Runaway Rookies

"The life span of the back is not as long as it was in the past because of the punishment [at the position]," says Fisher. "Some people use rotations and multiple backs, and because there was a need for backs this year, I think that's why so many were taken."

Last season 12 teams had two backs each rush for 500 or more yards, including five playoff clubs: the Giants, Cowboys, Colts, Jaguars and Seahawks. The Giants became the fifth Super Bowl champion since 2000 to have more than one; in the eight seasons before that only one NFL champion, the 1996 Packers (with Edgar Bennett and Dorsey Levens) fell into that category.

WHEN THE Cowboys selected the speedy and smooth-running Jones, it was with the belief that his style would complement Marion Barber's physicality. Actually, Mendenhall was rated slightly higher than Jones on the team's draft board, but when the first of Dallas's two opening-round choices came up at No. 22, owner Jerry Jones passed on Mendenhall, whose style is similar to Barber's, and went with the more elusive Felix Jones. The pick was second-guessed by the media and within opposing scouting departments, but the carping stopped after the rookie set Cowboys records by scoring a touchdown in each of his first three games and totaling 247 yards on kick returns against the Eagles in Week 2. His 60-yard run from scrimmage against the Packers was the longest by a Dallas rookie since Tony Dorsett in 1977.

"The first day of practice they ran the toss to him, and he didn't look like he's going that fast," says Cowboys linebacker Zach Thomas, a 13-year veteran. "But he ran by everybody. I'm thinking, Either age has caught up to me or this guy's fast. He's so smooth, and the reason I know he's going to get even better is that he's a quiet guy who works hard. And he listens."

The only person who has stopped Felix Jones to this point is Dallas offensive coordinator Jason Garrett, who failed to call Jones's number even once in the Cowboys' first loss of the season, a 26--24 home defeat to the Redskins on Sunday. Afterward coach Wade Phillips explained that the rookie didn't get opportunities because Dallas was playing catch-up, negating his role in the offense. That made no sense, considering Phillips's team trailed by more than a touchdown just twice: 17--7 briefly in the second quarter and 26--17 briefly in the fourth. Jones, who played behind McFadden at Arkansas, says he's content to take his opportunities when they come. Washington knew the danger he posed, kicking away from him on several occasions even though it cost the Skins field position.

It's unlikely that Tennessee's Fisher will make a similar mistake and hold Johnson in reserve. The Titans coach has always preferred a strong running game—only six teams have more rushing yards than Tennessee since the start of the 1995 season (his first full season as coach), with the Titans running for roughly 120 yards per game over that span. White led them with 1,110 yards last year, but his 303 carries were more than Fisher liked. Chris Brown was supposed to have shared more of the load, but he topped 50 yards in only one game and was not re-signed. Tennessee went looking for a replacement.

In Johnson, it appears the Titans got more than they could have wished for. And with Tennessee on top of the highly competitive AFC South, the rookie from East Carolina isn't the only one smiling in Nashville.