If the Running Back Issue Isn't a Problem

[sbark]

i am also concerned about defensive tackle. what we have now is Crawford and that's it. I do not believe that mcclain is anything special and the rest are seventh round and undrafted free agents. if Crawford gets hurt we are in serious trouble. hopefully we can pick up another tackle during the cutdowns in preseason this year.

I think the coaching staff sees Whaley, and with the logjam at DE......Gardner as help at the 3 tech spot. Believe T.McClain and Mincie could also give snaps there

 

[jrumann59]

I may pass out laughing though if Randle out rushes Murray this year. It would be comedy gold on Philly sports radio. I think I'd just call in daily as Vincent Price on Thriller.

Dunbar doesn't need to out rush but what if he gets close to Murray's total in Philly, lets say Murray rushes for 1300 and Randle rushes for 1125.

 

[Tommy]

Lets just imagine we been watching Joseph Randle YouTube college highlight clips for months before the 2015 NFL draft and the Dallas Cowboys just selected him in the third round.

Problem solved.

Post of the day!

 

[Bleu Star]

And logic is yours. From the article you posted (in case you didn't read it):

“We’re going to get to see these guys a lot and at the same time we’ll keep our eyes wide open and look if there are opportunities to improve, not just at running back but other positions, and we’ll improve the team.”

If the Cowboys were as panicked as the Internet GMs around here about the RB position they would have traded their souls for the likes of Matt Forte, at this point. Crawl in the bunker. The sky is falling.

Silly things amuse me. You asked me where on the internet it said they publicly acknowledged being open to looking and keeping options open. Did I not provide what you were unable to find on your own reconnaissance? Are we just jousting for sake of measure on a beautiful Sunday?

 

[ThreeandOut]

I don't know which is becoming a more tired story -- this or deflate-gate.

If a Cowboys RB ever gets caught carrying a deflated football, the Internet will implode.

 

[Bleu Star]

My opinion

We are a 13 win team if we add a back capable of 1,500 yards behind this line. Miller, Mason and Christine are all capable of that. I do not feel Randle is.

We are a 10 win team if we dont. Our defense has improved, and combined with Romo, Bryant and our OL are enough to make us a playoff team, but to be elite we must maintain the status quo on offense in terms of TOP dominance. That takes both a dominant line and a very good back. We have one decent in Randle, one role player in McFadden and two others that are marginal NFL players at best. Randle could be a decent starter, but there is a very good chance he is a Troy Hambrick, and at this point in his career asking McFadden to be a starter is madness and shear hubris

Right there with you. It's an incredible chance to take on the heels of such a successful long awaited strategic campaign.

 

[Sportsbabe]

Yeah. What they say and what we post is always an illustration of reality.

 

[Bleu Star]

Lets just imagine we been watching Joseph Randle YouTube college highlight clips for months before the 2015 NFL draft and the Dallas Cowboys just selected him in the third round.

Problem solved.

Uhmmmmmm....

I thought any RB taken not named Gurley or Gordon would do nothing for this team this year? I heard it echoed several times on this very board during draft prognostications. Several... & they know who they are so I am not wasting my time pulling up info. No RB taken outside of the top two AKA 1st round would contribute anything worthy to us this year.

So, with that said, your post holds no water. A+ for creativity though.

 

[skinsscalper]

Silly things amuse me. You asked me where on the internet it said they publicly acknowledged being open to looking and keeping options open. Did I not provide what you were unable to find on your own reconnaissance? Are we just jousting for sake of measure on a beautiful Sunday?

Funny thing is that I never asked you about them publicly acknowledging "keeping options open". You were giving the OP thumbsies that his concern was valid because the team representatives "made public statements" and it wasn't media driven.

Well, you're wrong and your link is the death knell in your argument. First of all, the Jones' never "made a public statement" about anything. They answered a question from a reporter (you know, a member of the media). HUGE difference between a "public statement" and an answer to an inquiry.

Second of all you claimed that the OP was on track because this wasn't media driven when, in fact, the Cowboys have never addressed this issue publicly unless they were pressed by the media. Which would make this.............................wait for it.....................................media driven. In fact, the entire speculation this off-season about the Cowboys RB position has been media driven. Not once had Jones mentioned AP this off-season. Media driven. Not once has Jones offered up that the Cowboys missed in the draft. Media driven. Not once has either Jones said that they weren't happy with the position. Media driven. Weird.

