Will Darren McFadden Return As The Starter?

[jnday]

Found out about his recent 3 and 1 success @percyhoward (71%) but also agree there should be talented competition to be brought in to compete for starting role (like any team looking not to get complacent with some wiggle/elusiveness/strength in top 3 picks (trade up for QB excluded, etc.)

There has been a lot of short yardage plays when he folded up like a lawn chair. It can be third and one or third and three, it really doesn't matter. DMac does nothing that other RB's can't do. Opposing defenses sure don't fear him. It is not a matter of what DMac has done, it is a matter of what they are losing out on by playing him. A good, young RB that can grind a defense down would have done wonders behind this line. For one thing, it would have kept the defense off the field. In other words, we could have have gotten more out of the RB position .

 

[Alexander]

I admit I was wrong.

Anyone can run behind this line.

McFadden proved it.

If you can convince yourself he is a reliable option for another year, well you pretty much have checked your brain at the door.

 

[percyhoward]

If you can convince yourself he is a reliable option for another year, well you pretty much have checked your brain at the door.

Nothing says "reliable" like an oft-injured 9th-year running back.

(Because he can't pronounce it.)

 

[percyhoward]

Who were the RBs part of the 14/29 out of curiosity?

The other RB were 4 of 9, a WR was 1 of 1, and all QB combined to go 9 of 19.

runs
McFadden 15 of 21
Randle 3 of 5
Whitehead 1 of 1
Michael 1 of 2
Turbin 0 of 2

passes
Romo 5 of 8
Cassel 2 of 4
Weeden 1 of 3
Moore 1 of 4

Romo threw more passes in short yardage and goal line than Cassel and Weeden combined. It's amazing that our short-yardage running was even as successful as it was, considering that defenses knew a run was coming..

 

[BigStar]

The other RB were 4 of 9, a WR was 1 of 1, and all QB combined to go 9 of 19.

runs
McFadden 15 of 21
Randle 3 of 5
Whitehead 1 of 1
Michael 1 of 2
Turbin 0 of 2

passes
Romo 5 of 8
Cassel 2 of 4
Weeden 1 of 3
Moore 1 of 4

Romo threw more passes in short yardage and goal line than Cassel and Weeden combined. It's amazing that our short-yardage running was even as successful as it was, considering that defenses knew a run was coming..

Tks for info btw. So this was a play calling issue more than anything (last season)? Moore not so much bc team was running the clock out mentality wise and seeing what they had in him, etc.

 

[BigStar]

There has been a lot of short yardage plays when he folded up like a lawn chair. It can be third and one or third and three, it really doesn't matter. DMac does nothing that other RB's can't do. Opposing defenses sure don't fear him. It is not a matter of what DMac has done, it is a matter of what they are losing out on by playing him. A good, young RB that can grind a defense down would have done wonders behind this line. For one thing, it would have kept the defense off the field. In other words, we could have have gotten more out of the RB position .

Agree, I wouldn't think DMac is considered a thumper among the NFL scouts, etc. and should be only a second option and have to compete for carries.

 

[percyhoward]

So this was a play calling issue more than anything (last season)?

I think mostly a personnel issue, but play calling was also a part of it. We didn't throw as much in short yardage with Weeden and Cassel because we had little reason to trust them. We could have tried to stretch defenses horizontally earlier than we did, though. We wouldn't have been able to make a living off of tosses and Lucky runs, but at least it would have given defenses something else to think about. We were really slow to switch mentalities from player-based to scheme-based, for whatever reason.

 

[KJJ]

Murray had a great year. Those types of years usually don't happen year after year and he was not the reason for those big numbers.


Murray is great at finishing runs and he was great in short yardage situations but Romo and the OL had a lot to do with his numbers being what they were.

The guy has no vision and managed to get 1800 yards. He's not a 7-8 mill a year type of player and he'll keep proving that in Philly.



Yes Bell and Charles got injured and as good as they are it just shows the risk you have when you pay that position.


I'm all for upgrading the RB but i'd much rather pay McFadden 2 mill then pay a guy like Murray who is overrated money like he is one of the best in football.

