Im a Jets fan, dont follow the Cowboys that much but I have heard the possibility of this happening here and there.
I remember only a year or two ago this guy was considered a top 5-8 RB and was a BEAST, especially in the Red Zone and short yardage. Then all of the sudden he is finished? Must be injury problems cuz this guy was a player not that long ago.
I'm a Cowboys fan - he hasn't really been a happy camper since late in 2008, when he got hurt in that T-Giving day game, it was like a week or 2 later when Jerry questioned his toughness.
It was also the same year when we had that TO-meltdown, which of course SF and Philly suffered as well.
That's the baggage of having TO on your team - it's not so much that he'll ruin your season(alone), which he did in 2008, but he creates alot of locker room divisions, to the point where potential long-term permanent scars are created among the franchise.
It happened to San Francisco - in the early 2000's, Bill Walsh and Co in the front office built a Super Bowl contender(that defense for a time being was something special). However - not only did TO handicap them, but they just were NOT the same team since he left after the 2003 season. I don't think they've recorded a winning record since the 2002 season.
Same with Philly - since they kicked off TO in 2005, McNabb just didn't have the same relationship with his teammates since. Prior to 2005, despite McNabb not having good leadership qualities, he was well loved by his teammates b/c of his lighthearted and joking personality he brought into the locker room. Since then, he just didn't seem to be the same "happy and loose" McNabb, and some of his teammates just didn't seem to see eye to eye with him anymore.
Fortunately, here in Dallas, we didn't suffer THAT much damage post-TO. Tony Romo commanded respect among his teammates. Jason Garrett, unlike Andy Reid, decided to commit running the ball. However - I think through all the TO-tabacle, MB3's feelings may have gotten scared. There were games when MB3 was running effectively, but b/c the coaches and players wanted to make TO happy, they ended up throwing his way many times in some of the games(ie-the 1st Redskins game in 2008 - which happened to be our finale Redskins game at TX Stadium. Barber was running effectively, but we ended up throwing TO's way many times, to the point where Felix Jones didn't even sniff the field).
However - while TO whined about not getting the ball, Barber NOT ONCE complained when he really didn't touch the ball. I think that could have had an effect on his psyches over the long haul.
So no, I don't think Barber is washed up - I just think the post-TO damage, just like in SF and Philly, hit us in a way too.
