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ARLINGTON, Texas—DeMarco Murray can’t be stopped. And suddenly the Dallas Cowboys can’t lose.
It’s as simple as that.
Much will and should be made out of Murray, the fourth-year running back from Oklahoma, rushing 28 times for 128 yards and a touchdown in leading the Cowboys to a 31-21 victory against the New York Giants Sunday at AT&T Stadium.
Murray’s performance was one for the ages, as he ran into history by topping the 100-yard barrier for the seventh straight game.
No one in the history of the NFL has ever rushed for 100 yards or more in seven straight games to open the season.
It surpassed a record Hall of Famer Jim Brown held for 56 years when he rushed for 100 in six straight games to open the season in 1958.
Brown, still considering by many to be the best running back in NFL history, is elite company on any level.
And Murray treated his historic accomplishment with the proper reverence.
“Probably one of greatest running backs ever to play this game,” Murray said of Brown. “I have a lot of respect for what he’s done. In no way am I trying to say I’m at his level, by any means. I’ve got lot of respect for him. He’s a great guy. He’s a great activist in the community. Just a great player and a great person. But I’m not in that category at all.”
Certainly not yet for his career and maybe not ever.
But the categories Murray certainly belongs in are the bell cow of the Cowboys offense and the foundation to their surprising success in 2014.
The Cowboys (6-1) have the best record in the NFL and are the league’s hottest team, riding a six-game winning streak, because Murray can’t be stopped.
He quietly opened the season with 118 yards in a 28-17 loss against the San Francisco 49ers.
They were initially thought to be hollow stats in a game that was over early because of a plethora of turnovers and 28-3 halftime deficit.
But it proved to be the beginning of a record run and a streak to the top of the NFL.
Murray followed with 167 yards against the Tennessee Titans, 100 against the St. Louis Rams, 149 against the New Orleans Saints, 136 against the Houston Texans and 115 against the Seattle Seahawks before Sunday’s run to history against the Giants.
Credit certainly goes to the league’s best offensive line and the rest of his blockers but Murray has been quite special himself.
“He’s off to a great start,” Coach Jason Garrett said. “You’ve heard me say this a lot lately—that it’s a team thing. It’s a collective accomplishment by everybody.
“Bill Callahan and Frank Pollack and the offensive coaches do a great job designing a good run game plan. And I say that as the lead, because teams are coming in trying to stop the run, so they have a lot of people down there. There’s a real emphasis on it. We’re still finding ways to do it. It’s not always easy. It’s hard.
“From a player standpoint, it starts with the guys up front. Tight ends are blocking; receivers are blocking; fullback’s blocking; and obviously the runners are running. DeMarco’s just doing a fantastic job for us. He’s seeing softness in the defense. He’s feeling things. He’s getting north and south. He’s finishing runs, and sometimes when it’s a lot of short gains, backs can get frustrated. But he’s still believing in the runs and making sure he’s giving every one of them a chance. As the game goes on, you see him having more and more success.”
Six consecutive wins have come along with the record carnage.
Now the question is how far can he go?
Murray leads the league with 913 yards, the sixth most in NFL history through seven games. He is on pace for 2,087 this season, putting Eric Dickerson’s single-season rushing record of 2,105 within striking distance.
“He is talented, he is explosive and he is physical,” quarterback Tony Romo said. “He goes out there and does it every single day. It is a great thing to see.”
But more importantly, Murray’s continued success on the ground has the Cowboys thinking they can make a Super Bowl run for the first time since 1995.
Ironically, that was the same year NFL all-time rushing king Emmitt Smith set a team record with 1,773 yards in leading the Cowboys to their third Super Bowl title of the 1990s.
With Murray leading the way, the Cowboys certainly believe anything is possible.
The running game has opened up everything for a Cowboys offense that dominates the clock and time of possession.
The Cowboys lead the league in third-down conversions.
And quarterback Tony Romo has now become accurate, efficient and largely mistake-free because he is no longer burdened with carrying the entire offense.
Romo completed 17-of-23 passes for 279 yards with three touchdowns, an interception and a sterling quarterback rating of 135.7 against the Giants Sunday.
He is now completing an NFL-best 69.5 percent of his passes through seven games.
“The one thing that stands out to everybody is that we are running the ball,” Romo said. “But I think a big part of that is that this is the best we have ever been on third down. That is really changing the game. It is our ability to stay patient and run the ball over and over again.”
The Cowboys plan to keep running the ball and feeding Murray, despite outside concerns they might be wearing him out.
With 187 carries through seven games, Murray is on pace for 427 this season, surpassing Larry Johnson’s single-season record of 416.
The Cowboys are trying to be mindful of his carries.
But they are focused on winning first.
Murray has never carried the ball more than 217 times in a season. And has never played a full season without being injured, missing 11 games his first three years combined.
But the Cowboys believe he can handle the load in 2014.
“Bell cow, whatever you want to call him, we’re going to hand him the ball,” Garrett said. “We believe in that.”
Running backs coach Gary Brown said talk of conserving Murray is new-school thinking borne out of the running back-by-committee approach.
He said the Cowboys will continue to go with the hot hand and roll with Murray.
Certainly, no one has stopped him yet.
And right now, the Cowboys can’t lose.
All quotations obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted.
Clarence Hill covers the Cowboys for the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.
