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Throughout the 2010 NFL season, the calls came in loud and bold: RB Jamaal Charles needs more carries. Now keep in mind many of those calls from around the country were for fantasy football reasons but folks wanted to see one of the most dynamic players in the game touch the ball as much as possible.
One of the guys who was taking carries instead of Charles was RB Thomas Jones, who had been one of the most productive running backs in the previous five years.
By the end of the season, we figured Kansas City Chiefs head coach Todd Haley knew what he was talking about. The Chiefs were in the playoffs due in large part to the No. 1 rushing attack in the league, so things worked out OK.
In the 2011 season -- if we have a 2011 season -- you can expect Jones' carries to decrease. Haley said as much in an interview with Bill Williamson of ESPN.com this week. He also said Jones will likely drop some weight from his 220-pound frame.
I would guess, though, that Charles' carries won't increase by an exorbitant amount. Haley has said pretty consistently that having someone to share carries with Charles is ideal so, while he may receive more carries, I would guess we won't see him jumping past the 300-carry this year.
We shall see how Haley handles the juggling act of running backs next season. Check out the full interview at ESPN.com. Lots of interesting nuggets in there.