News: DC: Position Series: RB Depth Chart Behind McFadden Is Troublesome
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Sydla
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Not sure I'll go as effusive as that guy did but I think some of you completely underrate the season McFadden had given the circumstances.
Not saying you are one, but it's bizarre to me how some Cowboys fans can't even just give the guy his due for last year. It's usually the butt hurt ones who wanted Murray back who have the biggest issues with McFadden.
KJJ
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He was "pretty good" considering what little was expected of him but he wasn't consistent from week to week. He had a few good games but several poor games. He only looked good in one of the 4 games Romo played in so I'm not buying that our QB situation hindered his performance. Some of the best rushing averages he had all season came with Kellen Moore in the lineup. Some of his best games came when the Cowboys were done.
KJJ
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He did nothing in the two games he was a backup while Romo was on the field which is why he didn't receive many carries. Against Carolina he had 7 carries before Romo was injured and 3 of those carries were for negative yardage. He only had one yard in 7 carries. The lack of a running game forced Romo to press. Carolina had no fear of our running game and pinned their ears back and came after Romo. No one feared our backs this season.
robjay04
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No McFadden didn't get as many carries because Randle was the starter. Jason has proven he likes to stick with one back.
As far as Carolina? I'm sorry, not blaming that on McFadden. Even if McFadden was struggling, Romo is a veteran, he should never press. I believe it is a silly argument to say McFadden wouldn't have been even better with Romo considering Romo can change the call at the line to put players in better positions, something other QBs couldn't do at all or nearly as well.
Regardless, we are arguing for the sake of arguing. I want another back in there taking the bulk of the carries but I think McFadden was pretty good, all things considered.
Reverend Conehead
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^^^ This. If Murray had been back, no way he would have had anything like the 2014 year. The team's weakened passing game does affect the running game. There's no way around that. By the same token, if we had had McFadden instead of Murray in 2014, I suspect McFadden could have had an amazing year. An 1800 yard one? I don't know that. No one can know for sure how many yards, but when you have the combination of a stellar passing game and an O-line that does a great job opening up running lanes, that's everything a quality running back needs for a great year. I don't believe any old scrub could do it, but a quality RB can, and that describes both Murray and McFadden.
That said, I'm not opposed to drafting a running back around the 4th round. Competition is a good thing. Turbin showed promise, but if there's someone better in the draft, it's worth going for it.
Silver N Blue
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Yeah I was not in the Murray fan club I just don't think dmac had an "outstanding" year. Adequate yes and clearly replaceable but the guy was not a game changer and he didn't help his team win a game. I just think outstanding is reserved for a rb who actually helps his team win games.
StarBoyz83
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I'd be interested in joique bell. Can't imagine he'd be asking for too much money.
jnday
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Also was the the least feared and lowest impact RB in the league considering this great season.
Reverend Conehead
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?????????
Over 1000 yards in 12 games is low impact?
I don't know how anyone can look at McFadden's performance and not see that he was effective. The team's problems were not at running back this season. They were at quarterback, receiver, defensive backs, and especially at the lack of a turnover-causing D.
KJJ
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Randle was the starter because the Cowboys saw him as the better back. Randle had more than twice as many carries as McFadden until Randle got hurt and in trouble again so it's obvious who the team favored. The Cowboys showed after McFadden took advantage of his starting opportunity they were going to go with the most productive back. Despite bringing in CMike and Turbin McFadden continued to carry the load because they saw him as the best they had. Several like yourself pointed to our lack of a passing attack as an excuse for our running game but not having a back who put fear in anyone didn't help our passing attack. McFadden no longer has home run speed and although he was "pretty good' he wasn't good enough unless the Cowboys want to be the Raiders. For Romo to stay healthy and to ever have a chance to lead the Cowboys to a SB before he's done he needs his Terrell Davis to take some pressure off him.
The Cowboys aren't the Pats or some of these other teams that can compete for championships without an elite runner. Not having a great running game or defense and having to depend on Romo to win games has led to far more subpar seasons for the Cowboys than good seasons. Despite him missing only one game from 2011 to 2013 the Cowboys finished 8-8 all 3 seasons and didn't look any better than an 8-8 to 9-7 team with Romo on opening day. Had Romo stayed healthy in 2015 the Cowboys would have been just like the rest of the teams in our division. Not having Romo made us an awful team worse than any of Dave Campo's teams that had even worse QB situations which points to our issues being a lot deeper than not having Romo.
