Jason Wood's Thoughts

I'm not going to spend a lot of time on Eddie George this year and neither should you. The Cowboys have quickly become The Land That Time Forget…as the starting skill position players appear to be: QB Vinny Testaverde, RB Eddie George, FB Richie Anderson, WR Keyshawn Johnson and WR Terry Glenn. These guys are closer to collecting Social Security benefits than they are from the last time they played like All Pros.

What's really surprising to me is the cache that Eddie George's name still carries. The day he signed with Dallas, I heard a NY Giants beat writer declare the NFC East as Dallas' domain due to the addition of George. Excuse me? Isn't this the same player who the Titans let go after his unwillingness to take a pay cut? Isn't this the running back who hasn't averaged better than 3.4 yards per carry since 2000? The guy who's scored just 64 touchdowns in 2,733 touches? Still not convinced Eddie is washed up? OK, let's take a look at how he fared at the goal line in 2003:

Of the 25 running backs that had at least 10 touches inside the 5 yard line last season, care to guess where George ranked? DEAD LAST

Please note that Troy Hambrick, who lost his job because he couldn't' convert tough yardage or score in close; was more effective than George last year! The biggest tragedy of the Eddie George signing is that it keeps Julius Jones from getting a full workload; as he's someone who could be a viable fantasy contributor if given the opportunity.

Unless you get bonus points for "3 yards and a cloud of dust" don't even think of rostering George as anything more than a RB3; and even that would be less than desirable in my opinion.

Positives

• George wasn't signed to sit on the sidelines, Parcells believes he's found his new Ottis Anderson



• The Cowboys gave Troy Hambrick 51 red zone carries last year; George won't fail from lack of opportunity

Negatives

• George can no longer move the pile, he goes down on the first hit more often than any other workhorse running back…specifically, he tied for 3rd in the league in "stuffs" (tackles for 0 or negative yards) with, guess who, Troy Hambrick



• George, once a decent goal line back, has become one of the worst in the league



• He's a limited receiver out of the backfield who's averaged no better than 3.4 yards per carry in the last three seasons

Final Thoughts

Let's see, Eddie George is on the wrong side of 30, hasn't broken 3.4 yards per carry in three seasons, is among the league leaders in rushes for a loss three straight seasons, was the least effective goal line back in the NFL last year, can't make plays as a receiver out of the backfield, and has been hampered by nagging injuries. Sounds like just the kind of guy to a) revitalize the Cowboys franchise and b) spruce up your fantasy chances. Don't make the mistake so many other people will and think George is in line for a top 20 fantasy season. As a RB3, maybe it's worth your time, but I would prefer a slew of other RBs that have lower ADPs currently.

Chase Stuart's Thoughts

Eddie George is one of the good guys in the NFL. He's hard working (who can forget his United Way "Come on, guys." commercial?), team-oriented, and tough as nails. He's never missed a game in his eight-year career. Pretty soon, he's going to move into the top six all time for rushing attempts. Including the playoffs, George had 1,898 carries in the first five seasons of his career. Eventually all the wear and tear took a toll on George's body, as he succumbed to nagging injuries the past three seasons.
That coincided with not just a drop in production, but a drop to truly horrific levels. George has the second lowest yards per carry average of the top fifty running backs (with respect to number of carries) the past three years. Only James Jackson's 3.20 yards per carry average on 309 attempts is worse than George. George, who ranks forty-ninth on this list, has averaged just 3.23 yards per carry over this span. In fact, only one more (Lamar Smith) has a YPC ratio below 3.50! Here's a look at the bottom ten:

Bottom Ten Rushers in Yards Per Carry, from 2001-2003

Notice anything about those players? None of them are projected to be winning anyone fantasy titles this year. The average yards per carry of the other 49 RBs is a full yard higher, at 4.24 YPC. Eddie George has been one of the least effective RBs in all of football the past three seasons. George, who had 312 carries, just twice ran for over 90 yards in a game last year. Additionally, any skills in the passing game that he had are all but gone. His receiving yards have dropped every year since their Super Bowl season in 1999, and he had just 163 receiving yards last year.

