The ex-Buc running back is thriving in Chicago's offense.
By JOANNE KORTH
Published October 23, 2004
[Getty Images]
Thomas Jones' 636 total yards are nearly 45 percent of the Bears' offense.
TAMPA - The comparison is obvious.
The Bucs have 460 yards rushing in six games, a total that includes the efforts of four running backs, three quarterbacks and one receiver. Bears running back Thomas Jones has 458 yards - all by himself.
In five games.
As Chicago visits Tampa Bay on Sunday, Bucs fans cannot help but wonder about the one who got away. Jones, who resurrected his career during a one-year stint with the Bucs in 2003, has blossomed into the focal point of the Bears offense and one of the league's top rushers while the home team continues to struggle.
"He can run inside and out. He's a threat to go all the way all the time. He's got it all," Bucs coach Jon Gruden said of Jones, who combines shifty moves with breakaway speed on a 5-foot-10, 220-pound frame. "We were stunned to be able to get him and thrilled to have him. Unfortunately, we couldn't keep him."
Jones, 26, was a first-round draft choice of the Cardinals in 2000, but failed to live up to his No. 7 overall pick on a bad Arizona team. His career was rejuvenated last season with the Bucs, who acquired Jones in a late offseason trade.
Sharing time with Michael Pittman, Jones rushed for a career-high 627 yards with a 4.6-yard average for the Bucs. He started three of the final four games, rushing 84 times for 364 yards and one touchdown.
The secret was out.
Jones, a free agent, signed a four-year, $10-million contract with the Bears that included a $3.5-million signing bonus. The deal was finalized mere minutes into the free-agency period.
"I felt he was a skilled athlete who hadn't reached his potential yet," first-year Bears coach Lovie Smith said. "I heard good things about him except he hadn't been able to put it together on the football field for an entire season.
"I thought he'd be a perfect fit for what we're trying to do on offense, and he has been."
When quarterback Rex Grossman was lost for the season to a knee injury in Week 3, Jones took center stage in Chicago. A featured runner and receiver, his 636 total yards account for nearly 45 percent of the Bears' offensive output.
Jones, who rushed for 100 yards three times in 55 career games before joining the Bears, ran for 110 yards against the Vikings, 152 against the Packers - including a season-high 54-yard run - and 97 against the Redskins.
His 23 receptions lead the team and rank second among NFL running backs. He has produced 32 first downs and has been perfect on four third-and-1 rushing attempts.
"I'm in a situation where I can get the ball," Jones said during a conference call this week with Tampa Bay media. "I think this offense allows me to showcase my talents.
"In Arizona, our offense wasn't that good. I was given the ball a few times a game, and you can't be successful when you get the ball two or three a game."
Jones remains grateful to Gruden and the Bucs organization for rescuing him from an unhappy situation in Arizona. He liked his Tampa Bay teammates and relished the chance to play.
"I was able to go to a place where I could feel like a football player again," Jones said. "I definitely would have liked to have been in Tampa, but there were other things other than the football aspect. There's the business aspect of it, too. You have to do what's best for you."
Rather than push for Jones, the Bucs signed 32-year-old free-agent Charlie Garner to a six-year, $20-million contract with a $4-million signing bonus. But visions of a 1-2 backfield featuring Garner and Michael Pittman never materialized.
Pittman was suspended the first three games for violating the league's personal conduct policy and Garner suffered a season-ending knee injury Sept. 26.
The Bucs' running game ranks 30th in the league at 76.7 yards per game.
"Obviously, when the salary cap and signing bonus reaches a certain level you have to make a decision on whether you maybe want to get this (player) back or if you want to try and accumulate two or three players," Gruden said. "That was a decision we made. Obviously, we didn't count on Garner getting hurt, but he did."
Missing from the Bucs' running attack, Gruden said, is the occasional long run. Pittman, whose versatility makes him a good fit for Gruden's offense, has 3.7 yards per carry and his longest is 14 yards.
Fullback Mike Alstott has the Bucs' longest run of the season, but his 32-yard ramble at Oakland came on the game's final play when most of the Raiders thought the clock had expired.
"At some point, we've got to get somebody to make a long run," Gruden said. "You hear about these guys who get 100 yards every Sunday, you pick up the stat sheet and somewhere in there is a 35- or 40-yard run.
"They're not just making 5, 6, 4, 7, 5 yards. We're lacking the long run and we just have to keep trying, keep working at it, keep trying to refine it."
