Fast back, fullback take on the Ravens
BALTIMORE — Antioch’s Taiwan Jones was the fastest man at the 2011 NFL combine, running a 4.33-second 40-yard dash, but it has taken a while for the running back to get his shot with the Raiders. It will come Sunday, thanks to ankle injuries to starter Darren McFadden and No. 2 back Mike Goodson.
Jones will split carries with fullback Marcel Reece against a Ravens defense that is ranked 28th against the run. Quarterback Carson Palmer, for one, can’t wait to see what the secondyear back out of Eastern Washington can do.
“I feel like I’ve been waiting forever. I can’t wait,” Palmer said. “He does amazing things in practice, and he’s by far the fastest person on the field, and he will be the fastest person on the field on Sunday.
“Not that you want to see guys get banged up, but I’m excited about the opportunity he’s getting. Feel like since I’ve been here I’ve waited for him to get his opportunity, and it hasn’t worked out and here it is.”
Palmer called the 6foot, 197-pound Jones “electrifying.”
“He puts his foot in the ground and goes,” Palmer said. “He wiggles out of hits, he wiggles out of tackles. Can’t wait to throw him the ball, get him in the open field. He’s so much fun to watch at practice, it’s, like I said, a long time coming.”
Jones, held down by hamstring, rib and knee injuries and ball-security issues, carried the ball for the first time this season last Sunday against Tampa Bay and had 2 yards. He rushed 16 times for 73 yards last season.
“I’m very aware that I’m not Darren McFadden,” said Jones, a Deer Valley High graduate. “I just try to play my game. The coaches, they do a good job of putting me in positions and giving me plays for what I can bring to the table.”
As for Reece, the 6-1, 255-pound fullback has been one of the Raiders’ biggest playmakers the past three years, but Palmer said it’s been tough getting him the ball. Last week, with McFadden and Goodson hurt, Reece had seven catches for 86 yards in the second half.
“His number doesn’t get called because of the position he plays,” Palmer said. “It would be easier if he was a little bit bigger and he could play tight end, or if he was a little smaller and could play receiver. He’s kind of that ‘tweener’ guy, and he’s so hard to put at a spot where he can get more balls. Being a fullback, you’re just not going to get that many opportunities. … He’s going to have plenty of opportunities this week.”
In his first two seasons as a regular player, Reece led all running backs in the NFL with 12.2 yards per reception (he had 52), was tied for second with seven pass plays of at least 25 yards, and was tied for second with five touchdown catches. Yet he only had 19 touches — one a rushing attempt on a botched reverse — in the first seven games this year.
“If we win, I’m happy,” said Reece, who was a receiver in college at Washington. “It’s not about how many touches I get. Of course, as an athlete and a competitor, I want the ball every down.”
Plus defenses know who he is now.
“I wouldn’t say defenses are focused on me,” Reece said, “but I may have a little more respect than I did in prior years. … But I am still always open.”