Player Spotlight: Julius Jones (1 Viewer)

[Jedimaster21]

You need to look at when Duckett is getting the ball. He is not starting. He is not coming running the ball in obvious rushing situation. He is brought in a lot on 3rd down. Heckufa big body to block in passing situations and when he gets the ball there is a lot of room to run. Ducket has sniffed 200 carries once. He had 197 early in his career and had a whopping 4.0 YPC. Otherwise he is just a 120 carry back. If his YPC was more than an aberration he would be starting somewhere. And to say that he has a higher YPC like it's a significant number is just ridiculous. We're talking about .1 difference. It may be higher but would be willing to bet that the difference is not statistically significant. And don't tell me that he was on bad teams. The Falcons led the league in Rushing during his tenure there.

What was Jones YPC last year on how many carries??

He had a down year. Big deal. Doesn't mean a guy who has exactly 1 start (a last game of a year) since 2003 is going to take over as the starter.I've said it before, JJ is going to play like a man possessed this year and then revert back to mediocrity....But Duckett is not going to be a starter in Seattle unless a major injury is involved...

He didn't have a down year, he's had a down career. When making projections, it is definitely important to follow your gut, but you also have to look at a player's history and situation. It is extremely unlikely that Julius Jones becomes a very good player this year considering his mediocre career.

 

[AnonymousBob]

TheFanatic,

Why is Julius going to suddenly run like a man possessed? Why wasn't losing his job in Dallas enough motivation? Why is Jones clearly better?

At least his brother had a medical reason for sucking early in his career. Jones just isn't very good. Unless everybody else gets hurt this is going to be an ugly, messy RBBC.

 

[Holy Schneikes]

Julius Jones basically ran for 1000 yards in back-to-back seasons before he lost his job to Marion Barber. When has TJ Duckett ever shown that he was able to do that? I don't think there's much doubt that Jones will be the main running back for the Seahawks. I just wonder if he's going to get the goal-line carries. TJ Duckett used to be quite the TD vulture but in recent years no so much. If Julius Jones can get most of the carries for what should be a pretty good Seattle offense he just might have some value in 2008.

Over the past 5 years, the only three guys better at converting goal line opportunities to TDs than Duckett were Alexander (hello huge holes), and Priest (who crushes everybody else). He's converted 25 of 49 attempts from within 5 yards. LT has been close, converting exactly half (of a boatload).For some reason a lot of people seem to think Duckett's short yardage ability is overrated, but he gets the job done WAY more than most.

Julius has converted 9 out of 32 by the way.

You're going a pretty long way back. Since his Falcons days he hasn't been used in that way. After averaging 9 TD's a season from 2003-2005 he's only had 5 TD's the past 2 seasons. What happened since then? If he's still this great goal-line back shouldn't he have still been used in that manner? When he was playing in Washington behind Ladell Betts (who's one of the worst short-yardage backs in the NFL) he still couldn't get any playing time. Last season in Detroit he wasn't much use in any game except for part of a game against the Chiefs. I'm not sure what's going to be so different in Seattle compared to his last 2 teams.

So TJ Duckett isn't much of a runner (career high 779 yards). He can't catch (career high 11 catches) and so far the past two seasons he doesn't score many touchdowns (2 in 2006, 3 in 2007). What good is he now? Why did the Seahawks even sign him? Maybe they're just smarter than the other two teams and make him a glorified goal-line back again.

I'm not even saying that Julius Jones is that good because he's not but compared TJ Duckett well there is no comparison.

So did he forget how to run on the goal-line? Has he lost a step at age 27? What is the theory here for ignoring 5 years of history? Actually, if you look at just the last THREE years, he's still at 50% conversion - he's just had a lot fewer opportunities. Guys who everybody touts as super-duper GL guys for comparison over the last three years:MB2 19/47 40%

SJax 15/38 39%

LJ 27/55 almost 50%

ADP 4/11 36%

LT 32/61 52%

For a chuckle, Zack Crocket went 1 for 7 in that span. Guess that's why he's gone.

