Here is an excerpt from an article written by Mickey Spagnola. He breaks this down quite well. "Now then, if you'll just put those veins back in your neck and think a minute, the Cowboys did add speed to this offense - to this team - if you are willing to think a little outside the box. Think Felix Jones. And do not think traditional running back. Think Reggie Bush knockoff. Think lining up in the backfield. Think lining up in the slot. Think lining up wide. Think end arounds. Think reverses. Think defenses having to do whatever is necessary to keep him from getting in the open field. Felix Jones will stretch the field. Felix Jones will threaten defenses. Felix Jones will scare the dickens out of coverage units. As Jerry Jones was quick to point, "This is the most speed we've had since . . . well, since Joey Galloway." And he's talking young speed. Which means, the solution to the second problem many had with this Cowboys draft is the answer to the first complaint. Mendenhall is no Felix Jones. He might turn out to be a franchise running back for Pittsburgh, but he would be no complement to Marion Barber, the guy so many think is the Cowboys' franchise running back. (Timeout: I remember this e-mailer warning about drafting a running back. He warned everyone will fall in love with the guy, and suddenly those who wanted Barber to overtake Julius Jones would immediately begin crying for the new guy, Felix Jones as it turns out, to overtake Barber. He wrote, you watch and see.) Mendenhall and Barber would be salt and salt. Gotta have you some pepper. Step aside, let Felix season this dish. "I could see how he could bring a lot of wow," Jerry Jones said of his pre-draft thoughts. "He would bring a different dimension." Having handed Jerry Jones a little secret truth serum, he said going into the draft he had Felix Jones on his mind, and that if he could have even given up picks to assure drafting him before the process begun, he would have done that. That's how much the Cowboys wanted to add this kind of speed to their offense. "I could see how he fit in," Jerry Jones said. The Cowboys also worried how Mendenhall would handle the time-share approach to the position. There were no concerns with Felix Jones. That's what he did in college. Plus, Felix Jones is a worker, and as you can see, that's become big on the Cowboys' draft criteria. And I hear there is this argument the Cowboys didn't draft their board, that they took the lower-rated back. I'm told, if they graded players on a scale from 1 to 100 (and they don't, my example), if Mendenhall was a 93, then Felix Jones was a 92. Come on, what are we doing here, splitting hairs? You take what you need, and this team needed speed, and the Cowboys knew darn well they weren't going to get it at wide receiver. There was no first-round speed there. And while Mendenhall is no turtle, he's one of those one-cut runners. Felix Jones has the necessary wiggle to make more than one guy miss. Now I would have protested Felix Jones had he cost the Cowboys a starting-quality corner. He didn't. I would have protested Felix Jones had the Cowboys not paired him in this draft with another running back. They did, the Cowboys also selecting Choice, giving them three running backs they seemed convinced will make their game-day 45-man roster. So what's the beef, unless of course, you've just got to beef. And if that's the case, and makes you happy, please, by all means, go beef. But if you do, you just might be missing the boat" Still think Mendenhall was the better choice for the Cowboys? I don't.
Original Story:
http://www.dallascowboys.com/news.cfm?ed....
Original Story:
http://www.dallascowboys.com/news.cfm?ed....
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