Sunday Poll: Starting at Running Back for Your 2010 Dallas Cowboys...

All three are good backs and Red needs to find a way to use them all.

The kids are more than capable & we’ve had success drafting RBs in the middle rounds..

Felix is great to the outside, but I think Tash is better between the tackles. Barber has to get healthy and I don’t think he was most of last year. He would be the back to carry the load in the second half if he gets back to his old form. No matter who starts, all should get their share of plays. OCC’s charts show that all are effective.

Barber closing, with a little bit of Choice mixed in.

Felix and Choice have proven their worth. It’s a tough call who to give the bulk of the work between Choice and Felix but I’d probably give the edge to Felix because of his extra gear. I think Choice finds more yards in tight situations though. Hrmm

We have seen all three backs start successfully for the Cowboys. If Barber gets back to his old form, we have three solid backs. If one were to go down with injury we would still have a very good running game. Felix is a home run threat and someone the defense has to account for, but both the others can rip up yardage too. The big question is whether Barber will get back to being Barber.

and Jones should get a little under half the carries. Barber…needs to get out of the way of the better players.

in a different order.
Start Jones; use Choice as his reliever; move Barbarian back to the closer assuming he’s still got the juice.

He definitely earned the spot in my opinion with his performance down the stretch last year. He showed how much better our offense can be with that big play ability and he also showed the ability to handle the workload as the main back in our rotation.

There may be a difference between who is the nominal “starter” meaning basically he is listed atop the depth chart and on the field for the first play of the game, and who is really the feature back. At the end of last season, MB3 was still the starter, but Felix was clearly the feature back. Altho this may have had some to do with MB3’s injuries, clearly things are trending this direction and I expect them to continue to this season.

But to those who say MB3 should just be used in a “closer” role, I disagree. In order to close the game, you have to be winning the game. So you need to use all the tools at your disposal to get into a position to close.

What I think is undervalued about MB3 sometimes is the effect his style has on defenders over the course of a game. I think you actually want to get him in early, assuming he is healthy and close enough to his prior form, because every time he blows up a LB or S that guy is a little more sore and worn out and hesitant for the rest of the game. So even when we get frustrated because he can’t break open the big gainer or his YPC is low compared to the other two, remember that part of the reason Felix is able to break open the big ones is because MB3 has been in there pounding on the defense softening it up for him.

There’s also the effect of defenders needing to adjust to the different styles in terms of the position and angles they take in defending the run, so a Felix run following a couple MB3 runs may be more effective than 3 Felix runs in a row.

so may take on it is this…

Keep Barber as the nominal starter, so he’s atop the depth chart and is in on the first play of the game, and then use him throughout the game, not just as a closer, to help wear down the D, but keep his carries down (10-12 range) to extend his season/career, while mixing in a liberal dose of Felix (15-18 carries) and Choice (5-10 carries) to keep defenses off balance and all the backs fresh.

And actually I wouldn’t mind seeing Choice more toward that 10 carry range to help keep Felix down around 15, to make sure all 3 are still relatively fresh and healthy for the playoffs… and the home superbowl!

that perhaps broke records for time of preparation!

It’s like saying:

The Redskins Suck, Discuss

 :)

a rotation of the three backs, more balanced than past season, maybe giving felix jones 45% of carries barber 30% and tashard 25%, well something like that, i mean some more balanced job without taking care who’s the number 1, 2 or 3

feature him and throw in Choice and MB3 to limit his carries.

I don’t care who starts.

And by touches I don’t mean carries.

they all should play. Felix should start, if you watched the last few games, it’s really a no brainer. I’m actually shocked people would rather see TC start over felix, given what felix can bring to this offense. That’s not to say TC shouldn’t play, I think he is good in the razorback package and good for maybe 5 – 8 carries a game depending on the health of barber and the situation. Felix should touch the ball as many times as the other two back combined over the course of the game. He’s not a small player 6-0 200+, he can carry a solid load, and if he gets hurt, like every other running back usually does, then TC and barber will play more.

all three should play, and they will, obviously JG thinks Barber is a more complete back than choice, and that’s why he sees the field more and probably will continue to do so, but Felix should start, and barber n choice can split the rest.

I think choice is the MAN. I hope by the time hes a free agent cowboys realized hes their main man. He looks like that ancient creature called a featured back. Felix of course can stay should stay will stay. Red can find ways to keep them both happy.

When is choices contract up 2013? Assuming they play ’11

the real topic of discussion should be whether Garrett has the ability to utilize the very different skillsets each of these runners posess, at the right moments. can he put felix in, have the defense adjust to the personnel, and still make a playcall that uses his strengths and can surprise the defense? Can he call the right personnel and play on the goal line?

Those are the things I questioned last season, not any single runners ability to do the job when called upon.

just my two cents. :)

And Barber should get whatever’s left in the 4th and garbage time.

but i think barber should be the starter because he plays hard, can run over defenders, and is always fired up
as well i think jones is a great third down back because of his ability to catch the ball

this should have been even more of a landslide

Is done. He doesn’t have the same tenacity or explosion he had in 2006-2007.

I love the guy as much as anyone. But nostaliga doesn’t win football games.

Too much wear and tear, too many campaigns, too many injuries. It’s time for the next generation to have their chance.

Barber, we will always remember you fondly. But it’s time for the Felix Jones and Tashard Choice era to begin.

Nostaliga doesn’t win games.

A running back’s main job is not trucking over or knocking down defenders but carrying the ball as far as he can on every carry. That’s why Choice is getting all this love; when he makes his cut or finds the hole he is very decisive and oh so smooth a runner.

All I want is Felix to get 12-15 carries and 15-18 touches and remain healthy for most of the year. Beyond that, I’m fine with Barber still splitting carries with Felix right down the middle. If it becomes apparent Barber still hasn’t regained his old form by mid-season I’m sure the coaching staff will act according and leapfrog Choice over him on the depth chart. Okay, well, maybe I’m not sure the coaching staff would do that considering how allergic Garrett is to using Choice but we’ll see.

Here’s an article that sums up MB III nicely. It’s a year old, but nails it imho.

Barber is among the hardest backs in the league. His bruiser style has endeared him to the Cowboys faithful and NFL fans around the country. […] He is known as leather-tough in short yardage situations, and loves to punish his defenders….maybe too much..

When he breaks through the line he seems intent on finding someone to hit vs. making a cut to open a big gain. We aren’t prepared to conclude he has poor field vision; he very well could have a ton, but he just loves the contact too much. Rookie Felix Jones, on the other hand, runs the same play on the next series but for a 40 yard gain. Fellow rookie Tashard Choice even had his way with defenses in his limited opportunities.

It’s obvious that Jones is explosive and can bounce off tackle and run to the outside just as good as anyone in the game, but as OCC pointed out in a previous post he has a general decline after 10+ runs in a game.

Choice is consistent and should get at least 10 carries a game, because I think out of all the rushing attempts he has in his pro career, he only had one (maybe two) that went for a negative yard. That is my favorite quality about him. He might only get 2 or 3 yards, but he doesn’t lose any.

Barber needs to get cut this offseason. His contract is too big and they can dump him this year without penalty. I expect Jerry to wait a little longer before making that decision, but do the Cowboys really need an $8M 3rd down back? I think they can find one on the 2nd or 3rd day of the draft for a much better price.

what a coincidence