Posted on Sun, Apr. 20, 2008

We know L.T.; Marion, you're not an L.T. back

By JENNIFER FLOYD ENGEL

Star-Telegram staff writer

Everybody at Valley Ranch was prepared for the day when a certain key player demanded to be paid like the very best at his position.

The Dallas Cowboys just expected that player to be DeMarcus Ware, not Marion Barber.

Has anybody who has done so little ever asked for so much?

And let's quantify much, because Barber and his agent have, seeking somewhere between L.T. and Clinton Portis money. Not coincidentally, the only two people confusing Barber with L.T. and Portis at the moment are, in order, (a) his agent and (b) Barber.

It should be pretty clear by now that his agent is Drew Rosenhaus, Mr. "Next Question" himself who often resides in never-never-land with regard to his clients.

And his mistake is confusing popular with great.

No running back in the league benefits from style points more than Barber. Fans and media love his take-no-prisoners style and love the idea of him as every-down back as a result. And he is fun to watch.

So are the Cowboys cheerleaders. But you do not pay them L.T. money.

L.T. money is reserved for L.T., the best running back in pro football, not a player who has not proven he can do it by himself, not proven he can stay healthy long term, not really proven much of anything yet.

About the only thing he has proven is he's better than Julius Jones. And if this were the criteria for an L.T. deal, then just about every starting running back in the league would be making $60 million.

This is not to say Barber is not a good back. He is. Or that the Cowboys should give him the JuJo heave-ho. They shouldn't. This is merely to say the five-year, $30 million deal the Cowboys have on the table to Barber should be their final offer.

It is Michael Turner money.

And contrary to Rosenhaus spin, Barber is more Turner than Tomlinson. He also has a red flag attached to his negotiations that Turner does not, a style that qualifies him as an injury risk.

I am not so sure the Cowboys would not be wise to have him play next season for the $2.6 million guaranteed by the tender and let him prove where he ranks on the Turner-to-Tomlinson scale rather than simply taking Rosenhaus' word for it. This pushes the injury risk on Barber as well.

He wouldn't have much choice: Play for that or not play at all.

And if he has a big season, the Cowboys can re-sign him during the season, in the off-season or franchise his butt if worse came to worst.

Yes, the Cowboys have all the leverage, yet Owner Jones is talking extension with Barber anyway. They want to sign him. The offer is fair.

And he'd be wise to jump on the $30 million before the Cowboys say, "You know what, on second thought, let's see how durable you really are before we pay you the medium bucks."

Or before Owner Jones arrives at draft day trigger happy, and decides if he is going to pay a running back crazy money anyway, why not go whole hog and jump up and get Darren McFadden? Or before Felix Jones shows up at Valley Ranch, courtesy of the No. 28 pick, and starts making people fall in love with him.

Because love, with few exceptions, is fickle in the NFL.

The exceptions have names and résumés like DWare and L.T. And contrary to what Barber and his agent believe, these are players above his pay scale.