I was taking a look on NFL site this morning to just have a look at the stats ahead of the game this Sunday where I noticed that Thomas Jones has been nominated for the NFL's ground player of the week after rushing for 109 yards on 23 carries in the win over Buffalo on Thursday. I hadn't seen this mentioned and I thought that typified the kind of season that Jones is having, quietly effective, media attention small, credit probably smaller.
Is Thomas Jones the most undervalued, under appreciated player on the Jets roster?
The 109 yards against the Bills was Jones 5th 100 yard game this season, and pushed him over the 1,000 yard mark for the fifth consecutive year dating back to his 2005 season with the Bears. In fact he was just 52 yards shy of having 6 consecutive 1000 yard rushing seasons as he came up short in 2004 with 948 yards.(only played 14 games)
Consistency, work ethic and production, what more do you need from a back?
Before the season many expected Jones to be heading into his final season with the Jets, we have a back who we wanted to get more touches in Leon and we had just drafted a similar player to Jones in Shonn Greene. Jones is due a $3 million roster bonus before next season, and financially things are tight.
However any motion of that happening has been cut down before it ever managed to really materialise, Leon went down, Greene has developed a bad case of fumblelitus and Jones has maintained the consistency, the work ethic and the production, even entertaining the idea of cutting him is lunacy, and if Mike Tannenbaum even considers it he should be locked up in Farview.
If we need to make cuts in certain area's of the team to release some financial flexibility then look to other areas because Thomas should be here to stay, at least for the 2010 season, and maybe beyond, his birth certificate might say he is 31 but he plays like he is still in his twenties.
Vote for Thomas Jones to win NFL's Fed Ex Ground Player Of The Week.