Julius Jones 6 for 20 30%

So yeah, I think it's fairly safe to say Julius shouldn't be seeing a lot of goal-line opportunities if Duckett is available. The team may not want to announce it, but they'd be absolutely nuts to have JJ in at the expense of Duckett.

As for Duckett vs JJ in other areas, we can go round and round on that. I think Duckett has looked as good as Julius if not better in other facets of the game too, but as far as goal-line goes, no matter how you spin it JJ isn't in the same ballpark.

I will say that the Washington thing was just a complete fiasco. DC thought Portis was seriously injured, so even though the LOVE Betts, they go out and trade for Duckett as insurance. Turns out, they didn't need him. Portis was the main guy, and Betts continued his role as COP/backup because he had more experience in the system. Nothing too shocking there. Gibbs actually publicly apologized to Duckett for what happened there and made it clear that Duckett was looking really good despite him not being used a lot. Then in Detroit, Duckett looks very solid despite starting out as the #3 back.

As I said before though, I'd love to be wrong and have Julius tear it up in all phases. Just don't think it will happen.

 

[TheFanatic]

TheFanatic,Why is Julius going to suddenly run like a man possessed? Why wasn't losing his job in Dallas enough motivation? Why is Jones clearly better? At least his brother had a medical reason for sucking early in his career. Jones just isn't very good. Unless everybody else gets hurt this is going to be an ugly, messy RBBC.

Why did Priest Holmes all of the sudden become a stud? TJones was nothing but mediocre, but a change of scenery and now he plays well. Tiki Barber wasn't all that good early in his career but later on he went nuts. I just think that JJ will be highly motivated to prove himself this year. He started off doing pretty well in the later half of his rookie season. And then followed that up with a couple 1K yard seasons. Maybe he got complacent. Maybe Tuna didn't like him. Who knows. We see guys like SA, KJ, Henry, etc all without jobs and not a lot of suitors. JJ was snapped up right away. Somebody thinks the kid can play and that somebody is not a bunch of schmucks on a web board. Maybe it's just a matter of motivation and he lost that in Dallas. Getting cut can motivate someone big time.I know this is all touchy feely, and not at all scientific or statistical. But I just have the feeling that the guy is going to run hard this year. Can he sustain that next year?

 

[Iwannabeacowboybaby!]

Julius Jones runs his best north and south, quick hitting plays that catch the defense by surprise. I'm not sure how often Seattle runs those type of plays, I seem to remember lots of plays run east and west with Alexander trying to pick his spots where to turn up.

I just don't see Julius Jones making a huge impact. He isn't a bad running back, he pass blocks OK, his hands are average to less than average and he's not slow, but not fast. He's not the guy who can take it to the house, but he's not the guy who you're going to bring in for your goaline situations.

700 yards, 5 td's, 24 reception for 175 yards

 

[Garts]

Not a huge JJ fan, but he runs the draw as well or better then any RB in football.

Everything else he does is just average.

 

[Manster]

Cowboys fan here. been calling for MBIII to be feature back in Dallas for last couple yrs. i'm not impressed with JJ. he will struggle in SEA.

650 rushing, 150 recieving, 4 total TD's.

 

[blend]

I was looking to get TJ Duckett late as I think he presents really good value. But, I just saw this report on MFL:

(Rotoworld) The Tacoma News Tribune suggests that T.J. Duckett wouldn't make the Seahawks if they hadn't handed him so much money in free agency.

Impact: Summer practice rarely changes fantasy value too much, but Duckett's quick fall from grace in Seattle has been noteworthy. It looks like he won't have much a role in the offseason, and he doesn't look draftworthy in fantasy leagues.

 

[Chop_Block]

For the TJ Duckett folks -- from Tacoma News Tribune via rotoworld

T.J. Duckett-RB- Seahawks Jun. 13 - 11:29 am et

The Tacoma News Tribune suggests that T.J. Duckett wouldn't make the Seahawks if they hadn't handed him so much money in free agency.

