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Five Wonders: The runner or the line
December, 16, 2014
By Todd Archer | ESPNDallas.com
IRVING, Texas -- We have wondered many things throughout the season and none of them have been about the Dallas Cowboys earning homefield advantage in the playoffs. But if the Cowboys win the final two games, it's possible.
Amazing.
Let's get to the Wonders:
Let's call DeMarco Murray highly questionable for Sunday's game against the Indianapolis Colts because of his hand surgery. One game isn't enough to make a real judgment either way, but I wonder if we'll find out if the success on the ground this year has been Murray or the offensive line. I wondered earlier in the year of Joseph Randle would be a 1,200-yard rusher behind this line. He might get his chance to show what the Cowboys will have in 2015 if they choose not to re-sign Murray. Back in the day, the thought was any running back could run behind the Cowboys' offensive line, which was an incredible slight to Emmitt Smith. It's a slight to Murray to say any back could put up staggering numbers behind this line, but if he can't play, the Cowboys will have an indicator of what they have without Murray.
Again assuming that Murray will not play against the Colts, I wonder if the Cowboys will call up Ryan Williams from the practice squad. Many fans were apoplectic when Williams did not make the team out of training camp. Many were stunned he cleared waivers. I'm a little surprised no team has come calling on him during the season when you factor in some of the injuries teams have had at running back. But I wonder if the need for one game is worth it to call up Williams. And here's where I offer up a Wonder within a Wonder: I wonder if they would make wide receiver Dwayne Harris the emergency tailback if something were to happen to Randle or Lance Dunbar. He has running back skills with his return ability. He's lined up in the backfield already this year. And he would be needed for just one game. It makes sense to me.
I wonder if anybody who was inside the Cowboys' draft room last May was close to saying, ‘I told you so,' to Jerry Jones after Johnny Manziel's debut for the Cleveland Browns. Not to put too much stock in one game but Manziel looked lost in the loss to the Cincinnati Bengals. Jones was clamoring for Manziel through the entire draft process and even brought up the quarterback's name when the Cowboys were about to go on the clock. It was met with silence. And the Cowboys wisely chose Zack Martin with their first round pick. Imagine where they would be without him this season? I've let the sort of revisionist history go when the Cowboys have said Martin was a huge part of their offensive line rebuild because they were going to take Ryan Shazier until he was gone to the Pittsburgh Steelers. But it's proof the best moves are the ones you can't make or didn't make, like drafting Manziel.
Maybe you've heard the Cowboys have struggled at AT&T Stadium this year. The Cowboys' four losses have come at the $1.2 billion palace. There really is no good answer to why the Cowboys play better on the road than at home. Some of it has had to do with the better teams that have come there (San Francisco, Arizona and Philadelphia). Some of it has to do with the lack of atmosphere at the stadium. But I'm here to offer up a solution, somewhat facetiously. The Cowboys stay in a local hotel the night before the games, just as they do on the road. The players then drive themselves to the stadium. Well, I wonder if the Cowboys should all take buses from the hotel to the stadium, like they do for road games. Hey, can it hurt?
There is plenty of time to get into the whos and whats of the next year's draft, but I wonder if the draft will be a defense-only affair. It's not that the Cowboys won't have needs on offense. We talked about the possible running back need earlier. They might need an offensive tackle. They could take a quarterback. But with the way the team is constructed to win now under Tony Romo, it just makes sense to make the next draft all about the defense. The needs on the defensive line are obvious. The needs at cornerback are obvious. They could use help at linebacker and safety, too.
December, 16, 2014
By Todd Archer | ESPNDallas.com
IRVING, Texas -- We have wondered many things throughout the season and none of them have been about the Dallas Cowboys earning homefield advantage in the playoffs. But if the Cowboys win the final two games, it's possible.
Amazing.
Let's get to the Wonders:
Let's call DeMarco Murray highly questionable for Sunday's game against the Indianapolis Colts because of his hand surgery. One game isn't enough to make a real judgment either way, but I wonder if we'll find out if the success on the ground this year has been Murray or the offensive line. I wondered earlier in the year of Joseph Randle would be a 1,200-yard rusher behind this line. He might get his chance to show what the Cowboys will have in 2015 if they choose not to re-sign Murray. Back in the day, the thought was any running back could run behind the Cowboys' offensive line, which was an incredible slight to Emmitt Smith. It's a slight to Murray to say any back could put up staggering numbers behind this line, but if he can't play, the Cowboys will have an indicator of what they have without Murray.
Again assuming that Murray will not play against the Colts, I wonder if the Cowboys will call up Ryan Williams from the practice squad. Many fans were apoplectic when Williams did not make the team out of training camp. Many were stunned he cleared waivers. I'm a little surprised no team has come calling on him during the season when you factor in some of the injuries teams have had at running back. But I wonder if the need for one game is worth it to call up Williams. And here's where I offer up a Wonder within a Wonder: I wonder if they would make wide receiver Dwayne Harris the emergency tailback if something were to happen to Randle or Lance Dunbar. He has running back skills with his return ability. He's lined up in the backfield already this year. And he would be needed for just one game. It makes sense to me.
I wonder if anybody who was inside the Cowboys' draft room last May was close to saying, ‘I told you so,' to Jerry Jones after Johnny Manziel's debut for the Cleveland Browns. Not to put too much stock in one game but Manziel looked lost in the loss to the Cincinnati Bengals. Jones was clamoring for Manziel through the entire draft process and even brought up the quarterback's name when the Cowboys were about to go on the clock. It was met with silence. And the Cowboys wisely chose Zack Martin with their first round pick. Imagine where they would be without him this season? I've let the sort of revisionist history go when the Cowboys have said Martin was a huge part of their offensive line rebuild because they were going to take Ryan Shazier until he was gone to the Pittsburgh Steelers. But it's proof the best moves are the ones you can't make or didn't make, like drafting Manziel.
Maybe you've heard the Cowboys have struggled at AT&T Stadium this year. The Cowboys' four losses have come at the $1.2 billion palace. There really is no good answer to why the Cowboys play better on the road than at home. Some of it has had to do with the better teams that have come there (San Francisco, Arizona and Philadelphia). Some of it has to do with the lack of atmosphere at the stadium. But I'm here to offer up a solution, somewhat facetiously. The Cowboys stay in a local hotel the night before the games, just as they do on the road. The players then drive themselves to the stadium. Well, I wonder if the Cowboys should all take buses from the hotel to the stadium, like they do for road games. Hey, can it hurt?
There is plenty of time to get into the whos and whats of the next year's draft, but I wonder if the draft will be a defense-only affair. It's not that the Cowboys won't have needs on offense. We talked about the possible running back need earlier. They might need an offensive tackle. They could take a quarterback. But with the way the team is constructed to win now under Tony Romo, it just makes sense to make the next draft all about the defense. The needs on the defensive line are obvious. The needs at cornerback are obvious. They could use help at linebacker and safety, too.