Read more Dallas Cowboys news on BleacherReport.com
Continue reading...
It’s as simple as that.
Much will and should be made out of Murray, the fourth-year running back from Oklahoma, rushing 28 times for 128 yards and a touchdown in leading the Cowboys to a 31-21 victory against the New York Giants Sunday at AT&T Stadium.
Murray’s performance was one for the ages, as he ran into history by topping the 100-yard barrier for the seventh straight game.
No one in the history of the NFL has ever rushed for 100 yards or more in seven straight games to open the season.
It surpassed a record Hall of Famer Jim Brown held for 56 years when he rushed for 100 in six straight games to open the season in 1958.
Brown, still considering by many to be the best running back in NFL history, is elite company on any level.
And Murray treated his historic accomplishment with the proper reverence.
“Probably one of greatest running backs ever to play this game,” Murray said of Brown. “I have a lot of respect for what he’s done. In no way am I trying to say I’m at his level, by any means. I’ve got lot of respect for him. He’s a great guy. He’s a great activist in the community. Just a great player and a great person. But I’m not in that category at all.”
Certainly not yet for his career and maybe not ever.
But the categories Murray certainly belongs in are the bell cow of the Cowboys offense and the foundation to their surprising success in 2014.
The Cowboys (6-1) have the best record in the NFL and are the league’s hottest team, riding a six-game winning streak, because Murray can’t be stopped.
He quietly opened the season with 118 yards in a 28-17 loss against the San Francisco 49ers.
They were initially thought to be hollow stats in a game that was over early because of a plethora of turnovers and 28-3 halftime deficit.
But it proved to be the beginning of a record run and a streak to the top of the NFL.
Murray followed with 167 yards against the Tennessee Titans, 100 against the St. Louis Rams, 149 against the New Orleans Saints, 136 against the Houston Texans and 115 against the Seattle Seahawks before Sunday’s run to history against the Giants.
Credit certainly goes to the league’s best offensive line and the rest of his blockers but Murray has been quite special himself.
“He’s off to a great start,” Coach Jason Garrett said. “You’ve heard me say this a lot lately—that it’s a team thing. It’s a collective accomplishment by everybody.
“Bill Callahan and Frank Pollack and the offensive coaches do a great job designing a good run game plan. And I say that as the lead, because teams are coming in trying to stop the run, so they have a lot of people down there. There’s a real emphasis on it. We’re still finding ways to do it. It’s not always easy. It’s hard.
“From a player standpoint, it starts with the guys up front. Tight ends are blocking; receivers are blocking; fullback’s blocking; and obviously the runners are running. DeMarco’s just doing a fantastic job for us. He’s seeing softness in the defense. He’s feeling things. He’s getting north and south. He’s finishing runs, and sometimes when it’s a lot of short gains, backs can get frustrated. But he’s still believing in the runs and making sure he’s giving every one of them a chance. As the game goes on, you see him having more and more success.”
Six consecutive wins have come along with the record carnage.
Now the question is how far can he go?
Murray leads the league with 913 yards, the sixth most in NFL history through seven games. He is on pace for 2,087 this season, putting Eric Dickerson’s single-season rushing record of 2,105 within striking distance.
“He is talented, he is explosive and he is physical,” quarterback Tony Romo said. “He goes out there and does it every single day. It is a great thing to see.”
But more importantly, Murray’s continued success on the ground has the Cowboys thinking they can make a Super Bowl run for the first time since 1995.
Ironically, that was the same year NFL all-time rushing king Emmitt Smith set a team record with 1,773 yards in leading the Cowboys to their third Super Bowl title of the 1990s.
With Murray leading the way, the Cowboys certainly believe anything is possible.
The running game has opened up everything for a Cowboys offense that dominates the clock and time of possession.
The Cowboys lead the league in third-down conversions.
And quarterback Tony Romo has now become accurate, efficient and largely mistake-free because he is no longer burdened with carrying the entire offense.
Romo completed 17-of-23 passes for 279 yards with three touchdowns, an interception and a sterling quarterback rating of 135.7 against the Giants Sunday.
He is now completing an NFL-best 69.5 percent of his passes through seven games.
“The one thing that stands out to everybody is that we are running the ball,” Romo said. “But I think a big part of that is that this is the best we have ever been on third down. That is really changing the game. It is our ability to stay patient and run the ball over and over again.”
The Cowboys plan to keep running the ball and feeding Murray, despite outside concerns they might be wearing him out.
With 187 carries through seven games, Murray is on pace for 427 this season, surpassing Larry Johnson’s single-season record of 416.
The Cowboys are trying to be mindful of his carries.
But they are focused on winning first.
Murray has never carried the ball more than 217 times in a season. And has never played a full season without being injured, missing 11 games his first three years combined.
But the Cowboys believe he can handle the load in 2014.
“Bell cow, whatever you want to call him, we’re going to hand him the ball,” Garrett said. “We believe in that.”
Running backs coach Gary Brown said talk of conserving Murray is new-school thinking borne out of the running back-by-committee approach.
He said the Cowboys will continue to go with the hot hand and roll with Murray.
Certainly, no one has stopped him yet.
And right now, the Cowboys can’t lose.
All quotations obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted.
Clarence Hill covers the Cowboys for the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.
Read more Dallas Cowboys news on BleacherReport.com
Continue reading...