This move immediately makes Pennington better in 2007. The Jets’ rushing attack ranked 30th in the NFL with a plodding 3.5-yards-per-carry average in 2006, and that put far too much pressure on Chad Pennington to carry the team. Jones, who became the first Bears’ RB to rush for 1,200 or more yards in consecutive seasons (he had 1,335 in 2005) since Walter Payton, gave the Jets a close-up look at how good he is when he ran for 121 yards on 23 carries in the Bears’ 10-0 win over the Jets in November. Jones is coming off a terrific 2006 season, during which he rushed for 1,210 yards (11th in the NFL), a 4.1-yard average and six TDs, and he’s less than two months removed from rushing for 123 yards and two TDs in the Bears’ NFC Championship Game victory over the Saints and 112 yards on 15 carries in their Super Bowl loss to the Colts. The Jets didn’t land Curtis Martin or Tiki Barber last night, but in terms of production and character, Jones might not be far off from those two former New York running back icons who spoiled Jets and Giants fans this decade.Īt only 28, he’s a true feature back with good hands and, based on some conversations with some Chicago people who know him well, he’s also a man of high character – a big factor for Tannenbaum and Eric Mangini. Outside of second-year RB Cedric Benson, whom the Bears have already invested $16 million in and who now gets the playground to himself, you won’t find a happy face in the Chicago locker room about this trade.īears’ QB Rex Grossman is on record as saying Jones was the “emotional leader” of the team and that, without Jones, the Bears do not get anywhere near Miami for Super Bowl XLI. You won’t find many Bears fans glad to see Jones go – for any price, let alone a single second-round draft pick. If you question the premise that the Jets got Jones for mere Monopoly money, go gauge the vibe in Chicago today by listening to some Windy City sports talk radio. The loot was Bears’ running back Thomas Jones, a legitimate 1,000-yard rusher who’s not only a terrific pass receiver but battle-tested in the postseason, where he just carried Chicago to Super Bowl XLI on his able back. THE next picture you see of Mike Tannenbaum should depict the Jets’ general manager wearing a ski mask over his boyish face, because he held the Bears up with a squirt gun and a smile yesterday.

Stick em up pick em up