Cowboys wanted Demarco back before he went to Titans

[Nightman]

Geoff Mosher of 97.5 in Philadelphia is reporting that the Titans swapped 4th round picks with the Eagles in exchange for DeMarco Murray. If true, that means the Titans move from pick 97 (2nd pick of 4th round) to pick 110 (15th pick in 4th round).* I would say that is a steal, but I don't think steal is a strong enough word. Jon Robinson upgraded the running back position astronomically without even giving up a pick. All he did was move down 13 spots.

The only question I have left is where has Jon Robinson been all of our lives?? This is officially a trade that has no downside. A lot of people are knocking the Titans because Murray didn't look good last year. I believe that was a result of being in the wrong system, but even if it wasn't and Murray truly is done, all Robinson gave up was 13 spots in the 4th round. That is HUGE!!!!1

We will have a DeMarco Murray approval poll up later today.

*Current numbers before compensatory picks have been announced.

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so this seems to indicate Tenn is not paying Murrays salary in 2016 ??
It would seem murray is playing for the 6 mil G that phil is paying, with 3 more in 2017.
Then he would get incentives for 2016 from Tenn if he does good in 2016.

Or Tenn thinks the 12 mil G is not a big deal.
I would love to know what cowboys offered if anyone can find out,

TENN is paying him 6m this year with incentives up to 2m more.

3m of his 2017 is also fully guaranteed right now. If he gets cut after this year he gets 9m total from TENN, just like PHI was liable for. The contracts are nearly identical, just a couple incentives.

The draft swap is equal to an early 5th rounder.

 

[DandyDon52]

TENN is paying him 6m this year with incentives up to 2m more.

3m of his 2017 is also fully guaranteed right now. If he gets cut after this year he gets 9m total from TENN, just like PHI was liable for. The contracts are nearly identical, just a couple incentives.

The draft swap is equal to an early 5th rounder.

So dallas just did not want to pay him that much per year ? 6 mil + incentives?
The G money isnt that bad is it?
And as for swapping 4th round picks, that isnt bad as dallas 4th round picks rarely wind up playing.
I guess dallas does not want to pay any back more than what 2 mil a year ?

 

[Nightman]

So dallas just did not want to pay him that much per year ? 6 mil + incentives?
The G money isnt that bad is it?
And as for swapping 4th round picks, that isnt bad as dallas 4th round picks rarely wind up playing.
I guess dallas does not want to pay any back more than what 2 mil a year ?

I think it is still going to be close to 8m per year with incentives. DAL never wanted to go that high.

 

[TX Cowboy]

At least we know there are some brain cells left in Dallas wipes brow

 

[DandyDon52]

We finally know the terms of the DeMarco Murray deal. The Titans and Eagles swapped 4th round picks in exchange for Murray. That means the Titans only had to move down 13 picks to get an extreme upgrade at the running back position. His deal is for 4 years and includes $12.5 million in guaranteed money (full contract breakdown here). That was really nice move by Jon Robinson.



Potential Upside
Murray is just one year removed from leading the league in rushing. He is the game-changing running back that the Titans desperately needed. His downhill running style fits perfectly with the type of run game that Mike Mularkey wants his offense to run. Also, the Titans gave up virtually nothing to get him.



Potential downside
Murray struggled last year and was a bit of a malcontent when he wasn't getting the ball. He is also 2 years removed from a season where he carried the ball 392(!) times. That is a huge number that can shorten the career of a running back.

I see this as a clear win for the Titans.
http://www.musiccitymiracles.com/20...do-you-approve-of-titans-trade-demarco-murray
Do you approve of the DeMarco Murray trade?

• 96% Yes (2023 votes)

4% no
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So the titans, who felt Murray fit their offense, had no problems paying Murray that amount, but the cowboys, who
already had success with murray and need a RB like him, had a problem (again) paying him that much.

It will be interesting to see how Murray does this year with a coach who maybe knows to run him from the I formation,
and will give him 25 carries a game.
From what I have read their OL isnt as good as dallas, so there is that.
Maybe they will use him more in the passing area, dump offs, and screens.

