Chuck 54
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That's a bit of a silly stat for anyone that knows football, and I'm assuming the coaches and front office know more football that many of us ever will.
Yes, it takes good blocking. Every man on the OL from the point of attack to the backside seal and the pulling blockers have to get on the right man. However, that doesn't mean there's a hole the size of Montana that any of us could run through. The RB still has to have the natural ability to read the blocks, which are not always the same as designed on paper. He has to know when to hit it hard before it closes and when to slow down and let blocks develop. He needs to know where the LBs and Ss will be coming from before the snap, he needs to have vision and decisiveness. All RBs are different.
To say Demarco Murray doesn't have elusiveness isn't accurate. We see him set up blockers; we see him making decisive moves to daylight. Do we see him juking and spinning to make a player grab at air or break is ankles? No, but Emmitt wasn't that guy either. Earl Campbell, Jim Brown, Eric Dickerson, even Tony Dorsett, all had different running styles than an elusive guy like Barry Sanders, but they were all great runners. Dorsett was smooth as silk because he made one or two decisive cuts and could turn on the jets, but he was never out there juking guys.
I'm not saying Murray deserves to be a top paid RB. I think you can find plenty of RB's in the draft, but Murray is a complete back who blocks, runs, and catches the ball. He has decent speed, and these 15-20 yard untouched runs are not just him taking the ball and running up the field where everyone has been knocked down. Running untouched includes running to daylight and making all the right decisions "on time"....unlike Julius Jones who never seemed to see the correct running path. Murray has the vision to see not only what's in front of him, but also where he's going down the road. He's no Emmitt Smith, but he is effective.
Yes, it takes good blocking. Every man on the OL from the point of attack to the backside seal and the pulling blockers have to get on the right man. However, that doesn't mean there's a hole the size of Montana that any of us could run through. The RB still has to have the natural ability to read the blocks, which are not always the same as designed on paper. He has to know when to hit it hard before it closes and when to slow down and let blocks develop. He needs to know where the LBs and Ss will be coming from before the snap, he needs to have vision and decisiveness. All RBs are different.
To say Demarco Murray doesn't have elusiveness isn't accurate. We see him set up blockers; we see him making decisive moves to daylight. Do we see him juking and spinning to make a player grab at air or break is ankles? No, but Emmitt wasn't that guy either. Earl Campbell, Jim Brown, Eric Dickerson, even Tony Dorsett, all had different running styles than an elusive guy like Barry Sanders, but they were all great runners. Dorsett was smooth as silk because he made one or two decisive cuts and could turn on the jets, but he was never out there juking guys.
I'm not saying Murray deserves to be a top paid RB. I think you can find plenty of RB's in the draft, but Murray is a complete back who blocks, runs, and catches the ball. He has decent speed, and these 15-20 yard untouched runs are not just him taking the ball and running up the field where everyone has been knocked down. Running untouched includes running to daylight and making all the right decisions "on time"....unlike Julius Jones who never seemed to see the correct running path. Murray has the vision to see not only what's in front of him, but also where he's going down the road. He's no Emmitt Smith, but he is effective.
