Cowboys Rushing Attack (article)

[AzorAhai]

Cowboys Rushing Attack
By Patrick Conn, Managing Editor on May 13, 2015@DraftCowboys

The running back position has really come into question over the last week. The Cowboys did what many including myself thought was impossible, they passed on running back in the NFL Draft. In the weeks leading up to the draft it wasn’t a question of if the Cowboys would take one it was who would they take? The names of Todd Gurley, Melvin Gordon, Duke Johnson, Jay Ajayi and Tevin Coleman floated around for most of the football season and then into the offseason. So now the Cowboys sit with a huge question mark surrounding the position according to the national pundits. You can’t say Jerry Jones didn’t warn you though.

We don’t have that as a must to come out of here with a running back.

— Jerry Jones on drafting a running back prior to the draft.

So here we sit with the rookie minicamp completed and asking that question who will be the feature back of this offense. Offensive coordinator Scott Linehan weighed in on the topic when most seemed to think the Cowboys were going with running back by committee.

These stats have probably been beat into your brain with the fact that Murray had 847 yards before contact. That seems like a lot but when you break it down by rush its only slightly above the league average. When its broken down by carry its 2.16 yards per carry. The NFL average was 1.93 so the margin seems small but when you add them up the gap starts to grow. NFL teams averaged a total of 821 yards before contact. This could have been a larger margin if the running back is decisive and explodes through the gap. A running back with inadequate vision will bring this number down. That seemed to be my biggest knock on Murray last season.

(Continue Reading At)
http://valleyranchoutsiders.com/cowboys-rushing-attack/


Edit: Content added by mod

 

[Broges74]

There we go. Numbers without perspective are misleading. Numbers with contrast are more telling.

I kept asking for a percentage of Randle's before contact to compare with Murray but wasn't sure where to get such a breakdown. Lots of advanced metrics out there for us number geeks but how you read them is more important in a team game like football than it is in baseball or even basketball.

Please link me to some advanced metrics site where I can get a geek woody!

 

[The Quest for Six]

This could have been a larger margin if the running back is decisive and explodes through the gap. A running back with inadequate vision will bring this number down. That seemed to be my biggest knock on Murray last season.This is something that when watching to All-22 film stood out like a sore thumb for Murray all season. As good as he was for the Cowboys there were plenty of yards left out on the field. It was more evident as the season wore on.

This is exactly what I mentioned numerous times watching Murray last year, as good as Murray was, he should have had even better numbers last year.

 

[MichaelWinicki]

Solid article.

 

[JoeKing]

Got to admit... I like it. I like it a lot.

 

[maxdallasfan]

Randle will be a monster this year. Just watch.

 

[Longboysfan]

So running back by this group should go well.

 

[theogt]

There we go. Numbers without perspective are misleading. Numbers with contrast are more telling.

I kept asking for a percentage of Randle's before contact to compare with Murray but wasn't sure where to get such a breakdown. Lots of advanced metrics out there for us number geeks but how you read them is more important in a team game like football than it is in baseball or even basketball.

Please link me to some advanced metrics site where I can get a geek woody!

According to profootballfocus, Randle had 4.2 yards per carry AFTER contact. If we take those yards out of his total yardage, it results in about 2.52 yards per carry before contact. That compares to 2.16 for Murray and a league average of 1.93.

This doesn't mean much as Randle wasn't out there carrying the ball on first downs during the first quarter when defenses were fresh and absolutely knew we were running due to our extreme tendency to do so.

 

[ufcrules1]

According to profootballfocus, Randle had 4.2 yards per carry AFTER contact. If we take those yards out of his total yardage, it results in about 2.52 yards per carry before contact. That compares to 2.16 for Murray and a league average of 1.93.

This doesn't mean much as Randle wasn't out there carrying the ball on first downs during the first quarter when defenses were fresh and absolutely knew we were running due to our extreme tendency to do so.

Exactly. Randle comes in with fresh legs and busts some long runs but can he bust those runs early in the game when the defense is fresh or how about late in games when he is tired. Stats simply don't tell the whole story... they never have. I don't think Randle is an every down back but I think he is a good change of pace back who has take it to the house speed. If he can stay out of trouble he can do well here.

 

[sureletsrace]

I recommend opening this article.

There are some nice spreadsheets with very telling numbers.

Bottom line is - Murray had a freakish first half of the season and a slightly above average second half.

He's replaceable. Murray wasn't Murray until last year.

Last year at this time, there was nobody on this earth saying that Murray was the best RB in the NFL and that he was irreplaceable. Except maybe his momma

 

[DFWJC]

Many here have been saying it all along-- and this really and honestly is not belittling Murray's great season--but his vision and decision-making is not that great.

Then again, it's way harder to do it right time and time again over a 16 game season with that workload.

I wish I liked Randle more personally...lol. The guy kind of iritates me. But he has some key qualities that are better than Murray's on the field.
Maybe he'll grow on me.

 

[MichaelWinicki]

Many here have been saying it all along-- and this really and honestly is not belittling Murray's great season--but his vision and decision-making is not that great.

Then again, it's way harder to do it right time and time again over a 16 game season with that workload.

I wish I liked Randle more personally...lol. The guy kind of iterates me. But he has some key qualities that are better than Murray's on the field.
Maybe he'll grow on me.

This.

I think that's what keeps most from thinking "Hey, Randle did pretty well last season, I have confidence he can do the job."

 

[superonyx]

This.

I think that's what keeps most from thinking "Hey, Randle did pretty well last season, I have confidence he can do the job."