They have to know he wants a lot of carries per game, and shotgun formation did not make a good run platform for him,
so it will be interesting to see how it turns out.
So will the cowboys, if they actually get another RB lol.

 

[Galian Beast]

For the second year in a row he took the money over everything. I hope he has a terrible year there too.

 

[Oh_Canada]

Who cares? He or any other running back doesn't matter if Romo gets hurt again.

 

[DandyDon52]

Who cares? He or any other running back doesn't matter if Romo gets hurt again.

The RB protects Romo in 3 ways, blocking , dump off passes, and by running good, means less passing.
Romo is unlikely to get hurt handing off on run plays.

 

[percyhoward]

It seems cowboys did not still want to pay him 6 mil a year?

Roger that, Dandy Don.

 

[slick325]

The Cowboys were wise to not re-sign Murray last offseason at the money Philly gave him. They also were wise not to trade for him at that price due to mileage on his body and his age. Dallas underestimated the price tag for a "feature back". Just look at Lamar Miller's and Doug Martin's deals.

The draft is where a "feature back" will be found. College is changing back to the one back system and the League is already starting to follow suit. It will be be more prevalent as of 2017 and going forward but the trend has begun already. The Cowboys were ahead of the curve for once in 2014 when it came to having a "feature back" vs. a RBBC system.

Hopefully a premium pick (rounds 1-3) is used on one this draft or next. Especially knowing what an elite runner means in Dallas' scheme. I think the front office already is aware and will act accordingly.

 

[Oh_Canada]

The RB protects Romo in 3 ways, blocking , dump off passes, and by running good, means less passing.
Romo is unlikely to get hurt handing off on run plays.

You don't win running the ball. Eventually some team with a better passing game will beat you, especially when you have little pass rush of your own. If Dallas had the Broncos defense of last year maybe, they don't.

 

[percyhoward]

Running good, means less passing.

It can, but more passing (like we saw in 2015) doesn't mean you aren't running well. We ran better in 2015 than in the second half of 2014.

All the info in this post is for games 9-16 of 2014. We kept feeding Murray the rock in the second half of the season, even though his average went down because defenses knew what was coming. On 1st & 10, Dallas ran 69% of the time, most in the NFL. The average team ran 53% of the time. For us to run that much, Murray must have been great on 1st & 10, right? Not really.

There were 31 players with at least 40 rushing attempts on 1st & 10, and Murray's ypc ranked 16th -- right in the middle. So why all the running on 1st & 10? Because the offense didn't suffer when that run got stuffed. The following table is 2nd down, 8-12 yards to go (the situation you're in after your 1st-down play gains between -2 and 2 yards).

For those who don't recognize it, that's a perfect passer rating. On 41 attempts. Murray was just average on 1st & 10, but it didn't matter, because our QB was freakish on 2nd & long. And it wasn't a case of catching defenses by surprise, because our run/pass ratio on 2nd & long was right at the league average for the second half of 2014. If you're wondering, Murray's 1st & 10 runs gained 2 yards or less 44% of the time.

In 2015, McFadden's 1st & 10 runs gained 2 yards or less 37% of the time, and he averaged 4.8 yards per rush. But our four QB combined for a 53.8 rating on 2nd down.

 

[casmith07]

2015 was a terrible year for featured backs because of injuries. Around 8-10 RBs ranked higher than DMC missed significant time. DMC's 4th place finish with 1089 yds would have been 10th or 11th in 2013 and 2014.

But we'll still let them believe 2015 was a better rushing team than 2014.

evrry year is its own year. That's all anyone is trying to say.

Of course nobody thinks that McFadden is objectively better than Murray.

 

[TrailBlazer]

I would've inquired about the Eagles RB that is actually still good, Ryan Mathews.

 

[DandyDon52]

I would've inquired about the Eagles RB that is actually still good, Ryan Mathews.

The eagles say he is available, so they dont want him, and I guess may cut him later if no one makes a deal.