With all of that said, you are correct, sir. It is a beautiful Sunday and I hope you have the chance to spend it with friends and loved ones, sir. It's been a pleasure talkin to ya today, Bleu. Have an awesome Sunday, my friend.

 

[Zekeats]

Please supply link from a quote from Stephen or Jerry saying exactly this.

If you are referring to Jerry's statement last week, well I didn't hear him specifically say anything about trading for a running back.
People take his statement and assume, speculate, hypothesize, theorize and use conjecture.

Yeah, he was looking to upgrade our punter. You got it.

 

[Zekeats]

Yet never once mentioned the RB position. Weird.

Long snapper?

 

[Zekeats]

Where in there did they say for a rb....JJ has said time after time that the running game will be better this season....and he is excited about what DMC can do in this offense....

LOL

 

[skinsscalper]

Long snapper?

Leave it to you to come up with long snapper when talking about a 1st round pick.

Have a good Sunday, trs.

 

[Zekeats]

Leave it to you to come up with long snapper when talking about a 1st round pick.

Have a good Sunday, trs.

Your the one saying that Jerry never mentioned what he would be willing to trade the first rounder next year for. It is pretty obvious to me that he was talking about upgrading the running back position and not for just anyone. It was a clear message toward the Viknings and AP and to think otherwise is foolish.

 

[darthseinfeld]

Uhmmmmmm....

I thought any RB taken not named Gurley or Gordon would do nothing for this team this year? I heard it echoed several times on this very board during draft prognostications. Several... & they know who they are so I am not wasting my time pulling up info. No RB taken outside of the top two AKA 1st round would contribute anything worthy to us this year.

So, with that said, your post holds no water. A+ for creativity though.

I think people are overestimating what we have at HB. I think any player we would have drafted up into the 5th would have at least pushed Randle for the starting job, and probably would have beaten. In fact I think had we landed Rawls as a UDFA he would have been serious competition for Randle

And I dont understand where people are getting that guys like Lamar Miller and Tre Mason arent any better then Randle. They are both significantly better then Randle

 

[skinsscalper]

Your the one saying that Jerry never mentioned what he would be willing to trade the first rounder next year for. It is pretty obvious to me that he was talking about upgrading the running back position and not for just anyone. It was a clear message toward the Vikings and AP and to think otherwise is foolish.

And trading a #1 for AP is also foolish. To send the message to the Vikings that you're willing to give up a 1st is foolish. They're bidding against themselves in any scenario. Starting at the nuclear level is borderline ********. A 1st for say a JJ Watt or even Mario Williams? Nice move. Maybe even Earl Thomas or Justin Houston. Could see an argument for Calvin Johnson or Julio Jones. A 30 year old RB on the last two holes of his proverbial round. Nope.

The point is, that there are several players in the league that are worthy of giving up a 1st round pick to help put us over the top. Tunnel vision on the RB position isn't the be all end all when talking about giving up 1st round compensation. Too bad all you could come up with is long snapper.

 

[ccb04]

Stephen Jones has said they'll continue to look at RB's among other potentially available talent...as they're always looking to improve the talent of the roster as a whole, which is the company line put forth quite often.

Jerry may well be speaking of Peterson when talking about trading a 1st round pick.

In any event, if they viewed themselves as "desperate" or in "panic mode" at RB...they sure had a funny way of showing it during the draft. In fact, in his pre-draft presser...Jerry said that the defense was the priority, and that they didn't see an urgent need to draft a RB. They could've traded up in several rounds...took Ajayi in the late 4th vs. another LB, etc. But they didn't. Perhaps they didn't view any of the RB's outside of Gurley & possibly Gordon, as an upgrade to what they have? Didn't hear anything about them attempting to work a draft day deal for a RB either...with draft picks being coveted during the actual process.

They may well attempt to make an offer for Peterson, etc...(particularly after landing what most considered to be 3 1st rd. picks)...but it's the likes of Sports Overrated (except the swimsuit issue), that's saying they should be desperate. The teams direct actions, haven't shown it to this point.

