Jiggyfly
Banned
- Joined
- Apr 8, 2013
- Messages
- 9,220
Moore: New committee, same expectations; losing Murray won't alter Cowboys' approach to running game
By DAVID MOORE Follow @DavidMooreDMN dmoore@dallasnews.com
Staff Writer
Published: 08 September 2015 09:47 PM
Updated: 09 September 2015 01:55 AM
IRVING — Any sense of uncertainty among the Cowboys hierarchy as the team embarks on a ground game without DeMarco Murray is kept behind closed doors.
Murray ran for more yards in 2014 than Emmitt Smith ever did in a season. The Cowboys amassed more yards on the ground than they had at any point in the previous 32 years. Yet club officials cling to the belief that Murray’s contributions will be offset by committee.
Executive Vice President Stephen Jones went as far as to say that these Cowboys will have the same type of running game, “if not better than we had last year.”
Most of you will latch onto the “if not better” phrase, and hold Jones accountable if that doesn’t unfold. But the key phrase here is “the same type.”
This committee won’t duplicate what Murray provided. Joseph Randle, Darren McFadden, Lance Dunbar, and however Christine Michael fits into the equation, will gain yards differently.
What’s imperative is that they gain yards at a high enough rate to keep the offense humming at an efficient and explosive level. That percentage can, and likely will, be less than last season.
That doesn’t mean the coaching staff has lowered the bar.
“Our expectation is the same as it was going into last year,” offensive coordinator Scott Linehan said. “Work hard and put ourselves into as many advantageous situations as we can, trust and believe in whoever is on the field as a ball carrier or who is blocking for him and get ourselves back in that mode.
“We’re not just picking up where we left off. We’re going right back to the basics. Every year is a new year and our identity is going to be what we create.”
The Cowboys ran the ball more than they threw it last season. Their average of 147.1 yards rushing was second in the league to Seattle.
New England, the team that beat the Seahawks in the Super Bowl, averaged 107.9 yards to rank No. 18.
The Cowboys don’t have to run 50.1 percent of the time to be successful. That percentage could drop 3 to 5 percent and still allow the team to retain its hard-nosed identity.
Fewer carries for Randle and McFadden mean more catches for Dez Bryant, Terrance Williams and others. A defense that forced plenty of turnovers last season could be even more effective this season by forcing more three-and-outs.
That’s not unrealistic given the upgrades on that side of the ball.
The percentages, to borrow a favorite word from owner Jerry Jones, are fungible. What matters is the overall impact.
“We’re building our identity to be able to run the football,” Linehan said. “We have that kind of team. We’re built that way. We want to have that mentality. Regardless of who is in there it’s not going to change our mind-set at all.
“We’ve got to find a whole new identity with a couple of new players and get back to square one with these guys.”
Linehan believes this group is capable of success and doesn’t envision changing the way he calls a game without Murray. That’s a stretch.
Murray ran the ball 392 times last season. He was followed by Randle with 51 and Dunbar with 29. McFadden did not carry the ball more than 223 times in a season during his seven-year career with Oakland.
Throw in Michael’s 34 carries last season and that combined total is still 55 fewer rushes than Murray accumulated in 2014.
Personal observation: the idea heading into the season was to get Randle 50 percent of the carries, McFadden 40 percent and Dunbar around 10 percent. Those percentages would vary from game to game depending on injury and who had the hot hand. Michael is now inserted into the equation and should alter those percentages over the course of the season based on his performance.
“We don’t predesign any of those kinds of things,” coach Jason Garrett said. “I don’t think you ever know that answer.
“I don’t think we ever said DeMarco’s going to get 22 carries in this game, we’re going to throw the ball to Dez 19 times, you know.”
That’s disingenuous. The Cowboys never went into a game mandating that Murray would get 22 carries, but the staff knew he was the undisputed lead back.
That’s not the case going into Sunday night’s opener against the New York Giants.
“Well, we feel good about all those guys,” Garrett said. “It’s not something that we feel is a deficiency.
“We feel good about Darren McFadden and how he’s played. We certainly feel good about Joe Randle and what he’s done for us, and Lance Dunbar has been a very productive guy for us. We feel like bringing Michael in here will add to the mix.
