Behind Dallas' move to tag Dez Bryant and let DeMarco Murray walk

[Jenky]

IN THE WORLD of wedding planning, this had to be a first. On June 20, when DeMarco Murray married Heidi Mueller inside an intimate, luxurious, chiffon-draped banquet tent at the Four Seasons in Dallas, the NFL rushing champ had already endured the most eventful and exhausting offseason of his life, one that saw him leave the Cowboys and sign with the hated Eagles. And so it was that Murray, rather than celebrating amid one big happy Dallas football family, found himself constantly reversing field at the reception -- from his new bride and their 2-year-old daughter, Savannah, to his old bosses, owner Jerry Jones and coach Jason Garrett, to former co-workers like Tony Romo and Jason Witten, and then to his newest teammate, Eagles quarterback Sam Bradford. It could have been even more head-spinning had Dez Bryant, the wideout who'd benefited from all the stacked boxes against Murray, not reportedly been a no-show.

The unspoken tension in the room was this: Murray had carried the Cowboys to an NFC East title and their first playoff appearance in five years, inspiring Garrett to vow that the four-year veteran was now the "heartbeat" of the offense. Yet on March 2, when it came time to pick a cornerstone for the future, Dallas passed on Murray and placed its franchise tag on Bryant. That single choice, to invoke the tag -- one of sports' most unique, and divisive, fiscal gimmicks -- set in motion a wild chain of events that ultimately led to Murray's becoming the first running back in 68 years to switch teams after leading the league in rushing. It also shifted the balance of power in the NFL -- and the seating chart at Murray's nuptials.

With training camp and the next chapter of the nasty Cowboys-Eagles rivalry looming, the dance floor was about the last place any of these players wanted to be in such tight proximity sans pads.

So as Murray and Mueller gazed at their five-tier white wedding cake with gold fringe, the innocent bystanders say no one was sure exactly what to expect next.

In a word: awkward.


http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/1...nt-not-demarco-murray-upset-nfl-balance-power

 

[Jenky]

"Jones says the Cowboys had originally been optimistic they could avoid a Catch-22 by getting a long-term deal done with Bryant before March 2, then tagging Murray, allowing the team to secure both. But last November, contract talks were put on hold when Bryant parted ways with agent Eugene Parker for Condon and the management team at Roc Nation."

 

[TheMarathonContinues]

I know I have no proof of this but I just believe the Cowboys wanted to move on from Murray. I just can't believe that if they wanted him here he would be here. They had every shot last season to keep him fresh yet they ran him into the ground and gave Dunbar and Randle essentially no carries?

 

[jterrell]

This is real simple.
Dallas was interested in Murray as he had performed for his career.
They were not interested in paying him franchise money.

They did what the Pats have been doing for years and that is rely on the data and ignore the emotion of it all.

RB has been an enormously bad position to pour big money into and very few guys have great second contract experiences.

The position itself is just not built for longevity.

 

[Idgit]

It was the right decision to pass on Murray. Sooner or later, that's going to become obvious if it isn't already.

 

[HanD]

written from a complete slanted philly perspective IMO.

 

[superonyx]

It was the right decision to pass on Murray. Sooner or later, that's going to become obvious if it isn't already.

I think we can revisit this at the end of the year....of course this is Cowboyszone and we like to revisit it about 10 times per day...

Its tough to make any argument right after our running game looked mediocre last night.

 

[big dog cowboy]

This is real simple.
Dallas was interested in Murray as he had performed for his career.
They were not interested in paying him franchise money.

They did what the Pats have been doing for years and that is rely on the data and ignore the emotion of it all.

RB has been an enormously bad position to pour big money into and very few guys have great second contract experiences.

The position itself is just not built for longevity.

Nice take JT.

 

[Idgit]

I think we can revisit this at the end of the year....of course this is Cowboyszone and we like to revisit it about 10 times per day...

Its tough to make any argument right after our running game looked mediocre last night.

Well, it's definitely true that it will become more clear as the season goes on.

As far as ball control goes, though, I don't see what anybody could be upset about. We were completely controlling the LoS and had no issue extending long drives and wearing down that defense last night. Whether it's called running plays or high-percentage passes to the backs, it doesn't make any difference. It's still the same problem for defenses.

Though I will say that having Randle or Michael or McFadden hurting teams between the tackles adds another wrinkle that would be great to see, too. If we're able to have our way both running and passing, this offense really does become very very difficult to defend. With a healthy Dez, of course.