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DC.COM: No Looking Back Eatman: Hard To Compare Felix With '08 RB Classmates
IRVING, Texas - OK, so let's get it out there. We've known it for a while, since sometime last season and it's even clearer now.
And since this is the perfect week to say it, let's just get it out of the way:
The Cowboys missed on Chris Johnson. Yeah, he was there, on the board, ready to be picked and they went with Felix Jones. Looking back now, which is very easy to do, let's just go ahead and say the Cowboys were wrong about Johnson.
Not saying they were wrong about Felix Jones, or any other player they evaluated, but clearly, if a 2,000-yard rusher is there for the taking, and you passed on him, then you were wrong about him.
That's fine because 21other teams were wrong about Johnson, including two teams that passed on him twice.
That's the way it goes, especially for relatively small-school guys like Johnson, who was an East Carolina standout who did his damage in Conference USA. Sure, he ran a blazing 4.2 at the Scouting Combine, and that actually helped him jump into the first round, where the Titans took him with the 24th pick, two spots behind Jones at 22, and one behind Pittsburgh's Rashard Mendenhall.
It's only natural to look back now and say, 'Wow, the Cowboys could've gotten Chris Johnson. How good would he be in this offense?'
It's fair to ask that. And the answer is probably something like "really good."
Let's face it, Johnson has been outstanding for the Titans, and probably better than they ever dreamed of as well. Every team loves speed, especially at the tailback position. But to think that he'd be rushing for 2,006 yards and 14 touchdowns in his second year - and that followed a 1,228-yard, nine TD rookie season - is something no one predicted.
Looking back two years ago, there were quite a few fans and media members suggesting the Cowboys selected the wrong guy when they went for Felix with the 22nd pick. But to my recollection, no one was saying the Cowboys should've grabbed Johnson. I'm sure there might have been a few people out there who liked him, but he wasn't on the radar like the other guys.
It was Mendenhall who many people thought the Cowboys should've taken. Mendenhall looked like an every-down back and the Cowboys were criticized for drafting a more complimentary player in Jones, who of course was picked to play alongside Marion Barber. That's exactly how the Cowboys have used him, although he hasn't returned as many kickoffs as the team thought he would, especially since he hasn't been the starter.
As it turned out, Mendenhall has been pretty good now with the Steelers, although it took him a while to become the main guy.
And that's really what the point to all of this is. If you're not the main guy, you won't be putting up numbers like the rest of the players in what has turned out to be quite a draft class of running backs.
I looked at all 27 running backs who were taken in the 2008 draft, and right now, eight of them are considered the starting back for their respective teams. Five more are complimentary runners who get a good amount of carries, but just aren't starting, and that's where Jones is.
And then about five other players are third tailbacks, including Tashard Choice, a fourth-round pick in that class.
Those starters even include a pair of seventh-round choices in Cleveland's Peyton Hillis and Seattle's Justin Forsett. Although the Seahawks did make a trade Tuesday to land Marhsawn Lynch, so clearly Forsett hasn't proven himself to be the answer.
But it's more interesting when you look at that first round. Here we are, four weeks into their third season in the NFL, and the perception of Jones among his draft class of tailbacks is much different than just a year ago.
At one point last season, it seemed like Jones might end up being the best of all of them, aside from maybe Johnson, who didn't take long to show off his skills. But in terms of players like Darren McFadden, Jonathan Stewart, Ray Rice, Tim Hightower and Matt Forte, none of those guys had proven to be a star at the start of the 2009 season.
Then Rice blew up for the Ravens, and Forte has been very solid with the Bears, even more so now under Mike Martz' system. Of course, McFadden, the highest-picked player in that group who went fourth overall, struggled his first two years to stay healthy but is finally coming into his own, ranking third in the NFL in rushing with 392 yards.
That would be a good 304 yards more than his college teammate. Oh, and I'm talking about Jones, not Hillis, the third Arkansas tailback who just happens to be starting in Cleveland and has 322 rushing yards.
But once again, it all comes down to opportunity.
We can sit here and criticize Jones for not being the player we thought he'd be at this point in his career. Or we can sit here and criticize the Cowboys for not using him like we thought he'd be used.
Either way, Jones really hasn't had the opportunity to be a superstar. Then again, was that ever the plan?
The Cowboys drafted Felix, knowing that not only was Barber their starting tailback, but they were about to shell out about $45 million to him later that summer. All along, the Cowboys wanted to use Jones as a role player next to Barber, someone to compliment his hard-nosed running style with a home-run hitter and occasional kickoff return threat.
Well, that's pretty much what has occurred. Only now, the combination of Jones' breakaway style, along with Barber's inconsistencies, have called into question just how much this team is using Jones.
For two years, it's been a debate. In fact, it can drive one to a headache.
Should it be Jones, then Barber? Or Barber and Jones? What about Choice? What about Jones, Choice, Barber?
Enough already. I wish the Cowboys would just figure it out.
From the sounds of things, the Cowboys are planning on giving Jones a little more touches this week. That's at least what team owner Jerry Jones said on his Tuesday morning radio show.
Then again, we've heard that before. Get Felix the ball! It's happened before, but somehow in the flow of the game, it might not work out that way.
Unless the Cowboys make him the starting tailback, just like we've seen from the other tailbacks in this draft class, then Felix will continue to be that player that shines bright at times, but always leaves you wanting a little more.
Maybe that "more" comes out this week. Or maybe, the Cowboys will see more than they want from Chris Johnson, leaving us all wondering what might have been.
