4.4 YPC, higher than several of the RBs you list above Jones and several can’t block or receive.

In conclusion: Julius Jones = budding Hall of Famer, feel free to crown his ass.

He’s no superstar, but he doesn’t suck and he has a chance of being relatively effective if we can get the ZBS working.

Jones sucks. Stop rubbing it in our face.

Then yeah he’s near the bottom. But he’s obviously a more valuable player than a great number of backups.

He got 4.4 ypc last year, underutilized doesn’t mean incompetent. Nobody here thinks he’s overly talented at rushing, but a 4.4 ypc average is certainly serviceable. You overlook that this has become a 2 back league, and though most of the rushers you have on this list are better rushers than Jones, carries are always split and Jones’ blocking and receiving abilities are much better than a lot of NFC rushers. I couldn’t be bothered looking up the stats but I’m sure a large amount of the list you provide didn’t manage 4.4 ypc, the bulk of your argument seems to be that you don’t rate him and can’t fathom why everyone doesn’t agree with you

Why are you focusing on just Julius Jones, when it’s already been established that he will be sharing carries? I think it would have been a more objective look at the picture when you include those who he will sharing carries with: T.J. Duckett and Justin Forsett.

Personally, I’m not worried about the running game one bit. The Seahawks don’t need a spectacular running back. They simply need a solid rushing attack. They should have one this year. Besides, half of the past 10 Super Bowl champions did not have a top 10 rushing offense. 3 of those teams finished in the bottom third of the league.

God I hope he has a great year to shut people up. Same goes for DHB.

I commend you OP, well done.

As a rusher I’ll take him over.

Ryan Grant
Derrick Ward
Kevin Smith
Pierre Thomas
Tim Hightower

Include receiving I’ll add these guys.

Frank Gore
Clinton Portis
Marion Barber

Most of us do not feel that Jones is an average RB. Even with his pass blocking and his pass catching ability (which is probably overrated anyways), I think most of us will admit he is in the bottom 1/3 of starting RB.

However, it doesn’t really matter. The difference between the best and worst RB I think is pretty small if you exclude the top 5 RBs. Would you rather have Julius Jones and Peyton Manning, or Shaun Hill and Adrian Peterson? I think everyone would say Jones and Manning (I’m not so sure Addai is much better than Jones anyways).

Also of importance is the fact that we WERE a pass friendly offense, and we currently have 3 (in our minds) stud WRs. The importance of a RBs ability to pick up a blitz when pass blocking is amplified in a pass-oriented offense (whether or not we have a pass-oriented offense remains to be seen, I think we will still, despite Knapp’s previous tendencies).

Also, in short yardage situations, it really doesn’t matter how good of a back Julius Jones is. He won’t be used. Duckett, one of the best short yardage (and more than just that really) backs in the league will be doing most of the goal line and 3rd and 2 carries.

Lastly, Jones has flashed the ability to take over games with his running. You don’t have to ask Seahawks fans about that. He was a high school track star, and he has burned the 9ers and the Hawks before.

I consider Jones a slightly below-average rusher, assuming we’re talking about NFL (or NFC) starters. Your post calls him “an awful runner” which is overdoing it. He did get 4.4 YPC behind a banged-up O-line and with little threat of a passing game.

Now, Jones is a very good blocker and a good receiver, as mentioned. Rushing is certainly the most important responsibility for an RB, but these should factor into the overall evaluation. Let’s do a hypothetical exercise. If an RB ranks about a 3.5/10 for rushing, 7/10 for receiving and 9/10 for blocking and we weigh the value of those responsibilities at 60%, 20% and 20% then that RB would be slightly more valuable than one with rankings of 5, 5 and 5. This RB would probably be considered “average” overall and might look a lot like Julius Jones. (I think rushing is more important than that, but you get my point.)

I second Scruffy Lefty’s list of “worse” starting rushers: Ryan Grant, Derrick Ward, Kevin Smith, Pierre Thomas, Tim Hightower. That would place Jones 11th out of 16, slightly below the average. Include the AFC and I’d add Cedric Benson, Jamal Lewis, Correll Buckhalter, Fred Taylor, Willie Parker and maybe his brother Thomas Jones. That’d make him 21st out of 32. Yes, he’s below average, but he’s not awful.

I would still call him average.

you are taking quotes from someone who is talking about 1st and second string RB’s (placing him in the average category) and you are talking about a community that does the same thing. Because that’s the norm when evaluating RB’s. But you are taking those same quotes, and applying them to your own view of RB’s (comparing them solely with 1st stringers), then you are ignoring or downplaying the auxiliary benefits that Jones provides. Thus, your argument has no merit because you are pulling statements meant in one context, and applying them to a different context. Arguments don’t work that way.

Most Seahawks fans would call Shaun Alexander average even in his prime.

Jones is looking better. Hes moving on “up”

Let me pull out a chart to let you know what I’m talking about.

*number one in the context of High School football.

you have to think he’s legitimately better at running the football than at leas 7-8 of these 16 backs.

Because when the word average is used, it applies to 32 teams and the RBs of those 32 teams, not just the NFC. Unless I missed where someone was quoted as saying ‘average for an NFC running back’, then the list must be expanded your you’re just cherry-picking to prove your point.

BAM!

Not because of the post itself (which I’ll get to later) but because of the arguments and great photos in this thread.

JM was hesitant about putting up arbitrary letter grades on positions. Because subjective letter grades like B and C come with connotations like “average” and “above average” that are themselves subjective. And all it of is essentially meaningless because all that matters is how a players particular skill sets work in the schemes of his team. It doesn’t matter if a RB can’t block if his team doesn’t need him too, similarily it can be a crippling weakness in a RB for a team that needs good pass blocking from their RB. Same with pass catching, or elusiveness, or ability to move piles, or vision, etc.

 And all this leads to a vague sense of how a player fits in to the general scheme of players at their position, but it’s all so damn subjective that, for a position with as much interchangeable talent as RB, it means virtually nothing.