Summer practice rarely changes fantasy value too much, but Duckett's quick fall from grace in Seattle has been noteworthy. It looks like he won't have much a role in the offseason, and he doesn't look draftworthy in fantasy

FWIW - it's early but I think many may be overvaluing Duckett. It's been years since he showed me anything that leads me to believe he's ever going to cut into many starters carries. Still, there is many a slip between the cup and the lip.I am high on JJ, but not ridiculously so. I think he could have a solid season as at least a #2 on most teams in redraft. If the oline holds together and the passing offense is smooth, Jones could easily put up numbers in the neighborhood of 800+ yards and 8 tds total.

edited to add: Umm.... yeah I missed blend's post.

But my point stands.

 

[The Man with the Plan]

Damn. Who knows what'll happen in training camp but I was hoping that there would be some kind of competition. If anything this'll make JJ an even higher draft pick. I think he make a very good #3 running back but it looks as if he'll have to be drafted as a starter.

 

[switz]

Why did Priest Holmes all of the sudden become a stud?

Thats a ridiculous comparison, as Holmes looked VERY good BEFORE he was on the Chiefs, he just wasn't used much. Julius Jones was used a lot, and stunk, and got beat out by a second string college back drafted in the 4th round.

 

[switz]

You need to look at when Duckett is getting the ball. He is not starting. He is not coming running the ball in obvious rushing situation. He is brought in a lot on 3rd down. Heckufa big body to block in passing situations and when he gets the ball there is a lot of room to run.

Ducket has sniffed 200 carries once. He had 197 early in his career and had a whopping 4.0 YPC. Otherwise he is just a 120 carry back. If his YPC was more than an aberration he would be starting somewhere. And to say that he has a higher YPC like it's a significant number is just ridiculous. We're talking about .1 difference. It may be higher but would be willing to bet that the difference is not statistically significant.

And don't tell me that he was on bad teams. The Falcons led the league in Rushing during his tenure there.

What was Jones YPC last year on how many carries??

He had a down year. Big deal. Doesn't mean a guy who has exactly 1 start (a last game of a year) since 2003 is going to take over as the starter.I've said it before, JJ is going to play like a man possessed this year and then revert back to mediocrity....But Duckett is not going to be a starter in Seattle unless a major injury is involved...

Which year was "down"? 2007, 3.6; 2006, 4.1; 2005, 3.9; 2004, 4.2 - none of those seem "up"What is going to make him possessed? No threat to his starting job, as opposed to his starting job being threatened? He blamed in on Parcells originally, but what happened under Wade? Even more suckitude.

Sorry, but Jones sucks... just plain old sucks... I don't care if he's been named the starter, or if they cut every other RB on the team. He won't be a good FF back this year, or ever. He sucks.

 

[Jon_Moore]

This is a guy I'll probably avoid in most of my drafts. He has some talent, he's excellent out in space, but he's never been a tough runner, hasn't gotten goal line touches--granted he has Barber to deal with, but now he's got Duckett. It seems every year you hear about how much the Seahawks think of Maurice Morris, and I wouldn't be surprised if he has a few solid games in there himself. He had a great 2nd half to 04, in 05 he had 1200+ total yards and 5 tds, in 06 he had 1200+ total yards and 4 tds, in 07, they just seemed to phase him out in big D.

I'd expect the 05, 06 numbers from him, as he's in a good situation to see more carries once again, but still lose goal line work.

270 rushes

1107 Yards

4 Tds

28 Receptions

182 Receiving Yards

0 Tds

Based on the numbers, there are some other guys you can get in later rounds that should offer similar productiion.

 

[Max Power]

For the TJ Duckett folks -- from Tacoma News Tribune via rotoworld

T.J. Duckett-RB- Seahawks Jun. 13 - 11:29 am et

The Tacoma News Tribune suggests that T.J. Duckett wouldn't make the Seahawks if they hadn't handed him so much money in free agency.

Summer practice rarely changes fantasy value too much, but Duckett's quick fall from grace in Seattle has been noteworthy. It looks like he won't have much a role in the offseason, and he doesn't look draftworthy in fantasy

FWIW - it's early but I think many may be overvaluing Duckett. It's been years since he showed me anything that leads me to believe he's ever going to cut into many starters carries. Still, there is many a slip between the cup and the lip.I am high on JJ, but not ridiculously so. I think he could have a solid season as at least a #2 on most teams in redraft. If the oline holds together and the passing offense is smooth, Jones could easily put up numbers in the neighborhood of 800+ yards and 8 tds total.

edited to add: Umm.... yeah I missed blend's post.

