Dallas Cowboys' Felix Jones’ Uninspiring Play Gives Additional Meaning To Remainder Of Preseason on the Long Road to the Super Bowl

 By Ryan Bush

As late August threatens to give way to September, head coaches and general managers have begun to anticipate the first of two roster cut downs in order to reach the NFL-mandated 53-man roster.  Dallas Cowboys head coach Jason Garrett has been pelted with questions from the media this preseason surrounding the team’s wide-open battle at three of the five receiver positions, leaving little room for other discussion.  Cole Beasley’s seven-catch performance in San Diego on Saturday night has only intensified the ongoing debate among coaches, players, and fans alike.

Meanwhile, a developing story at the running back position has to have Garrett and general manager Jerry Jones a bit concerned as well.  Three weeks of training camp and two exhibition contests into the season and what once was thought to be a roster position set in stone has turned into a host of veritable question marks that is nothing but disconcerting.

Entering his fifth season in the league, Felix Jones traveled to California for training camp with a firm grip on the No. 2 halfback position behind last year’s rookie phenom Demarco Murray.  But one uninspiring practice after another, coupled with two sub-par performances against Oakland and San Diego, has left Jones’ role with the team very much in doubt. The speed that convinced the Cowboys to draft him twenty-second overall in the 2008 draft out of Arkansas seems to have disappeared, and his impressive agility right along with it.  And all this developing around two running backs, Murray and Olawale, that have made the most out of every carry.  Without a doubt, this could spell trouble for the Cowboys and Jones.

In a league that has adopted a dual-running back fold as the norm, the Cowboys were counting on Jones to be Murray’s sidekick in the backfield, spelling him intermittently throughout the course of each game.  Jones’ game-breaking abilities in the passing department made him a valuable asset as a third-down back in Jason Garrett’s offense as well.

The tone from the front-office suggests the Cowboys are prepared to be patient with Jones, who is coming off off-season shoulder surgery, and aren’t watching the waiver wire for any possible replacement.  

But how long their patience will last is the question?

Because,  it’s no secret that Garrett needs production from his No. 2 back and might be hesitant to expect Olawale to fill that role as a raw rookie in the case that Jones continues to flounder, making the final two exhibition games versus St. Louis and Miami, oh, so very important.