I don't think they are looking for that much out of Michael. What we really lost with Murry leaving was that guy you can hand the ball off to over and over again in the 4th quarter to close out a win. If Michael can do that kind of work, it's well worth bringing him in as part of the committee.
Murray wasn't a big part of our wins in those situations (tied or leading in 4th qtr or OT of win). That is to say, his contributions didn't compare particularly well to the rest of the league. His real value wasn't as a "closer," it was as an every-down back.
There were 10 backs with at least 20 attempts when tied or leading in 4th qtr or OT of win who ran for more yards on average, and more first downs per attempt than Murray.
Forsett 44 att 7.8 ypa 31.8%
Pierce 27 att 6.1 ypa 25.9%
Blount 33 att 5.7 ypa 30.3%
Hill 49 att 5.4 ypa 22.4%
Foster 23 att 5.4 ypa 30.4%
Ingram 32 att 5.2 ypa 21.9%
Lynch 58 att 5.1 ypa 25.4%
JBell 45 att 5.0 ypa 22.2%
Herron 31 att 4.5 ypa 29.0%
Gray 29 att 4.3 ypa 27.6%
Murray 67 att 3.8 ypa 20.9%
If anyone's thinking the low average and poor percentage are a result of the extra attempts, in the first 8 games Murray averaged 3.4 ypa with a 20.9% conversion rate. Murray did a ton of damage in the first three quarters (outgaining the next player by more than 300 yards), but was not an especially good closer in 2014.
When Dallas was tied or leading in the 4th qtr or OT of a game it ultimately won in 2014, its average distance to go on a 3rd down pass play was 8.3 yards, which ranked 25th in the NFL (24 teams had fewer yards to go). Despite this, the Cowboys still converted 47.8% of these, which ranked 8th. Romo's rating on these plays was 135.2.
When we were tied or leading late, we didn't lean on Murray to win the game.