But my point stands.

Don't put too much stock into what a newspaper reporter "suggests" Vets tend not to take the summer camps too seriously. I'm sure Duckett did look like crap jogging around without pads in non-contact drills.

I hope this reporter also mentions how great some of these undrafted rookie are looking.

Anyone who watched a bulk of Lions games last season got to see Duckett looking good. He is playing about 15-20 pounds below his listed weight. He looks faster than he has in the past and I think he will see a decent amount of carries this season.

JJ on the other hand is an average NFL running back at best. He got by in Dallas because the team was winning. If the game was on the line...JJ wasn't usually in. Lets see how long he remains the starter when his average play is costing the team wins. Not that Morris or Duckett are better, but I can see things getting "shaken up" several times over this upcoming season.

 

[Fantaholic]

I will be the contrarian in this thread. I think that J Jones is better than he showed in Dallas and better than Morris and especially Duckett. I think that he will be the lead RB in a pseudo RBBC at Seattle. Furthermore, I think he is considerably more capable than SA was last year. I think that he will do all he can to take advantage of the second chance opportunity. However, I can't believe that he is going as high as 5th round. I woould have thought that he would be falling to the seventh or eight round and if so, he could prove valuable there.

Julius Jones 260 carries for 1,170 yards 4.5 ypc with 22 receptions for 220 yards 10.0 ypc and 8 TDs

Can you provide a little basis for your guesstimation? Q: First, has Jones ever averaged 4.5 YPC in his career?

A: No. In fact, his highest YPC was 4.2, and he had less than 200 carries that season.

Q: How many carries is the most he's ever had?

A: 267. He also had 257 one season. In his other two seasons he saw less than 200.

Q: What's his career YPR?

A: 8.0 and that's with one season where he had 15.8 YPR but that was on 9 catches. None of the other three seasons were close to 10, and 2 were in the 6 range.

Outside of those points, what makes you so optimistic?

I hear what you're saying from a numbers perspective Switz. However, there's something telling me that we need to look outside the lines a little with JJ. He showed promise out of the gate in his rookie season and then basically underwhelmed us ever since. While I do not think that he is an elite back, I do think he presents an opportunity for value this season. Parcells likes to pass judgement on certain players and JJ was one of them. He never wanted to give this kid a REAL chance. Yes, he was named a starter, but he was never truly given the reigns nor the confidence of his head coach. Maybe for good reason, maybe not. I simply don't think there was ever a chance for him to succeed in Dallas. Again, I am not saying he is top 5 this year. I just think that based on his history and other surrounding circumstances he will go much later than he should in this year's FF drafts. Every year we look for these value picks and they define our season. They are the toughest to predict, but pay off in gold. Just throwing it out there that JJ could be one of those guys this year in his new situation. For example JJ and M.Turner may turn out similar numbers by year's end, but will be picked rounds apart.

 

[UnknownCoach]

Parcells & Jerry Jones came close to spending a first round pick on a back or signing a big name FA a couple times but he never did. Parcells didnt dislike Jones... he stuck with Jones as his starter and publicly tried to squash the rumors that the Cowboys were considering another back. Jones didnt have the total package necessary to play every down in Parcell's weekly-adjust-for-opponent system but the coaches realized he was the best back for so many situations on the team. Dallas did not release Jones... he played out his contract. Ask yourself Barber hypers, did Barber really take the job from JJ or is that why they drafted Felix?

Jones is a good running back. Holgrem/Mora will play Jones more as he'll fit in better in their system. The Seahawks still have a solid offensive base. Even the better numbers being predicted here are too low and the Jones bashing is just plain spite.

