DeMarco Murray did everything right in '15, so why is he on outs in Dallas?

Carp said:

Who said he was elite?

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You yourself said, "a big concern I have is picking up the blitz for whoever replaces Murray. Can Gordon, Gurley, Cobb, Johnson do that? I don’t know." Jiggy and VA Cowboy then quoted you and reiterated it as a concern also.

While not using the term elite, if it is a big concern it stands to reason that you think that he pretty good at it and that replacing that ability will be difficult.

I just don't think that line of thinking as completely accurate. I personally think that he is more lower-middle of the pack in pass protection. And being ranked 24th seems to re-enforce that thought.

hstour said:

You yourself said, "a big concern I have is picking up the blitz for whoever replaces Murray. Can Gordon, Gurley, Cobb, Johnson do that? I don’t know." Jiggy and VA Cowboy then quoted you and reiterated it as a concern also.

While not using the term elite, if it is a big concern it stands to reason that you think that he pretty good at it and that replacing that ability will be difficult.

I just don't think that line of thinking as completely accurate. I personally think that he is more lower-middle of the pack in pass protection. And being ranked 24th seems to re-enforce that thought.

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You can use analytics, but I can go by what I saw. I saw him consistently do his job in terms of blitz pick up. I am very comfortable with him in that role. He understands the offense and where the pressure will come from.

I have concerns about someone else coming in and doing the same.

townsend said:

It seems like we should go with a 2nd or 3rd round pick, and also pick up a mediocre free agent, like a Reggie Bush or Steven Jackson to act as a safety net.

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If DM leaves I'd expect a vet to be signed as insurance along with an early pick at RB.

Murray is very good in pass protection.

Cowboysrock55 said:

If you have to drop 6+ mil a year on Murray you sure as hell shouldn't also have to invest a second/third round pick in a RB. If you have that little faith in Murray's ability then you don't give him that contract.

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I could still see us drafting a RB, but it'd likely be in the 3rd-4th range. Need someone other than Dunbar to help carry the load not to mention a quality backup in case of injury.

Iamtdg said:

I stand corrected. Seems like a colossal waste of money to me when they have people on staff that can do the same thing.

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I'd much rather have my people on staff analyzing data than gathering it. I would imagine they subscribe to the raw data from PFF and do their internal people doing their own analysis against the data/analysis they get from the league.

It becomes a way to check your own analysis. Hotel chains have their own internal booking statistics but they all use the STAR report for extended views of competetors/market/other data.

Carp said:

You can use analytics, but I can go by what I saw. I saw him consistently do his job in terms of blitz pick up. I am very comfortable with him in that role. He understands the offense and where the pressure will come from.

I have concerns about someone else coming in and doing the same.

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And that's where we differ. You are an "eye test" type of person. I am an analytics type. I think too much gets missed, in the particular situation, if you aren't looking at Murray exclusively on every pass play.

Now don't get me wrong, you can get lost in analytics if you aren't careful. You have to keep it in context. For instance, if that Pass Blocking Efficiency stat that ranks Murray at 24 is on a scale where 1 - 24 is less than 1 percentage point difference, then there really isn't that much different between the two. And you could say that the To 25 could all be considered "elite."

As for your concerns, you just have to hope that the scouting staff is doing their job and studying the stats AND the tape and finding someone that can fill that role also.

hstour said:

You yourself said, "a big concern I have is picking up the blitz for whoever replaces Murray. Can Gordon, Gurley, Cobb, Johnson do that? I don’t know." Jiggy and VA Cowboy then quoted you and reiterated it as a concern also.

While not using the term elite, if it is a big concern it stands to reason that you think that he pretty good at it and that replacing that ability will be difficult.

I just don't think that line of thinking as completely accurate. I personally think that he is more lower-middle of the pack in pass protection. And being ranked 24th seems to re-enforce that thought.

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Is 24 really lower middle of the pack considering how many RB's get playing time these days.

And what is the difference between 24 and 1 is it a big gap or a matter of a few points?

I like PFF more than many but I also realize you have to understand their rankings and how they grade unless we get the entire rankings and per snap counts that 24 is a arbitrary number.

We all know that at minimum Murray is not a liability in pass pro which is not something you can say about a possible replacement, which is the point people are making.

Jiggyfly said:

Is 24 really lower middle of the pack considering how many RB's get playing time these days.

And what is the difference between 24 and 1 is it a big gap or a matter of a few points?

I like PFF more than many but I also realize you have to understand their rankings and how they grade unless we get the entire rankings and per snap counts that 24 is a arbitrary number.

We all know that at minimum Murray is not a liability in pass pro which is not something you can say about a possible replacement, which is the point people are making.

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Like I said in the secondary post, you have to keep your analytics in context. The scale between 1 & 24 is very important.

VA Cowboy said:

I could still see us drafting a RB, but it'd likely be in the 3rd-4th range. Need someone other than Dunbar to help carry the load not to mention a quality backup in case of injury.

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To be fair it's not that you shouldn't draft a RB. I'm just saying if you think that highly of a RB that you sign him to a top shelf contract, you shouldn't be going into the draft viewing RB as a position that you "must have." If the right talent is there you don't pass it up regardless of need in the 3rd/4th round.

Cowboysrock55 said:

To be fair it's not that you shouldn't draft a RB. I'm just saying if you think that highly of a RB that you sign him to a top shelf contract, you shouldn't be going into the draft viewing RB as a position that you "must have." If the right talent is there you don't pass it up regardless of need in the 3rd/4th round.

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It's all about Dallas being true to an identity that got them to 12-4 (and should have been more).

They've prioritized drafting OL, signing FA depth, and finding key OL UDFA in Leary-- and impressively have stuck with it.

And they did draft Murray despite Felix Jones being on the team and also drafted Randle after that.

But the draft round has plummeted from 1 to 3 to 5.

Now all they have is an average, immature, and very green RB in Randle and a guy who wasn't on an active roster in Williams. This is retarded.

Even if they re-sign Murray, after a 400 carry season they can't possibly believe he's going to drive the running game again the way he did last year.

Cowboysrock55 said:

To be fair it's not that you shouldn't draft a RB. I'm just saying if you think that highly of a RB that you sign him to a top shelf contract, you shouldn't be going into the draft viewing RB as a position that you "must have." If the right talent is there you don't pass it up regardless of need in the 3rd/4th round.

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Which is why you try to fill holes with free agency, even if it is a temporary fix. It gives you the ability to take the right talent.