The way he's built and the way he plays, I really don't see him 'breaking down' the way some halfbacks do. Plus, remember he hasn't been seeing this workload his entire career, he didn't get much work in Arizona and was splitting carries most of the time in both Tampa Bay and Chicago. Obviously a 7 year deal isn't going to be on the table, but a 3 or 4 year extension isn't out of line. I'd love to see him play another year or two in his current role, start winding things back a little bit as time goes by (and as Shonn Greene learns to hold the football), and maybe be a Bettis-like presence three or four years down the road. Between his conditioning and his late entry to the 300-carry club, there's no reason not to expect Thomas Jones to make it as far past 30 as any halfback in NFL history, so I'd hate to see the Jets give up on him. Oh and somebody mentioned him going to the pro bowl. As things stood before this weekend, he was like 4th in the AFC fan voting. I tend to think that the players and coaches will get him in there (along with Maurice Jones-Drew and Chris Johnson, with Ricky Williams maybe in the mix), but still, go vote. Even Revis was like 4th highest among AFC corners. I don't know whats with Jets fans this year, last year we sent like the entire club, this year the two guys who clearly are deserving just aren't getting votes.
Don't be, he wasn't very good. He has improved significantly since. No idea what lit the fire under his ass but he has been very good.
I thought Jones would have a good year, but I really didn't think it would be this good. I'm going to be eating crow when he makes this his career year. And pro bowl fan votes are always skewed. Didn't almost all the NFC votes last year go to Redskins? Or was that two years ago? Anyway, last year we had Revis, Mangold, Washington, Jenkins and Jones.. with Faneca and Favre as shoo-ins. I'm sure Revis and Mangold will get voted in again and Jones should too. Harris and Richardson will probably get overlooked, but you never know. If Cedric Benson gets voted in over TJ that would be a travesty.
We switched over to a zone blocking scheme so it took a little while for the OL to adjust and for TJ to learn the reads. I also consider it no small coincidence that he picked his game up after Shonn Greene got his four carries against New Orleans. I think his touchdown in that game came right after they pulled Greene and let Jones back in.
As good as TJ has been and he has been real good this year, I would still consider trading him rather than giving him a big contract. The good franchises know when to cut the chord with aging players, it might be time with TJ. His value will never be higher then it will be this offseason and I really don't think our running game would skip a beat without him. Greene needs to work on his fumble issues and blocking but I don't think either of these are much cause for concern yet. Between Leon and Greene our running game should be just fine into the future.
I really like Jones. I dislike the way he stuttersteps around the LOS, but he always gets the job done, and he doesn't fumble the ball. Also, as Stu mentioned, I don't believe that he is as prone to breaking down as other backs. First of all, he takes unbelievable care of himself. Secondly, he really didn't get a lot of carries when he was younger. I think he's fine for at least 2 more seasons, and would be very happy if the Jets kept him around for a couple more years.
Hrm. He wasn't playing well last season or early this, but has since become the back we hoped he would be. Doesn't mean he was previously good enough. I'm glad he's better now though, because he's a real threat for us now, which we needed.
me too. I was critical of Jones, but he has gotten better each year since his arrival. Even better than last year with a struggling rookie QB under center. thanks Thomas Jones :beer:
So you doubted him after he won the AFC rushing title? That sure was a low point in his career.... :breakdance:
he led the AFC in rushing last year while no one had respect for our passing game and he's having a BETTER year this year despite playing w/ a rookie QB while D's don't respect our passing game. Players are allowed to have bad games now and then, it happens but he has been incredibly consistent for us and didn't deserve all the grief he was getting early in the year.
He wasn't playing well last season? He led the AFC in rushing last year. And has been pretty consistent all season long this year as well.
This cat fly so low under the radar ppl think he's having a down year when he's out-rushed everyone... pretty incredible. Plus it is easier for posters to think this when there was the amount of "Dump Thomas" threads going around. Glad to see things are still looking up at RB for us... question is now - how much more has he got in the tank?
Jones has been effective but he is not a great back. He has more minus to 2 yard runs of any big time back I have every seen. The Jets have also played teams that are especially shitty at run D. Buffalo ranked 32, Tampa ranked 31, Oakland ranked 30. How many times do you get 4 games against teams ranked 30 or worse in a defensive catagory. We faced 1 d ranked in the top 5 against the run TN. 14 carries for 20 yards. He has been solid and consistent, he is not a great back or a difference maker.
A major reason why Buf and oak are ranked so low is b/c of what Jones and co. did to them. He had a couple of bad games early in the year when we all our RBs had trouble running. The early OL issues were corrected aqnd he's been great ever since. is he an AP or Chris Johnson type? of course not but he's a very good back and he's been a major reason we are still alive for postseason.
I think the guy deserves a bit more credit, though I've always seen a rushing attack as a 50/50 mix of RB talent and O-Line blocking.
The biggest reason we are still alive is the NFL this year has a huge number of really bad teams and we are playing more than our fair share of them. There have been more NFL games where the quality of the games is close to unwatchable than at any time I can remeber.
Our sched was alot easier last year and we blew it, this year we are coming back so who knows what happens? The ground game and the D have gotten us back in it. These last 3 games looked easy on paper but none were locks- Buf beat Miami, Car hung tough w/ NE, TB has been playing much better(until yesterday). Give our giys some credit for battling back, it would have been easy to quit after that NE game.
