Felix Jones is a gifted running back and nice guy, so it hurts to see him sitting on the Cowboys bench wearing civilian clothes, looking like a guy watching the homecoming king steal away his girlfriend at the high school prom dance.
For the simile-challenged: The homecoming king is rookie running back DeMarco Murray. The girlfriend is the starting position at running back. The guy at the edge of the dance floor looking sad and rejected is Jones.
In 2008, Jones was the touted rookie. Every time he touched the ball you expected him to break a long run. Jones averaged 8.9 yards a carry. But that number fell to 5.9 yards in 2009, dropped to 4.3 yards in 2010, and is a pedestrian 4 yards this season. Even before his latest injury in Week 6, Jones wasn’t busting runs up the middle like Murray does.
Murray and Jones can co-exist and both get plenty of touches (I’m no longer talking about the metaphorical girlfriend).
But it’s Murray’s job to lose now. He’s impressed three weeks in a row and he’s more of a bruiser than Jones.
Murray pummeled a powerful Seattle Seahawks run defense. This morning’s Seattle Times headline: “Murray runs Seahawks defense ragged.”
The Seahawks held opposing running backs to 3.2 yards per carry this season. Murray doubled that. The Seahawks haven’t allowed a running back to top 100 yards. Murray got 139.
“He’s turning out to be the star on the Cowboys,” Seattle safety Earl Thomas is quoted in the Times story.
Or the homecoming king.
