TJ Named Starter in Chicago

[Pariah]

-- Thomas Jones Named Lead Tailback --
Wed Mar 24, 2004 --from FFMastermind.com

The official website of the Chicago Bears reports new Bears HC Lovie Smith was asked today who will line up as the starter Friday at the team's first mini-camp. "You don't bring a player in like (RB Thomas Jones) and put him behind someone. He will be the lead tailback. When the first offense goes out there, he'll be the first guy out there with them. But again, there's definitely a place for (RB Anthony) Thomas." Phil Gentles of ProFantasySport.com adds that Smith, baring an injury to Jones or a tremendous training camp from A-Train, will go with Jones as his back to start the season because he has the capablitity of doing more in the team's new offense. Thomas will get some touches, but he will come off the bench to start the year.

PARIAH'S PREDICTION: Anthony Thomas is a draft-day trade to New England.

 

[kerouac9]

PARIAH'S PREDICTION: Anthony Thomas is a draft-day trade to New England.

Ooh, that makes the hairs on my neck stand up. I just don't see it, though. Maybe if Steven Jackson isn't there, they'll give up their lower second-round pick, and it'd be solid.

 

[green machine]

How long before he loses this job?

 

[AzCards21]

How long before he loses this job?

The bench is just a phone call away.

 

[Pariah]

The bench is just a phone call away.

LOL! That's a good one.

Serioulsy, though, I think Jones will be okay in Chicago. I think it's taken him a few years to get his NFL legs under him ala Garrison Hearst.

I was never a big fan of him here (although I thought I would be when we drafted him), but I think he'll end up being a good RB.

 

[green machine]

LOL! That's a good one.

Serioulsy, though, I think Jones will be okay in Chicago. I think it's taken him a few years to get his NFL legs under him ala Garrison Hearst.

I was never a big fan of him here (although I thought I would be when we drafted him), but I think he'll end up being a good RB.

I dont' know if he has the mentality to do it. He was handed the job here so many times, and every time he lost it. In Tampa he wasn't the main guy, he was the one trying to steal the job. No pressure there.

 

[Stout]

LOL! That's a good one.

Serioulsy, though, I think Jones will be okay in Chicago. I think it's taken him a few years to get his NFL legs under him ala Garrison Hearst.

I was never a big fan of him here (although I thought I would be when we drafted him), but I think he'll end up being a good RB.

Huge difference between Hearst and TJ. HUGE. Hearst was showing signs of talent, if memory serves, while still here. Then he blossomed in San Fran. TJ showed NO signs of anything but SUCKAGE here, went to TB, showed maybe one or two flashes of possibly thinking about really trying to break out to show a few signs of hidden talent, but that's about it.

Sure, the media's been in love with him, but he did jack in TB, and they know it...that's why he's not still there. TJ's a bust, and Chicago will find out real soon.

I bet he looks great in mini-camps. Strap on the pads, and it's a whole other story!

 

[Lex]

TJ's lucky he got another contract before he runs out of Balco bars.

...and yes, he's STILL "lifting and losing."

 

[CardLogic]

I bet he looks great in mini-camps. Strap on the pads, and it's a whole other story!

I'm with ya, Stout. Could be that TJ is a guy who doesn't like the contact of the NFL. Jones has got some talent, but he just doesn't "bring it", as they say. Most players that are successful in the NFL, have actually got to like the intensity of the hitting. With his skills TJ didn't take the big hits in college or high school. Then he got to the NFL and discovered the meaning of a WOO hit! Looking at TJ's NFL career to so far, I'd say he has milked it pretty well for a guy who really doesn't want to play with the BIG BOYS!

 

[DevonCardsFan]

LOL! That's a good one.

Serioulsy, though, I think Jones will be okay in Chicago. I think it's taken him a few years to get his NFL legs under him ala Garrison Hearst.

I was never a big fan of him here (although I thought I would be when we drafted him), but I think he'll end up being a good RB.