 

[Tecmo]

I thought the Duckett signing was possibly influenced by Mora. Duckett has never been the guy since Dunn was signed in ATL, maybe Mora feels he owes him a shot? Or maybe he just wants that goalline back? All TJ's GL success was in ATL. I get the impression the Duckett signing wasn't Holmgren's idea, when he openly says to the media that Jones and Morris will play and, "we'll kind of see how we are going to use Duckett." Plus some more quotes how he's never had success with a short yardage back. Clearly Duckett isn't being handed anything. Possibly a Mora guy next year though

I just don't see how Julius Jones is going to be productive if he can't get out of a committee. Julius has never been a workhorse, i feel sceptical he'll be handed the reins with his history of dings. Possible, sure, but likely, no. I think Maurice Morris can be just as successfull, he knows the system and he did a good job in relief last year. If Julius Jones can't be very productive behind that Dallas line, how is he going to improve in Seattle? That Dallas line is stacked! Leonard Davis gets to play guard there, lol

Juluis Jones

650 rushing, 75 receiving, 6 TDs

 

[Jon_Moore]

Parcells & Jerry Jones came close to spending a first round pick on a back or signing a big name FA a couple times but he never did. Parcells didnt dislike Jones... he stuck with Jones as his starter and publicly tried to squash the rumors that the Cowboys were considering another back. Jones didnt have the total package necessary to play every down in Parcell's weekly-adjust-for-opponent system but the coaches realized he was the best back for so many situations on the team. Dallas did not release Jones... he played out his contract. Ask yourself Barber hypers, did Barber really take the job from JJ or is that why they drafted Felix?

Jones is a good running back. Holgrem/Mora will play Jones more as he'll fit in better in their system. The Seahawks still have a solid offensive base. Even the better numbers being predicted here are too low and the Jones bashing is just plain spite.

From what I saw last year, he took it from him. The drafting of Felix and Barber taking the lead role from Julius seems mutually exclusive, no?

 

[switz]

Parcells & Jerry Jones came close to spending a first round pick on a back or signing a big name FA a couple times but he never did. Parcells didnt dislike Jones... he stuck with Jones as his starter and publicly tried to squash the rumors that the Cowboys were considering another back. Jones didnt have the total package necessary to play every down in Parcell's weekly-adjust-for-opponent system but the coaches realized he was the best back for so many situations on the team. Dallas did not release Jones... he played out his contract. Ask yourself Barber hypers, did Barber really take the job from JJ or is that why they drafted Felix?

Jones is a good running back. Holgrem/Mora will play Jones more as he'll fit in better in their system. The Seahawks still have a solid offensive base. Even the better numbers being predicted here are too low and the Jones bashing is just plain spite.

From what I saw last year, he took it from him. The drafting of Felix and Barber taking the lead role from Julius seems mutually exclusive, no?

#1 - Barber took the job from Jones. It was evident in 2006 that Barber was better, and the coaches were talking about how to involve him more and more. Regardless of Julius' contract situation, Barber beat him out for that role in the offense.#2 - Despite Barber having a few long runs (mostly to shoddy tackling, and good tackle breaking by Barber) Barber is not a very explosive nor fast back. That's why they drafted Felix.

Honestly the way I see it, Barber wasn't anything different than Julius, he was just better in every aspect than Julius. So they didn't need both. What they needed was a guy who was good at the things Barber isn't, and that's Felix.

But this thread is about Julius Jones, and as he seems to be going higher than he'll produce, I won't touch him. If I could get him in round 10 or 11... I'd probably grab him, but no earlier than that.

 

[SuperJohn96]

I think he'll end up with 1,000 rushing and 5 TDs, with a ceiling is 1300+8, and not unreachable if everything goes his way.

 

[TheFanatic]

Why did Priest Holmes all of the sudden become a stud?

Thats a ridiculous comparison, as Holmes looked VERY good BEFORE he was on the Chiefs, he just wasn't used much. Julius Jones was used a lot, and stunk, and got beat out by a second string college back drafted in the 4th round.

So, Priest Holmes looked VERY good but the coaching staff decided not to use the guy? Sorry guy, but that just doesn't work. If he looked VERY good he would've PLAYED. System, blocking scheme, a change of scenery, getting religion on working to be great back, are all things that could impact why a player performs well one place and not another. But to imply that the Ravens let a guy go for basically nothing and never utilized him while he looked VERY good is naive.

