Newby is a solid #3 back for us, but I don't see him jumping over Abdullah or Cross. I think he was played the second half in order to put fresh legs up against a tiring defense and it worked.
It could be my memory failing, but didn't we also have a fullback in during a lot of his carries?
Again, Newby looked good, but certainly not any better than the two backs in front of him. I remember Ahman Green and Roger Craig suffered from the same fan wisdom in that they should move aside and let the "real talent" on the field...