Veteran RB will find a fit in Weis’ offensive system. Matt Bowen
Thomas Jones signed a two-year deal Tuesday worth a reported $5 million to become a Kansas City Chief — and I’m wondering why anyone would object to this deal.
Besides the fact that Jones is a veteran back who has shown major production during his career, we’re talking about getting a player with experience for a bargain compared to the spending we saw on Friday.
Jones has rushed for 1,000-plus yards in the last five seasons. He can be counted on when we discuss pass protection and is the type of one-cut runner who fits what Charlie Weis — the Chiefs’ new offensive coordinator — is trying to do in K.C.
When we talk about Weis, we’re often misled into thinking this is a coach who likes to run empty sets on offense all day and throw the ball 50-plus times. But with Weis, even going back to his days with New England before Notre Dame, he’s going to attack defenses until he can expose a weakness.
And then he’ll stick to that game plan.
Part of that game plan includes the running game — the power running game. Weis can bring his Jumbo personnel on the field (3 TE, 1 TE, 1 WR) and run the inside and outside zone, along with the power game, just as easily as he can bring his Zebra personnel (3 WR, 1 TE, 1 RB), align them in an empty set and run the various route combinations that seem to test NFL secondaries.
With Jones, you now have an accountable running back who can play within this system along with fellow RB Jamaal Charles — who blew up the last month of the ’09 season with games of 143, 154, 102 and 259 yards. Charles will be dynamic and he’ll be used creatively under Weis, but don’t discount the value that Jones brings to this offense.
The knock on Jones is his production during the ’09 postseason when he was essentially replaced in the Jets backfield by rookie Shonn Greene. His yards per carry average during the season sat at a solid 4.2, but it dropped significantly in the playoffs to 2.6 per carry. The emergence of Greene was a good enough reason for the Jets to cut Jones, but in K.C., he isn’t going to be the type of back who gets 20 or 25 carries a game.
And with most running backs in their 30s (Jones will be 32 this season), we tend to proclaim them as dead weight.
Those days of being the workhorse back are gone for Jones, but don’t let that discourage you on his value when he’s playing in a two-back system with Charles. He’s still an ideal player to have in the backfield when the Chiefs enter the red zone because of his ability to hit the hole, keep his pad level low and finish runs. He’ll find a role in this system.
Plus, if you’re the Chiefs, you have to view this as an upgrade. This team needs players and it needs proven players to come into camp, push the younger half of the roster and continue to contribute.
And I’ll always go back to the cost. Because $5 million for a former Pro Bowl running back who always produces is a cheap price to pay to get better as a football team.
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Good move by KC. They need players and as good as Jamal Charles was the last four game of the season, he still has to show he can do it for an entire season.
Without knowing Jone's personality, I agree that this is a very good signing, primarlily based on the money involved.
When a signing salary is failry low, it is always important to consider how much it would cost to replace that player. Consider that if Jones was not signed, KC would sign a number two running back in the $1.2 million range. That is only a $1.8 million difference when compared to Jone's $3 million in year one of his contract.
Since you have to have a number 2 running back, you really spent $1.8 million for Jones (since you had to pay the $1.2 million anyway), which is a bargain.
It's an awesome pickup for the Chiefs. The Chiefs may have just solved Jamaal's fumblimg problem. That being said, if Jamaal does fumble early and often ala 2009, don't be surprised if Haley tries to convince Weis to makes Jones the primary back for 2010. No one hates a fumbler more than Todd Haley.
Jones is good for a young team in the locker room. As a player he's durable and does not fumble but he's nothing more then an average running back. He never breaks tackles and he lacks an initial acceleration. His stats are a product of the Jets offensive line.
The only mystery to me is why teams keep getting rid of Jones. He's a solid runner and a smart player. What am I missing?
"Weis can bring his Jumbo personnel on the field (3 TE, 1 TE, 1 WR) and run"
Four TE and one WR, I think they call it the JIMBO formation.
Charlie is a huge proponent of using the tight end to max effectiveness, mainly in blocking. It gives a run front a lot of new looks and allows extra double teams and block angles for wearing down the opponent's starters.
Part of the Parcells, East Coast Offense game plan, ball control and physicality.
I think he meant 3 TE, 1 RB, 1 WR, Mr. M.
No offense inteded, yo. We've used "Bubba" as a terminology for two TE to one side of a form or to describe the fullback alignment or where he leads....
Jones is a consumate professional who keeps himself in tremendous condition and is also a leader in the clubhouse and on the field. The Jets should be ashamed of the way this went down. Last year Jones' agent was trying to get the Jets to renegotiate his contract and the Jets response was basically 'no' because he was paid a lot of money up front and was due the bonus this year as well. They took the stance that he should honor his contract. Jones did just that w/o any belly-aching and continued on as a true professional. The Jets basically abused the guy this past season after L. Washington went down because they needed to keep the ball out of Sanchez' hands and they didn't jave the confidence in Greene yet because of some early fumbles. Jones was their ONLY RB for mist of the regular season running against 8 and 9 man fronts. He took a beating. How do the Jets reward him? Release him before his bonus is due. They expected him to homor his contract but they didn't Shame on the Jets.
I am a big-time Jets fan but this was not the way to treat this player. What does crap like this say to your other players?? I wouldn't be willing to take one for the team when the team will just turn-around and cut you afterwards. I would get my money upfront or I'd go somewhere else.
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Mar 10, 2010
07:20 AM
Sorry to be a pedant, but it's "err on the side of caution." Not "air on the side of caution."