 

[TheFanatic]

Sorry, but Jones sucks... just plain old sucks... I don't care if he's been named the starter, or if they cut every other RB on the team. He won't be a good FF back this year, or ever. He sucks.

Ooooh, the bumpability of this thread just went up about 100% during the 2008 season. No matter which way this turns out, we will see this thread again I'm sure...

 

[switz]

Why did Priest Holmes all of the sudden become a stud?

Thats a ridiculous comparison, as Holmes looked VERY good BEFORE he was on the Chiefs, he just wasn't used much. Julius Jones was used a lot, and stunk, and got beat out by a second string college back drafted in the 4th round.

So, Priest Holmes looked VERY good but the coaching staff decided not to use the guy? Sorry guy, but that just doesn't work. If he looked VERY good he would've PLAYED. System, blocking scheme, a change of scenery, getting religion on working to be great back, are all things that could impact why a player performs well one place and not another. But to imply that the Ravens let a guy go for basically nothing and never utilized him while he looked VERY good is naive.

I take it you never watched them then. Preist didn't fit their scheme, true, but that was an issue of a coaching staff that didn't want to fit their scheme to their players, but wanted players that fit their scheme.Fact: in 1998, Holmes while splitting time his first year playing, rushed for more than 1,000 yards for the Ravens, including two games with over 150 yards rushing.Fact: in 1999, the Ravens changed head coaches and brought in Brian Billick who changed offensive schemes. Holmes had 5.7 YPC, but was not a favorite of Billick's and was injured so he did not see a lot of time.Fact: in 2000, the Ravens drafted Jamal Lewis, and Holmes only started 2 games.Holmes looked very good when he got playing time. When Marchibroda was HC Holmes looked great. When Billick took over, he didn't think Priest was an every down back.Holmes situation is NOTHING like Jones'

 

[AnonymousBob]

I realize Jones has flashed talent. I also realize that was a few seasons ago and he's done nothing since. He could always blossom in Seattle but I don't see any reason to think that's going to happen. Lots of people flash talent. If I'm going to draft people based upon flashes of talent I'd rather gamble on Chris Brown.

Let's look at the reasons people give for Jones:

He's motivated!!

He's motivated because he just received a nice payday? Why wasn't he motivated when he had somebody pushing him to steal his job?

Parcells didn't like him?

Big deal. Players and coaches dislike one another all the time. Not sucking goes a long ways to getting on your coaches good side. Players can have good seasons even if they don't get along with others. Besides, Parcells wasn't in Dallas last year and Jones had his worst season thus far.

Jones never had a fair chance?

Nonsense. He had the starting job handed to him and he pissed it away. He didn't get cheated out of a fair shake because he was busy calling his qb a homosexual nor was he parking in Jerry Jones' parking spot. He's averaged over 200 carries in each year of his four year career. He's talented enough to make an NFL roster which requires a phenomonal amount of talent. He's just not talented enough to be anything special. There's no shame in that - just by making a roster he's already an elite talent. He's just an average talent as far as elite talents go.

He played for a lousy o-line?

Okay, let's be generous and say the Cowboys are a mediocre rushing offensive line (which doesn't explain why Barber was far superior). Are the Seahawks any better than the Cowboys?

He had to share carries in Dallas...

The Seahawks still have Morris and they signed Duckett. Both of these players have a higher ypc than Jones. So it's not even a lock Jones is the best rb on his own team.

 

[MCguidance]

Julius Jones Article

Seahawks Camp: Jones used to running in shadows

He first followed Emmitt Smith, now it's Alexander

By CLARE FARNSWORTH

KIRKLAND – The numbers are daunting, even numbing: 9,429 rushing yards, 10,940 combined yards rushing and receiving, 112 touchdowns.

The statistics Shaun Alexander put up the past eight seasons made him the Seahawks' all-time leading rusher and record holder for touchdowns scored. In fact, he had almost twice as many rushing touchdowns (100) as the player who ranks second – Curt Warner (55).

But there's no need to tiptoe around the subject of why Julius Jones would sign on to fill those prodigiously productive shoes.

He has been there, done that.