I think this plays a role. The other part is that we have been fooled before by great looking statistical running performances from the change of pace back. Not just on our team but around the league we have seen backs look great until they were the starter.

 

[Future]

This is exactly what I mentioned numerous times watching Murray last year, as good as Murray was, he should have had even better numbers last year.

I mean, that's been a pretty common rhetoric for Murray's entire career. He's never been an instinctual runner.

 

[CowboyRoy]

Cowboys Rushing Attack
By Patrick Conn, Managing Editor on May 13, 2015@DraftCowboys

The running back position has really come into question over the last week. The Cowboys did what many including myself thought was impossible, they passed on running back in the NFL Draft. In the weeks leading up to the draft it wasn’t a question of if the Cowboys would take one it was who would they take? The names of Todd Gurley, Melvin Gordon, Duke Johnson, Jay Ajayi and Tevin Coleman floated around for most of the football season and then into the offseason. So now the Cowboys sit with a huge question mark surrounding the position according to the national pundits. You can’t say Jerry Jones didn’t warn you though.

We don’t have that as a must to come out of here with a running back.

— Jerry Jones on drafting a running back prior to the draft.

So here we sit with the rookie minicamp completed and asking that question who will be the feature back of this offense. Offensive coordinator Scott Linehan weighed in on the topic when most seemed to think the Cowboys were going with running back by committee.

These stats have probably been beat into your brain with the fact that Murray had 847 yards before contact. That seems like a lot but when you break it down by rush its only slightly above the league average. When its broken down by carry its 2.16 yards per carry. The NFL average was 1.93 so the margin seems small but when you add them up the gap starts to grow. NFL teams averaged a total of 821 yards before contact. This could have been a larger margin if the running back is decisive and explodes through the gap. A running back with inadequate vision will bring this number down. That seemed to be my biggest knock on Murray last season.

(Continue Reading At)
http://valleyranchoutsiders.com/cowboys-rushing-attack/


Edit: Content added by mod

Fantastic article. Im glad someone finally did the research to support my gripes about Murray since we drafted him.

-He does not have great vision
-He left a lot of yards on the field
-difficulty running away from people and instead of making them miss, he runs into them and over them.

A shiftier back with better vision and speed will have some incredible runs behind this line.

 

[CowboyRoy]

Randle will be a monster this year. Just watch.

Randle will be the lead back if he can stay out of trouble. And he can carry the load.

 

[CowboyRoy]

Exactly. Randle comes in with fresh legs and busts some long runs but can he bust those runs early in the game when the defense is fresh or how about late in games when he is tired. Stats simply don't tell the whole story... they never have. I don't think Randle is an every down back but I think he is a good change of pace back who has take it to the house speed. If he can stay out of trouble he can do well here.

Randle carried the load in college. He was a do it all workhorse back. That is exactly why they drafted him. You have him totally backwards. He is NOT a change of pace guy that can take it to the house. That is what McFadden and Dunbar are. Randle should get the bulk of the carries when this is all said and done.

 

[MichaelWinicki]

The other part is that we have been fooled before by great looking statistical running performances from the change of pace back. Not just on our team but around the league we have seen backs look great until they were the starter.

No question.

It's another reason why both Randle (51 carries) and Dunbar (29 carries) should probably have had double those numbers.

If they had...

-Murray would have had 316 carries... A much better number in my mind. And the guy would still have had almost 1,500 yards.

But giving Randle 100 carries last season would have given everyone a much better glimpse of "Hey can he handle a lot more carries (like say 250)?" And there would probably be far fewer questions about who the main back was going to be and if he could handle it.

 

[GimmeTheBall!]

Cowboys Rushing Attack
By Patrick Conn, Managing Editor on May 13, 2015@DraftCowboys

The running back position has really come into question over the last week. The Cowboys did what many including myself thought was impossible, they passed on running back in the NFL Draft. In the weeks leading up to the draft it wasn’t a question of if the Cowboys would take one it was who would they take? The names of Todd Gurley, Melvin Gordon, Duke Johnson, Jay Ajayi and Tevin Coleman floated around for most of the football season and then into the offseason. So now the Cowboys sit with a huge question mark surrounding the position according to the national pundits. You can’t say Jerry Jones didn’t warn you though.

We don’t have that as a must to come out of here with a running back.

— Jerry Jones on drafting a running back prior to the draft.

So here we sit with the rookie minicamp completed and asking that question who will be the feature back of this offense. Offensive coordinator Scott Linehan weighed in on the topic when most seemed to think the Cowboys were going with running back by committee.

These stats have probably been beat into your brain with the fact that Murray had 847 yards before contact. That seems like a lot but when you break it down by rush its only slightly above the league average. When its broken down by carry its 2.16 yards per carry. The NFL average was 1.93 so the margin seems small but when you add them up the gap starts to grow. NFL teams averaged a total of 821 yards before contact. This could have been a larger margin if the running back is decisive and explodes through the gap. A running back with inadequate vision will bring this number down. That seemed to be my biggest knock on Murray last season.

(Continue Reading At)
http://valleyranchoutsiders.com/cowboys-rushing-attack/


Edit: Content added by mod

Hey, we half a world-class O line so even Jerra could suit up and half 4.0 yards per carry. Couldn't he? yes?

 

[EMMITTnROY]

I honestly think that DeMarco got all those carries last year because of all the "100 yard games in a row" and "will he break 2000?" hype. I think the coaches and players, much like the fans, kinda fell in love with all the talk about it.