Age: 23
2nd
season in pro football & with Cowboys
College: Minnesota
Height: 6’0” Weight: 218
Prelude:
Son of a
former running back for the Jets of the same name (his brother Dominique also played
in the NFL as a safety with the Houston Texans), Barber teamed up with RB
Laurence Maroney in college to create an effective tandem. He gained 4495
all-purpose yards, 3276 via rushing. Barber entered the 2005 NFL draft after
his junior year and was chosen by the Cowboys in the fourth round. Backing up
RB Julius Jones, he rushed for 538 yards and five touchdowns as a rookie. With
his ability to break tackles, Barber proved to be a good complement to the
injury-prone Jones and became the preferred short-yardage runner in a two-back
arrangement.
2006 Season Summary
Appeared in
all 16 games
[Bracketed
numbers indicate league rank in Top 20]
Rushing
Attempts – 135
Most
attempts, game – 16 (for 83 yds.) vs. Tampa Bay 11/23
Yards – 654
Most yards,
game – 83 yards (on 16 carries) vs. Tampa Bay 11/23
Average gain
– 4.8 [11]
TDs – 14 [3,
1st in NFC]
Pass
Receiving
Receptions – 23
Most
receptions, game – 5 (for 23 yds.) vs. Detroit 12/31
Yards – 196
Most yards,
game – 28 (on 2 catches) at Washington 11/5
Average gain
– 8.5
TDs – 2
Scoring
TDs – 16 [3,
tied with Steven Jackson, Maurice Jones-Drew & Willie Parker, 1st
in NFC]
Points – 96
Postseason: 1
G (NFC Wild Card playoff at Seattle)
Rushing
attempts – 3
Rushing yards
– 4
Average gain
rushing – 1.3
Rushing TDs –
0
Pass receptions
– 3
Pass
receiving yards – 23
Average yards
per reception – 7.7
Pass
receiving TDs – 0
Cowboys went 9-7
to finish second in the NFC East and qualify for the postseason as a Wild Card
while leading the conference in touchdowns (52). Lost NFC Wild Card playoff to
Seattle Seahawks (21-20).
Aftermath:
Barber continued
to be used in combination with Julius Jones in 2007 and rushed for 975 yards
and 10 TDs while also catching 44 passes. He was selected to the Pro Bowl and,
with the departure of Jones, moved into the starting lineup in ’08. Still a
potent power runner, he was also bothered by a toe injury and, rushing for 885
yards, his yards-per-carry dropped from 4.8 to 3.7. Still, he achieved a career
high with 52 pass receptions for 417 yards and scored a total of nine
touchdowns. Barber ran for 932 yards in 2009 but showed signs of wear and RB
Felix Jones saw more action. The toll taken by his hard-charging running style
caused a quick drop in Barber’s production in 2010 as his rushing total fell to
374 yards and his career came to an end as a backup with the Chicago Bears in
2011. Overall, Barber rushed for 4780 yards and 53 touchdowns on 1156 carries
(4.1 avg.), with 4358 of those yards and 47 TDs coming with Dallas. He also
caught 179 passes for 1330 yards and six more TDs.
--
Highlighted Years features players who were consensus
first-team All-League* selections or league* or conference** leaders in the
following statistical categories:
Rushing:
Yards, TDs (min. 10)
Passing:
Yards, Completion Pct., Yards per Attempt, TDs, Rating
Receiving:
Catches, Yards, TDs (min. 10)
Scoring: TDs,
Points, Field Goals (min. 5)
All-Purpose:
Total Yards
Defense:
Interceptions, Sacks
Kickoff
Returns: Average
Punt Returns:
Average
Punting:
Average
*Leagues include
NFL (1920 to date), AFL (1926), AFL (1936-37), AAFC (1946-49), AFL (1960-69),
WFL (1974-75), USFL (1983-85)
**NFC/AFC
since 1970