When Jones was drafted by the Dallas Cowboys in 2004, he not only stepped in for a player who had become the NFL's all-time leading rusher – in a 2002 game against the Seahawks, no less – he was dubbed "the next Emmitt Smith."

Talk about filling big shoes. Imagine the scene at the end of "Big," where the adult character played by Tom Hanks morphs back into Josh Basin, a 13-year-old kid, as he is walking down the street.

"Emmitt Smith is one of the best to ever play, and then Shaun is the best they've ever had here," Jones said between practices at the Seahawks training camp. "It's a challenge. But I like a challenge."

Jones never saw himself as "the next Emmitt Smith," just as he doesn't envision becoming "the next Shaun Alexander."

Instead, he said, "I'm trying to cut my own path."

Making the situation in Seattle even stranger, the Seahawks signed Jones as well as fellow running back T.J. Duckett in free agency, before Alexander was released in April.

Why Jones? After all, he lost the role of featured back in Dallas last season to Marion Barber, and the Cowboys decided against re-signing Jones when he became a free agent.

"It was a limited group of available free-agent backs," club president Tim Ruskell said. "We liked Julius coming out of college. And I saw those games he had against the Seahawks. That leaves an impression on you."

Ruskell was, of course, referring to Jones going off for a career-best 198-yard, three-touchdown performance at Qwest Field in 2004 and also his 112-yard game against the Seahawks in a playoff game after the 2006 season.

But Ruskell also saw more in Jones than yards and points.

"As a player, there was a lot in the package that made him attractive to us," he said. "And when we brought him in here, his passion for being here made you go, ‘Wow, he really does want to be here.' It felt like it was a natural fit."

In five training camp practices, Jones has hit the hole quicker and with more determination than Alexander did the past two seasons, when injuries and an offensive line in flux eroded his effectiveness. Jones also is proving to be a sure-handed option out of the backfield in the passing game, another area where Alexander's presence had become a problem.

But whether Jones can even come close to matching Alexander's production the previous five seasons remains to be seen.

Coach Mike Holmgren is determined to enter the season with two starters – Jones as well as incumbent backup Maurice Morris.

"My hope is, if both of them can play halfback over the course of the season I can maintain their health, and they'll help each other that way," Holmgren reiterated Monday, one day after discussing the job-sharing plan with each back and three days after telling reporters of the plan.

Holmgren is aware that it's second nature for a back to want to carry the load. He also knows that it's important for any player to be "the starter." But he's looking big picture, rather than individual frame.

"There'll be stories about who's starting and who's this and who's that," Holmgren said. "They're both starting.

"Who runs out of the tunnel (during pregame introductions), I might alternate that. They'll both play. Whoever's hot will play a little bit longer."

One thing is certain: Jones already is starting to tire of the questions about splitting time.

He's more concerned with getting acclimated to the Seahawks offense, so he will be able to take advantage of whatever opportunities he does get. On any given play, Jones can be the lone back, the tailback in the I-formation or in split backs. Or, on the line of scrimmage, flanked wide or in the slot. Or, sent in motion from any of those spots.

That's an expanded role from what he was asked to do the past four seasons with the Cowboys.

"If you're a running back in this league, you obviously know how to run the ball," he said. "But a lot of guys can't pick up the different formations. That's what separates the good guys from normal guys.

"I'm doing a lot of different things than I've ever done before."

Jones' new teammates have confidence that he can do enough to help jump-start a running game that averaged 101.2 yards per game and 3.8 yards per carry last season.

"When you play against him, the guy hits the hole hard; he's explosive," veteran wide receiver Bobby Engram said. "He's an every-down type of back. And he shows up and makes plays in the fourth quarter. You like guys who do that."

Jones plans on doing it for the Seahawks this season – especially on Thanksgiving Day, against a certain America's Team in a certain stadium that has a hole in the roof, "So God can watch the Cowboys."

"Of course I want to show them. Definitely. And God willing, I will show them and everybody else," he said. "I didn't know if I'd ever play on Thanksgiving again. It turned out that the year I leave I get to go right back. I'm happy about that, and I can't wait for it."

