RazorBloggers Network » Felix Jones

Best Razorback Games Of 2007-08 — Instant Classic

TipsterHog — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 11:05:45 +0000

After it was over, here’s how we described the game that is #3 on our countdown of the best Razorback games of 2007-08:

You know…just another Razorback Saturday. The stadium field gets a name; the legendary Keith Jackson stops by to ‘Call the Hogs’; Felix rushes for 174, DMac rushes for 321 and we completely steamroller Steve Spurrier. Ho hum? Yeah, right. It was a magical night. What an honor it was to be there to see an ‘Instant Razorback Classic’ in person.

And thanks to YouTube (and GTHogFan), there’s really no need to say anything more.

Felix Jones 40 Yard TD

Felix Jones 72 Yard TD

Casey Dick TD Lucas Miller

DMac TD to RoJo

DMac 80 Yard TD

RazorBits: Filling Time

TipsterHog — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 11:05:05 +0000

RBN tidbits from around the web.

– A lot of local sportswriters are filling their column inches at the moment talking about how to pass the time between now and fall football practice. Robbie Neiswanger over at The Morning News gives Hog fans a few dates to remember between now and August 4th. And the original Mr. Sunshine warms up a little stale football news for us.

– And speaking of stale, this report is a few days old but I didn’t see it blogged anywhere. According to the Cowboys Blog, it sounds like a package is being added to the playbook that includes both Felix Jones and Marion Barber in the backfield at the same time:

Felix’s primary offensive role as a rookie will be a change-of-pace back. But the Cowboys also plan to put him on the field with Barber on occasion.

Barber and Felix lined up in the backfield together several times during today’s workout. Barber lined up in front of the offset I with Felix starting at tailback and motioning out wide.

[...] Felix didn’t put up big receiving numbers at Arkansas, which had a poor passing game. But the Cowboys’ scouts and coaches saw a back with good hands and route-running ability who could blossom as a receiver in the pros.

Hmmm…throwing the ball to Felix…why didn’t we think of that? Three years…38 games…39 receptions. Based on those numbers, a more accurate description would be ‘piss poor passing game.’

– Felix also made it to Canton, Ohio last Friday. No…they weren’t inducting him into the Pro Football Hall of Fame just yet. He was one of 18 Cowboys’ rookies who toured the facility.

– Finally, sportscaster Mike Irwin used his ‘blog’ yesterday to flame a “recruting guru” over comments made about recent Razorback decommit Darius Winston. But since Irwin doesn’t mention Dudley Dawson by name, I guess it’s not really a personal attack, is it?

Good Is Good

TipsterHog — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 11:05:44 +0000

Jean-Jacques Taylor of The Dallas Morning News thinks the Cowboys made a mistake drafting Felix Jones ahead of Illinois running back Rashard Mendenhall with the 22nd pick:

You don’t draft a complementary player in the first round when you have an opportunity to select a franchise back.

Ever.

But that’s what the Cowboys did Saturday.

So…apparently there’s some sort of ‘Draft bible’ that Jean-Jacques is quoting from here. Although he doesn’t reference chapter and verse.

And, unfortunately, he also doesn’t bother to list many facts to support his argument that Mendenhall is a ‘franchise back.’ In truth, a comparison of career stats shows very little difference between the two rushers:

Jones: 38 Games, 387 Attempts, 2,954 Yards, 20 TDs, 7.6 yards per carry
Mendenhall: 35 Games, 388 Attempts, 2,539 Yards, 22 TDs, 6.5 yards per carry

Size? Jones is slightly taller and Mendenhall is nearly 20 pounds heavier.

Speed? Mendenhall ran a 4.45 at the NFL Combine and Jones ran a 4.47.

Now explain to me again how one of these players is obviously a 20-25 carry running back and the other one isn’t? Or, more specifically, that either one of them has proven their NFL franchise back potential?

So maybe the truth is that both of them are equally good. Which is exactly what the Cowboys said after the draft:

“Both of them were so close you could flip a coin over them,” Jerry Jones said.

But wait…Jean-Jacques uses his powers of deductive reasoning to prove (prove!) that the Cowboys had Mendenhall rated higher:

“I don’t want to get into which was the highest rated,” Jerry said. “I don’t want to do that.”

