PFT: Demarco is willing to share the load

[Bleu Star]

That's my boy! For the record, I personally believe our best set is with Demarco in there but its nice to know he's humble about it. His blitz pickup is a cut above any other rb on the roster. Don't believe me? Watch the Texans game replay. Randle's alleged blitz pickup will make your blood pressure shoot through the roof.


+++

DeMarco Murray is leading the league in rushing by a pile, but the Cowboys want to be smart with his workload.

But Murray said Friday he’s fine with that, and will happily accept whatever role the team wants him to play, even if that means Joseph Randle and Lance Dunbar carrying the ball more often.

“I think they know what’s best for the team,” Murray said, via Charean Williams of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. “It’s hard during a game to come out, but those are two good guys that we trust, and we know what they can do. Whatever they feel is necessary to help us win.”

Murray’s playing so well, it’s easy to be tempted to leave him out there. He already has 130 carries, on pace to tie the league’s all-time record of 416 set by Larry Johnson. But he’s also doing other things, as he’s played 280 of the Cowboys’ 348 offensive snaps (80.5 percent).

“Whatever they ask me to do — running catching, blocking — I look forward to it,” Murray said.

If the Cowboys want to beat the Seahawks this week, they’d be wise to lean on him. But if they are to cling to their current form over the course of the season, they might be better served to find him a break occasionally.

http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2014/10/10/2287354/

 

[xwalker]

That's my boy! For the record, I personally believe our best set is with Demarco in there but its nice to know he's humble about it. His blitz pickup is a cut above any other rb on the roster. Don't believe me? Watch the Texans game replay. Randle's alleged blitz pickup will make your blood pressure shoot through the roof.

No RB was going to stop JJ Watt dead in his tracks. Randle's block was the difference in Romo not getting sacked.

 

[Bleu Star]

No RB was going to stop JJ Watt dead in his tracks. Randle's block was the difference in Romo not getting sacked.

Nothing against Randle but I have seen Demarco stone guys Watt's size. Randle pulled a Jenkins there. Well not quite but almost.

I actually like all four of our RBs but only one of four is complete.

 

[Wolfpack]

That is a great statement by Murray, good team mate. I really like him more and more, his blocking this year is amazing. He just doesn't get in the way, he tries to lay some wood on the blitzes…he does all his things with a measure of passion and that makes a good football player.

 

[BigStar]

That is a great statement by Murray, good team mate. I really like him more and more, his blocking this year is amazing. He just doesn't get in the way, he tries to lay some wood on the blitzes…he does all his things with a measure of passion and that makes a good football player.

He is a great teammate and making it hard as hell for me to not rethink the RB policy...just hate to lose that money over an edge rusher/RT in FA. Great player though, wish he would take the 4/16 (probably not happening)

 

[Risen Star]

Oh he's willing? So he's going to let the team play him as they see fit?

This is great news.

 

[Bleu Star]

Oh he's willing? So he's going to let the team play him as they see fit?

This is great news.

Yes it is. The alternative is a Maurice Jones Drew/Jacksonville attitude.

Humble beast. We should feel so fortunate to have his services.

I see what you were trying to do there though.

 

[scottsp]

No RB was going to stop JJ Watt dead in his tracks. Randle's block was the difference in Romo not getting sacked.

Aye, not too many runners are going to be asked to make that block and none will be asked to stone the likes of Watt.

On the point of sharing the load, there is no question that a pitch count should be addressed. I simply want our best running back to be upright after Thanksgiving. We just might have important games in December, and a fresher, healthier DeMarco would be ideal.

 

[xwalker]

Aye, not too many runners are going to be asked to make that block and none will be asked to stone the likes of Watt.

On the point of sharing the load, there is no question that a pitch count should be addressed. I simply want our best running back to be upright after Thanksgiving. We just might have important games in December, and a fresher, healthier DeMarco would be ideal.

The odd part about it is that both Randle and Dunbar have had some success in their very limited opportunities. It's not as if they aren't playing because they failed in previous opportunities.