 

[AnonymousBob]

In my auction draft I wouldn't spend more than $1 on Julius Jones. Or any of the other Seattle rb's.

 

[AnonymousBob]

TheFanatic,Why is Julius going to suddenly run like a man possessed? Why wasn't losing his job in Dallas enough motivation? Why is Jones clearly better? At least his brother had a medical reason for sucking early in his career. Jones just isn't very good. Unless everybody else gets hurt this is going to be an ugly, messy RBBC.

Why did Priest Holmes all of the sudden become a stud? TJones was nothing but mediocre, but a change of scenery and now he plays well. Tiki Barber wasn't all that good early in his career but later on he went nuts. I just think that JJ will be highly motivated to prove himself this year. He started off doing pretty well in the later half of his rookie season. And then followed that up with a couple 1K yard seasons. Maybe he got complacent. Maybe Tuna didn't like him. Who knows. We see guys like SA, KJ, Henry, etc all without jobs and not a lot of suitors. JJ was snapped up right away. Somebody thinks the kid can play and that somebody is not a bunch of schmucks on a web board. Maybe it's just a matter of motivation and he lost that in Dallas. Getting cut can motivate someone big time.I know this is all touchy feely, and not at all scientific or statistical. But I just have the feeling that the guy is going to run hard this year. Can he sustain that next year?

As switz already pointed out, Priest Holmes had looked very good in Baltimore. Thomas Jones had a medical problem that wasn't diagnosed/treated until after he left Arizona. Maybe he started looking better because he was no longer playing for one of the worst run franchises or maybe he looked better because he was finally healthy. Maybe a combination of the two.Tiki Barber...well there you go. That is one example that could compare to Julius Jones. I'm extremely skeptical that's a likely scenario because there are dozens of guys that had lousy/mediocre starts to their career and ended up doing nothing. But JJ had had 84 receptions in his 4 year career. Tiki had 76 in his first 2 years. Tiki had 250 TOTAL carries in his first three seasons (we'll ignore his 4th year because that really starts hurting your case - he had 200+ carries and a 4.7 ypc...something JJ has yet to sniff). In those first three seasons, his ypc was 3.8 (136 attempts), 3.2 (52 attempts) and 4.2 (62 attempts).Julius Jones had 197 carries in his first season alone. Tiki also had more receptions and averaged a higher per catch average.So I really have a difficult time believing these situations are comparable - Tiki never received the chance to fail, while JJ has shown throughout his entire career he's just not that good.

 

[Da Guru]

The Seahawks signed Julius Jones to take the lead role in a running-back-by-committee, but I'm not convinced that he's a better runner than Maurice Morris – or even than T.J. Duckett, for that matter. If Jones splits carries with Morris between the twenties, then lets Duckett take over on the goal line, he's not worth his current early fifth-round ADP.122 rushes for 479 yards and 3 TDs / 12 catches for 95 yards and 0 TDs

I am on board with this train of thought. Plus JJ will not see a sniff of the goal line.

 

[Steady Mooobin]

Which year was "down"? 2007, 3.6; 2006, 4.1; 2005, 3.9; 2004, 4.2 - none of those seem "up"What is going to make him possessed? No threat to his starting job, as opposed to his starting job being threatened? He blamed in on Parcells originally, but what happened under Wade? Even more suckitude.Sorry, but Jones sucks... just plain old sucks... I don't care if he's been named the starter, or if they cut every other RB on the team. He won't be a good FF back this year, or ever. He sucks.

C'mon Switz, don't hold back, tell us how you really feel.

 

[Manster]

IF JJ has holes big enough to drive a truck through he'll be a decent RB2.

 

[cacksman]

This thread is littered with people that called Julius Jones a mediocre back, etc. He is looking great today, grinding out yards and running very hard. By the end of the season he will have proven most posters in this thread wrong.

 

[mad sweeney]

This thread is littered with people that called Julius Jones a mediocre back, etc. He is looking great today, grinding out yards and running very hard. By the end of the season he will have proven most posters in this thread wrong.

Not to continue our discussion from the other thread, but it is SF he's doing well against. I'd temper expectations for a guy that didn't win the starter battle and will be sharing carries again when Mo gets back.