News: DMN: Will McClay on his confidence in Cowboys' running back-by-committee approach

[darthseinfeld]

I agree here, too. I don't have anything against Dunbar or McFadden, I just think they are both complementary backs. With Randle a question mark, I'd be happier with another option there.

Then again, I don't think the team thinks Randle is a question mark. They have a lot of faith in him.

He has looked good so far. I think how he looks Sunday will be very telling

 

[JohnsKey19]

Agree 100% with his thoughts on Gregory. And obviously McClay knows much more about the talent than me. But Gregory has very rare pass rush ability as a young player. All he needs IMO is to continue to get stronger in his base and legs.

 

[DFWJC]

I honestly have more faith in Randle carrying 300+ times effectively then McFadden even playing 12 with a consistent workload as a runner. However I do also think there is a good chance Randle can do that.

Personally at this stage in his career I think McFaddens abilities are wasted as a committee back and are better used as a specialist. The difference to me is that a committee back you are asking a back to shoulder a solid portion on the running load. A specialist has a defined role, whereas McFaddens to me would be a passing down back. I believe a player with 7 years in the league with a long injury history that has been battered running behind a poor line is not someone you want to count on to be a committee back. But he is a player with a solid all around skill set, still has some juice in his legs and if utilize mainly in the passing where he isnt going to take the pounding and have as much of a risk for injury as he would if he was ask to shoulder a solid portion of the running load

I suspect that Gregory being miraculously there at the end up the 2nd round blocked us from getting a RB early (late 2nd or trade down to early 3rd) in the draft.
And then in the 4th, there were two taken right before us...literally the 2 picks before us. But by then, no telling if they were back that would have helped. I'll be curious to see how everyone does.

Can't say that I'm highly worried about the RB situation, but we could have done a few things that'd have made me feel better.

And yes, if Randle gets 300 carries he's going for 1300+ yards. Not sure that'll happen though.

 

[SPCowboysfan9]

Am I the only one who doesn't like running back by committee?

I am a fan of running the ball effectively whether that's by committee or solo, I really don't care....

 

[ConstantReboot]

SEA obviously wins because they are hard to pass against successfully because they play great defense.

We went to the playoffs because we passed very successfully.

Seattle wins because of defense and their running game. Last year, Seattle was in a slump and they started to get their mojo back once they started giving the ball to Marshawn Lynch once again. They don't win by good defense alone and it also the run game helps set up Wilson with a lot of play action.

As for us going to the playoffs last year, it was because of our running game. The run game sets up the pass. We ran mostly on 1st and 2nd downs which we gave us a lot of 3rd and short situations. Having Murray in on 3rd downs during those situations made it hard for defenses to play against because they didn't know whether if we were going to run or pass. Why do you think that Romo had his best year ever? He also had the one of the highest if not the highest conversion ratings on 3rd downs.

The run game also kept our defense fresh because we were able to control the clock. Last year we had the worst defense in the league and we also lost Ware and Hatcher. Thus one of the main reasons why we improved on defense was because we ran the ball and kept them fresh throughout the game.

We got to the playoffs because of our running game. Once we started running the ball everything on our team improved including the passing game.

 

[BlindFaith]

Am I the only one who doesn't like running back by committee?

Cowboys didn't like it last year either.

 

[ConstantReboot]

I suspect that Gregory being miraculously there at the end up the 2nd round blocked us from getting a RB early (late 2nd or trade down to early 3rd) in the draft.
And then in the 4th, there were two taken right before us...literally the 2 picks before us. But by then, no telling if they were back that would have helped. I'll be curious to see how everyone does.

Can't say that I'm highly worried about the RB situation, but we could have done a few things that'd have made me feel better.

And yes, if Randle gets 300 carries he's going for 1300+ yards. Not sure that'll happen though.

Yes I'm one of those that believe that Garrett wanted a runningback with that pick. But Gregory was too good to pass up. I think thats why Garrett didn't look to happy when we selected Gregory. I also think they were trying to get a runningback in the 3rd as well and the ones that they wanted were gone then. I wish they traded up in the 3rd and I with you that they could have done better. But it is what it is. I believe both Mcfadden and Randle are capable. But they have big question marks coming into the season. I just hope they are productive enough to still make our running game a threat and feared by our opponents.

 

[Vinnie2u]

I don't care if we have 1 running back or ten.. Whatever keeps Romo healthy and from throwing 40 passes a game works for me..

 

[Doomsday101]

We have 3 RBs so we do have a RBBC.

I think Dunbar numbers do not go up much if at all. I do think the carries will be more between Randle and McFadden. I still think a RB needs enough carries within the game to get into a groove, listen to most RB and they say the same, as they get carries they get into a flow with the OL and the speed of the game.

 

[silver]

I don't care if we have 1 running back or ten.. Whatever keeps Romo healthy and from throwing 40 passes a game works for me..

Agree, and limit the snaps on defense. It worked last year. Hopefully we'll stick to the run again this year. It's the secret sauce that the Jones' refer to.

 

[silver]

We have 3 RBs so we do have a RBBC.

Only 2 true runners. Dunbar is strictly a pass catching RB, he's not very effective carrying the ball and we hardly hand him the ball.

 

[jterrell]

Seattle wins because of defense and their running game. Last year, Seattle was in a slump and they started to get their mojo back once they started giving the ball to Marshawn Lynch once again. They don't win by good defense alone and it also the run game helps set up Wilson with a lot of play action.

As for us going to the playoffs last year, it was because of our running game. The run game sets up the pass. We ran mostly on 1st and 2nd downs which we gave us a lot of 3rd and short situations. Having Murray in on 3rd downs during those situations made it hard for defenses to play against because they didn't know whether if we were going to run or pass. Why do you think that Romo had his best year ever? He also had the one of the highest if not the highest conversion ratings on 3rd downs.

