Julius Jones Will Begin 2008 Just Like He Ended 2007: on the Bench

Julius Jones was part of the Bill Parcells Reclamation Project. During the 2004 draft, the Cowboys traded out of the first round and used their first pick, a second-rounder, on Jones. The former Notre Dame star would start seven games as a rookies, 12 the following season, and 32 more the last two years.

But it became clear at some point during the '06 campaign that the full-time gig would eventually go to Marion Barber. "Eventually" turned out to be "the 2007 playoffs," and that had everything to do with why the Cowboys chose not to re-sign Jones last off-season.

The Seahawks picked him up -- along with T.J. Duckett -- to replace Shaun Alexander, who currently holds the record for going from NFL MVP (2005) to unemployable (now). But with virtually no competition for the job, Jones will officially begin his Seattle career just like he ended is Dallas one: on the bench.

After years of backing up former league MVP Shaun Alexander, Maurice Morris will be the Seattle Seahawks' starting running back -- on Sunday. ...On the eve of the Seahawks' first regular season game, coach Mike Holmgren is sticking to his plan of having co-starters replace the departed Alexander.

Holmgren plans on having Morris and Jones split the carries (the AP calls them "co-starters"), but DMN's Cowboys blogger Tim MacMahon points out that Morris ain't exactly in the same league as Barber, (Football Outsiders agrees).

But it's less of a concern in Seattle's West Coast offense than it might be in Dallas; for starters, the Seahawks managed to make it to the postseason without much of a running game last year, and, frankly, the NFC West is the worst division in the league. As long as Matt Hasselbeck is healthy, this is a playoff team, no matter who else is in the backfield.

Oh, yeah, one more thing: Julius Jones hates your guts, Dallas. Jerks.