He got the ball 17 times, not 27. He's averaging a decent 4 yards a carry. Overall, Favre threw 33 times, and handed off 27 times. Of the 27, Jones got 17. It is not a razor-cut 50/50 balance, but I'd say this is well-balanced offense, considering Favre is throwing the ball.
If feel like if we gotta give our runningback 20+ carries for him to give a 65 to 70 yard performance it just don't make sense?
Running face-first into a bunch of blockers is certainly one man's interpretation of 'running the play that's called' but it sure ain't mine... to me it's having bad instincts and being indecisive. Jones runs where the hole is supposed to be, and if the hole isn't there, baby fall down. Good runningbacks will adjust if they see the hole isn't going to last long enough, and that is vision and instincts.
look the guy ran well against the dolphins,patriots, and the bengels. he was decent against the chargers but only had 10 carries and i dont believe he got the start during the cards game. everyone complained about him getting stuffed at the goaline 3 times against the pats but it was because they we're past the line of scrim when he got the ball, he still averaged over 4 yrd a carry that game. he will never be explosive so get used to it, he will however be effective and compliment favre and our passing game.
Exactly, playcalling might be an issue, but Jones has never been a playmaker. That being said, I'm sure they'll give Chatman the ball a few times and see how he does. If he does well, he'll get more carries, and if not, stick with TJ. In response to the article, our running game has been lackluster and I don't think running it more will fix that. Let Favre do what he does and air the ball out. Also, Brad Smith + gadget plays = $$$.
I Think he deserves to get atleast 20 Carries sunday. How many times has he even rushed it for 20 times this season ? Once ?
You and they might be right. But we brought him here and paid the guy like we thought he could so, he should get an opportunity to prove you right or wrong. It is a high percentage risk. Otherwise, nobody ever knows. Secondly, if they combine it with deep passing to keep the defense honest I think it could work quite well. If it does work it is a powerful weapon to have in your arsenal. The thing that concerns me more is not TJ's ability to do it, but more stupid Shotty's ability to set it up to work. While we are at it, they are misusing Leon. He is not the guy who is going to break one very often from a hand off in the backfield. The guy needs to get the ball in space. Instead of handing it to him 5 times, throw it to him 5 times in the flat. His chances of a big play increase dramatically in that scenario. Again, stupid Shotty.
Your mindset about utilizing Jones because of the way he was acquired contradicts some of the Mangini Doctrine and rides along with other parts of it. That's the thing that disturbs me about EM, mostly. His self-contradictions. He says that a position is wide open, and delivers when Dwight Lowery and Darrelle Revis show up strong early and win starting positions... all the while sticking with a guy like Thomas Jones when he has a gamebreaker like Leon waiting in the wings. LW with a strong powerback waiting to spell him and at opportune times share a 2back set with him are a perfect tandem, and yet we stick with a guy that resembles Curtis Martin at his worst. That's the worst kind of continuity. Leon has the speed for the tandem, but we still lack any ferocious power. Leon is a faster version of Warrick Dunn. We need a stronger version of Mike Alstott to share the backfield with him. With Favre and our wideouts, that would be deadly in the current state of the league.
Leon is great. I don't disagree with this completely either, but I would much rather have a RB behind Favre who displays an overall skill set for the RB postion, instead of just having playmaking ability. That is nice to have but it is not something that will get you very far if you don't have the other important keys to success at the RB postion that you need as a feature back. After seeing Adalius Thomas do what he did to LW, that was enough for me. I understood why he was not our feature back and why TJ is.
if our o line was able to run block as well as its been pass blocking we would not be having these conversations.
Leon has done less than Jones at this point because he isn't being utilized correctly when he is getting used. Jones isn't being utilized correctly either. This falls on the offensive coordinator and the head coach. The run blocking has been average on top of that. The problem isn't our running backs. Your insistence that Jones is the reason our running game isn't working that well is incorrect. Jones is averaging 3.8 YPC right now with the running game being subpar. To put that in perspective, LaDainian Tomlinson is averaging 3.7 YPC right now. There are plenty of guys out there doing better at this point, but there are also plenty of teams out there right now with better run blocking and coaching. You could have a successful running game with any two jerks in the backfield if you're o-line and coaches are doing their jobs. Clark Gaines and Scott Dierking ring a bell?
It would be a great combo if and this is a big if thomas jones plaYed his part and was the muscule.. Lw is defenantly the speed but with out someone to wear them down its useless.. Now on 17 carries last week and you can't come close to the century mark.. The real big questioin for all the faithful TJ supporters are how many 100 yard games has he had this season. I'd be happy if he just touched 90 yards. 17 carries 65 yards = no clock management or ball control..
I never insisted that Jones was the reason the running game isn't working, only that his skillset isn't that of a premier back and there fore can't get it done in certain situations, hence the RBBC. You say he isn't being utilized properly, yet earlier in this thread you said he needed to be sent up the gut more. That's exactly where his skillset FAILS. It's almost like he's afraid to run between the tackles. He'll attack the perimeter ferociously and go up the gut like a creampuff. You can't just throw out that 3.8 stat and tell me he is doing his job, that is like throwing out Chad's career passer rating and saying he's the greatest QB in NFL history, it doesn't tell the whole story. Stop making it out like I'm saying we should bench the guy. He's what we got until at least the end of the season, but change needs to be made because he is not a feature back. Even at his best he couldn't get the entire job done.
