A Smart Change To Help Dallas

The Dallas Cowboys are an NFL betting odds on favorite to appear in the Super Bowl. I want to take a look at their three headed running attack, and make a little change in the program, of which I feel will greatly benefit the Cowboys, and the three players, Marion Barber, Felix Jones, and Tashard Choice. No NFL team can nearly match the depth that the Cowboys have at running back, and each player brings something different to the table. Barber, a prototypical power back, will bruise his way through the tackle. Jones is deadly in space, and impossible to corral once he gets there. And Choice, he’s a little bit of a mix of both. The problem is not the players, it’s how they are being used.

Barber is slated as the starting running back. This is the major change. It is time that the starting role is handed over to Jones. It is not to say that Barber has been unproductive, but his best seasons have been as a backup in his time share with Julius Jones. In Barber’s three seasons as a backup, he scored 29 times. In his two as a starter, only 14. Barber’s yards per carry are also noticeably lower than Jones, who averages 5.9 yards per carry. Jones is the younger, faster player, who simply deserves the majority of the carries. Jones is also a threat on screens to break one loose, more so than Barber.

Moving Jones to starter, the fresher player, would also help to keep Barber healthy. Barber can come in when the Cowboys reach the betting red zone, and use his punishing style to move the chains once or twice, and get in the end zone. That’s what is needed for. He isn’t a full field back, he’d best be reserved for the red zone situations. Barber would be well-suited to re-accept that role.

That leaves Choice as the third back still, who can fill in if need be for either of the two situations. This will help keep all three running backs fresh, and also help in case injury problems happen. Having three viable options at running back is never a bad thing. The Cowboys just need to use them better, and their offense will benefit from the change greatly.