Felix Jones Is Primed For An Explosive Season

An article by Joe D.    Comments Off

I read an interesting piece by ESPN.com’s Matt Mosely who projects his breakout players of the year for the upcoming season. His choice for breakout player in the NFC East is Cowboys running back, Felix Jones.

He writes,

The Cowboys are toying around with the idea of starting Jones and letting Barber return to the closing role that he filled when Julius Jones was still on the roster. The thought is that Jones and Tashard Choice could hurt defenses with their speed and quickness, allowing Barber to come in and punish defenders with his battering style.

Jones is an instinctive back who could easily reach 800 yards rushing with somewhere in the neighborhood of 10 to 15 carries a game. And I also think he can help make up for the loss of Terrell Owens by contributing to the passing game. With LeSean McCoy (Philly) and Andre Brown (New York) entering the division, you have some talented young backs. But Jones has a chance to make a major breakthrough now that he’s completely healthy.

The Cowboys have made it no secret that they plan on opening up more opportunities for their young and versatile running back. Only a few weeks ago they even surprised beat writers and fans alike when they ran some plays using the Razorback formation. Felix Jones can be an explosive weapon, especially when he let loose in an open field where his speed makes him both dangerous and elusive. Wade Phillips and company are trying to figure out how to exploit that explosiveness, and just the mere thought of it makes my mouth water.

When Jones was first drafted, the plan was to get him in as many formations as possible with Marion Barber, however that never really happened and rarely were both backs on the field at the same time. Don’t count on that happening again this season.

Before the toe injury ended his season last year, we got a glimpse of just how talented Jones was whenever he had the ball in his hands.  Jones made the most of his limited playing time in ’08, and as Matt points out, he averaged 8.9 yards on 30 carries and returned a kickoff 98 yards for a touchdown. He also had three touchdown runs of 20 yards or more, including a 60-yarder at Lambeau Field. Wow!

Be prepared to see plenty of Felix Jones this season and not only on running plays either. Jones didn’t get a chance to show off his amazing receiving skills last year, but he’ll be used a lot more in passing situations and he could have opposing defenses pulling their hair and talking to themselves this season.

Watching Felix Jones emerge as one of the NFL’s most exciting players will be one of my favorite parts of what is bound to be a fantastic season for the Cowboys.