Washington Commanders

Fumbling Issues Continue To Haunt Matt Jones

Published Jun. 30, 2017 6:28 p.m. ET

foxsports

Fumbles have been a huge problem for Matt Jones over the course of his career. He has to fix them moving forward.

One of the key fundamental tools taught early on at the running back position is to secure the football. After years of practice religious film study you would assume players have it down to a science. Yet fumbles are still prevalent in almost every game. Washington Redskins running Matt Jones knows too well just how prevalent they can be.

Sunday against the Lions, Jones fumbled inside the five yard line that was recovered in the end zone by Detroit. That was a pivotal moment in the game. Jones also mishandled a direct handoff from Kirk Cousins that was recovered.

Fumbles have long haunted Jones. Last season he accounted for five, and through seven weeks this season he has a total of three. He’s currently averaging a fumble every 33 carries. Head Coach Jay Gruden message to Jones was swift:

We’re not going to give up on Matt. We just have to make sure that he protects the dang football. He understands the magnitude of fumbling. If he doesn’t, he does now. He should have known it by now.

Jones has been hit or miss this season, but his size-6’2 232 pounds-and potential are the reasons the Redskins like him. He’s worked hard at correcting his running style this season and used his body as a shield and a weapon to unload on defenders instead of his previous up-right style. He has all the tools the abilities to be a good running back for the Redskins, but trust issues may arise if turnovers continue.

The turnovers Sunday from Jones led to more attempts from both Chris Thompson and rookie Robert Kelley. Thompson had a career day Sunday with 73 yards rushing on 12 carries along with 7 receptions for 40 yards. Thompson, ideally, is used specifically as the third down back, but due to his strong performance Sunday it’s likely we’ll see more from him in weeks to come.

But Jones remains the starting running back according to Gruden. But he also made it clear that fumbles that can’t happen.

Thats a tough deal. You can’t put the ball on the ground as a running back. That’s just rule number one. That’s something we have to address. As far as his confidence, we’re more worried about the team’s success than somebody’s confidence. We’ve got to make sure we protect the ball and that’s everybody…He was trying to get an extra yard at the goal line. He took his eyes off the exchange another time, tried to make the cut before he got the ball. We fumbled again. It’s something that has to be addressed.

Through seven weeks Jones has totaled 460 yards (13th in the league) on 99 carries (4.6 yards per carry) along with 3 rushing touchdowns. He has two 100 plus yard games and has recorded 8 receptions for 73 yards.