OK guys- I have a hard on right now. Love the trade!! 20 spots in round 2 is nothing, and that pick was a gift anyway. We still have the same amount of first day picks, and one less hole to fill-- and we did it with a guy who will be here for a while at a high level. I don't want to get crazy over this, so maybe a little Devils Advocate here. Are there any reasons why this move isn't great? I really can't think of one, but I'm always up for some Devils Advocate.
He's 29, despite low mileage on his legs. This is his fourth team. There has to be a reason he hasn't caught on. He doesn't really complement Washington at all; he's 5'10, 220, while Washington is 5'8, 202. Quite similar. Career YPC is just 4.0. His last two seasons were his first over 1,000 yards (although, the year before that, he was 52 shy). Not saying any of this bothers me, just playing Devil's Advocate. Edit: Also, by the sound of a few posts on the Bears' board, he may have a history of being injury prone.
Jones and Washington are NOTHING alike. Jones will pound the rock right up the middle, and do so with some power. Great trade!
I called him coming here a few months back with him being angry with the Bears staff. If you asked me straight up, I woulda fuckin killed for his little bro Julius since Im a diehard Irish fan and think Jones will be great in time but honestly Thomas is just as good.
Drew is like any other agent - he does what his clients want. Some of his clients happen to be crazy. I bet TJones is thrilled with this trade and realizes the Jets will pay what he's worth.
Uh, Thomas is not only a better football player then Julius, he is tougher and has a much better work ethic. Julius is not even in TJ's league.
Why Leonard? That makes no sense now... Leonard and Washington in the backfield made a lot of sense, especially if we could get a guy like Mughelli. Now it makes zero sense.
Thomas Jones Scouting Report From A Bears Fan Hello, Bears fan here. I just heard about the trade on ESPN, and though I'm not thrilled about it, I'm not terribly saddened either. We signed TJ on the cheap ($10M for 4 years) and hoped to run him into the ground for cheap labor. Unfortunately last year he and his agent kept moaning about wanting a better deal. I guess he shouldn't have signed a 4 year deal if he didn't want to honor it. Anyways, here is a brief scouting report on TJ from a Bears fan who has 80 percent of the Bears games on tape from the last two seasons. Jones is a good cutback runner and a decent inside runner. Unfortunately, for a running back with such a tremendous physique he shies away from contact, frequently turning his back to the tackler to avoid a big hit. Jones acceleration into and out of a hole is pretty good. However his top end speed is average at best. The three seasons he played here never once did he take a long run (40 yards or more) into the house. For whatever reason, Jones he doesn't have a 3rd gear to outrun tacklers. Jones is also a feast or famine type runner. He'll drive fans crazy with his 2-yard, 3-yard, 4-yard runs. Then halfway through a game he'll hit a crease and bust one for 15 yards. So unless you guys have a dependable 3rd-down passing game, you'll face alot of 3-and-outs. Jones was injury prone early on in Arizona and the first two years he got dinged up a bit (turf toe, sprained knee ligament). Last season though he made it through without missing any time, however he did share carries with Cedric Benson down the stretch. You guys are right, he's a young 29 with relatively little mileage. And his receiving ability is definitely a plus, as is his blocking ability. To recap, Jones pro's are good cutback ability, good perimeter runner, good pass protection, and rarely fumbles. Also a great locker room guy, provided he's not bitching about a contract extension and holding out. He'll get teammates to come together. Jone's con's are boom or bust type runner. Also, not extremely fast in open field. Will drive you crazy with his desire to avoid contact. Also, for such a big player he's top heavy, meaning most of his weight is distributed in his upper body (chest, arms). That means he's got a poor center of gravity and will almost always go down on the first arm tackle. For a guy with such big guns, rarely if ever will he give a stiff arm. The thing that drove Bears fans nuts was his inability to break tackles. Also, if you're expecting a move-the-pile type back, it's not going to happen. THE FIRST TACKLER always brings him down. This is my honest, accurate scouting report of him. When the season starts in September you'll see everything I said is dead-on.
