Our o-line is amazing, but we still need a good RB

[Risen Star]

Eh, I wouldn't go that far. Philly's OL is probably near if not as good as ours. If there is a place to find out whether he is really as good as he thinks he is, it is in Philadelphia. I would expect him to have a 1300-1500 yard season there so long as he stays healthy.

I doubt it.

First, Philly's OL has huge issues and had a down year last year. Secondly, the apparent thought process there is more of a two back attack with Murray and Matthews. Plus you still have Sproles in the mix.

Also, they have no vertical threat in their offense. They have Jordan Matthews and a collection of crap at wideout.

Murray will be hard pressed to get 1,000 yards there next year.

 

[Crown Royal]

I think Murray is greatly under-appreciated. I think he was a very physical runner and was good at moving the pile. I like that in a running back. Now I will bash him. Not really, but something to ponder. When a running back is ranked high in yards before contact, that means he has gotten through the big uglies and is facing the smaller linebackers and even smaller DBs. It may be a little easier to break tackles from these guys than it is breaking tackles from 275 lb+ defensive linemen. I think Dallas had a great marriage of good offensive line and good running back last season. Unfortunately, it is not realistic to pay Murray the kind of money he wanted. Dallas has some work to do to find a way to replace his production.

Very fair post. The Marion Barber theory - get me past the front seven and I'll kill the DBs.

 

[Crown Royal]

I doubt it.

First, Philly's OL has huge issues and had a down year last year. Secondly, the apparent thought process there is more of a two back attack with Murray and Matthews. Plus you still have Sproles in the mix.

Also, they have no vertical threat in their offense. They have Jordan Matthews and a collection of crap at wideout.

Murray will be hard pressed to get 1,000 yards there next year.

Yeah I guess I should add "should their OL remain healthy." Their issues last year had a lot to do with losing 2-3 starters before the season began.

And that's a good call on the deep threat. Bradford isn't a stretcher either so that helps. One thing that does go into Murray's favor is that they have a much strong misdirection game there than we ever did.

I'm really curious about the Philly offense going into next season. It's changed so significantly at the skill positions that i have no clue what to expect.

 

[Crown Royal]

I really want @Reality to give @Risen Star negative likes for bringing up this year's draft and comparing it to 2004. That is seriously horrible mojo.

 

[Stryker44]

How do you distinguish a good RB from a good O line?

Barry Sanders for example, had the worst offensive line in the NFL yet was dominant for years.

 

[Crown Royal]

How do you distinguish a good RB from a good O line?

Barry Sanders for example, had the worst offensive line in the NFL yet was dominant for years.

This is a narrative that has grown more and more since he was in the league. It's gone from 'he didn't have nearly the OL as Emmitt' to "worst in the league." Detroit's OL was NOT the worst in the league in the 90s.

 

[kevm3]

The home-run hitter thing is overrated from a runningback. One thing that Murray should be appreciated for was not going down at first contact, which is HUGE when it came to short yardage situations. Our 3rd down conversions were way better the past year. The ability to convert 3rd downs is one of the things that kept our defense off the field for extended periods of time.

 

[bounce]

How do you distinguish a good RB from a good O line?

Barry Sanders for example, had the worst offensive line in the NFL yet was dominant for years.

Some talent transcends the talent around them. Barry was one. Peterson is another. Murray isn't. He is a good RB, no doubt. Even a very good one. But he needs a supporting cast. He's not an "f-it, I'll do it myself" type talent.

 

[KJJ]

That's a distortion of the stance. Nobody has said any back can duplicate that 1,800 yard season. What's been said is Murray is not the main reason for it and the Cowboys would be better off not committing long term to an older, not special RB. Take advantage of that OL and find one of many RBs who can have success with it.

And here's the thing. DeMarco Murray himself will never duplicate this past season.

I haven't seen anyone claim that any back could duplicate Murray's 1800 yard season but several have claimed that a number of backs could have led the league in rushing last season behind this OL. Someone claimed Randle could have put up 1500 behind this OL last season and that's not a distortion. Several have claimed this OL is on par or better than the Great Wall of Dallas. Murray will never duplicate this past season because he'll never even sniff 400 carries again in Philly.

Philly added another solid back in Matthews and will give him plenty of carries provided he's healthy. A lot of things have been said some of which has been ridiculous. Many here didn't want to commit a lot of money to Murray but some wouldn't have a problem kissing off a couple of premium picks and a lot of guaranteed money for a 30 year old AP. Yeah, lets add a player who was accused of abusing his child along with Hardy.

