Bears sign running back Kevin Jones

[SportsWorld]

http://www.suntimes.com/sports/football ... 08.article

Seven days before the Bears are to report for training camp, the club decided they needed help at running back and signed veteran Kevin Jones.

The former first-round draft pick of the Detroit Lions checked out medically Tuesday morning and signed a one-year contract worth $605,000. Jones comes on board five weeks after Cedric Benson was launched following his second offseason arrest, and provides some depth to a position the team still expects rookie Matt Forte to anchor.

Returning from a torn ACL suffered on Dec. 23, Jones might not immediately be on the practice fields at Olivet Nazarene University in Bourbonnais, Ill., and je could be a candidate for the physically unable to perform list. Jones had visited the Tampa Bay Buccaneers last week and was linked as a possibility for the Pittsburgh Steelers and finally caught interest from the Bears, who otherwise were heading into the season with veteran Adrian Peterson and 2007 third-round pick Garrett Wolfe backing Forte.

Jones also suffered a Lisfranc ligament injury in his left foot in 2006 and the injuries, combined with Mike Martz’s pass-happy offense in Detroit, derailed what was a promising start to his career. After coming out of Virginia Tech, Jones rushed for 1,133 yards and five touchdowns as a rookie in 2004. Although he scored a career-high eight touchdowns last season, he put up only 581 yards on 153 rushes (3.8 average) before the injury. His best effort of the year came in the Lions’ 16-7 victory at Soldier Field when Jones ran for 105 yards and a score on 23 carries.

[emperorjones]

His best effort of the year came in the Lions’ 16-7 victory at Soldier Field when Jones ran for 105 yards and a score on 23 carries.

[/quote]

Glad he's on board. But is it me or does everyone seem to have their best effort against the Bears.
Anyways, I feel better now - JA would not have signed him if he didnt test out physically.

[NoSkyy]

I think the best part is his contract. There is absolutely nothing to lose from it. 1 year, 605,000? That's at least a bargain, and if it isn't oh well.

[blumeany]

Good to see the Bears finally make a move. I was afraid that after they no-showed his previous workout that they weren't even going to give the guy a chance. Really it's a no loss proposition. The absolute worst-case scenario is if he ended up having a pro bowl year and someone outbid us for him next year.

[dingojazz]

Nice pick up takes some pressure off Forte. No risk whatsoever with the 1 year deal. It seems we will have to carry 4 running backs now, but that's ok in my opinion.

I hope we keep Wolfe active. He's like a mini version of a real NFL running back.

[Cliff Levingston]

Awesome! Nice backup to Forte, possible starter, all for under $1 mil for this season. How can you not love that?

[Chewie]

No brainer when he checked out medically and when it was down to us and the Steelers you'd figure we'd be the pick with the money being equal given Pittsburgh has a #1 and #2 RB set in stone.

AP can concentrate on special teams now and this takes some pressure off the rook.

[CBS7]

Great signing.'

[Posey H8er]

Nice now our running back depth is at least semi-respectable.

[TNBT]

I don't know a lot about this guy or how good he is, but I'm glad we have added some depth. Someone want to give a rough idea about how he plays and how good he is?

[dingojazz]

I don't know a lot about this guy or how good he is, but I'm glad we have added some depth. Someone want to give a rough idea about how he plays and how good he is?

Here's a scouts breakdown...

Comment: Jones has an excellent combination of power, burst and speed. He is a hard-nosed runner who has lateral quickness, elusiveness and speed to create explosive gains. He is most effective stretching wide, planting and accelerating through downhill. He shows good vision and the change-of-direction skills to be a strong cutback runner against overpursuing defenses. He has learned how to finish his runs, staying low and squaring his shoulders to maximize his leverage. He has applied that leverage to blitz pickups, and his recognition and awareness have improved. His routes and his hands continue to improve. He is excellent after the catch. His ball security is dramatically improved. He has made great strides in addressing the weakness of his game. But Jones has major health concerns and still needs more technique work. He suffered a serious foot injury in 2006 and has missed a good deal of time in three NFL seasons. He often stretches runs too long, counting on his speed to get him to the corner. He isn't a natural in pass protection..

