Sports Lynx Blog

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When grading a football player, you need to consider the system that he is going to play in. Football is unlike any other sport in that respect. For example, Derek Jeter would be Derek Jeter whether he played shortstop for the Yankees or the Dodgers or some team in Japan; he’s a great player. Kobe Bryant would be Kobe with the Lakers, the Bulls..I was about to say the Knicks but scratch that..the Knicks could make anyone look horrible but you get the point. I hear people speak of football players who play the same position and say “this guy will be better than that guy”, this typically occurs the day after the NFL Draft.

Here’s the thing, you can’t say who will be better unless you first consider the system the player is going to play in. Yesterday the debate in local bars surely centered on which team Dallas or Pittsburgh got the better back at #22 and #23 when Dallas selected Felix Jones and Pittsburgh got Rashard Mendenhall. I would suggest that each team got a great player for their system and their situation, let me explain.

The Steelers already have Willie Parker, who will be in the 3rd year of a 4-yr deal this upcoming season. While Parker is an every down back, his fortay is speed. Parker will make ten runs for 1-yd and then hit the 11th for 70-yds. The Steelers tend to abuse their running backs thus Parker is losing a lot of “tread on his tires” and quickly. Consider that in 12 games last year before he was lost to a season ending injury, Parker carried the rock 321 times which is an average of almost 27 carries a game. What’s the first thing a running back loses with age and carries, speed. It behooves Pittsburgh to reduce Parker’s workload thus the selection of Rashard Mendenhall makes perfect sense as he is seen as an every down back. The one knock on Mendenhall is that he could be a “one-hit” wonder having had only one big season at Illinois and playing in the Big 10 which is not exactly known for producing fast defensive players lately.

Now, let’s take a look at the Cowboys. People wondered why Dallas didn’t select Mendenhall, who many had graded as the #2 back in the draft behind McFadden. I ask this question, why would Dallas take a guy who is going to be the same player as their featured running back, Pro Bowler Marion Barber? Barber is 25 years old, about to sign a long-term deal with Dallas coming off his first Pro Bowl and capable of carrying the rock 20 times a game. Barber has very little “tread” worn of his tires as he shared carries with New England tailback Lawrence Maroney at Minnesota and then in Dallas he shared the load with Julius Jones. Barber is an animal with the ball in his hands but is not a home-run threat. Enter Felix Jones, who may be the most explosive runner in this draft and that says a lot when one considers that this guy played at Arkansas with McFadden. In 3-yrs at Arkansas Jones averaged 7.7 yds per carry which is 2nd in NCAA history behind only Army’s Doc Blanchard and ahead of USC’s Reggie Bush. Jones did this with NFL caliber defenders from the SEC chasing him. Felix Jones will be lightning to Marion Barber’s thunder; a great selection by the Cowboys.

The problem with draft pundits is that they try to analyze selections many times as “win-lose” when in this case it was “win-win”. The Steelers and the Cowboys each hit it out of the park with their first round selections of these two running backs. Mendenhall’s agressive style will fit perfectly in the Pittsburgh’s system and as a compliment to Willie Parker’s speed. Conversely, Felix Jone’s speed and big-play ability should augment Marion Barber’s punishing style in Dallas. A great job by both organizations with these two selections on Saturday.