 

[Risen Star]

I haven't seen anyone claim that any back could duplicate Murray's 1800 yard season but several have claimed that a number of backs could have led the league in rushing last season behind this OL. Someone claimed Randle could have put up 1500 behind this OL last season and that's not a distortion. Several have claimed this OL is on par or better than the Great Wall of Dallas. Murray will never duplicate this past season because he'll never even sniff 400 carries again in Philly.

I haven't seen any of these claims.

 

[Risen Star]

Philly added another solid back in Matthews and will give him plenty of carries provided he's healthy. A lot of things have been said some of which has been ridiculous. Many here didn't want to commit a lot of money to Murray but some wouldn't have a problem kissing off a couple of premium picks and a lot of guaranteed money for a 30 year old AP. Yeah, lets add a player who was accused of abusing his child along with Hardy.

My thing with Peterson is he's just a much superior player than Murray. People have constantly tried to link the two as if they're the same. Well, you wouldn't pay Murray but you'll pay Peterson. Well, yeah. I won't pay Flacco either but I'll certainly pay Aaron Rodgers.

Murray had his career year. I'm not fooled by it. He's a nice back who may have some success in Philly but overall he'll under perform over the life of the contract and leave that city hated.

 

[Crown Royal]

The value with Murray is what he did for the passing game. I can't forget the Philadelphia game where he didn't go off, but Philly committed so much resource to stopping him that Romo just said "lol k" and burned them in the air.

That's what I love about having a number one runner over having a RB by committee. I want the offense to know that if you don't respect the guy in the backfield, it can hurt you.

 

[Crown Royal]

My thing with Peterson is he's just a much superior player than Murray. People have constantly tried to link the two as if they're the same. Well, you wouldn't pay Murray but you'll pay Peterson. Well, yeah. I won't pay Flacco either but I'll certainly pay Aaron Rodgers.

Peterson had his career year. I'm not fooled by it. He's a nice back who may have some success in Philly but overall he'll under perform over the life of the contract and leave that city hated.

My thing with Peterson is that I don't think ANY running back is worth over 10 million/year. No matter how special they might be.

 

[speedkilz88]

How do you distinguish a good RB from a good O line?

Barry Sanders for example, had the worst offensive line in the NFL yet was dominant for years.

This is a falacy. Barry Sanders had a some really good OL - Lomas Brown, Kevin Glover are the biggest names. A long the way they also had Bill Fralic, David Lutz, Eric Sanders. Barry rarely ran to a designed hole. He was looking for the homerun on every play so he either made an amazing play or got caught for a loss due to dancing in the backfield.

 

[AbeBeta]

Melvin Gordon had 631 rushing attempts during his 4 year college career with 348 of those coming this past season. That total doesn't make the top 250 for rushing attempts according to the follow list:

http://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/leaders/rush-att-player-career.html

Emmitt Smith had 700 rushing attempts(#213) in 3 seasons. Tony Dorsett had 1163 rushing attempts(#3) in 4 years. DeMarco Murray had 759 rushing attempts(#146). Marion Barber III had 575 rushing attempts. Todd Gurley had 510 rushing attempts.

Sorry kid. I've read so very many threads about how Murray would have a huge drop off after one big carry season. I know better.

Also, not really seeing a lot of recent backs on that list who had much NFL success.

 

[Risen Star]

My thing with Peterson is that I don't think ANY running back is worth over 10 million/year. No matter how special they might be.

Probably not, but in this situation with an aging Romo he might be.

Is a Super Bowl title worth 10 million?

 

[Zekeats]

W

Patriots didn't need a 1000 yard running back to win their Superbowl...the fact is, the offensive line makes the running back, not the other way round..

We are not the patriots

 

[Risen Star]

This is a falacy. Barry Sanders had a some really good OL - Lomas Brown, Kevin Glover are the biggest names. A long the way they also had Bill Fralic, David Lutz, Eric Sanders.

Yeah, he pretty much exposed himself with that comment. Sanders' line was far from the worst in the NFL.

 

[KJJ]

I haven't seen any of these claims.

I've seen plenty of them having been involved in numerous Murray/AP debates. This has been going on since the season ended. There's been countless/lengthy threads concerning both players.

 

[Crown Royal]

Probably not, but in this situation with an aging Romo he might be.

Is a Super Bowl title worth 10 million?

Maybe. That's a huge risk though - aging Romo and aging Peterson.

The defense would need to show signs of being top 10 for me to buy that. And I love Hardy, but I'm not sure I see top 10 yet.