IRVING, Texas - OK, so let's get it out there. We've known it for a while, since sometime last season and it's even clearer now.
And since this is the perfect week to say it, let's just get it out of the way:
The Cowboys missed on Chris Johnson. Yeah, he was there, on the board, ready to be picked and they went with Felix Jones. Looking back now, which is very easy to do, let's just go ahead and say the Cowboys were wrong about Johnson.
Not saying they were wrong about Felix Jones, or any other player they evaluated, but clearly, if a 2,000-yard rusher is there for the taking, and you passed on him, then you were wrong about him.
That's fine because 21other teams were wrong about Johnson, including two teams that passed on him twice.
That's the way it goes, especially for relatively small-school guys like Johnson, who was an East Carolina standout who did his damage in Conference USA. Sure, he ran a blazing 4.2 at the Scouting Combine, and that actually helped him jump into the first round, where the Titans took him with the 24th pick, two spots behind Jones at 22, and one behind Pittsburgh's Rashard Mendenhall.
It's only natural to look back now and say, 'Wow, the Cowboys could've gotten Chris Johnson. How good would he be in this offense?'
It's fair to ask that. And the answer is probably something like "really good."
Let's face it, Johnson has been outstanding for the Titans, and probably better than they ever dreamed of as well. Every team loves speed, especially at the tailback position. But to think that he'd be rushing for 2,006 yards and 14 touchdowns in his second year - and that followed a 1,228-yard, nine TD rookie season - is something no one predicted.
Looking back two years ago, there were quite a few fans and media members suggesting the Cowboys selected the wrong guy when they went for Felix with the 22nd pick. But to my recollection, no one was saying the Cowboys should've grabbed Johnson. I'm sure there might have been a few people out there who liked him, but he wasn't on the radar like the other guys.
It was Mendenhall who many people thought the Cowboys should've taken. Mendenhall looked like an every-down back and the Cowboys were criticized for drafting a more complimentary player in Jones, who of course was picked to play alongside Marion Barber. That's exactly how the Cowboys have used him, although he hasn't returned as many kickoffs as the team thought he would, especially since he hasn't been the starter.
As it turned out, Mendenhall has been pretty good now with the Steelers, although it took him a while to become the main guy.
And that's really what the point to all of this is. If you're not the main guy, you won't be putting up numbers like the rest of the players in what has turned out to be quite a draft class of running backs.
I looked at all 27 running backs who were taken in the 2008 draft, and right now, eight of them are considered the starting back for their respective teams. Five more are complimentary runners who get a good amount of carries, but just aren't starting, and that's where Jones is.
And then about five other players are third tailbacks, including Tashard Choice, a fourth-round pick in that class.
Those starters even include a pair of seventh-round choices in Cleveland's Peyton Hillis and Seattle's Justin Forsett. Although the Seahawks did make a trade Tuesday to land Marhsawn Lynch, so clearly Forsett hasn't proven himself to be the answer.
But it's more interesting when you look at that first round. Here we are, four weeks into their third season in the NFL, and the perception of Jones among his draft class of tailbacks is much different than just a year ago.
At one point last season, it seemed like Jones might end up being the best of all of them, aside from maybe Johnson, who didn't take long to show off his skills. But in terms of players like Darren McFadden, Jonathan Stewart, Ray Rice, Tim Hightower and Matt Forte, none of those guys had proven to be a star at the start of the 2009 season.
Then Rice blew up for the Ravens, and Forte has been very solid with the Bears, even more so now under Mike Martz' system. Of course, McFadden, the highest-picked player in that group who went fourth overall, struggled his first two years to stay healthy but is finally coming into his own, ranking third in the NFL in rushing with 392 yards.
That would be a good 304 yards more than his college teammate. Oh, and I'm talking about Jones, not Hillis, the third Arkansas tailback who just happens to be starting in Cleveland and has 322 rushing yards.
But once again, it all comes down to opportunity.
We can sit here and criticize Jones for not being the player we thought he'd be at this point in his career. Or we can sit here and criticize the Cowboys for not using him like we thought he'd be used.
Either way, Jones really hasn't had the opportunity to be a superstar. Then again, was that ever the plan?
The Cowboys drafted Felix, knowing that not only was Barber their starting tailback, but they were about to shell out about $45 million to him later that summer. All along, the Cowboys wanted to use Jones as a role player next to Barber, someone to compliment his hard-nosed running style with a home-run hitter and occasional kickoff return threat.
Well, that's pretty much what has occurred. Only now, the combination of Jones' breakaway style, along with Barber's inconsistencies, have called into question just how much this team is using Jones.
For two years, it's been a debate. In fact, it can drive one to a headache.
Should it be Jones, then Barber? Or Barber and Jones? What about Choice? What about Jones, Choice, Barber?
Enough already. I wish the Cowboys would just figure it out.
From the sounds of things, the Cowboys are planning on giving Jones a little more touches this week. That's at least what team owner Jerry Jones said on his Tuesday morning radio show.
Then again, we've heard that before. Get Felix the ball! It's happened before, but somehow in the flow of the game, it might not work out that way.
Unless the Cowboys make him the starting tailback, just like we've seen from the other tailbacks in this draft class, then Felix will continue to be that player that shines bright at times, but always leaves you wanting a little more.
Maybe that "more" comes out this week. Or maybe, the Cowboys will see more than they want from Chris Johnson, leaving us all wondering what might have been.