maybe they just buy in to the new fad of the two-back systemmy guess is that when it gets to nut-cuttin time in games involving homefield advantage and then into playoff games, we will know what the new guys really thinkcould be you are right though or we could see Barber in 3 out of 4 series ..who knows?
Phillips and Garrett had an entire offseason, minicamps, training camp and the pre-season to come to a different opinion than what Parcells fared. And yet, despite all of that time they reached the exact same conclusion - the team is better served using Jones and Barber together instead of giving one of them the bulk of the carries consistently. And what's important to remember is that BOTH of these guys have put up very good numbers when given 18/20+ carries a game. But even taking that into consideration, Phillips and Garrett reached the exact same conclusion as their predecessor. This isn't about not wanting to rock the boat. This is about two coaching staffs evaluating the talent and coming to the same conclusion. It's about winning and if Phillips and Garrett believed the team would be better off with Barber as the starter he would be. It's really that simple.I was a Barber owner last season and I said the exact same thing. I'm a Jones owner this season and I am saying the exact same thing. I like both of these guys quite a bit. I think either one would be a very good starter if he was given 20+ carries a game consistently. But the situation hasn't changed and we've now had two different coaching staffs use the same approach. i see no reason to believe it's going to change anytime soon and when two different coaching staffs reach the same conclusion it's safe to say there must be a very good reason why it hasn't been changed.
 

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