Our allegedly weak running game - Murray at more than 5 yards/carry

[dstovall5]

Actually he leads the league in YPC.... Tied with Rashad Jennings at 5.1YPC and overall 13th in the league in Yards per game at 70.4 despite averaging only 13.9 carries per game...

Actually Andre Ellington does with a 6.0 YPC, but yah 2nd ain't too shabby either.

 

[Hoofbite]

Murray is good when he is playing (and when they run him), however, the Cowboys are ranked 29th (out of 32) in the NFL in rushing yards. Probably even more concerning than that is that the Cowboys are 31st (out of 32) in rushing attempts.

The team itself is averaged 4.0 yards per carry -- which is imminently respectable.

IMHO, it's inexcusable that the team is 31st in attempts.

I wanted to make this bold so I could then say that I agree but you already had it bolded. Red will have to work and I agree.

 

[50cent]

Problem is the run game is inconsistent. The OL needs to do a better job of opening holes. I would also say defense needs to play better and not give up a boat load of points so that we can stay with the run game longer. Kind of hard to continue to run the ball when you start finding yourself trailing in games.

What game outside of NO have trailed by such a wide margin that we had to abandon the run? We've lead several games and still abandoned the run. Been in close games and no runs! Why didn't we continue to run in games that we had the lead (see SD, DEN, NYG1, etc)? It's simple, the run game is a necessary evil that Garrett doesn't believe in.

 

[50cent]

If DeMarco Murray's name was Adrian Peterson and he averaged 5+ YPC on only 14 carries for Dallas, this forum and fan base would have a different outlook on calling it INCONSISTENT.

 

[GusTheo]

Just out of curiosity here, ypc could be misleading. I haven't done any research on this whatsoever so I'm just giving you guys some food for thought.

But if Murray has 15 runs for 100 yards thats a good game right? 6.7 ypc.

Now if 14 of those runs were for 2 yards each (28 yards) and one huge run for 72 yards is that still a good game? It sure as hell wouldn't be consistent. And hypothetically speaking if that run wasn't a TD you can't even say he took one to the house, so would you sign up for that?

I definitely would love the Cowboys to be more balanced, and I don't think theres much to knock Murray about other than his inability to stay healthy, just kinda playing devils advocate here.

 

[50cent]

Just out of curiosity here, ypc could be misleading. I haven't done any research on this whatsoever so I'm just giving you guys some food for thought.

But if Murray has 15 runs for 100 yards thats a good game right? 6.7 ypc.

Now if 14 of those runs were for 2 yards each (28 yards) and one huge run for 72 yards is that still a good game? It sure as hell wouldn't be consistent. And hypothetically speaking if that run wasn't a TD you can't even say he took one to the house, so would you sign up for that?

I definitely would love the Cowboys to be more balanced, and I don't think theres much to knock Murray about other than his inability to stay healthy, just kinda playing devils advocate here.

Yea, but that ain't the case DEVIL!! Too many times Demarco doesn't even get 15 carries a game. Only 3 times over 15 this season. DM has decent averages in games with less than 15 but still never given the chance to let the OLine weigh on the opponent. Our Oline is always playing backwards and never gets to wear a DL down to get DM those 50+ bursts that demoralize teams late.

OLinemen like to force their will too and not always pass block. I say DM and the OLine don't get enough opportunity to show their talent. When they have been given a chance to run block, it hasnt been pretty always but not as bad as folk make it out to be.

I think this OLine craves to get the chance to knock the **** outta the man in front of them 20-25 times a game.

I feel sorry for not only Murray but a guy like Fred that did nothing but grind on opponents in the run game while at Wisconsin. I know that big ugly wants to try and push some folks backwards more than what were doing.

That devil thing was a joke BTW

 

[Sarge]

I am thinking Murray is going to have a big game today.

.02

 

[Bleu Star]

Yes. I'm confident that a hand-off to DeMarco on either of those two down situations will regularly net a first down. No doubt. See what I did there? No stats necessary right? Casual fans... Zzzz

You don't need stats to back that up. You just have to watch the games. Are you confident on a 3rd and 2 or 4th and 2 that we can run for the 1st down consistently? I'm sure not.

 

[Bleu Star]

I'm thinking what you're thinking.

I am thinking Murray is going to have a big game today.

.02

 

[Bleu Star]

Dude. Please break it downnnnn. Preach!

I have been trying to tell them this since we drafted Murray but they occasially suffer from selective hearing.