Murray was a big part of the reason he put up those yards in 2014 along with the OL. He had a terrific OL and helped make it look terrific. Some grumbled about our OL this past season because we didn't have as talented a runner behind it. Murray ran through some big holes and he also made some excellent runs on his own with his change of direction and cutback ability. During his rookie year when the OL was in it's earliest stages of transition he had a 3 game span where he rushed for over 600 yards and would have easily had a 1000 yard season if an injury didn't cut his season short. The only thing that held him back his first 3 seasons was injuries. In 2013 he had 1121 yards and 9 TD's in 14 games. You could tell by his 3rd season he was the real deal it was the injuries and missed games that were holding him back. He was the perfect fit on this team and had great chemistry with our OL.

Him staying healthy in 2014 was the main reason the Cowboys surprised everyone and began looking like a contender. A big reason Romo had a career year and was in MVP contention was being able to lean on Murray. Romo had the fewest passing attempts of his career in 2014 in which he played at least 15 games. He only had one 40 attempt passing game in 2014 and was on pace for two 40+ passing attempt games in a row when he was injured in week 2 of 2015. Had he had to carry the team in 2014 he would have never lasted to week 8 after just coming off back surgery. You could tell in the opener vs the Giants WITH ROMO the Cowboys weren't going to be able to run the ball as consistently as they did in 2014 especially in short yardage situations.

Romo was having to dump passes off to Dunbar because neither McFadden or Randle was running the ball well. Murray wasn't a 7-8M player in PHILLY because he didn't fit their offense that ended up getting Chip Kelly fired. He picked the wrong pieces for his offense and it cost him his job. We had a championship caliber offense in 2014 with Murray but Jerry decided we didn't need a big money back with a talented OL he felt that any back could run wild behind and he was WRONG! Any back could have put up under 1089 yards and 3 TD's behind our OL even Randle would have done that had he not been cut. He only had 76 carries and had more TD's than McFadden. The Cowboys being the worst offense in the league on 3rd and one had nothing to do with Romo not being in there.

Practically every team pounds the ball on 3rd and one and if you have a solid OL and a solid back you should move the chains more times than not in that situation. With our OL there was NO EXCUSE for being the worst team in the league at grinding out a yard on 3rd and one that falls squarely on the backs we have. I have no issue with McFadden being part of our rotation next season but if we want to keep Romo healthy and be a championship team we have to do better than an average RB as our workhorse. The Raiders got rid of McFadden because they wanted to get better and if a back can't produce more than 1089 yards and 3 TD's when healthy behind the best OL in football they're not the answer.

 

[KJJ]

A big reason why McFadden stayed healthy in 2015 was due to receiving only 37 carries in the first 5 games. If we start him from day one next season as our workhorse the chances of him staying healthy will be very slim. The career high in carries he had this past season may catch up with him next season. Settling with him as the starter is settling for mediocrity. What we saw from him in 2015 is probably the best we'll ever get out of him.

 

[BigStar]

I think mostly a personnel issue, but play calling was also a part of it. We didn't throw as much in short yardage with Weeden and Cassel because we had little reason to trust them. We could have tried to stretch defenses horizontally earlier than we did, though. We wouldn't have been able to make a living off of tosses and Lucky runs, but at least it would have given defenses something else to think about. We were really slow to switch mentalities from player-based to scheme-based, for whatever reason.

I meant more so that Cassell/Weeden shouldn't have been throwing much at all considering the high rate of success with the RBs on 3rd and 1 (team wide it seems with DMC even better considering the heightened attempts and 15 out of 21 - 71% precision rate).

 

[Bullet22]

Yes and he will be better this next season.....

 

[ActualCowboysFan]

I'm not saying he played poorly I'm saying he was average when you consider he was running behind arguably the best OL in football. Adrain Peterson put up almost 2100 yards in 2012 with a bad QB situation. Ponder had under 3000 yards passing and only 18 TD's. I know Peterson is special but even Murray had more production in 2013 than McFadden.

If you have a great OL and an elite runner they're going to produce regardless who you have at QB. The Rams have a bad QB situation and despite missing 3 games Todd Gurley put up 1106 yards and 10 TD's. Despite Tony Banks and Trent Dilfer at QB in 2000 Jamal Lewis put up 1364 yards and 6 TD's. There's many examples of RBs producing on offenses that didn't have a real passing game.

Dumb agenda pigeons can't math.

