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Case for Murray — it’s about value, not position
By Buck Harvey |
January 17, 2015 | Updated: January 17, 2015 10:20pm
Everything works against DeMarco Murray now, including his record-setting season. When he carried the football more than anyone in the league, his short shelf life got shorter.
This is the new era of the NFL, where running backs are considered as replaceable as the footballs they carry. Murray is no more immune than anyone when it comes to economics, wear and the changing nature of the sport.
But is it the position that matters? Or is it the player?
A guess: Jerry Jones will eventually lean toward the latter.
Today’s conference title games reflect the decline of the featured back. Bill Belichick likes runners, for example, if they fit the strategy. If not, he likes them to stand off to the side.
In the regular season, coincidentally against Indianapolis, an unknown named Jonas Gray rushed for 201 yards and the first four touchdowns of his career. The next week Gray reported late for practice and was sent home. He’s had 20 carries since.
Belichick could always find another, as well as another way to win. Last week, against Baltimore, Tom Brady didn’t hand off to a runner even once in the second half.
Then there are the Colts and their cautionary tale. Thinking they needed a premier runner, they once traded a first-round draft pick to obtain Trent Richardson. He didn’t make the trip this weekend to New England for personal reasons, and the news came with a shrug.
The other NFL game today supports Murray’s case better than Belichick and the Colts do. Eddie Lacy has been a bull at times for the Packers, and Marshawn Lynch has given Seattle what Murray gave the Cowboys.
But Green Bay is impacted more by Aaron Rodgers’ sore calf than it is by all of Lacy, and the Seahawks have had the same questions about Lynch that Dallas now has about Murray. There are no guarantees he will be back in Seattle even if he takes them to a second consecutive Super Bowl.
The Seahawks wonder what the Cowboys wonder. Lynch turns 29 in April and Murray 27 next month, and that’s considered old for this position. The Cowboys know from experience; they paid Marion Barber when he was on the way down.
It’s the reason agents say they don’t recruit running back clients out of college the way they once did. The same money isn’t there.
The Cowboys see Murray similarly, and Jones said as much last week on the Cowboys’ website. Signing both Dez Bryant and Murray, he said, “probably doesn’t look reasonable.”
Signing Bryant looks certain. The decision is about Murray, and Dallas has options. Maybe Mark Ingram, the Saints runner, comes at a discount. Maybe Adrian Peterson comes because few others want him.
Besides, with this offensive line, couldn’t a lot of runners gain yards?
But Murray didn’t just gain more yards than anyone last season, as well as more than any Cowboy has in one season. He gained the third-and-ones that Jason Garrett calls “dirty runs.”
Last week Garrett called him a complete back. But he went further in his praise.
“I think that idea of his mindset, his mentality, his demeanor, his toughness, I think that really, really helped the identity of our football team,” Garrett said. “In many ways, he established the identity of our football team.”
Other positions can do that, too. The Seattle defensive backs, for example, set the tone for that team.
How much money are they worth? Compared to the Cowboys’ J.J. Wilcox — whose only chance to tackle a Packer last Sunday was to have one accidentally run into him — a lot.
So sometimes a safety is worth a big investment. Sometimes it’s a right guard or a tight end. And sometimes, even in this era, it’s the NFL rushing leader.
Jones will get that.
bharvey@express-news.net
By Buck Harvey |
January 17, 2015 | Updated: January 17, 2015 10:20pm
Everything works against DeMarco Murray now, including his record-setting season. When he carried the football more than anyone in the league, his short shelf life got shorter.
This is the new era of the NFL, where running backs are considered as replaceable as the footballs they carry. Murray is no more immune than anyone when it comes to economics, wear and the changing nature of the sport.
But is it the position that matters? Or is it the player?
A guess: Jerry Jones will eventually lean toward the latter.
Today’s conference title games reflect the decline of the featured back. Bill Belichick likes runners, for example, if they fit the strategy. If not, he likes them to stand off to the side.
In the regular season, coincidentally against Indianapolis, an unknown named Jonas Gray rushed for 201 yards and the first four touchdowns of his career. The next week Gray reported late for practice and was sent home. He’s had 20 carries since.
Belichick could always find another, as well as another way to win. Last week, against Baltimore, Tom Brady didn’t hand off to a runner even once in the second half.
Then there are the Colts and their cautionary tale. Thinking they needed a premier runner, they once traded a first-round draft pick to obtain Trent Richardson. He didn’t make the trip this weekend to New England for personal reasons, and the news came with a shrug.
The other NFL game today supports Murray’s case better than Belichick and the Colts do. Eddie Lacy has been a bull at times for the Packers, and Marshawn Lynch has given Seattle what Murray gave the Cowboys.
But Green Bay is impacted more by Aaron Rodgers’ sore calf than it is by all of Lacy, and the Seahawks have had the same questions about Lynch that Dallas now has about Murray. There are no guarantees he will be back in Seattle even if he takes them to a second consecutive Super Bowl.
The Seahawks wonder what the Cowboys wonder. Lynch turns 29 in April and Murray 27 next month, and that’s considered old for this position. The Cowboys know from experience; they paid Marion Barber when he was on the way down.
It’s the reason agents say they don’t recruit running back clients out of college the way they once did. The same money isn’t there.
The Cowboys see Murray similarly, and Jones said as much last week on the Cowboys’ website. Signing both Dez Bryant and Murray, he said, “probably doesn’t look reasonable.”
Signing Bryant looks certain. The decision is about Murray, and Dallas has options. Maybe Mark Ingram, the Saints runner, comes at a discount. Maybe Adrian Peterson comes because few others want him.
Besides, with this offensive line, couldn’t a lot of runners gain yards?
But Murray didn’t just gain more yards than anyone last season, as well as more than any Cowboy has in one season. He gained the third-and-ones that Jason Garrett calls “dirty runs.”
Last week Garrett called him a complete back. But he went further in his praise.
“I think that idea of his mindset, his mentality, his demeanor, his toughness, I think that really, really helped the identity of our football team,” Garrett said. “In many ways, he established the identity of our football team.”
Other positions can do that, too. The Seattle defensive backs, for example, set the tone for that team.
How much money are they worth? Compared to the Cowboys’ J.J. Wilcox — whose only chance to tackle a Packer last Sunday was to have one accidentally run into him — a lot.
So sometimes a safety is worth a big investment. Sometimes it’s a right guard or a tight end. And sometimes, even in this era, it’s the NFL rushing leader.
Jones will get that.
bharvey@express-news.net