The run game also kept our defense fresh because we were able to control the clock. Last year we had the worst defense in the league and we also lost Ware and Hatcher. Thus one of the main reasons why we improved on defense was because we ran the ball and kept them fresh throughout the game.

We got to the playoffs because of our running game. Once we started running the ball everything on our team improved including the passing game.

sigh...
Please do not post things without fact checking them.
Some of you guys have agendas and very poor memories.

SEA lost 5 games all year, only once had a losing streak of 2 or more games.
They came out of that streak by running Lynch all of 14 times; 4 less then the loss the week before.

There last two losses of the year were with Lynch running 24 times each.

SEA was carried by the best secondary in football and a strong running game.
That running game was based upon Lynch being assisted by 850 yards rushing from the QB.

Lynch averaged 18 carries per game in wins and 16.4 in losses. The difference is almost solely due to the 6 carry game in the week 2 loss to San Diego.

SEA got better when it got it's LB corps back and started stopping the run again.

 

[mahoneybill]

Do you feel confident in the Cowboys' running back committee approach?

Will McClay: I still do because No. 1 our offensive line, No. 2 the ability of the guys that are back there. McFadden has taken some snaps here lately. You see his explosion, you see his vision, you see his ability to find creases. He can take it the distance. Joe Randle has done a great job in camp. He's been the lead back in camp. Those flashes that you saw last year, there can be more of those. Dunbar is a guy that ... people think he's a space player. But in this zone scheme, you can see guys that size have production. And the biggest key part of it is Scott Linehan calling plays. He know how to use the players to the best of their ability. The running back by committee deal is something that is gonna hopefully help us have longevity at the position because the running back position is a position that's gonna get injured.

On Randy Gregory

Will McClay: There's some rare, rare traits to him. Pass rushers don't come along with his ability. The thing that people don't know about Randy is how intelligent he is. Rod Marinelli will coach him and he'll tell him something and he picks it up immediately. He's different. He's a great, great young man. He's learning and getting better every day.

Continue reading...

I think he is in effect admitting Murray was pushed to his " last legs".... We don't want to be in that position again, so committee with a mix of skill sets works for us with the O Line and play calling we envision using this and future seasons.

 

[alohawg]

I'm guessing we'll see a lot of McFadden (40%) and Randle(60%) in the first half against S.F. and then the conversation will change. This is it for Darren, last opportunity to change his legacy and I expect quite the effort, we'll see.....

 

[jazzcat22]

I think Dunbar numbers do not go up much if at all. I do think the carries will be more between Randle and McFadden. I still think a RB needs enough carries within the game to get into a groove, listen to most RB and they say the same, as they get carries they get into a flow with the OL and the speed of the game.

Yes I agree, I rather have one RB to carry the load. Not as much as Murray did last year, but still gets the majority of the carries.
I think when they say RBBC for us, I feel more like Randle and McFadden get the main load, and Dunbar gets some plays here and there. More than last year, but not a 3 way split.
If one gets 50%, one gets 40% and Dunbar gets 10% is RBBC still.
I prefer a more 60-35-5 split. Or 55-35-10

 

[jazzcat22]

Only 2 true runners. Dunbar is strictly a pass catching RB, he's not very effective carrying the ball and we hardly hand him the ball.

Yes I prefer this or something similar. One RB getting more carries than the 2nd, but not a bell cow type carrier like Murray was.
Dunbar gets some carries as well as some screen passes. But only a few a game depending the situation.

 

[jterrell]

Yes I agree, I rather have one RB to carry the load. Not as much as Murray did last year, but still gets the majority of the carries.
I think when they say RBBC for us, I feel more like Randle and McFadden get the main load, and Dunbar gets some plays here and there. More than last year, but not a 3 way split.
If one gets 50%, one gets 40% and Dunbar gets 10% is RBBC still.
I prefer a more 60-35-5 split. Or 55-35-10

performance, injuries and hot hands tend to take care of balance issues.

what we should want is a plan to get each guy(JRAN, DMC) 10 carries a week.
if they start with that plan the team will get to 25 per week and no one player will be worn down.
it's much easier to end up overshooting the mark for one guy then it is to be too balanced.

 

[gimmesix]

Do you feel confident in the Cowboys' running back committee approach?

Will McClay: I still do because No. 1 our offensive line, No. 2 the ability of the guys that are back there. McFadden has taken some snaps here lately. You see his explosion, you see his vision, you see his ability to find creases, you've seen his ability to get injured. He can take it the distance. Joe Randle has done a great job in camp. He's been the lead back in camp. Those flashes that you saw last year, there can be more of those. Dunbar is a guy that ... people think he's a space player. But in this zone scheme, you can see guys that size have production. And the biggest key part of it is Scott Linehan calling plays. He know how to use the players to the best of their ability. The running back by committee deal is something that is gonna hopefully help us have longevity at the position because the running back position is a position that's gonna get injured.[/quote]

McClay failed to finish his quote about McFadden, so I FIFH.

I agree with his comments about Randle. I used to think how he does about Dunbar, but he hasn't really shown himself to be more than a space player.

 

[CowboyGil]

In Linehan we trust...
for now.

 

[xwalker]

Im not so ready to dismiss Weems. I want to see more then a few bad games in 1 preseason games. Lets see if he stabilizes

Anyways, its a luxary to have a player on the bench like Parnell. Most teams dont have 3 OT's capable of being viable starters

Yes, in my game review I said that Weems was not as bad as people claim.

He needs a lot of reps. He appears to be strong enough and quick enough to play OT in the NFL.