We've had some "pretty good" backs over the years but we need better than "pretty good" carrying the load because every championship team the Cowboys have had, had a lot better than "pretty good" at RB. We have to find a back that defenses respect where they aren't going to just pin their ears back and come after Romo. A great back/running game opens up play action pass. When you're the worst team in the league at picking up a yard on 3rd down I don't care who your QB is you're not going to win many games especially when you have an average at best defense that can create turnovers.
KJJ
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I'm certainly not blaming McFadden for that loss but going backwards on 3 of his 7 carries while Romo was in there didn't help matters any. I don't believe McFadden would have been better running the ball with Romo his great OL should have been sufficient enough for him to be very productive if he was a better than average back. In 2010 McFadden had Jason Campbell and Bruce Gradkowski at QB and that didn't prevent him from rushing for a career high 1157 yards with 10 TD's averaging 5.2 a carry in 14 games. His QB situation stunk worse than what he had this season go check Campbell's and Gradkowski's numbers and his OL was nothing compared to the OL he's running behind with the Cowboys but he had great game changing speed back then.
He had some long TD scoring plays in the running game and passing game that season but he's not near the back he was 6 years ago. He had TD runs of 57 and 51 yards that year with no one coming close to chasing him down. Once he broke the line of scrimmage he was GONE! In the passing game he had a 67 yard catch and run for a TD which is why some FANS were so excited when we signed him because they were stuck in the past with him from 2010. He's not close to what he was then and you could clearly see that on some of his runs that would have been long TD's if he wasn't so stiff and still had great speed.
Craig
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If the cowboys were always losing(they were) and teams just protected the deep ball(the didnt even defend the mid range pass) then dmc would have just been the beneficiary of opportunity. Since that wasnt the case, i dont know how you can look at his season as anything but positive. At the very least, if you want to detract from him, you acknowledge that this line can make any back a star.
KJJ
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What detracts from McFadden is he did what you would expect from an average back running behind a great run blocking OL. He had some production but not near to the level that a great back would have had. He had some good games but too many poor games and proved he's not what he was 6+ years ago. He proved not any back can be as consistent or put up even close to the production Murray did in 2014. The predictions on this board don't lie some thought if McFadden could stay healthy and received enough opportunities he could put up 1500+ due to all the long TD runs he would have because many thought he still had 4.3 speed and they were wrong!
He received 279 touches rushing/receiving and only scored 3 TD's which shows he's not a game changer. Despite 9 fewer touches than he received in 2010 behind a far lesser OL in Oakland and a worse QB situation than he had this season he had 7 fewer TD's and several fewer big plays because he's not what he was coming out of Arkansas in 2008. He had several opportunities to turn a few plays this season into long scoring plays but he can't pull away from defenders like he once did.
He had a 50 yard run vs Green Bay that would have been a 62 yard TD 6 years ago but he got chased down. That drive ended with an INT and no points. He's not going be any faster or shiftier next season and if the Cowboys want to be a great team they have to build a solid defense that can cover/rush the passer and pair their OL with a great young back who has the skills and elusiveness to take advantage of playing behind a great OL.
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Not at 29.
StarBoyz83
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I didn't realize he was that old. So scratch him off.
KJJ
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You can't have one good game from your lead back and a terrible game the next week from them. They can't be up one week and flat the next this is the reason the Cowboys have given up on a number of the backs they've had. Julius Jones had some excellent games for the Cowboys and had very good speed to take it the distance from anywhere on the field but he wasn't consistent from week to week. In 2005 he had a 194 yard game vs Carolina where he averaged 5.7 a carry and the following week he only put up 35 yards on 15 carries averaging 2.7 a carry. He had 116 yards vs NO in 06 and followed that up with 26 yards the next week averaging 2.0 a carry.
That became a theme with him plus he wasn't scoring many TD's which prompted the Cowboys to use Barber in short yardage and goal line situations. The team eventually gave up on Julius because of his lack of consistency. McFadden's season reminds me of Julius' 06 season. McFadden isn't a bad back but there was too much up and down with him in 2015 and he's not putting points on the board. It's been up to our QBs to put up TD's or have to settle for FG's and it's difficult for any team to win consistently like that.
That became a theme with him plus he wasn't scoring many TD's which prompted the Cowboys to use Barber in short yardage and goal line situations. The team eventually gave up on Julius because of his lack of consistency. McFadden's season reminds me of Julius' 06 season. McFadden isn't a bad back but there was too much up and down with him in 2015 and he's not putting points on the board. It's been up to our QBs to put up TD's or have to settle for FG's and it's difficult for any team to win consistently like that.