Jones has high hopes

KIRKLAND, Wash. – During a four-year NFL career, running back Julius Jones has endured hundreds, if not thousands, of hits.

The one that hurt the most came last off-season, when the Dallas Cowboys declined to renew his contract and effectively sent him into a year of lame-duck status.

Now out of Dallas and looking for a fresh start, Jones said he’s motivated to patch up his reputation.

“I’m definitely trying to prove something,” the Seattle Seahawks’ new running back said last week. “I have something to prove to the whole country, and that’s what I’m going to try to do.

“I left Dallas with a bad taste in my mouth, and the only thing to do is to make the situation better. I’m in a good situation here, and now I think I can accomplish that.”

There were certainly good times in Dallas – he scorched the Seahawks for 198 yards and three touchdowns on Monday Night Football in Dec. 2004, then added 112 yards in a 2006 playoff game at Qwest Field – but Jones was definitely ready for a change of scenery.

He started 16 games for the Cowboys in 2007 but often gave way to Marion Barber in clutch situations. Fans grumbled about the fact that Jones was not as productive as St. Louis Rams running back Steven Jackson, whom the Cowboys passed over before taking Jones in the second round of the 2004 NFL draft.

While the Cowboys’ Barber went on to make his first Pro Bowl appearance, Jones saw his season quietly end without much fanfare. The writing on the wall, the unrestricted free agent started looking for a new home.

“I just wanted to get on a team,” he said. “That was the first and foremost thing. I wanted to get on a team that would compete, then show the world what I could do.

“Somebody had to believe in me, and it seemed like (the Seahawks) believed in me. They gave me the opportunity to come in here and compete, so it was the perfect place for me to come.”

When Jones signed with the Seahawks in March, he joined a team that already had three halfbacks with starting experience: Shaun Alexander, T.J. Duckett and Maurice Morris. The Virginia native and former Notre Dame star didn’t let that dissuade him from moving to the Pacific Northwest.

“I’m not scared of competition,” he said last week. “Competition brings out the best in everybody. This is the best place for me to come, the best situation – (the Seahawks’ recent history of) winning and everything. So I felt it was the best place.”

By the first minicamp in May, Alexander had been cut. A few practices into Jones’s career, head coach Mike Holmgren announced that fellow free-agent signee Duckett was not going to be a factor in the battle for a starting spot.

That left Jones and Morris fighting for the right to replace Alexander as starting halfback. When training camp started on Friday, Holmgren said that the duo could split time.

“Julius and Mo will both play,” Holmgren told reporters after the first practice of training camp two days ago. “I’m looking at it right now as if we have two starters at that position. That’s how I talk to the players about it, and that’s how I’m going to kind of approach it during the season.”

Jones said he’s not concerned about roles right now because he’s still trying to fit in.

“It’s early in camp,” he said. “I’m still learning the offense. Hopefully I can get to the point where I can go out and not think and play on pure instincts alone. Then maybe something will change.”

Through summer minicamps and two days of training camp practices, Jones has already made an impression on teammates and coaches.

“He’s been great,” quarterback Matt Hasselbeck said. “I think it’s hard to really evaluate a running back until we put the pads on, but just all the other stuff that he’s brought so far, he’s just been fantastic.”

Said offensive coordinator Gil Haskell: “He’s a tough guy. He’s got very good vision. He wants to be a good player, so he works hard at it.”

Cornerback Marcus Trufant didn’t need training camp to know what kind of a player Jones can be. He was on the field when the former Cowboy piled up 198 yards on the Seahawks four years ago.

“You try to put memories like that out of your head,” Trufant said. “He had a real good day. He was all over the place, making plays and running hard. He’s got all the tools. When you’ve got a guy like that, he’s hard to bring down.”

Now Jones hopes to show the rest of the world that he’s about to have a breakout season.

“I’ll give them something to think about,” said Jones, who turns 27 next month. “I want to put the thought in their heads that I’m one of the better backs in this league.

“And, God willing, I’ll do it.”