Tim Cowlishaw of DMN thinks that Marion Barber is a better RB than Julius Jones and gives the Cowboys running game the best chance to succeed.
It's not fair to compare Barber's preseason numbers to Jones' because he played against second-team defenses more often. But there was enough in last year's totals and certainly enough to the naked eye this summer to suggest Barber would give this team more chances to do things and more ways to win games than Jones.
That won't be talked about as much today as Vanderjagt's misses from 33 and 32 yards. That won't be talked about as much as Terrell Owens' one catch for 6 yards.
But without a solid running game, the Cowboys are not a playoff team. And the evidence is mounting that they are a better team with Barber in the backfield.
My take on this issue is that JJ should remain the starter, but it's obvious to me that MB3 brings a lot to the table that Jones doesn't. He runs really hard downhill, is a great receiver out of the backfield and blocks really well. The only thing he doesn't possess is break away speed. To me, that isn't as important as the other things MB3 does really well. Starter? Only if JJ really struggles. Big part of the offense? You bet.
Tom Friend of ESPN writes a really long article analyzing whether the Parcells/T.O. relationship will last. Here is a quote from the article that I find very disturbing.
Scary, isn't it?