 

[percyhoward]

I meant more so that Cassell/Weeden shouldn't have been throwing much at all considering the high rate of success with the RBs on 3rd and 1 (team wide it seems with DMC even better considering the heightened attempts and 15 out of 21 - 71% precision rate).

It's hard to be so one-dimensional and have success. 71% (on runs) would have ranked 8th in the league if it had been for the whole team. But we ran far more than any other team in short-yardage situations when our backup QB were playing, which makes the 71% even more impressive. We passed the point of diminishing returns, but we kept running anyway.

 

[BigStar]

It's hard to be so one-dimensional and have success. 71% (on runs) would have ranked 8th in the league if it had been for the whole team. But we ran far more than any other team in short-yardage situations when our backup QB were playing, which makes the 71% even more impressive. We passed the point of diminishing returns, but we kept running anyway.

Good point and makes sense.

 

[KJJ]

McFadden will only return as the starter if the Cowboys can't do better than him and if they can't our running game will likely be outside the top 10 again and all the pressure will be on Romo. . They found out like many last season that the back matters. I'm sure they would like to see what a great back could do behind their OL. Some can bring up the Pats and the championships they've won despite not having a great back but the Cowboys offense doesn't revolve around a Tom Brady and they've never won a championship without having a great back.

Those who were satisfied with McFadden's 1089 yards and his 3 rushing TD's and would be fine with that same production next season from our lead back must love being average. When you have defensive issues every season and an aging QB who's become injury prone you better have a solid, efficient running game or you'll be sitting home for the playoffs every year.

 

[Doomsday101]

McFadden will only return as the starter if the Cowboys can't do better than him. They found out like many last season that the back matters. I'm sure they would like to see what a great back could do behind their OL. Some can bring up the Pats and the championships they've won despite not having a great back but the Cowboys offense doesn't revolve around a Tom Brady and they've never won a championship without having a great back. Those who were satisfied with McFadden's 1089 yards and his 3 rushing TD's would be fine with that same production next season from our lead back must love being average.

Peterson is the best in the NFL how many rings does he have and how many losing seasons has Minn had with AP at RB? I would like more out of McFadden hell I would like more out of a lot of players on this team. McFadden was not what cause Dallas to go 4-12 hell he exceeded what many here thought and now people are dumping on him? Hardy was suppose to be a stud he looked like crap as the season wore on, Dez did not do much this season and of course QB play was pathetic. With a healthy Romo yes I think McFadden can be a bigger impact than this year lined up behind the likes of weeden, cassle and Moore.

 

[CCBoy]

I think mostly a personnel issue, but play calling was also a part of it. We didn't throw as much in short yardage with Weeden and Cassel because we had little reason to trust them. We could have tried to stretch defenses horizontally earlier than we did, though. We wouldn't have been able to make a living off of tosses and Lucky runs, but at least it would have given defenses something else to think about. We were really slow to switch mentalities from player-based to scheme-based, for whatever reason.

Percy, would you take Matt Forte or Lamar Miller in free agency?

 

[Doomsday101]

Percy, would you take Matt Forte or Lamar Miller in free agency?

Before that can be answered wouldn't the question be for how much? What will be the asking price by Miller? are we talking the same money Murray got? As for Forte how much does he have left and what kind of contract?

 

[KJJ]

Peterson is the best in the NFL how many rings does he have and how many losing seasons has Minn had with AP at RB? I would like more out of McFadden hell I would like more out of a lot of players on this team. McFadden was not what cause Dallas to go 4-12 hell he exceeded what many here thought and now people are dumping on him? Hardy was suppose to be a stud he looked like crap as the season wore on, Dez did not do much this season and of course QB play was pathetic. With a healthy Romo yes I think McFadden can be a bigger impact than this year lined up behind the likes of weeden, cassle and Moore.

AP led the Vikings to the playoffs 3 times from 2007 to 2013 despite Minn having a poor QB situation. Matt Cassel won 3 games with the Vikings in 2013 and contributed to 2 other wins with the help of Peterson putting up almost 1300 yards and 10 rushing TD's. He made Cassel look a lot better than he looked in Dallas with our RB situation that was the worst in the league at pounding out a yard on 3rd and one. The Vikings QB situation of Ponder and Cassel didn't prevent AP from being productive. His QB situation has never kept him from being productive. The Cowboys have only made the playoffs 4 times despite having one of the most prolific QB's in the league because of the lack of a consistent running game and an average to bad defense.

