Slim Barber

Marion Barber has lost 10 pounds and by all accounts is quicker than he has been. Maybe he's heard the questions about whether he's lost a step because of all the hits he's endured in his career. Or maybe he's been reading about why Felix Jones should be the starter this season instead of him. Or maybe he saw what Jones did in the last six games of last season, including the two playoff games, when Jones was the team's best running back. Or maybe he's listening to advice for the strength and training staff and his coaches on how to prolong his career now that he's 27.

Whatever the reason, Barber has worked out this off-season like he has something to prove. And the Cowboys have taken notice.

"Marion is very deliberate," Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said. "Nothing happens by accident with Marion Barber. So I'm confident that 90 percent of what you see is Marion Barber deciding that I can do a better job [by getting] a little lighter. ...Marion is someone who is very responsible, is a veteran, been through more collisions than most backs, real collisions, so he's got a Harvard business degree on how to do it and what he wants to get done."

-- Charean Williams