Knotamus
Well-Known Member
- Messages
- 1,682
- Reaction score
- 4,145
Too many people are crying over spilled milk.. Murray is gone folks! He could have taking a very respectable $6 mil a year to stay with his team, his friends, and become a legend in Dallas running behind our OL. But he DIDN'T! It was DeMarco's choice. Yeah Philthy gave him more money per year including a sizable guarantee that I'm sure glad the Boys aren't on the hook for over the next five years. (I.e.- Barber, Austin, Roy Williams, Ratliff.. you get my drift?) If Murray had stayed, he could have easily earned even more money in endorsements while playing for one of the most recognizable sport teams in the world. In the end, he choose to go to our hated rivals and took a shot at us on his way out by saying "I felt that this was a great opportunity for me to win a Super Bowl, at the end of the day" Murray said...Last I checked, the Eagles trophy case is still collecting dust.. not Lombardi's. Good luck with that Mr.Murray and don't let the door hit you on your way out!
And before the Murray lovers start bashing me.. let me state that I appreciate everything Murray was in Dallas and always knew he would be good if not great IF he could stay healthy. (sounds awfully similar to a couple other guys now on our roster) But if I'm being honest, I personally was never a huge fan of his running style. Too may times he seeked contact rather than avoid it. That's not really a knock on him because there are definitely Pro's to his physical style. Randle was absolutely correct in saying Murray left meat on the bone. That's not a big secret.. its been spoken about by others and written about several times. I'm not going to sit here and debate what Murray could have done, but its been discussed several times that Murray took some questionable running lanes when ALL22 footage revealed better options. So in essence, Murrays vision has been questioned. On the other hand, I like watching RB's that threaten to take it to the house every time they handle the rock. And although most people doubt Randle (for reasons that are beyond me), he is a guy that can dance in the end zone at any moment.
Randle has been successful at every stage of his football career, Isn't injury prone, and has shown he can be very successful at the Pro level. Rumor was that Murray didn't want to come off the field.. thus limiting any other RB's chances. Never the less, Randle took full advantage of his opportunities. He has good size, faster, and has proven he can be a play maker.The only knock on the field is his blocking ability? How do we really know this? AND that's a very coachable concern anyway. He was drafted after the 2012 season when Murray managed to start in only 17 of 32 games for Cowboys. So Randle was our insurance policy if Murray couldn't stay healthy. Low and behold, Murray broke out his third season yet still was banged up and played through it. Murray's career rushing average is 4.8ypc.. wanna take a guess what Randle's is with 105 career carries? Well at 23yo, this is Randle's third season and he looks the part, the coaches/FO believe in him, and.. wait for it... is healthy.
McFadden is Randle's insurance policy. At one time, nobody would have questioned whether Darren was a great back. Hell, he was being touted as the next Bo Jackson out of college. But after seven seasons, multiple injuries, and a sorry*** team later.. fans are saying he's washed up. Maybe.. maybe not. I don't believe the FO has plans to make him the feature back. I don't believe the FO wants a feature back. For that matter, I don't believe the FO ever planned to have Murray carry the load or believe he would last an entire season doing so. In his career, McFadden only has 100 more carries than Murray despite three more seasons. McFadden is a big (6'2" 215) veteran back that has good vision, speed, and can block well. Ideally the FO hopes that he can spell Randle, provide veteran leadership, and can rejuvenate his career while playing more as a role player.
Williams is another player bitten by injuries. But when the guy is healthy, He has a skill set that will WOW you. I'm personally rooting for the guy because he has legit shot at the starter role IF he can manage to stay on the field. Much like Sean Lee in a sense, when he is healthy.. he can be a play maker. Like the rest of our RB's, he's playing under a very reasonable contract that wont kill us if we decide to change gears. Dallas is hoping to capturing lightening in a bottle with this guy.
To conclude, Murray was a stud back and isn't going to be easy to replace. But, he wasn't special. Could Dallas have done better? Sure. That's why a lot of folks were hoping for A.P... because although Peterson is 30yo and hasn't played in over a year, he is a special back. Lets face it, unless we would have drafted Gurley or Gordon, we would be naïve to believe any other RB would be better than Randle at this stage of the game. Besides, its been proven the RBBC can win Superbowls. I believe we will be fine at RB and Randle will make this discussion a mute point by the end of the season. With our much improved defense, Dallas will not have to lean on the running game as much and hopefully we'll play with more leads. Thus given Linehan more opportunities to be creative and give others a chance to shine. And if "dirty yards" is your defense.. I hate to break it to ya, but our OL had more to do with that. Opportunity is the name of the game. And this stable of RB's have probably the greatest chance ever given considering the circumstances. With the #1 rated QB, #1 rated OL, arguably the #1 WR and TE keeping the opposing defenses honest.. You couldn't ask for a better situation to be successful.
