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The Film Don't Lie: Cowboys
October, 21, 2014
By Todd Archer | ESPNDallas.com
A weekly look at what the Dallas Cowboys must fix:
DeMarco Murray leads the NFL in rushing with 913 yards on 187 carries. No other running back in NFL history has opened the season with seven straight 100-yard games. He should be in any MVP talk as the Cowboys head into Monday night's matchup against the Washington Redskins.
He is doing it when defenses know the Cowboys want to run the ball.
Despite defenses loading the box to stop the run, the Cowboys have run the ball surprisingly well. It has led to more “dirty” yards, as Jason Garrett has called runs of 0, 1, 2 or 3 yards. After averaging at least 5.4 yards per carry in three of the first four games, Murray has put up at least 4 yards per carry in the past three games. The ability to get chunks of yards has changed from otherworldly -- Murray had 17 runs of at least 10 yards or more in the first four games -- to a still respectable 10 in the past three games.
There will come a time when the Cowboys will have to rely more on their adjustments to the eight-man fronts they are seeing through scheme or passing the ball early in games to free Murray up as the game goes on. The Cowboys countered some of that against the New York Giants with more three-tight-end sets knowing the versatility of tight ends Jason Witten, James Hanna and Gavin Escobar allows them to run and throw the ball.
The Cowboys don’t really need to “fix” much about what they’re doing offensively, but they need to stay ahead of the game for the times when the running game does not succeed.
October, 21, 2014
By Todd Archer | ESPNDallas.com
A weekly look at what the Dallas Cowboys must fix:
DeMarco Murray leads the NFL in rushing with 913 yards on 187 carries. No other running back in NFL history has opened the season with seven straight 100-yard games. He should be in any MVP talk as the Cowboys head into Monday night's matchup against the Washington Redskins.
He is doing it when defenses know the Cowboys want to run the ball.
Despite defenses loading the box to stop the run, the Cowboys have run the ball surprisingly well. It has led to more “dirty” yards, as Jason Garrett has called runs of 0, 1, 2 or 3 yards. After averaging at least 5.4 yards per carry in three of the first four games, Murray has put up at least 4 yards per carry in the past three games. The ability to get chunks of yards has changed from otherworldly -- Murray had 17 runs of at least 10 yards or more in the first four games -- to a still respectable 10 in the past three games.
There will come a time when the Cowboys will have to rely more on their adjustments to the eight-man fronts they are seeing through scheme or passing the ball early in games to free Murray up as the game goes on. The Cowboys countered some of that against the New York Giants with more three-tight-end sets knowing the versatility of tight ends Jason Witten, James Hanna and Gavin Escobar allows them to run and throw the ball.
The Cowboys don’t really need to “fix” much about what they’re doing offensively, but they need to stay ahead of the game for the times when the running game does not succeed.