- Joined
- Apr 7, 2013
- Messages
- 120,216
Cowboys keep feeding beast DeMarco Murray
December, 5, 2014
By Tim MacMahon | ESPNDallas.com
CHICAGO – It’s a good thing DeMarco Murray has a few extra days off before a Dec. 14 rematch with the NFC East rival Philadelphia Eagles.
Murray can surely use all the rest he can get after toting the rock 41 times -- setting career highs with 32 carries and nine receptions -- in Thursday night’s 41-28 win over the Chicago Bears at Soldier Field.
Not that the Dallas Cowboys’ workhorse running back would ever admit as much. You won’t ever hear Murray say a word that could be perceived as a glimpse of weakness.
“I feel great,” Murray said after rushing for a season-high 179 yards and a score and gaining another 49 yards on receptions. “I don’t take a lot of hard hits. I protect myself out there. The carries might be up, but I don’t get a lot of damage, so that’s good.”
Murray said that with a stone face, but he’s fibbing a bit. He dishes out a lot of punishment to defenders who try to tackle him, but he takes more than his fair share, too.
There are times when the Cowboys’ offensive line, which looked like the best in the league again after a poor performance in the Thanksgiving embarrassment against the Eagles, opens holes wide enough to drive Jerry Jones’ customized luxury bus through. Exhibit A: Murray’s 40-yard run on the first play of the fourth quarter, one of three runs longer than 25 yards he had against the Bears.
But Murray gets a lot of “dirty yards,” to use one of coach Jason Garrett’s favorite phrases, turning a 1-yard run into a 3- or 4-yard gain. That’s what Murray did throughout the first half, when he had 16 carries for 65 yards plus another 40 yards on eight catches.
The Bears’ defense wore down in the second half. Murray did not, popping 40- and 26-yard runs among his eight carries in the final period, touching the ball on every Dallas offensive snap of the quarter except for an incompletion intended for him and two Tony Romo kneeldowns.
“He wants the ball,” Garrett said. “He’s just a darn good football player. A lot of that has to do with his desire. Like a lot of great backs through the years in this league, often times these guys get better the more touches they get. He is demonstrating that.”
The all-time great back Murray most often gets compared to is Emmitt Smith. That used to be simply due to the star on Murray’s helmet, but not anymore.
Murray, a man whose durability issues were by far the biggest knock on him during his first few years in the NFL, has become an Emmitt-style workhorse.
In fact, Murray is maybe 10 days away from breaking Smith’s record of 1,773 rushing yards in a season, set during Dallas’ last Super Bowl season in 1995. The 9-4 Cowboys are in position to reach the playoffs for the first time in five years in large part due to Murray's 1,606 rushing yards, and he has already matched Smith’s team record of 11 100-yard games in a season.
Smith is the only back in Cowboys history to have more touches in a game. His 42-touch outing in the 1993 regular-season finale against the New York Giants, which he dominated despite a dislocated shoulder, set the franchise’s standard for toughness.
This performance from Murray wasn’t nearly as dramatic, but it earns the same kind of respect in the locker room.
“It’s tough to get the ball 40 times and do what he did,” tight end Jason Witten said. “He’s a physical runner in Week 13 of the season, playing the way he has. I commend him on his effort. He’s a warrior.
“He does whatever he can for this team. He’s a physical player. When you make the commitment we’ve made to the style we want to play, obviously up front a lot goes into it, but you’ve got to have backs that can embrace that challenge. I think he’s done an unbelievable job.”
Murray has 320 carries -- 103 more than his previous career high -- and a career-high-tying 53 receptions already this season. The Cowboys will keep riding him through December, and hopefully beyond.
They can worry about Murray’s workload during contract negotiations in the offseason. It certainly isn’t a concern for the rest of the season.
“Hey, let me tell you something: That man’s a monster,” receiver Dez Bryant said. “I done told y’all that from day one. He’s a beast. There’s nothing that he can’t handle. You give it to him 100 times and he’s gonna do something with it.”
