JJT: More Murray runs, more Cowboys win

Cotton

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More Murray runs, more Cowboys win

Forget about back getting fewer carries; no way Dallas changes its approach now
Updated: October 17, 2014, 11:10 AM ET
By Jean-Jacques Taylor | ESPNDallas.com

IRVING, Texas -- It's time to stop the hysteria regarding how many times DeMarco Murray is carrying the ball this season.

He's on pace to carry the ball a league-record 424 times, which is driving some folks crazy.

They're worried he'll get hurt and be unavailable at some point this season. They're concerned he'll wear down and be ineffective at the end of season. And they're afraid he won't be productive in the future.

Get over it.

Murray is earning $1.4 million this season to carry the football as many times as the Dallas Cowboys choose to give it to him.

And he's doing it better than anyone in the NFL.

Just so you know, Murray and Jim Brown are the only players to start a season with six straight 100-yard rushing games.

At 5-1, these Cowboys are off to a better start than anyone could have imagined, which is why there's zero reason to stop feeding Murray.

These Cowboys, who have missed the playoffs each of the past four seasons, aren't good enough to pick and choose how they win games.

This offense is averaging 27.5 points and 398.7 yards per game.

This is not the time for the Cowboys to change their approach, and there is historical evidence to suggest they shouldn't.

Only Kansas City's Larry Johnson, Atlanta's Jamal Anderson, Los Angeles' Eric Dickerson, Tampa Bay's James Wilder and Tennessee's Eddie George have carried the ball more than 400 times in a season.

All but Wilder carried his team to the playoffs. Anderson and George took their teams to the Super Bowl.

And all of the running backs in the group finished strong.

Johnson's last game of the season featured 33 carries for 138 yards and three touchdowns to secure a wild-card berth for the Chiefs. Anderson finished the season with four straight 100-yard games. And Dickerson gained 158 yards on 26 carries in a playoff loss to Washington.

The 6-foot, 214-pound Murray is a stickler about his body, spending time in the cold tub to erase the soreness and getting regular massages to maintain his flexibility and work the knots out of his muscles.

Yes, Murray missed 11 games over the course of his first three seasons with a variety of ailments. But none of those injuries would be considered chronic, like Miles Austin's hamstring issues.

Murray broke his ankle in 2011, suffered a high ankle sprain in 2012 and sprained his knee in 2013.

Those are injuries that occur in this violent, physical game. There's no guarantee Murray won't get hurt carrying the ball.

Until this season, he had never averaged more than 16.1 carries per game or had more than 217 carries in a season, so he's not a player with a lot of wear and tear on his body.

In Murray's first three seasons, he carried the ball more than 20 times only 11 times and had just seven 100-yard games.

He has carried the ball 25 times or more three times this season, equaling his total of 25-carry games from his first three seasons. His rushing attempt average this season is 26.5 per game.

That doesn't mean Cowboys coach Jason Garrett isn't going to distribute the ball to other backs.

"The biggest thing is we want to continue to run the ball well," Garrett said. "At the same time, we want to give the other guys some opportunities.

"That's good for the individual guys and getting Joseph [Randle] and Lance [Dunbar] chances, because they've done well. And it keeps DeMarco more fresh over the course of a game and the season, but he's going to carry the ball a lot."

Frankly, the Cowboys seem more concerned about his plays than carries. They would prefer to keep his plays in the low 50s, which provides backups Randle and Dunbar some playing time.
In the fourth quarter Sunday against the Seattle Seahawks, Murray gained 53 yards on nine carries and ran through Richard Sherman at the 5 as he tumbled into the end zone.

"If you saw on the touchdown run at the end of the game -- an amazing piece of footage we showed our team -- did you see DeMarco do this flip as the offensive linemen were coming toward him," Garrett said.

"I think that was carry 26, and he'd caught six passes already, and the kind of energy he still had is a tribute to him."

