Marion Barber played with torn quad in 2009

[IrishTex]

Cowboys running back Marion Barber has played injured for much of the last two seasons. While he has only missed a total of two games, the injuries have obviously affected him on the field. He has appeared to lack burst, and his yards-per-carry average in 2008-2009 was 4.02, in comparison to 4.81 in 2006-2007.

It comes as only a mild surprise, then, to discover that Barber played nearly all of last season with a tear in his left quadriceps muscle. According to Cowboys running backs coach Skip Peete, Barber suffered the injury in Week 2.

"He still has a hole in it", Peete revealed to Calvin Watkins of ESPN Dallas.

"There is no question about his toughness," added Cowboys strength coach Joe Juraszek. "He's prideful about his job. As tough as he is and as much pride as he has, for him to miss any time is a surprise to me."

The Cowboys, laughably, maintained throughout last season that the injury was "a bruised thigh."

Since season's end, Barber has dropped ten pounds in an effort to regain quickness. It is believed that his starting job is still in danger.

"He still has a hole in it" (http://sports.espn.go.com/dallas/nfl/news/story?id=5264831&campaign=rss&source=NFLHeadlines)

Source (http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2010/06/08/marion-barber-played-with-torn-quad-in-2009/)

[Bull's-eye]

I guess this is good news, assuming the injury has healed. Barber still rushed for 932 yds at an average of 4.4 yards per carry, despite missing one full game. I don't really worry about him being a starter or not, but the Cowboys will be more successful using a combination of Barber & Jones. I would love to see Barber get back to being that 4th qtr closer type of back that can put away games. :)

[crzyjournalist03]

Still playing with a hole in your quad can't be a good thing.

[Old Tiger]

IMO he shouldn't be a starting RB. Bring him in during second half