Thursday Morning Crumbs
Posted: December 29, 2005 @ 1:08 pm
It’s a slow day, as only six teams are in the dark about their playoff status. In the AFC the final spot will be won by either the Steelers or the Chiefs. In the NFC, three of the Panthers, Bucs, Redskins and Cowboys group will claim the remaining spots.
That means 18 teams are already looking forward to 2006, which in turn means the rumor mill is already red hot. Will Brett Favre retire? Will Dick Vermeil call it quits again? Will Dan Reeves name himself the next jefe of all trades in Houston?
From Dallas’ perspective, the most amusing and intriguing news comes from Washington, where LaVar Arrington’s pouting act has people on both sides of the Redskins/Eagles game talking. Eagles’ MLB Jeremiah Trotter, who played with Arrington in Washington, defended his friend. Arrington’s coach, Joe Gibbs, indirectly lashed out at Arrington, claiming anybody not focused on Philadelphia was distracting the team.
Talk on, Mr. Arrington.
In Dallas, Bill Parcells frets over Roy Williams’ bum ankle. The SS still limps, though he says he will play this weekend. The Rams have an ineffective defense, a rookie-heavy offensive line and a long injured-reserve list that includes their head coach and starting QB. Still, they have a dangerous receiving corps of Torry Holt, Isaac Bruce, Kevin Curtis and Shaun McDonald. They also have an experienced backup in Jamie Martin. When you consider how the unsung Panthers receivers turned Keith Davis and Willie Pile inside out last week, you can understand Parcells’ concerns.
One good bit of secondary news — Anthony Henry returned to practice yesterday and says he will be ready for the Rams. A full set of corners would go a long way towards winning Sunday night.
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Where are all the Demarcus Ware and Julius Jones doubters? The silence is deafening.
RHA NEVER HAD ANY DOUBTS ABOUT JULIUS.THE BLOCKING WASN’T THERE THIS YEAR.THE ONLY THING I QUESTION IS IS HE INJURY PRONE?CAN HE PLAY A FULL YEAR.BUT DEFINETELY THE TALENT IS THERE.DEMARCUS ON THE OTHER HAND I THINK IS NOT BEING USED PROPERLY.HE SHOULD BE RUSHING THE PASSER A LOT MORE.THE GUY CAN CAUSE HAVOC ONCE HE TURNS THE CORNER.
I agree on JJ but MBII ain’t too bad either. It is nice to have two maybe three (TT) to compete for running back.
Ware is a victim of the team’s lack of other LBs. He is really being used different than BP would like.
I would like to see him at DE in a 4 man line.
Well at least I have an interest in at least 4 games this weekend.
Great feeling.
rha
People were getting on Ware for no reason. Now JJ please one good game does not take away from the rest of his season. He has had four good games since he has been a cowboy in two years. He need to get better along with the line. You people here will say hey JJ just had 194 yards see he is the man now the rest of his games its the line can’t block. BP said sometimes you have to make plays yourself. He looked real good this past game but that doesn’t make me forget about the all the other games.
hey hey hey, jj is not “injury prone”
if you were watching the game where he gt injured it wasnt his fault, he just was unlucky enough to get an injury that wont go away
lighten up
aw-For arguments sake: I think that MB would not have had 194 yrds with those same holes that JJ had. JJ made cuts and has the burst that made a great game. MB would have had a very good day, probably 60-80 yards less. These 2 backs are different in style in that JJ takes advantage of the creases and MB can make a hole when he has too. The 2 styles should compliment each other with the right rotation. JJ’s durability does concern me but I can live with it for now due to our depth at RB.
AW:
As you said, the OLine has to get better along Julius, the problem is that the OLine hadn’t played a great game. From the 194 yards he had in the game, 79 came in long runs where the Tucker, Allen, Johnson and Gurode opened huge lanes where he wasn’t touched until the Safeties or corners got to him.
Take the 79 yards out of Julius performance and we wouldn’t be talking about how huge his performance was.
mrwnt10-How many years in row does he have to get “unlucky” with an injury that keeps him out of 4-8 games before you will call him injury prone?
aw, get off of it. He has had more then 4 good games. He has had four GREAT games and at least 4 GOOD ones.
Last year he was up against some great D’s and we had virtually no passing game to take the heat off.