If they could swing a trade for a guy like Peterson to team with Romo, Witten, Dez, etc...while the window is open, that would be great. Or if they could get a young guy with some potential like Lamar Miller, go get him. Kinda goes back to improving the team when/where possible. Speaking of improving the running game...La'el Collins joins an OL that helped Murray gain nearly 900 yards before contact.

I wanted to keep Murray. I'm from Las Vegas just like he is, and have followed him since he played HS ball for Bishop Gorman. That said, I wouldn't have wanted to see them dole out $20+ million guaranteed to do so. He went to the highest bidder...and to a hated rival no less.

 

[Risen Star]

Not certain but I remember most weren't happy about the OL and were labeled homers for hoping players might develop.

We did neglect the OL some but were greatly handicapped by the cap and a lack of talent at multiple positions.

But you're still right about it being generally marginal overall and was not addressed well in the draft. A fair amount of that was consistently missing on too many OL picks and not simply ignoring it. To be fair some was, again, not addressing it with more resources.

I think it resulted in some injuries to Romo but I don't think it overall made much difference in our records. Our defense has been the primary cause of our failures in the past. Again, to be fair, we could have won 1-2 more games a season with more defense but that is speculative.

The one big disappointment I had with the Parcells era was the failure to evaluate offensive linemen. Which helped lead to that eventual debacle.

 

[skinsscalper]

The one big disappointment I had with the Parcells era was the failure to evaluate offensive linemen. Which helped lead to that eventual debacle.

Yep.

 

[wileedog]

Listed below is the last 10 Super Bowl winners. Not one time does the winner have a top 5 running back in yards and only twice a top 10. Five times their leading rusher was out of the top 20.

*New England won the Super Bowl last year. Their leading rusher was Jonas Gray with 412 yards. He was 47th in rushing. There were 4 QB's with more rushing yards then him.

Asterisks aside, perhaps the best HC and QB in the history of the game. They don't need a running game.

*Seattle won the Super Bowl in 2014. Lynch rushed for 1300 yards. He was 6th in rushing.

Monster defense won for them. And there is no way they are in the game at all without Lynch, whatever his yard total. The rest of that offense was completely pedestrian.

*Baltimore won the Super Bowl in 2013. Rice rushed for 1100 yards. He was 11th in rushing.

It was a complete prayer they even made it to that game after Denver choked away the last minute of he AFC Champ game.

*Giants won in 2012. Bradshaw rushed for 659 yards. He was 29th in rushing.

This is the stereotypical team that just got hot at the right time. Look what they have done since winning that game.

*Green Bay won in 2011. Brandon Jackson was their leading rusher at 703 yards. Aaron Rogers was the next leading rusher at 356. He was 32nd in rushing.

Aaron Rodgers had a 122.5 QB rating for the season that year, threw for 4600 yards and 45 TDs. You tell me Romo is going to do that this year, I will stop caring about the running game.

*Saints in 2010. Thomas rushed for 793. #24

Brees for 3600 and 33 TDs and the 4th ranked D in the league. Again, if you tell me the D will be top 4 I will worry less about RB.

*Steelers 2009. Parker 791. #26

Meh, thanks refs.

*Giants 2008. Jacobs 1009. #15

See Giants 2012.

*Colts 2007. Addai 1081. #18

Payton Manning.

*Steelers 2006. Parker 1202. #12

Top 10 defense, top 7 offense. Do you think we will have a top 10 defense and top 7 offense with of our running game is #12 in the league? Because I think that is a stretch.

So in analyzing these numbers, it looks like 8 of these teams could have had a better running back and at least 5 of them had major issues at running back. But still, they won the Super Bowl.

The problem is the way you are looking at these numbers misses the point. The question is not "does a team need a top running back to win the SB." The question is does THIS team need a top RB and rushing attack to win the SB. The defense is still suspect and if last year proved anything its that Romo needs a quality running game to take the pressure off him. If that falters and teams can go back to blitzing the heck out of him without have to respect the run, and we can't control time of possession and keep a defense that still has holes off the field, THIS team is not winning the SB, (unless the defense completely surprises).