MacMahon: Should DeMarco Murray be benched if he fumbles again?

[Cotton]

Should DeMarco Murray be benched if he fumbles again?
September, 25, 2014

By Tim MacMahon | ESPNDallas.com

IRVING, Texas -- The Dallas Cowboys cannot afford to give away possessions, so a solution must be found for DeMarco Murray's fumbling problem.

One option is benching Murray if he fumbles again, as he has in four straight games dating to last season’s finale, even if it’s just for one series to send a message.

“Everything is on the table,” coach Jason Garrett said. “Taking care of the football matters. We’ve done that with him in the past. We’ve chosen not to do that in each of the games this year when he has fumbled. He’s responded really well within that game.

“Obviously, we have to make sure that we correct this issue with him and with everybody on our team who possesses the football. You can’t put the ball on the ground. Those are big plays. Those are game-changing plays. He’s done a great job overcoming it within the game. We’ve done a good job overcoming it in two of the three games, but we certainly have to do better in that area.”

The case for not benching Murray is pretty simple. He’s the most productive back in the NFL so far this season, leading the league’s rushers in carries (75), yards (385) and touchdowns (three).

In the three series immediately after his fumbles, all of which have come in the first quarter, Murray has rushed for 83 yards and a touchdown on 11 carries. The Cowboys have scored on each of the three drives, accounting for 13 points.

However, based on two analytic metrics, Murray has been an overall minus for the Cowboys because of his fumbles this season.

According to ESPN Stats & Information, Murray has accounted minus-3.8 in expected points added and minus-24 percent in win probability added. The harm of his three fumbles – minus-13.3 EPA and minus-36 percent WPA – significantly outweighs the positives from all of Murray’s other carries in these advanced stats.

No matter how much stock you put in those numbers, there’s no question that Murray must find a way to hold onto the football. Murray knows that as well as anyone, but he’s tired of talking about the topic.

“I’m not going to spend a lot of time on that,” Murray said. “I know what’s happened the past three weeks, and you’ve just got to move on from it, got to learn from it and got to get it corrected. But I’m not going to overthink it and try to do a whole lot and change my game. I’ll continue to run hard and try to make as many plays as I can.”

If Murray fumbles again, Garrett will have to decide whether he puts the NFL’s rushing leader back on the field the next series to make more plays.

 

[Deuce]

Yes, please.

 

[Cowboysrock55]

I think it's all in Murray's head. He is thinking about it way too much. Benching him won't solve anything.

 

[L.T. Fan]

Does Garrett want to go with Randle or will he just abandon the run (again) if Murray does fumble. Those are his only options. Bet I know what he would do.

 

[Deuce]

I think it's all in Murray's head. He is thinking about it way too much. Benching him won't solve anything.

You don't think a benching will help a player refocus on fundementals? If he isn't benched, he'll never know it's unacceptable to be so careless in the game.

 

[Cowboysrock55]

You don't think a benching will help a player refocus on fundementals? If he isn't benched, he'll never know it's unacceptable to be so careless in the game.

He doesn't come off as someone who is intentionally being careless. I think he fully realizes what a problem it is. I doubt a benching would have any impact.

 

[Deuce]

He doesn't come off as someone who is intentionally being careless. I think he fully realizes what a problem it is. I doubt a benching would have any impact.

If you acknowledge a problem in the media, talk about what you're going to do to change it and then revert back to the old way of doing things only to fumble again 3 days later than I think that's being careless.

 

[L.T. Fan]

If you acknowledge a problem in the media, talk about what you're going to do to change it and then revert back to the old way of doing things only to fumble again 3 days later than I think that's being careless.

He has acknowledged the problem. He has even been working with the coach to try to solve it. Last week he related that he was going back to his prior right arm grip. That was what he was utilizing when the fumble last week occurred.

 

[Cowboysrock55]

If you acknowledge a problem in the media, talk about what you're going to do to change it and then revert back to the old way of doing things only to fumble again 3 days later than I think that's being careless.

I think he changed what he was doing and still fumbled. He said he was no longer going to hold the ball in his left hand. Then most recently he fumbled while carrying the ball in his right hand the entire time.

 

[Deuce]

Oh, ok. So he did make the adjustment he mentioned and he still fumbled? That's just a different kind of careless in my book.

 

[NoDak]

If he isn't benched, he'll never know it's unacceptable to be so careless in the game.

Yeah. You'd think something like that would be obvious, huh?

 

[L.T. Fan]

Yeah. You'd think something like that would be obvious, huh?

That deserves one of these.

 

[boozeman]

I think if he does it again, you send his ass to the bench to teach him a less...

~glances over at Joseph Randle~

Nevermind.

 

[shane]

F No. He's the bread and butter. Milk him all season long.

 

[townsend]

I swear if my car breaks down one more time I'm going to walk 20 miles to work to teach it a lesson.

 

[Genghis Khan]

I swear if my car breaks down one more time I'm going to walk 20 miles to work to teach it a lesson.

Is that from Christopher Lee's metal album in your avatar?

 

[townsend]

Is that from Christopher Lee's metal album in your avatar?

Yes.

 

[Genghis Khan]

Yes.

Awesome. I've been wanting to hear it but haven't gotten around to it. It's just amazing that a 90 year old acting legend made a metal album. That's living life.

 

[boozeman]

Awesome. I've been wanting to hear it but haven't gotten around to it. It's just amazing that a 90 year old acting legend made a metal album. That's living life.

Actually it is his third album.

 

[1bigfan13]

I'd be fine with benching Murray if there was a system in place where vets of Murray's caliber were held accountability for their actions but there's not.

For example, Romo has had his stretches where he turned the ball over in volume or just made shaky decisions that helped lead to the team's defeat and nothing ever happens to him. He's frequently audibled into passing plays at the goal line and in critical short yardage situations, which frequently blows up in our faces and nothing ever happens to him.

So even though I'd like to see the coaches levy some type of punishment to address poor performances, that's not how the Cowboys run things. Particularly if you're a proven vet who's critical to the team's success. I would classify Murray as one of those proven vets. So he's going to get the extra leeway.