'

Are you Crazy Jones has shown Jack &%^$ his entire career, he should not even be in the NFL. He is a big sissy, that doesn't like to be hit and he falls if the wind blows. I'll bet money this guy does not even sniff 800 yards next season. Let alone keep his starting job.

 

[Pariah]

'

Are you Crazy Jones has shown Jack &%^$ his entire career, he should not even be in the NFL. He is a big sissy, that doesn't like to be hit and he falls if the wind blows. I'll bet money this guy does not even sniff 800 yards next season. Let alone keep his starting job.

Duly noted.

 

[RugbyMuffin]

Thomas Jones?

He is still in the league? Man that guys sucked.

Did he discovered how to hit a hole while running the ball, or how to break a tackle?

Or does he still believe he is Barry Sanders ?

This guy is an arrogant @ss! He has NO TALENT to be an NFL running back.

Who cares what the guy did in college! This is the NFL, and he doesn't cut it.

Peace

 

[ajcardfan]

The thing I think Jones is best at, he has a nose for the endzone once he gets the ball inside the ten. If he ran that hard and well the other 90 yards of the field, he'd still be here.

 

[KingofCards]

Hmmm... Thomas Jones in the "Windy" City. I'd be worried he'll keep getting tackled by a gust of wind.

 

[D-Dogg]

TJ will rush for 1200 yards this year.

Write it down. In ink.

 

[dopleganger]

TJ will rush for 1200 yards this year.

Write it down. In ink.

I agree.

 

[Shane]

TJ will rush for 1200 yards this year.

Write it down. In ink.

I'll one up you and say 1300 and 10TDs!

 

[Pariah]

When TJ was here he could be blown over by a stiff wind, but he looked like a different back in Tampa. He ran hard and kept his pads low, and seemed to keep his feet much better.

I don't know what was going with him or what went on with him when he was here, but TJ's not the same back he was 2 years ago.

I'm not trying to ride the guy's jock or anything, I just think he's running better now. I still don't like him.

 

[Stout]

I'll one up you and say 1300 and 10TDs!

You guys get some bad ganja or something? The kid's a joke! Like I said, he'll probably look great in minicamp, and he'll be the starter, and then he'll suck up the joint when the real games start, and that'll be that.

Wow...1200 yds...1300 yds and 10 TDs...where's the precedence for him doing something like this???

 

[kerouac9]

Wow...1200 yds...1300 yds and 10 TDs...where's the precedence for him doing something like this???

I'm violating my resolution not to post on TJ here, but this is strictly a stat thing:

Based on the three starts TJ had to end 2003, projected over 16 games, he'd total 1579 yards over 16 games. If you projected TJ's December production over 16 games, he'd get 1456 yards. TJ averaged 4.6 ypc in 2003, 4.17 as a starter.

TJ averaged less than 10 carries a game as a Cardinal. Marcel has averaged over 13. According to ESPN.com, TJ had all of 13 starts his ENTIRE Cardinal career. He had one fewer carry last season as a Buc than he did in 2002 as a Cardinal, but averaged nearly a whole yard per carry more, with obstensibly a much, much less-talented offensive line. It would not be beyond the pale to say that objectively-speaking, TJ never really was given a chance to succeed in a system that wasn't designed to his talents, with a shaky QB, and virtually no committment to the run.

 

[Shane]

You guys get some bad ganja or something? The kid's a joke! Like I said, he'll probably look great in minicamp, and he'll be the starter, and then he'll suck up the joint when the real games start, and that'll be that.

Wow...1200 yds...1300 yds and 10 TDs...where's the precedence for him doing something like this???

You all are very spacey when it comes to TJ IMO. The precedence was set starting in 2002 when he became our fulltime RB and was leading the NFL in rushing after the first 3 weeks.