 

[xwalker]

Nothing against Randle but I have seen Demarco stone guys Watt's size. Randle pulled a Jenkins there. Well not quite but almost.

I actually like all four of our RBs but only one of four is complete.

Check out the play against the Niners when Romo threw an INT in the end-zone. Murray whiffed on a block that caused Romo to roll right and not have time to see a wide open Harris.

 

[rynochop]

Oh he's willing? So he's going to let the team play him as they see fit?

This is great news.

The team that Jones runs? Or does he not run when winning? Hard to keep up with all that

 

[Bleu Star]

Check out the play against the Niners when Romo threw an INT in the end-zone. Murray whiffed on a block that caused Romo to roll right and not have time to see a wide open Harris.

Video or it didn't happen.

 

[BigStar]

Check out the play against the Niners when Romo threw an INT in the end-zone. Murray whiffed on a block that caused Romo to roll right and not have time to see a wide open Harris.

You good...why I rely on you so much in "my" arguments.

 

[marchetta]

Nothing against Randle but I have seen Demarco stone guys Watt's size. Randle pulled a Jenkins there. Well not quite but almost.

I actually like all four of our RBs but only one of four is complete.

A prime example is Romo's OT throw to Dez. Murray stones a blitzing LB (#56 Cushing?) at the LOS. Just absolutely stops him in his tracks, and allows Romo to hit Dez for the eventual game winner. I like Randle, but I doubt he, or Dunbar, makes that block.

 

[Bleu Star]

A prime example is Romo's OT throw to Dez. Murray stones a blitzing LB (#56 Cushing?) at the LOS. Just absolutely stops him in his tracks, and allows Romo to hit Dez for the eventual game winner. I like Randle, but I doubt he, or Dunbar, makes that block.

Correct. That's one example of many. He stopped Cushing in his tracks.

 

[JoeyBoy718]

I want to see him break the record and get 30 carries a game for the next 11 games, but I think it would probably be in our best interest to limit his carries a bit. We'll need him at 100% if we make the playoffs, and he's averaging 5 more carries a game than any other RB (which is a lot considering he averaged about 15 his whole career).

 

[Bleu Star]

I want to see him break the record and get 30 carries a game for the next 11 games, but I think it would probably be in our best interest to limit his carries a bit. We'll need him at 100% if we make the playoffs, and he's averaging 5 more carries a game than any other RB (which is a lot considering he averaged about 15 his whole career).

I would be happy with an average of 25 per game. Give the other 5-10 to the other two.

 

[5Stars]

I would be happy with an average of 25 per game. Give the other 5-10 to the other two.

It's not that easy to quantify those numbers. The score should determine Murray's carries. If the game is close, ride Murray as much as you can for the 25...if the game is not close, rest him and let the others carry some more. Same thing for Romo.

 

[JoeyBoy718]

I would be happy with an average of 25 per game. Give the other 5-10 to the other two.

He's already averaging 26. It was almost 30 earlier in the season. But 26 is a lot and I don't know how long he can sustain this. Here are the numbers of the top 10 RBs in carries per game. I'm surprised how low it is. Only three guys in the league get more than 20 carries per game, and DeMarco is way ahead of the other two. And one of the two is Adrian Peterson, who only played one game this year. So really Murray and Arian Foster are the only two averaging 20+ a game and Murray is 5 ahead of Foster:

DeMarco Murray 26.0
Arian Foster 21.2
Adrian Peterson 21.0 (in only one game)
LeSean McCoy 18.8
Rashad Jennings 18.2
Le'Veon Bell 17.4
Marshawn Lynch 17.2
Giovani Bernard 17.0
Alfred Morris 16.8
Stevan Ridley 16.8

That's a lot of carries for a guy who hasn't played a complete season and has never averaged over 15 carries a game. Throughout his career so far, Murray has averaged only 12.3 games a season with only 14.7 carries per game. If he maintains his current pace this season, we'll be expecting 416 carries from a guy who has never had more than 217. That's asking a lot.

 

[Beast_from_East]

Great attitude, great teammate..........................man I want to resign him and keep this whole running thing going but if he wants $7 or $8 mill a year, I just don't know.