FanNation

Ok, the Cowboys are 6-1 going into their bye week, awsome! Greg Ellis finally returned to the starting lineup, wonderful! Their #2 reciever Terry Glenn has a good shot at coming back for their next game after the bye, terrific! Anthony Henry also is looking like he may be ready to return to action against the Eagles, incredible! But why is Julius Jones still the starting running back for the Dallas Cowboys when Marion Barber is clearly the better running back?

    Don't get me wrong, I believe Julius is an exceptional running back when used in the right situations. His speed and shiftiness are more suited for toss plays and sweeps, where he can use his vision and speed to get the the edges quickly. I know you can't run on the edges all day against fast defenses, but what about throwing a screen his way, and getting him in some open space where he can use his strengths to gain yards? Instead, all I see is Julius running up the middle for minimal gains.

    On the other hand we have Marion Barber, who seems to be able to do it all. He is an incredible inside runner-probably one of the hardest runing backs to tackle. His ability to lower his shoulder and shed tackles on the outside make him very difficult for defensive backs to handle. His ability to catch out of the backfield and punish defenders in the open field makes him a threat every down. So why is Marion on the bench at the beginning of the game?

    Now some of you might say, "don't fix it if it aint broke." But this running game is "broke." It's broke because you have a backup running back with 4 less carries but 125 more yards than the starter. Barber's recieving stats are almost double of what Jones has put up so far. And with the Cowboys struggling in the first quarter these past 7 games, you almost wonder if Barber's spark could ignite the Cowboys stale 1st quarter offense. It could be my imagination, but it seems to me that opposing defenses relish the times that Barber is on the sideline. At least they won't have the unenviable task of stopping #24 on that play.

    Even though I believe Barber to be the better running back, starting him won't fix all the Cowboys run defects. Jason Garrett is going to have to start calling plays that suit Julius' running style:  more sweeps, more screens, less dives up the middle. It is going to take both Barber and Jones playing to their strengths if the Cowboys have any chance at winning their 6th Super Bowl title.