The guy had a tough game against a great Washington D the first week and then the next week broke out with 24 carries for 173 yards and a TD averaging 7.2 yards a carry. He ate that D up all day long.

The next week on a High ankle sprain he came back and rushed 17 times for 73 yards against San Diego for a 4.3 yard average and he was limping the whole game before he aggravated the injury even worse and pulled himself. He showed lots of heart in that game.

The rest of the year wasnt the same the team even admitting that he had a very severe high ankle sprain and that instead of playing probably should have sat instead of playing. Thus he was the relegated to back-up in favor of the healthy and productive Shipp.

The guy was not falling in "the wind" as people say that year and truly started to show some glimpses of his talent IMO! I still watch taped games from that season and enjoy watching him run.

The precedence was continued last year behind a mediocre TB OL where he had 137 carries for 627 yards averaging 4.6 a pop with 3 TDs. He looked great! I dunno if you saw him play at all but I did.

The guy has skills he will do well in Chicago and Thomas will not get his job back unless he gets hurt. BANK ON IT!

 

[ajcardfan]

You're right Shane. I think Jones is more an example of the "Cardinals Curse" than anything else.

 

[40yearfan]

Well, I tell you what. I did not see him play in Tampa, so I won't comment about his time there, but I saw every play he ran as a Cardinal and one play was just like the other. Unless, by some miracle, he made it through the first line without being touched, the majority of the plays he ran, he was tackled by his own OL. He'd run into the back of one of OL and fall down, usually without anyone from the opposing team putting a hand on him. I wonder how many times I saw him stopped with an ankle tackle or someone shoving him from the side? He never broke a tackle. As soon as he was touched, down he'd go. The Cards have had some great backs and some mediocre backs. He doesn't fit into either catagory. He's worse.

 

[buff17]

The point is that most games Jones played in as a Card he only got about 5 to 10 carries. If the Cards would have just stuck to the run, gave him about 15-25 touches a game. I bet he would have produced, in college he was the workhorse back. He would get 3,6,5,3,3,1,6, then bust one for 20 plus yards or more. He could have easily did that here, but the offense wasnt designed around him. He and workhorse back with great speed. Kinda like Robert Smith, and a little like Barry Sanders use to be, you could only stop them so many times before he busted one on ya.

Another thing is, its crazy when you see an elite back get 20 carries in a game, and only produce about 70 yards, and his team still win. Maybe TJ would have had those types of games the first few years as a Card, but Im telling ya. Maybe sometimes he could have broke one or two. Could have turned his 20 carries for 70 yards type games into 100 yard games, 150 yard games. He does that every 4 games or so and your looking at a 1200 yard back....

My BOLD prediction..... for Jones this season.. if healthy of course

1500 yards rushing over 2000 total yards for the season, and about 15 TD's.

Call me crazy, but I think hes gonna be the next Priest Holmes.

 

[RugbyMuffin]

Unbelievable!

This happens to much. The minute, no, SECONDS after a player leaves Arizona he is instantly Pro-Bowl talent.

Thomas Jones cannot hit a hole like an NFL RB. He didn't do it as a Cardinal, he didn't do it as a Buc, and I am pretty sure he won't do it in Chicago.

The guy has more interest in being a male model than a RB.

I will give the guy that he has some SERIOUS SERIOUS speed. But what good is speed if you can't get through the holes.

Thomas Jones is the poster child for why I cannot watch college football. In college Jones had the time to dance in the backfield cause the hole in the line would still be there when he was done dancing.

Problem: This is the N F L a hole in the line of scrimmage in college is about 1,000,000 times bigger, and is there about 1,000,000 times longer than in the NFL.

IF Chicago had a supierior OLine I could see this speedster breaking 1,000 yards. But Chicago has a very weak OLine, and Jones will suffer because of it.

I give Jones 750 yards MAX, with 5TD's MAX and I also give him a seat on the bench by week 10.

Peace


Oh Yeah, I forgot. He sucks!