I'll leave you with this nugget that I recently asked in another thread..
If Oakland would have drafted Murray, Do you think he would have been the rushing champ last year?
And before the Murray lovers start bashing me.. let me state that I appreciate everything Murray was in Dallas and always knew he would be good if not great IF he could stay healthy. (sounds awfully similar to a couple other guys now on our roster) But if I'm being honest, I personally was never a huge fan of his running style. Too may times he seeked contact rather than avoid it. That's not really a knock on him because there are definitely Pro's to his physical style. Randle was absolutely correct in saying Murray left meat on the bone. That's not a big secret.. its been spoken about by others and written about several times. I'm not going to sit here and debate what Murray could have done, but its been discussed several times that Murray took some questionable running lanes when ALL22 footage revealed better options. So in essence, Murrays vision has been questioned. On the other hand, I like watching RB's that threaten to take it to the house every time they handle the rock. And although most people doubt Randle (for reasons that are beyond me), he is a guy that can dance in the end zone at any moment.
Randle has been successful at every stage of his football career, Isn't injury prone, and has shown he can be very successful at the Pro level. Rumor was that Murray didn't want to come off the field.. thus limiting any other RB's chances. Never the less, Randle took full advantage of his opportunities. He has good size, faster, and has proven he can be a play maker.The only knock on the field is his blocking ability? How do we really know this? AND that's a very coachable concern anyway. He was drafted after the 2012 season when Murray managed to start in only 17 of 32 games for Cowboys. So Randle was our insurance policy if Murray couldn't stay healthy. Low and behold, Murray broke out his third season yet still was banged up and played through it. Murray's career rushing average is 4.8ypc.. wanna take a guess what Randle's is with 105 career carries? Well at 23yo, this is Randle's third season and he looks the part, the coaches/FO believe in him, and.. wait for it... is healthy.
McFadden is Randle's insurance policy. At one time, nobody would have questioned whether Darren was a great back. Hell, he was being touted as the next Bo Jackson out of college. But after seven seasons, multiple injuries, and a sorry*** team later.. fans are saying he's washed up. Maybe.. maybe not. I don't believe the FO has plans to make him the feature back. I don't believe the FO wants a feature back. For that matter, I don't believe the FO ever planned to have Murray carry the load or believe he would last an entire season doing so. In his career, McFadden only has 100 more carries than Murray despite three more seasons. McFadden is a big (6'2" 215) veteran back that has good vision, speed, and can block well. Ideally the FO hopes that he can spell Randle, provide veteran leadership, and can rejuvenate his career while playing more as a role player.
Williams is another player bitten by injuries. But when the guy is healthy, He has a skill set that will WOW you. I'm personally rooting for the guy because he has legit shot at the starter role IF he can manage to stay on the field. Much like Sean Lee in a sense, when he is healthy.. he can be a play maker. Like the rest of our RB's, he's playing under a very reasonable contract that wont kill us if we decide to change gears. Dallas is hoping to capturing lightening in a bottle with this guy.
To conclude, Murray was a stud back and isn't going to be easy to replace. But, he wasn't special. Could Dallas have done better? Sure. That's why a lot of folks were hoping for A.P... because although Peterson is 30yo and hasn't played in over a year, he is a special back. Lets face it, unless we would have drafted Gurley or Gordon, we would be naïve to believe any other RB would be better than Randle at this stage of the game. Besides, its been proven the RBBC can win Superbowls. I believe we will be fine at RB and Randle will make this discussion a mute point by the end of the season. With our much improved defense, Dallas will not have to lean on the running game as much and hopefully we'll play with more leads. Thus given Linehan more opportunities to be creative and give others a chance to shine. And if "dirty yards" is your defense.. I hate to break it to ya, but our OL had more to do with that. Opportunity is the name of the game. And this stable of RB's have probably the greatest chance ever given considering the circumstances. With the #1 rated QB, #1 rated OL, arguably the #1 WR and TE keeping the opposing defenses honest.. You couldn't ask for a better situation to be successful.
I'll leave you with this nugget that I recently asked in another thread..
If Oakland would have drafted Murray, Do you think he would have been the rushing champ last year?