 

[DandyDon52]

It can, but more passing (like we saw in 2015) doesn't mean you aren't running well. We ran better in 2015 than in the second half of 2014.

All the info in this post is for games 9-16 of 2014. We kept feeding Murray the rock in the second half of the season, even though his average went down because defenses knew what was coming. On 1st & 10, Dallas ran 69% of the time, most in the NFL. The average team ran 53% of the time. For us to run that much, Murray must have been great on 1st & 10, right? Not really.

There were 31 players with at least 40 rushing attempts on 1st & 10, and Murray's ypc ranked 16th -- right in the middle. So why all the running on 1st & 10? Because the offense didn't suffer when that run got stuffed. The following table is 2nd down, 8-12 yards to go (the situation you're in after your 1st-down play gains between -2 and 2 yards).

For those who don't recognize it, that's a perfect passer rating. On 41 attempts. Murray was just average on 1st & 10, but it didn't matter, because our QB was freakish on 2nd & long. And it wasn't a case of catching defenses by surprise, because our run/pass ratio on 2nd & long was right at the league average for the second half of 2014. If you're wondering, Murray's 1st & 10 runs gained 2 yards or less 44% of the time.

In 2015, McFadden's 1st & 10 runs gained 2 yards or less 37% of the time, and he averaged 4.8 yards per rush. But our four QB combined for a 53.8 rating on 2nd down.

McF had fewer carries, so that makes it easier for him to have a better avg doesnt it ??

Do you have any stats and romo's passer rating for the 2 playoff games in 2014 ??
Also do you have stats for the miami and carolina game, just when Romo played?
in the miami game romo and dez were in so that would be a good game to
look at the stats.

Murray is a titan now, so I am glad he is out of Phil , and it will be interesting to see how he does this season there.
It will be fun also to see how McF does as the starter with Romo and Dez, or if dallas gets another RB , how well they
do running.

 

[DandyDon52]

2nd & 10... Dumb play with an empty backfield that is much less likely if Demarco is in that backfield... Demarco commanded that alignment and would have been in there on that 2nd down to (at the very least) protect Romo.

Instead, they go desperate with an empty backfield because, playing the percentages given the RB personnel, there's a higher probability of something positive happening with an extra WR in there vs someone like Randle who couldn't block a lick.

That 2nd & 10 play was "desperation" and it bit us in the collective *****. Again, I maintain that if Demarco was still on the squad last year, he would have been in there and would have stoned #58 right there at the LOS. With an upright Romo and the gang still in tact, we would have been at a minimum 9-7.

Feel free to watch it again. I don't expect to convince the DeMarco haters. But the story tells itself.

Gotta click the link to watch the actual video on YT.

Yeah it says removed, but if you click it , plays on YT.
That was a empty backfield, so you can blame that on coaching,as well as no murray, and then it was a cluster f on routes and
that is on coaching too.
Also on a play like this, as soon as Romo saw the guy coming he should have thrown it away , maybe even in the ground out where witten was.

I am not a big fan of the empty BF, and if they are going to run it, they have to do better with routes, and be able to throw quickly.
I think that one was supposed to go to witten, and when he ran into butler? then tony hesitated, then the guy was in on him.
It was a disaster of a play in many ways.

 

[Toruk_Makto]

For the second year in a row he took the money over everything. I hope he has a terrible year there too.

Why wouldn't he try to secure every dollar he can for his family?

 

[percyhoward]

McF had fewer carries, so that makes it easier for him to have a better avg doesn't it ??

I was looking at the second half of 2014 to get an idea of what would happen to Murray's average against defenses that were expecting run. Even if those defenses still had to fear the #1 pass offense in the NFL. Now what happens to Murray's average against defenses that are expecting run, and don't have to respect the pass? That's really the point -- Murray with a passing threat vs. Murray without.

I don't think looking a pair of games (especially the two playoff games which had little in common, and the two 2015 games you mentioned which had even less in common) is going to tell us much.

 

[Galian Beast]

Why wouldn't he try to secure every dollar he can for his family?

Taking big money up front can cost you a lot of money down the road. You have to have foresight.