Now’s the time for Julius Jones to produce

By Andy Targovnik  |   Friday, December 22, 2006  |  Comments( 5 )

Dallas Cowboys
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Julius Jones came into the 2006 season as a question mark. Because he had been injured for portions of his first two NFL campaigns, the Dallas Cowboys were concerned whether the third-year tailback from Notre Dame could stay healthy for a full season.

After missing the first half of 2004 with a fractured left shoulder blade, a healed Jones exploded on the scene in the second half, and gave the Cowboys something they lacked since Emmitt Smith left town - a productive tailback. To the Dallas fans' delight, Jones averaged 102 yards a game and over four yards per carry.

Last season, Jones suffered a high ankle sprain against the Philadelphia Eagles in the fifth week. And although he ended up playing in 14 games, that ankle nagged him the entire season. That injury and a decimated offensive line contributed to Jones having a subpar season, averaging only 76 yards a game on 3.9 per rush.

With an upgraded offensive line in 2006, Bill Parcells felt if Jones could stay injury-free, he would produce.

And Parcells had a plan to keep Jones fresh. Marion Barber III would lighten the load. And he has. Barber plays in all goal-line and short-yardage situations. Because those situations take more of a "smash-mouth" style of running, it has certainly saved on the wear and tear of Jones' body.

The plan started off perfectly. In the first five games, Jones averaged 4.6 yards a carry. But after that, his production sharply dropped. Except for the blowout loss to New Orleans, Jones hasn't averaged over four yards per rush in any game.

Because of the emergence of Tony Romo, and Barber, who has picked up the slack on the ground, Jones' lack of productivity has gone unnoticed. As a matter of fact, Parcells was never asked about it.

But it finally got some attention this past week.

When questioned about it Monday, Parcells would only say: "I'm hoping Julius can get a little back on track."

What's even more disconcerting is that the offensive line play has been even better than expected. If Jones isn't injured, why isn't he producing? Nobody seems to know.

But what's certain is that in the playoffs, the defenses get tighter and more physical; and the last thing the inexperienced Romo needs is to have opposing defenses tee off on him because they don't respect the running game.

So Jones needs to revert back to his early-season form. And what better time to do it than the next two weeks, when the Cowboys host the Eagles and the Detroit Lions, who give up 139 and 131 yards on the ground per game, respectively?

If Jones can't average at least four yards a carry against a couple of soft run defenses, how is he going to do it in the playoffs, when the competition is better and the stakes are higher?

We'll start to find out Christmas night, obviously.
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