Career Stats

Rushing Stats
YEAR TEAM G ATT YDS AVG LNG TD FD FUM LOST
2004 DET 15 241 1133 4.7 74 5 57 2 1
2005 DET 13 186 664 3.6 40 5 26 2 0
2006 DET 12 181 689 3.8 52 6 31 4 4
2007 DET 13 153 581 3.8 34 8 35 2 1
Career 53 761 3067 4.0 74 24 149 10 6

Receiving Stats
YEAR TEAM G REC YDS AVG LNG TD FD FUM LOST
2004 DET 15 28 180 6.4 34 1 8 0 0
2005 DET 13 20 109 5.5 28 0 3 0 0
2006 DET 12 61 520 8.5 26 2 27 1 1
2007 DET 13 33 199 6.0 16 0 6 0 0
Career 53 142 1008 7.1 34 3 44 1 1

[ICMTM]

Jones is a good back and I expect him to be a starter for the Bears if he stays healthy. He hasn't been the most durable thing in Detroit and that has been his biggest knock IMO. I can easily see a thousand yards from him if he's healthy.

Great signing.

[TNBT]

I don't know a lot about this guy or how good he is, but I'm glad we have added some depth. Someone want to give a rough idea about how he plays and how good he is?

Here's a scouts breakdown...

Comment: Jones has an excellent combination of power, burst and speed. He is a hard-nosed runner who has lateral quickness, elusiveness and speed to create explosive gains. He is most effective stretching wide, planting and accelerating through downhill. He shows good vision and the change-of-direction skills to be a strong cutback runner against overpursuing defenses. He has learned how to finish his runs, staying low and squaring his shoulders to maximize his leverage. He has applied that leverage to blitz pickups, and his recognition and awareness have improved. His routes and his hands continue to improve. He is excellent after the catch. His ball security is dramatically improved. He has made great strides in addressing the weakness of his game. But Jones has major health concerns and still needs more technique work. He suffered a serious foot injury in 2006 and has missed a good deal of time in three NFL seasons. He often stretches runs too long, counting on his speed to get him to the corner. He isn't a natural in pass protection..

Career Stats

Rushing Stats
YEAR TEAM G ATT YDS AVG LNG TD FD FUM LOST
2004 DET 15 241 1133 4.7 74 5 57 2 1
2005 DET 13 186 664 3.6 40 5 26 2 0
2006 DET 12 181 689 3.8 52 6 31 4 4
2007 DET 13 153 581 3.8 34 8 35 2 1
Career 53 761 3067 4.0 74 24 149 10 6

Receiving Stats
YEAR TEAM G REC YDS AVG LNG TD FD FUM LOST
2004 DET 15 28 180 6.4 34 1 8 0 0
2005 DET 13 20 109 5.5 28 0 3 0 0
2006 DET 12 61 520 8.5 26 2 27 1 1
2007 DET 13 33 199 6.0 16 0 6 0 0
Career 53 142 1008 7.1 34 3 44 1 1

Thanks for the info. He sounds like a really good pickup for us.

[SLCceltic]

http://www.mlive.com/lions/index.ssf/20 ... prove.html


check out some current workout footage




NFL network showed the replay of the 05 game last night---- when Tillman won it in overtime
Jones made the D look bad a couple times and he scored the 1st rushing TD against us that season
(week 7)


plus he seems highly motivated to prove his doubters wrong

[Chewie]

http://www.mlive.com/lions/index.ssf/2008/05/former_rb_jones_eager_to_prove.html


check out some current workout footage




NFL network showed the replay of the 05 game last night---- when Tillman won it in overtime
Jones made the D look bad a couple times and he scored the 1st rushing TD against us that season
(week 7)


plus he seems highly motivated to prove his doubters wrong

Thanks for the clip. Good to see we have some competition in camp at RB now. He DOES seem highly motivated. LOL @ him yelling out the Lions' offensive coordinator's name during drills.

[Shootdabull]

I'm glad we made move. For the sound bites I've heard sounds like he is a good worker and should be able to help when forte hits the rookie wall in the second half. I don't know about the rest of you but I am concerned our running game is going to be ugly again. Maybe I'll feel better after I have seen more of Forte and this signing helps.

[dougthonus]

Kevin Jones will suck balls this year. Running backs are basically never any good within 1 year of recovering from an ACL tear.

[Chewie]

Kevin Jones will suck balls this year. Running backs are basically never any good within 1 year of recovering from an ACL tear.

*throws random fruit at Doug and his dissenting opinion*

[Posey H8er]

Anything is an improvement over Benson-Peterson-Wolfe and a terrible line.

[dougthonus]

If you remove the quality of the line, I wouldn't expect Kevin Jones to be a significant improvement over Cedric Benson talentwise. On a healthy knee he was only an average running back. 9 months after ACL surgery he's going to be crap.