Want further proof that George just doesn't have it anymore? He has had three different backup RBs the last three years. They have combined for 159 carries producing 804 yards. That's 5.1 yards per carry, running behind the same line that George does.

I don't have anything against Eddie George, as he used to be one of the players I respected most. However, all the stats are weighed heavily against George. There are no signs that he still has it, and in my opinion he will have a minimal impact on the Cowboys this season. For comparison's sake, George has 407 more carries than Clinton Portis the last three years-and thirty-six more yards.

Unless Julius Jones is an absolute bust, I can't think of too many reasons why Parcells would give George a lot of carries. Parcells will appreciate George's work ethic, toughness and desire, but I think he'd be doing a disservice to his team by giving George more than a handful of carries a game.

Positives

• Reputation. George should be able to get a decent amount of carries by reputation alone, if nothing else



• Hard work ethic, toughness, durability and dependability should make him a favorite of Parcells



• There's no proven RB on the Cowboys that is better than Eddie George. There's no one there at all besides rookie Jones



• Dallas likes to run the ball, a lot. They ran it more than they threw it last year. Even as a backup, George will get more carries than your typical backup RB

Negatives

• George might not look better than Troy Hambrick did last year. Yes, you read that right. Hambrick's 3.5 YPC was the lowest of any Cowboys leading rusher since their expansion year in 1960. It was still 0.2 YPC higher than what Eddie George did in Tennessee



• Rookie Julius Jones is probably going to get most of the carries, assuming he's anywhere near as good as Parcells thinks. Remember, Parcells passed on every RB in the draft, traded down, and then took Jones



• George simply isn't very good at much anymore. He had just five TDs last year, and was a horrible inside runner. He was ineffective from inside the ten as well. At 31, there's just little left that George brings to the table

Final Thoughts

I'm well aware I'm more down on Eddie George than most. However, it's all because of objective analysis. I don't have anything against Cowboys, Titans, old players or Buckeyes. George simply hasn't shown that he can still be a quality RB. His YPC when running "up the middle" was an awful 2.7. His YPC inside the opponent's twenty yard line (the red zone) was under 2.0. I don't think George has much of a role for Dallas, outside of mentor and backup for Julius Jones. Whether I'm wrong and George coaxes 200 carries out of Bill Parcells, he's not going to be a fantasy factor in most leagues anyway. I suspect he'll end his career looking out of place on a new team, much like fellow stars Emmitt Smith, Franco Harris and O.J. Simpson. There are rumors going around that say George was a Jerry Jones signing. That wouldn't surprise me one bit, as George really doesn't seem like a guy Parcells would want for anything more than depth. Parcells is the one in charge of running the on-field operations, and I don't expect Eddie George to be running much for Dallas in the second half of the year. George may excite the casual fan, but don't fall for the trap-Julius Jones is the Dallas RB you want this year.

Quotations from the Message Board Thread

To view the entire Player Spotlight thread (there's a ton of fantastic commentary in there), click click here.

Iwannabeacowboybaby!:
"Eddie George brings experience, work ethic, class, and of course some hard nosed running. I believe he fits the style of Bill Parcells rushing attack and that Eddie will see the majority of the carries this season.

However, Bill will still use Julius, especially if the kid turns out to have some talent. In a perfect world for Parcells, I could see him using 2 backs by the end of the season, keeping them fresh for a playoff run."

ko-jack:
"I they wanted a washed up vet that can't play anymore, why not just keep Emmitt?

Too bad the expansion Browns and late 90s Bengals aren't in the division. It will not end well for Eddie."

joffer:
"Eddie George is a guy you love to root for. He carried me to enough fantasy titles over the years that I would love to pimp his potential in Dallas. However, I can't. Eddie is on the severe portion of a downward slope in his career. I'm not a big Julius Jones fan, but Parcells is, and I think that will turn out to be the biggest factor"

Kilroy:
"Bill Parcells loves to run the football and Eddie George is the perfect style of running back to do it with all game long. Say what you will about George being on the downside of his career, the guy has never missed a start and is still quite capable of pounding out thousand yard seasons."

Christo:
"Eddie George may begin the season as the starter but he will not keep a younger, faster more athletic Julius Jones out of the starting lineup very long - just long enough for Jones to get comfortable."

Eddie George Projections