Trust me, that means Mendenhall was rated higher, which is one more reason Jerry should’ve trusted the draft board and taken Mendenhall.

Ah yes…just trust the board, Jerry. But here’s the real question: if one player is ranked 22-A on this ‘almighty board’ and the other is 22-B…does it really matter which one you choose?

Felix Jones Drafted In First Round By Cowboys

TipsterHog — Sun, 27 Apr 2008 03:56:37 +0000

Ryan Malashock: Jones Headed To Dallas

As expected, the allure of drafting a running back from his alma mater turned out to be too hard for Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones to pass up.

He couldn’t trade up for Darren McFadden. But he gladly settled for Felix Jones, making the Tulsa, Okla., native the No. 22 pick in the first round of the NFL Draft on Saturday.

Also:

Bob Holt: UA backs make 1st-round splash
The Dallas Morning News: Cowboys’ choices reflect immediate plan, Taylor: Wrong Selection for Cowboys?
Fort-Worth Star-Telegram: Instead of a rewrite, Cowboys go by book, Engel: When great things are possible, good feels bad
Tulsa World: Dallas takes Felix in first round

Updated 4/27/08 10:35 a.m.

McFadden And Jones Declare For NFL Draft

TipsterHog — Mon, 14 Jan 2008 21:52:56 +0000

Hogwired.com: McFadden and Jones Forgo Senior Season for NFL Draft

Arkansas’ junior tailback combination of All-American’s Darren McFadden and Felix Jones announced their decisions to forgo their senior seasons and declare for the NFL Draft on Monday at a press conference inside the Broyles Athletic Center.

Also:

ESPN.com: Arkansas loses bulk of backfield in McFadden, Jones
RBN: Darren McFadden Photos, Felix Jones Photos
Chris Bahn: McFadden, Jones Opt for NFL
Alex Abrams: Going Out Together
Tom Murphy: It’s official: They’re gone
Wally Hall: Hogs fans should be grateful for 3 superb years
Nate Allen: Big league decision

Updated 1/15/08 8:10 a.m.

Run Felix Run

HogBlogger — Sat, 05 Aug 2006 01:46:52 +0000

Ryan from Springdale has posted some video of Felix Jones on MySpace to remind us that we should have a pretty fair running back on the field for USC.

The thinking is that McFadden should be available for Alabama. Hopefully both Felix and Michael Smith will have provided some highlight film by then.

Get this video and more at MySpace.com

Arkansas 49, Missouri State 17

TipsterHog — Sun, 04 Sep 2005 03:57:14 +0000

U of A SID: Arkansas Game Notes vs. Missouri State

It didn’t take long for freshman tailback Felix Jones to become a household name with Arkansas’ fans. The Tulsa, Okla., native went 80 yards for a touchdown on his second rush from scrimmage. It was Arkansas’ longest running play for a touchdown since the 2001 season when Fred Talley went 81 yards for a touchdown against Central Florida.
…
Felix Jones became just the eighth freshman in school history to rush for 100 yards in a game. His 137 yards against Missouri State rank second for rushing yards in a single game by a freshman.
…
Arkansas cracked the 400-yard rushing barrier tonight with 483 yards, seventh-best total in school history. It is the Hogs first 400-yard rushing performance since compiling 426 yards against Auburn in 2002.

Also:

U of A SID: Arkansas vs. Missouri State Postgame Quotes, Game Stats
HogBlogger: Quick Thoughts
Dudley Dawson: Arkansas 49, Missouri State 17 (subscription)
Trey Biddy: Razorbacks run all over Missouri State, 49-17 (subscription)
ESPN.com: Arkansas 49, SMS 17
SI.com: Play-By-Play
AP Photos: De’Arrius Howard, Peyton Hillis, Zach Snider

Updated 9/3/05 11:50 p.m. – Added additional links.

Missouri State — Quick Thoughts

HogBlogger — Sun, 04 Sep 2005 04:52:33 +0000

Just back home from the game. Quick thoughts.

Fumbles. Lots. Both teams. Hurt and helped. Hillis fumbles — was simply holding the ball loose. Every team will be swatting at the ball the rest of the year when he’s got it. Monk after reception for a first down. Defense really good at times. Quickness and speed on display, linebackers and secondary. Was nice to see. Too many mistakes however. Gave up an 85 yard run, and a few other things that people will notice on film. The middle was wide open way too many times. Without the early fumbles Missouri State might have hung in longer and perhaps even put a scare in us. Never any doubt about the outcome though. I think we should be disappointed that we gave up over 300 years by the middle of the 3rd quarter.