Murray is a free agent at the end of the season, so the Cowboys shouldn't have his future production at the top of their list of concerns.

It's about winning now, which is what Garrett preaches, along with letting the future take care of itself.

This team has been stuck in mediocrity for years. It's time to win, and giving Murray the ball as much as possible is the best way to do it.
 

Jwooten15

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I'm torn on this. Yes, it would be good to get him some rest. And contrary to one popular member on this board's opinion, Joseph Randle has done really well when given the opportunity.

But I also don't want to give up or modify what's working right now. Making Murray the workhorse has won us 5 games in a row. Why change that now? If he gets injured, that's when we can change the plan.
 

ravidubey

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There's no doubt Randle has done well with the few carries he's received and deserves more carries on that basis alone. I'm not optimistic, though, he will produce consistently.
 

DontCryWolfe

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I trust that this team will find it's spots to give the other guys a few more carries. Last week was not the time to force that issue.
 

Cowboysrock55

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I trust that this team will find it's spots to give the other guys a few more carries. Last week was not the time to force that issue.
I actually thought we tried last week to get Randle more involved. As the game wore on though it was just too close and too important to risk not using Murray. Against the Giants would be a perfect opportunity to get more of a rotation going.
 

DontCryWolfe

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I actually thought we tried last week to get Randle more involved. As the game wore on though it was just too close and too important to risk not using Murray. Against the Giants would be a perfect opportunity to get more of a rotation going.
Which was definitely encouraging. They did a good job of picking their spots, and like you said, I wouldn't be surprised to see Randle up around the 7-8 carry mark for this week.
 

L.T. Fan

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I'm torn on this. Yes, it would be good to get him some rest. And contrary to one popular member on this board's opinion, Joseph Randle has done really well when given the opportunity.

But I also don't want to give up or modify what's working right now. Making Murray the workhorse has won us 5 games in a row. Why change that now? If he gets injured, that's when we can change the plan.
If he gets injured the whole dynamics of the team changes. He needs to be used but used intelligently. He will be needed more deep in the season and at playoff time but at this pace he will have body fatigue at that time and will be ineffective even if he isn't injured.
 

ravidubey

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I think they actually blew it a bit by not trying Randle later in the game. He had the fresh legs, but the coaches really get scared away whenever he gets stopped. His last two rushes went for 1 (2nd q.) and 0 yards (3rd q.), and I guess the coaches had enough. :shrug

Dunbar didn't get a touch in the second half.
 

L.T. Fan

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I think they actually blew it a bit by not trying Randle later in the game. He had the fresh legs, but the coaches really get scared away whenever he gets stopped. His last two rushes went for 1 (2nd q.) and 0 yards (3rd q.), and I guess the coaches had enough. :shrug

Dunbar didn't get a touch in the second half.
Yeah. If you don't have confidence in your backup you need different backups.
 

ravidubey

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Yeah. If you don't have confidence in your backup you need different backups.
That's my take, but were stuck with who we've got.

I know it's very hard not to run Murray but they have to imagine what life without him later in the year would be like because that's what they are facing.
 

Clay_Allison

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I'd like to get Randle a lot of carries against the Giants, regardless of his screwup with the shoplifting. Put him in the 22 package and try to grind it out in the middle of the game with him to get Murray some rest. Paint it as his chance to redeem himself. Plus, if he rips off another long run, the call will be awesome. "Randle, running like he STOLE SOMETHING!"
 

L.T. Fan

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I'd like to get Randle a lot of carries against the Giants, regardless of his screwup with the shoplifting. Put him in the 22 package and try to grind it out in the middle of the game with him to get Murray some rest. Paint it as his chance to redeem himself. Plus, if he rips off another long run, the call will be awesome. "Randle, running like he STOLE SOMETHING!"
I definitely think this would be a good game in the schedule to try that approach. It is a division game though and the coaching staff may want to keep it cozy. How he is used may say a lot especially if Dallas gets a comfortable lead.
 
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