Dez being Dez

[rpntex]

"They offered Murray a contract during the season. He declined. It seems as though the Cowboys had a number they were willing to assign to the RB position, and Murray did not like that number."

They offered Murray an insult, 5 mil a year, they pay some of their O-lineman the same amount or more. He was practically chased out of Dallas, despite the fact that he made every overture to attempt to work it out so he could stay. He was worth 8 mil a year.

According to what I read, Dallas offered Murray $6m per season, not 5m. There is ONE offensive lineman making more than that, and that is Tyron Smith. Unfortunately, for Murray, that's the market in today's NFL. Your starting QB is typically the highest-paid player on the offense, and the starting LT is next. RBs are usually welL down the list for most every team.

 

[plasticman]

There was no market figures for the leading rusher for the season because this is the first time in over 50 years that the NFL leading rusher in a season played for a different team the following season.

Average yards per carry has nothing to do with winning? What does that even mean? Of course, the more you gain per play, the more efficient your team is, the more scoring opportunities, the longer the drives, the more rested the defense.

The Cowboys converted. 74.3% of their 3rd or 4th down and 1 or 2 yards into 1st downs or TD's in 2014.
They converted 78.5% in 2013 and 70.8% in 2012. They converted 60.2% in 2011.

DeMarco personally converted 83.3% from 2011 to 2013. He converted 77% in 2014.

In other words, DeMarco Murray's performance remained consistent throughout his entire 4 years regardless of how his offensive line was perceived. In fact, his short yardage conversion on 3rd and 4th declined slightly in 2014 as did his average yards per carry. Obviously, we must take into consideration the fact that opponent gameplans were more focused on stopping him in 2014.

This offensive lines talent, skill and performance levels are overrated, discussing their virtues have become the fad in the sports media. . Do not misunderstand me, they have the potential to be one of the greatest in history. However, you would have to show me a much longer interval than a single season for me to be convinced that they are elite. Keep in mind that offensive lineman can get just as banged up as a RB. With the lack of depth they now have, all it would take is a few unfortunate injuries at the wrong time to turn this O-line into a very mediocre one.

DeMarco Murray is the most disrespected, taken for granted player in Dallas Cowboy history. And, just as we found Emmitt's value after two games in 1993 when he sat out with a contract dispute, so will we find DeMarco's true value early in the 2015 season.

 

[rpntex]

There was no market figures for the leading rusher for the season because this is the first time in over 50 years that the NFL leading rusher in a season played for a different team the following season.

Average yards per carry has nothing to do with winning? What does that even mean? Of course, the more you gain per play, the more efficient your team is, the more scoring opportunities, the longer the drives, the more rested the defense.

The Cowboys converted. 74.3% of their 3rd or 4th down and 1 or 2 yards into 1st downs or TD's in 2014.
They converted 78.5% in 2013 and 70.8% in 2012. They converted 60.2% in 2011.

DeMarco personally converted 83.3% from 2011 to 2013. He converted 77% in 2014.

In other words, DeMarco Murray's performance remained consistent throughout his entire 4 years regardless of how his offensive line was perceived. In fact, his short yardage conversion on 3rd and 4th declined slightly in 2014 as did his average yards per carry. Obviously, we must take into consideration the fact that opponent gameplans were more focused on stopping him in 2014.

This offensive lines talent, skill and performance levels are overrated, discussing their virtues have become the fad in the sports media. . Do not misunderstand me, they have the potential to be one of the greatest in history. However, you would have to show me a much longer interval than a single season for me to be convinced that they are elite. Keep in mind that offensive lineman can get just as banged up as a RB. With the lack of depth they now have, all it would take is a few unfortunate injuries at the wrong time to turn this O-line into a very mediocre one.

DeMarco Murray is the most disrespected, taken for granted player in Dallas Cowboy history. And, just as we found Emmitt's value after two games in 1993 when he sat out with a contract dispute, so will we find DeMarco's true value early in the 2015 season.

Your first point is ridiculous. There is always a "market value" - it is what teams are willing to pay for the position. And outside of four markets (Minnesota, Seattle, & now Buffalo & Philadelphia), nobody pays their top back anywhere near $8M per season. Dallas offered Murray $6M because that was their budget, and it was the fair market value.

As to your second point, average YPC doesn't always translate into success. Look at Barry Sanders. Career YPC of 5.0, but what did his teams win? Sanders' YPC was always skewed by his long runs. He'd average 5 YPC by having one run of 40 yards mixed in with 9 carries of 1 or 2 yards. Looks great on paper, right? Murray had several of the same type games in Dallas. I remember the stuff hitting the fan around here back in 2013 when Murray ran the ball only 9 times in a game for 36 yards (can't recall the opponent). Certain football "experts" around here ranted "he was averaging 4 YPC-they shoukd have run more". No argument here - Dallas should have run more. What they wouildn't acknowledge was that outside of one 27-yard run, he carried the ball 8 times for 9 yards. YPC was not a fair indicator of his effectiveness that day.

He didn't have many games like that last season, I will admit. He was much more consistent, to be sure. BUT, he was in a contract year. Funny thing about Murray - the only two times he's played a full season since high school were "contract" years. One was his senior year at OU, the other last year in Dallas.