One of the thoughts I had while watching the game last night is that they only used Jones a couple plays, then did two things: 1. Gave Leon the opportunity to show he could be an every down back, which he clearly did 2. Get lots of time in for Woodhead to see if he can be our RB depth and role player. Jury still out but he got better as the game went on, and there were some positives in his play I really think that if there is a trade (which I am opposed to) that we may really be shopping Jones and last night was a dry run to see if we can get by without him.
Yes, I definitely think that there is a possibility that there may be a chance of trading Thomas Jones.
Unless we were able to get a solid, solid #2 WR, I wouldnt do it at this point. As the Ravens proved last year, can't have enough quality backs.
Hardly. He had 8 carries. He would need to have 20-25 a week for weeks in a row to prove he could be a #1 back.
Maybe they would try to use him in a package for Braylon (hands of stone) Edwards. All Cleveland has in a very old Jamal Lewis and Jones would seem young compared to him. (Oh, they are the same age)
Or maybe, in some crazy scheme to find out what other talent is on the roster, they used Leon more and TJ less (and sprinkled in some Woodhead) in order to see if other guys can carry any of the load with consistency? Jones is our starting running back. Does he really have anything he needs to prove?
I would say there is less of a chance that Jones gets traded than trading for a #1 WR. The guy is an average at best RB, there isn't much of a market for guys like that, especially when they are in their 30s.
I think they were probably just resting TJ and giving Leon a shot to carry the load. I am a proponent of trading TJ, but I don't see him having a lot of trading value. Certainly not enough to garner a young starting WR.
Jones goes no where this offseason. If anything last ngiht showed us just how much we are goign to rely on our running game. He will be a big part of this up comming season.
I don't think they are going to trade TJ. Now, if they had given Greene 10+ carries last night with the first team, I'd think you were onto something. In case you hadn't read any articles leading up to last night's game, Rex really, really wanted to win that game. They used Leon a lot because he was all that was effective...and they quickly lost any faith in Sanchez on 3rd and long, hence the draws to Leon. I think TJ looked good last night. He will once again have a solid season. He will be cut next offseason and Greene will take over as the lead runner.
On a related note, not worth its own thread, it's nice to see how well Ray Rice is doing. We didn't really need a RB last draft but I'd loved to have gotten him, I think he's going to be a great back in the NFL.
Leon is amazing and is their only playmaker on offense. However he has never shown that he can sustain the rigors of being the man for a full season. So lets not be giving up on TJ just yet, especially since we are going to need to ride the RBs like Zorro with this current QB situation.
Honestly. Jones should be traded. I know his value is worth nothing but they should get what they can for him. I really liked what I saw from Woodhead last night against the Ravens. I would be okay with Washington-Greene-Woodhead
Do you guys remember what we got Jones for in the first place? We basically traded down in the 2nd round and got a pro bowl running back out of the ordeal. With our receiving corps being very shaky we need to keep the ground game the way it is. We should have a dominant running game this year which will help make up for our inexperienced quarterbacks (Clemens or Sanchez) and receivers.
He's talented and playing for his next contract - pointless to squander the talent and motivation for a 4th rounder or less.
So trade the AFC's leading rusher last year for basically nothing because a guy looked halfway decent at the end of the second pre-season game?
