T.Jones/ A-Train

[CWSGuy406]

Marshall Faulk fumbles once every 85 touches

Kevan Barlow fumbles once every 68 touches

Tiki Barber fumbles once every 37 touches

Clinton Portis fumbles once every 80 touches

Fred Taylor fumbles once every 92 touches

Edgerin James fumbles once every 63 touches

 

I would take each and every one of these backs ahead of Train in the system we will be using. You wouldn't? They all fumble more than Train and are around the same range as TJ.

I wouldn't take Tiki "Cough" Barber or Barlow over Train...

 

If you want to refuse to look at the numbers, that's fine. But, fact is, the Bears line sucked last year, period. It was makeshift, people were playing out of position. Hell, Aaron Gibson was signed because of injuries. Don't tell me that last year's line was good, because it was just plain bad. Thomas Jones is a bust right now, nothing changes that. He was a top 10 pick IIRC, I don't care what line you run behind, you ought to at least do something. Then he went to Tampa and couldn't even beat out friggin' Micheal Pittman.

 

Don't tell me Train is a worse back than Jones, because nothing can prove that...

[southsideirish]

I wouldn't take Tiki "Cough" Barber or Barlow over Train...

 

If you want to refuse to look at the numbers, that's fine.  But, fact is, the Bears line sucked last year, period.  It was makeshift, people were playing out of position.  Hell, Aaron Gibson was signed because of injuries.  Don't tell me that last year's line was good, because it was just plain bad.  Thomas Jones is a bust right now, nothing changes that.  He was a top 10 pick IIRC, I don't care what line you run behind, you ought to at least do something.  Then he went to Tampa and couldn't even beat out friggin' Micheal Pittman.

 

Don't tell me Train is a worse back than Jones, because nothing can prove that...

I believe he did beat out Michael Pittman last year. He started the last 4 games of the season for them. The Bears O-Line was not a bad run blocking line. Pass blocking damn awful yes, but not run blocking. I am not even going to argue with someone that would take the Train over a RB such as Tiki or Barlow. Enough said.

 

Gibson may have been signed because of injuries but he was also pretty damn good. I would say he was an improvement over Big Cat from the year before. Big Cat wasn't even moving in 2002, he was just trying to get in the way. Aaron Gibson was an improvent over that to say the least.

 

I never said Train was a worse back than Jones. I did say that Jones fits this system much better than Train. However, I would not say that Train is a better back than Jones either. They are different types of backs. If this was the same system that Juron was running then I would wonder why we are handing the starting job to Jones. However we are not running that system. They are different backs. They do different things. Think about that.

[southsideirish]

First of all it's nearly impossible not to win in the NFL(the Bengals even won 8 games) -- I submit the 2003 Chicago Bears as exhibit A -- They nearly finished .500, while having the worst offensive line I have ever seen in a bears uniform -- Remember the San Fran game :puke

 

Why bring JA into this argument? -- I never mentioned him, Nobody else mentioned him -- The Name of the thread is "TJ/A-train", yet when you've been 'pwn3d' by several posters here, you bring up other names like Clinton Portis.. Or bring up JA.  For what purpose? -- Are you really taking away from the real argument --

 

TJ has never done anything to deserve a starting NFL job.  He couldn't hack it in Arizona, couldn't beat out the HOF Pittman in TB, Fumbles the ball, and doesn't break big runs -- Why would I welcome a guy who is a castoff of both Arizona and TB? Are thier uniforms made of kryptonite?  Will TJ suddenly turn into superman because he puts on a magic jersey?

 

Will I be mad if the Bears win, make the playoffs with TJ as thier featured back? No.  I'm a Bears fan.  But just because I'm a bears fan, doesn't mean I have to accept everything they do as Gospel.  That would be acting like a cubs fan.  So I'm going to continue to question the moves of the Bears.  There will be some moves I like, and some that I don't.  Some moves will work, others won't.  There's no reason to have blind faith in any sports organization.  That's just "Cubbieism".

You must not have seen many Bears lines then. I would say that the 2002 line was a lot worse than last years. Some of the lines early in Payton's career weren't very good either.

 

I don't believe Jones was ready to have an NFL job when he was drafted. He didn't know blocking schemes and then was injured. The following year injured. Last year he actually looked like a good RB. I believe he fits this system perfectly. He is a Marshall Faulk/Priest Holmes type back. He is a shifty back with outside speed and can catch the ball. Train does not fit this system as well as Jones does, he just doesn't, his skill set does not match the system or what the Bears are going to try to do next season. He doesn't fit the scheme. Who knows, I could be wrong and I would be very happy to see Train succeed, however I think Jones fits it better. Am I taking what the Bears staff is saying as Gospel? Hell no! I do trust their decisions when in comes to player personal better than yours though. They have coaches that have proven they can take players and match them to a certain system and make the successful. They are proven. They come from proven systems that work. I trust they know what they are looking for and they know what they are doing. This system has worked in both St Louis and KC. This same system took Marshall Faulk, who was very good in Indy, and made him a stud back in STL. This system and OC took an ok back in Priest Holmes that no one else was even bidding on and made him the best back in the NFL. I think they know what they are doing. I could be wrong on this, but I guess we will see.

 

As far as bringing JA into it, that is because you never responded to it the last time. You havent again because there is nothing that backs that statement you made about him sabotaging the coaching staff. I know you got that statement from the fool Mike North who has brought it up many times. It was a ridiculous comment and it seemed fine for you to just dismiss it. Now you want to back out of answering it again. I am not taking away from the argument, as I can see it never did. The argument is still there and I have never dodged anything. All the answers are there. Where is your answer to my JA question? Where is the sabotage?

 

I do believe that TJ beat out Pittman last year. He may have split carries, but Gruden was said to have loved the guy. He didn't want to lose TJ but TJ wanted to be the featured back in this system. The same system that has made Marshall Faulk and Priest Holmes the best backs in the league. TJ was playing the majority of the time at the end of the season and was getting the majority of the carries. He did beat out Pittman and ended up the main ball carrier the last 4 games of the year while Pittman backed him up.

 

If we were using the same boring ball control offense that we were using under Juron then I would agree with you guys and wonder why we are handing the starting job over to Jones over Train. However, this is a new system and needs different types of players to fit the system. Jones fits it better than Train. I am not arguing that he is a better player than Train or a better RB than Train. I am arguing he is a better fit for this team at this point. He is a better RB for this system that we are installing.

[Soxfest]

He was also playing for the Arizona Cardinals which makes it a little tough to get good production.

Newsflash ............................he was in Tampa last year