After 10 days off, that might be what it takes to beat the Eagles. You won’t hear Murray complain if that’s the case.
December, 5, 2014
By Tim MacMahon | ESPNDallas.com
CHICAGO – It’s a good thing DeMarco Murray has a few extra days off before a Dec. 14 rematch with the NFC East rival Philadelphia Eagles.
Murray can surely use all the rest he can get after toting the rock 41 times -- setting career highs with 32 carries and nine receptions -- in Thursday night’s 41-28 win over the Chicago Bears at Soldier Field.
Not that the Dallas Cowboys’ workhorse running back would ever admit as much. You won’t ever hear Murray say a word that could be perceived as a glimpse of weakness.
“I feel great,” Murray said after rushing for a season-high 179 yards and a score and gaining another 49 yards on receptions. “I don’t take a lot of hard hits. I protect myself out there. The carries might be up, but I don’t get a lot of damage, so that’s good.”
Murray said that with a stone face, but he’s fibbing a bit. He dishes out a lot of punishment to defenders who try to tackle him, but he takes more than his fair share, too.
There are times when the Cowboys’ offensive line, which looked like the best in the league again after a poor performance in the Thanksgiving embarrassment against the Eagles, opens holes wide enough to drive Jerry Jones’ customized luxury bus through. Exhibit A: Murray’s 40-yard run on the first play of the fourth quarter, one of three runs longer than 25 yards he had against the Bears.
But Murray gets a lot of “dirty yards,” to use one of coach Jason Garrett’s favorite phrases, turning a 1-yard run into a 3- or 4-yard gain. That’s what Murray did throughout the first half, when he had 16 carries for 65 yards plus another 40 yards on eight catches.
The Bears’ defense wore down in the second half. Murray did not, popping 40- and 26-yard runs among his eight carries in the final period, touching the ball on every Dallas offensive snap of the quarter except for an incompletion intended for him and two Tony Romo kneeldowns.
“He wants the ball,” Garrett said. “He’s just a darn good football player. A lot of that has to do with his desire. Like a lot of great backs through the years in this league, often times these guys get better the more touches they get. He is demonstrating that.”
The all-time great back Murray most often gets compared to is Emmitt Smith. That used to be simply due to the star on Murray’s helmet, but not anymore.
Murray, a man whose durability issues were by far the biggest knock on him during his first few years in the NFL, has become an Emmitt-style workhorse.
In fact, Murray is maybe 10 days away from breaking Smith’s record of 1,773 rushing yards in a season, set during Dallas’ last Super Bowl season in 1995. The 9-4 Cowboys are in position to reach the playoffs for the first time in five years in large part due to Murray's 1,606 rushing yards, and he has already matched Smith’s team record of 11 100-yard games in a season.
Smith is the only back in Cowboys history to have more touches in a game. His 42-touch outing in the 1993 regular-season finale against the New York Giants, which he dominated despite a dislocated shoulder, set the franchise’s standard for toughness.
This performance from Murray wasn’t nearly as dramatic, but it earns the same kind of respect in the locker room.
“It’s tough to get the ball 40 times and do what he did,” tight end Jason Witten said. “He’s a physical runner in Week 13 of the season, playing the way he has. I commend him on his effort. He’s a warrior.
“He does whatever he can for this team. He’s a physical player. When you make the commitment we’ve made to the style we want to play, obviously up front a lot goes into it, but you’ve got to have backs that can embrace that challenge. I think he’s done an unbelievable job.”
Murray has 320 carries -- 103 more than his previous career high -- and a career-high-tying 53 receptions already this season. The Cowboys will keep riding him through December, and hopefully beyond.
They can worry about Murray’s workload during contract negotiations in the offseason. It certainly isn’t a concern for the rest of the season.
“Hey, let me tell you something: That man’s a monster,” receiver Dez Bryant said. “I done told y’all that from day one. He’s a beast. There’s nothing that he can’t handle. You give it to him 100 times and he’s gonna do something with it.”
After 10 days off, that might be what it takes to beat the Eagles. You won’t hear Murray complain if that’s the case.