Up until 2014 Romo was having to win games by putting the ball up all day. Games were coming down to him having to make plays and that all changed in 2014 with a great running game led by the top rusher in the league. The only surprising thing about McFadden was staying healthy all season which was due partially to only having 37 carries in the first 5 games. The inactivity early in the season enabled him to survive the final 11 games but he wasn't consistent. He was up one week and down the next. Most of the expectations on this board had McFadden rushing for 1500+ behind our OL if he stayed healthy. Despite a career high in carries he still didn't produce as well as he did in Oakland in 2010. In 2 years the Cowboys have screwed up what could have potentially been a great team right now.

They released Ware robbing us of our pass rush which helped get us knocked out of the playoffs vs Green Bay. We then allow our MVP from 2014 to walk and replaced him with an average back who rushed for 700 fewer yards and scored 10 fewer TD's which kept the defense on the field too long and put games squarely on the shoulders of our QBs. In an attempt to replace Ware we bring in a scum bag who brought tension to the locker room in 2015 completely killing the chemistry we had built the previous season. Now here we are sitting at 4-12 with some here apparently thrilled with what they saw from McFadden last season and wanting him back as the starter. LOL

 

[Doomsday101]

AP led the Vikings to the playoffs 3 times from 2007 to 2013 despite the Minn having a poor QB situation. Matt Cassel won 5 games with the Vikings in 2013 with the help of Peterson putting up almost 1300 yards and 10 rushing TD's. He made Cassel look a lot better than he looked in Dallas with our RB situation that was the worst team in the league at pounding out a yard on 3rd and one. The Vikings QB situation of Ponder and Cassel didn't prevent AP from being productive. His QB situation has never kept him from being productive. The Cowboys have only made the playoffs 4 times despite having one of the most prolific QB's in the league because of the lack of a consistent running game and an average to bad defense.

Up until 2014 Romo was having to win games by putting the ball up all day. Games were coming down to him having to make plays and that all changed in 2014 with a great running game led by the top rusher in the league. The only surprising thing about McFadden was staying healthy all season which was due partially to only having 37 carries in the first 5 games. The inactivity early in the season enabled him to survive the final 11 games but he wasn't consistent. He was up one week and down the next. Most of the expectations on this board had McFadden rushing for 1500+ behind our OL if he stayed healthy. Despite a career high in carries he still didn't produce as well as he did in Oakland in 2010. In 2 years the Cowboys have screwed up what could have potentially been a great team right now.

They released Ware robbing us of our pass rush which helped get us knocked out of the playoffs vs Green Bay. We then allow our MVP from 2014 to walk and replaced him with an average back who rushed for 700 fewer yards and scored 10 fewer TD's which kept the defense on the field too long and put games squarely on the shoulders of our QBs. In an attempt to replace Ware we bring in a scum bag who brought tension to the locker room in 2015 completely killing the chemistry we had built the previous season. Now here we are sitting at 4-12 with some here apparently thrilled with what they saw from McFadden last season and wanting him back as the starter. LOL

and again I don't think McFadden is the same back AP is but having said that I still see no ring on Peterson finger no matter how many yards he has. Minn for the most part has not been a successful team. I'm all for getting a draft pick mid rd to bring in I'm sure has hell not in favor of paying out some big contract for a RB. As much as I liked Murray I did not want to see Dallas forking for 8 mill and even with Murray without Romo this team was going no where since after all he is not Peterson either. No matter how you cut it losing the QB and getting bad play from the other QB hurt the Cowboys and made defending the run a lot easier. Buffalo thought so much cassle they cut him after 1 game, what he did in the past was minimal and with age he is gotten worse.

As good as the OL is it does not matter if defense knows they do not have to worry much about the passing game they can lock down on the RB as once again as bad as McFadden did at least in your mind he was still the 4th leading rusher despite the fact he did not start until game 6 of the season and still ended up outrushing more every back in the league except for AP, Doug Martin, and Todd Gurley

As for McFadden starting again I think he should go out and earn it not be handed the job.