This year our O line sucked at run blocking EVEN BEFORE the other problems started. Now it is true that he was protecting the ball too much and not trying to cut back and such before he was injured- but it is also clear that that was on orders from BP. Now that BP has taken the leash off and JJ is healthy, you can see what he can do. Even when the O line is not blocking well. It was interesting that having Gurode at guard instead of RIvera really seemed to help the run - and AL was really getting out there and hitting people.
zRegarding the injury prone thing= the rolling up from the rear- how do you avoid that? Would any player NOT be injured by that? The shoulder blade break last year- freak hit. AND EMMITT GOT THE SAME INJURY- courtesy of ROY- so that really cannot be counted against JJ, can it? JJ missed a total of 2 games in 3 years of playing at ND; he sat out one year due to academics. So any squawks about injury prone is BS. By the way, Kevin Jones has now missed just asx many games as JJ has- going to call him Injury Prone as well?
Sean
I can’t say what MB would have done with the holes JJ got he might have gotten less or more nobody knows. But what I do know is we are not going to have holes like that every game. I don’t know if MB should start or JJ should start. I like the way MB runs, he makes nice cuts and can run inside. In the four games JJ has looked like a pro bowler but in most games he doesn’t look good. The difference between a good rib and great rb is not the oline. If all rbs had a great line they all wouldnt all be great. This was the first time JJ ran the ball well against a good D.
Hey Rafael could Arrington provide help as a MLB in the 3-4?
The guy is an incredible athelete and made plays I don’t understand the whole problem he and Williams and Gibbs have had……I also agree we will add a OLB in the draft……but if you get the chance to upgrade from Al Singleton or the other revolving door at OLB why not have a guy like Arrington if he is aviable and agrees to do it…….he may well head to his friends in Philly.
Seeing the Carolina Dallas game live was awesome. A few things stood out that you don’t see on TV. Ware has tremendous speed and was constantly putting pressure. Very visible from the panaramic view of the stadium(at least from where I sat)………and the speed of JJ which obviously both of these young guys had tremendous games…….but when he broke that 50 yarder…..and ran away from DBs……it was a thing of beauty to see live.
Hoping for Atlanta and Philly and the Cowboys to do well this week……but either way…….we are going to be a very very good football team next year.
BTW……Parcells will extend in the offseason…..probably for another 3 beyond what he has now. Jerry will hold some big conference and say he will also walk off into the sunset with BP…….after a couple of Super Bowls of course.
Burmafrd
Stop making excuses for JJ he has had four game over 100. JJ has had more bad games than good ones. So its BP fault that he wasn’t playing well and now BP takes off the leash off him. That is ridiculous. So when he has a bad game its the line or BP but when he has a good game its all about JJ.
i’m with u burmafrd.
you guys, an ankle is not supposed to twist that way. if someone rips a running back down and his ankle gets caught and it hurts him, that the running backs fault???? i don’t think so.
sean, if he got out for 8 games the first season, 3 games the second, he’s probably learning how to get tackled. give him some time people, remember hes only a SECOND YEAR PLAYER
mrwnt10-OK, so next year if he misses 3 or more games will you call him injury prone? What if it happens every year? Where do you draw that line?
Fellows,
I am glad we have both JJ and MBIII.. It seems we are the ones who creating RB controversy! Let it go..This is a good deal.. not a problem. I just hope we can keep both of them in the team.. cause in near future another team will come knocking with lots of $$$ to get one of them. So lets enjoy them while we have them!.
toast you are correct……we only have em both until 2008…..after that having both would be a luxury we would likely not be able to afford if both continued to produce….at that point the controversy comes out if we can only keep one……..who knows maybe by then we are all glad to have the league leading Tyson Thompson in our backfield as well…….
They are both good backs……and have both had some ups and downs this year…….still despite our o line problems we are producing a 1000 yard rusher this week!
fix that o line and we will have a couple of very good backs…..there are several teams that utilize two players well……TB did it for years……and Atlanta has as well..Denver does it…having a break away guy like JJ and a more inside guy like MB is a luxury we should enjoy!!!
Lets go get the RAMS……..oh and Eagles and Falcons show up this week will ya please!!!
I think Atlanta has a good shot at NC in Atlanta. They play tough there and NC struggled to stop our RBs…….Dunn Vick and Duckett should be able to finish em off!!!
AW- you are really twisted if you think that less then 100 yds is a bad game. Just how many backs average 100yds a game- anywhere?
Ditto.
Just glad we got’em both. I am sure any coach in the NFL will take “we have too many good running backs” problem.
JJ was slowed by the ankle injury, but the biggest problem is still the oline. It sure is nice to have two capable backs after the post Emmitt mess.
Ware would be going to the Pro Bowl if he played DE all season. I still think he’s playing out of position. I want to see LB, FS and OL in next year’s draft, or FA.