“We’ll compete each and every day for opportunities. If those guys show that they’re worthy of opportunities in the game we’ll make sure we give them the chance to do that.”
By DAVID MOORE Follow @DavidMooreDMN dmoore@dallasnews.com
Staff Writer
Published: 08 September 2015 09:47 PM
Updated: 09 September 2015 01:55 AM
IRVING — Any sense of uncertainty among the Cowboys hierarchy as the team embarks on a ground game without DeMarco Murray is kept behind closed doors.
Murray ran for more yards in 2014 than Emmitt Smith ever did in a season. The Cowboys amassed more yards on the ground than they had at any point in the previous 32 years. Yet club officials cling to the belief that Murray’s contributions will be offset by committee.
Executive Vice President Stephen Jones went as far as to say that these Cowboys will have the same type of running game, “if not better than we had last year.”
Most of you will latch onto the “if not better” phrase, and hold Jones accountable if that doesn’t unfold. But the key phrase here is “the same type.”
This committee won’t duplicate what Murray provided. Joseph Randle, Darren McFadden, Lance Dunbar, and however Christine Michael fits into the equation, will gain yards differently.
What’s imperative is that they gain yards at a high enough rate to keep the offense humming at an efficient and explosive level. That percentage can, and likely will, be less than last season.
That doesn’t mean the coaching staff has lowered the bar.
“Our expectation is the same as it was going into last year,” offensive coordinator Scott Linehan said. “Work hard and put ourselves into as many advantageous situations as we can, trust and believe in whoever is on the field as a ball carrier or who is blocking for him and get ourselves back in that mode.
“We’re not just picking up where we left off. We’re going right back to the basics. Every year is a new year and our identity is going to be what we create.”
The Cowboys ran the ball more than they threw it last season. Their average of 147.1 yards rushing was second in the league to Seattle.
New England, the team that beat the Seahawks in the Super Bowl, averaged 107.9 yards to rank No. 18.
The Cowboys don’t have to run 50.1 percent of the time to be successful. That percentage could drop 3 to 5 percent and still allow the team to retain its hard-nosed identity.
Fewer carries for Randle and McFadden mean more catches for Dez Bryant, Terrance Williams and others. A defense that forced plenty of turnovers last season could be even more effective this season by forcing more three-and-outs.
That’s not unrealistic given the upgrades on that side of the ball.
The percentages, to borrow a favorite word from owner Jerry Jones, are fungible. What matters is the overall impact.
“We’re building our identity to be able to run the football,” Linehan said. “We have that kind of team. We’re built that way. We want to have that mentality. Regardless of who is in there it’s not going to change our mind-set at all.
“We’ve got to find a whole new identity with a couple of new players and get back to square one with these guys.”
Linehan believes this group is capable of success and doesn’t envision changing the way he calls a game without Murray. That’s a stretch.
Murray ran the ball 392 times last season. He was followed by Randle with 51 and Dunbar with 29. McFadden did not carry the ball more than 223 times in a season during his seven-year career with Oakland.
Throw in Michael’s 34 carries last season and that combined total is still 55 fewer rushes than Murray accumulated in 2014.
Personal observation: the idea heading into the season was to get Randle 50 percent of the carries, McFadden 40 percent and Dunbar around 10 percent. Those percentages would vary from game to game depending on injury and who had the hot hand. Michael is now inserted into the equation and should alter those percentages over the course of the season based on his performance.
“We don’t predesign any of those kinds of things,” coach Jason Garrett said. “I don’t think you ever know that answer.
“I don’t think we ever said DeMarco’s going to get 22 carries in this game, we’re going to throw the ball to Dez 19 times, you know.”
That’s disingenuous. The Cowboys never went into a game mandating that Murray would get 22 carries, but the staff knew he was the undisputed lead back.
That’s not the case going into Sunday night’s opener against the New York Giants.
“Well, we feel good about all those guys,” Garrett said. “It’s not something that we feel is a deficiency.
“We feel good about Darren McFadden and how he’s played. We certainly feel good about Joe Randle and what he’s done for us, and Lance Dunbar has been a very productive guy for us. We feel like bringing Michael in here will add to the mix.
“We’ll compete each and every day for opportunities. If those guys show that they’re worthy of opportunities in the game we’ll make sure we give them the chance to do that.”