Running game — 3 people over 100 yards, another with 70+. Can’t complain. Offensive Line was good (consider the competition). Hillis ran well and made a lot of yards after first contact. Felix Jones is a keeper. Emmitt like with speed. Good vision, good cuts through traffic. Ran over 3 guys once to get the extra 2 yards needed for a first down. By the second half Howard had plenty of motivation to perform or risk never seeing the field again. He came through pretty well, showing more speed at times than I thought he had.

Passing — starting quarterback had 88 yards in 12 completions, total of 108 for game and Alex completed 1 for 20 yards. Do you need to hear more? Waco RoJo made a terrible decision on the first pass of the game, but did much better thereafter. Has a gun for an arm and made a few really good throws. Mostly posession stuff, but not a good completion percentage. Houston Dale has to be disappointed with this. We did have 5 receivers in the pattern on one play, but had another with only a long post and a fly pattern — with the new feature this year of a dump off guy, so I guess that’s an improvement. Saw lots of 1 back, multi-receiver sets. Will be interesting to see what that all turns into at some point. As I thought, we didn’t push this much. Unfortunately, we didn’t end up working on this much either, as we got more than a little concerned in the 3rd quarter.

Special Teams — for the most part not sharp. Delay of game on a field goal attempt because we were just dragging around. Opening kickoff of the game was amusing — never seen that before. Except for 1 instance, kick-off and coverage wasn’t impressive.

First game. We saw them for real and know a bit more, but due to the level of competition we are still pretty much in the dark. Pretty much like I thought going in, except I expected to see a sharper passing game and fewer big gains given up by the defense.

Practice Reports – 8/26/2005

TipsterHog — Sat, 27 Aug 2005 03:34:20 +0000

Hogwired.com: Razorbacks Continue to Keep Concentration

The depth chart for the Missouri State game was released on Friday, revealing sophomore Peyton Hillis as the starting tailback, while senior De’Arrius Howard is second. UA is not lacking talent at the position with Felix Jones and Darren McFadden following, respectively.

“Peyton Hillis will go out there first, but it depends because there are a couple formations where you could have De’Arrius Howard and Peyton in there at the same time or Dedrick Poole and Peyton,” Nutt said. “We still have a little flexibility. I think De’Arrius missing that week hurt him a little, but he’s fighting back strong. We’re going to need all of them.

“It’s a good problem to have (depth at the tailback position),” Nutt said. “We just want to keep them healthy and we’ve had years where two or three of them go down. We have different roles for them and they have good attitudes. That’s how you win.”

Also:

Dudley Dawson: Friday Grid Report, 8-26 (subscription)
Chris Cocoles: Razorbacks Report
Mike Capshaw: Johnson: “Close To 100 Percent”

Updated 8/27/05 8:05 a.m. – Added additional links.