FEED MURRAY...

Don't sweat the small stuff. The pros far outweigh the cons.

There have been a lot of "fans" blaming Murray and ripping on him all season for the poor running game. It's had nothing to do with Murray and everything to do do with the scheme and dedication (or lack of it) to the running game.

Murray has been at or close to this 5 yards per carry all season. Got a running game like that and the scheme/gameplan ignores it? Completely pathetic.

 

[Bleu Star]

Fact: The Dallas Cowboys win over 75% of their games in which DeMarco touches the ball no less than 15 times.

 

[SportsGuru80]

When Murray steps out of bounds: OMG, i hate how he doesnt finish runs
When Murray gets injured fighting for yards: OMG, he's useless! He's gone next year!

Pick your poison

Exactly... I had no problem with him stepping out of bounds, no need to take unnecessary hits!

 

[ISUFan22]

bump

 

[durrrr]

Wrong. The only thing inconsistent about our run game this season has been the frequency in which a run play has been called. Garrett abandons the run regardless of time or situation. A guy (your featured back) averaging 5+ yards per game is not inconsistent, it misused and mismanaged. Baffles me how your starting running back avg something like this and people still subscribe to the theory that its inconsistent, when HE is OUR RUNNING GAME.

If we had a CONSISTENT 2 back tandem, that didn't produce them I'd buy into this but we have one back that they have used all season and the others are spare parts that have barely seen the ball outside of 2 games and in one of those games Randall performed well under the circumstances.There has never been a RB in history that always got positive yards on every carry. Not one! But after a couple of bad runs, Garrett has somehow Jedi mind-tricked some fans into thinking we suck at it. Fact is, he sucks at employing a balanced gameplan and used this nonsense as a scapegoat and its unwarranted.

PLEASE DON'T DRINK HIS, JERRY'S, BC'S OR ROMO'S KOOLAID ANYMORE. The run game is just fine and has been all season long when utilized and when I say utilized, I mean actually called upon it more than 14 times in a game.

You could easily make the argument that Murray's 5+ ypc would plummet if Garrett instead stubbornly chose to pound the rock in situations where he's opted to pass. I'm not sure I worded that well since I'm on the verge of a food coma but the point is, Garrett's tended to shy away from the run when it's been unsuccessful, which preserves Murray's high YPC. So, yes, consistency has been a problem. Has he bailed on the run too much in the past? Yes, but the oline isn't always winning their battles, either.

 

[durrrr]

Oh, and the complaints about Murray stepping out of bounds are ridiculous, as is the assertion that he "doesn't finish runs."

In the past the guy has taken heat for being overly physical, seeking out contact at the expense of extra yards. He's not afraid of contact.

 

[durrrr]

Murray is good when he is playing (and when they run him), however, the Cowboys are ranked 29th (out of 32) in the NFL in rushing yards. Probably even more concerning than that is that the Cowboys are 31st (out of 32) in rushing attempts.

The team itself is averaged 4.0 yards per carry -- which is imminently respectable.

IMHO, it's inexcusable that the team is 31st in attempts.

Having a historically bad defense skews that.

 

[durrrr]

You can't call your run game inconsistent when your starter is avg 5+.

yes you can

five carries for 8 yards and five carries for 2 yards is a pretty good example of an inconsistent running game that's still averaging 5 yards per carry

 

[durrrr]

i.e. his long gain against the giants a yr ago. He pulled up when he had the opportunity to fight for more yds.

he didn't pull up, he chose to punish a defender instead of letting the defender tackle him

 

[theSHOW]

Today DeMarco won the turkey gobble gobble award with his 3 TDs but his overall average was 3.7 yards per rush on 17 carries. Solid but unspectacular...but solid near the all important goal line. Plus nice checkdown receptions

 

[50cent]

You could easily make the argument that Murray's 5+ ypc would plummet if Garrett instead stubbornly chose to pound the rock in situations where he's opted to pass. I'm not sure I worded that well since I'm on the verge of a food coma but the point is, Garrett's tended to shy away from the run when it's been unsuccessful, which preserves Murray's high YPC. So, yes, consistency has been a problem. Has he bailed on the run too much in the past? Yes, but the oline isn't always winning their battles, either.

Like I've said, it hasn't always been pretty but it's not what some make it to be. Our run game is misused and mismanaged plain and simple. I posted to many stats to keep Going over this but once again they have produced when given a chance over 20 times a game.