My Scrimmage Thoughts

TipsterHog — Mon, 22 Aug 2005 05:23:52 +0000

Mortensen and Barthel were just okay. The thing that Mortensen appears to bring to the table over Barthel (and maybe all the QBs?) is that he seems to be smart enough to not make mistakes that cause turnovers. If it’s not there, he’ll throw it away or get out of bounds. My guess on Barthel is that he plays ten times better under the lights than he does during practice. But that guess is about the only comparison to Matt Jones that you might make about any of these quarterbacks.
Felix Jones was very impressive…especially at the beginning of the scrimmage. Yes, he did have a fumble. But I’ve seen many (and more highly touted) freshman RBs in the past that never showed the promise that he did last night.
I’ll admit it…when I first saw Darren McFadden at the scrimmage, I was a little concerned. During his first few rushing attempts, he did the infamous Cedric Cobbs “bounce outside” and get tackled for a loss. But all of the sudden, on about his third or fourth carry, he completely blew a guy up. Now…not a stiff arm, mind you…he ran over the poor guy like Cobbs never did when he was here. My very quick (much too quick I’ll admit) impression of him changed immediately and he proceeded to get better and better until the scrimmage ended. And, as advertised, he has tremendous breakaway speed.
We ran a lot of timing routes and very few (if any) running back screens. The timing routes were of the “take a two step drop and hit a receiver running an out and up” variety. And even though we haven’t seen much of that during the past few years, the QBs and WRs seemed to execute these plays surprisingly well. As for the RB screens…well…apparently HDN removed them from the playbook when Mark Pierce (and Adam Daily) left town. Here’s hoping he’s just saving those plays for Peyton Hillis (who didn’t play last night because of illness).
Special teams is a mess. We seem to have several decent kickoff guys, but the best punter last night (Skinner) takes forever to kick the dang ball. Michael Coe will be okay as the punt returner…but there’s room for someone else to step up. As for field goals, well, I disappointingly say that none of the new kickers looked good and the old ones looked the same (i.e. adequate). I think all the field goal blocks that happened were a good thing. I’d much rather those happen last night than two weeks from now and beyond.
The biggest question still left is the defense. Don’t get me wrong…there are still lots of big questions. But because many of the first team defense didn’t play, a lot of questions are still left to be answered. Will we tackle better? Can we stop the run? Are we going to be better at linebacker? Will the secondary be adequate? Only time will tell.
Reggie Herring’s defensive unit pre-game warmup is worth arriving early to a game. It’s impossible to describe it fully in writing…you have to see it. But the first thing I thought when I saw it was “military boot camp.” And when plays are over with this season, it’s possible the Hog defense may get a penalty for knocking the opposing offense down one more time just because they’re sprinting to get back into formation. Compared to what I saw last night, every other defense in the country “loafs” around. I love it.

Overall, my impression of this team improved after last night. I’m still not ready to say they will have a winning season. But if the offensive line is as good as everyone says, and the impressive freshman running backs help compliment last year’s returning backfield, we will be able to run the ball. And if that’s combined with the defensive questions being answered positively, this team could surprise many people with its ability to compete in the SEC. It may not be very pretty…but it might be enough to win some games.

Practice Reports – 8/12/2005

TipsterHog — Sat, 13 Aug 2005 04:46:20 +0000

Looks like it was a day for the defense to dominate and the offense to sputter. Also, as you would expect, some minor injuries are starting to add up to reducing practice time for a few players.

And with Friday’s practice marking the first session of many this season in full pads, Mike Capshaw writes a nice article about Separating The Men From The Boys. The quotes near the end of the story about Felix Jones are especially impressive:

Freshman tailback Felix Jones broke away for several nice gains, according to teammates, during full-team drills. He showed plenty of speed in shorts, but everybody wanted to see what he could do in full pads against a defense.

Apparently, he didn’t disappoint.

“Felix is phenomenal, just amazing to me,” Vaughn said. “I see a young guy with tons of talent and potential who ran hard (Friday) with the ball and when you get close to tackle him, he just puts it in another gear and runs away from you.

“He’s going to be exciting for fans here at Arkansas for years to come.”

Also:

Dudley Dawson: UA Friday Grid Report, 8/12 (subscription)
Trey Biddy: Pressure defense (subscription)
Robbie Neiswanger: Nutt Not Happy With Mistakes
Nate Allen: Turnovers plague Arkansas offense at full-pads practice
Scott Cain: Injuries, heat take their toll

Updated 8/13/05 10:00 a.m. – Added additional links.

Practice Reports – 8/10/2005

TipsterHog — Thu, 11 Aug 2005 03:09:48 +0000

Robbie Neiswanger writes about the three new freshman running backs: Felix Jones, Darren McFadden and Michael Smith. While watching practice on Tuesday, HogBlogger and I thought Jones looked extremely impressive and Smith was very quick…but potentially a little too small to be a durable SEC back. We didn’t see enough of McFadden to get a read on him.

Trey Biddy wrote yesterday about the threesome (subscription required) as well.

Also:

Hogwired.com: Freshmen Impress at Practice
Trey Biddy: Wednesday practice cool for Razorbacks (subscription)
Dudley Dawson: Wednesday UA Grid Report, 8/10 (subscription)
Bob Holt: Razorbacks Football Report

Updated 8/10/05 10:45 p.m. – Updated Hawgs Illustrated link.
Updated 8/11/05 9:35 a.m. – Added additional links.
Updated 8/11/05 10:15 p.m. – Updated Hogwired.com link.