NMfan
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I don’t understand the “sky is falling” thinking from the pundits out there in media land that are predicting the demise of the Cowboys for the upcoming season just because of the loss of Demarco.
Okay we don’t have Murray anymore and his production but let’s say we go from 1800 to 1200 yards using RBBC. Not an unrealistic number at all. I think we have a chance to do better than that.
AdamJT13 posted this: FWIW: Last season, we averaged more yards per rush when Murray was not on the field than when he was on the field. We also averaged more yards per pass when Murray was not on the field than when he was on the field.
However, if we don’t do better is not impossible for the passing game to make up the difference. It is a smaller task than most might imagine.
It is not like we have chopped liver in our passing department. We are not relying on a rookie QB and poor receivers. We do have a very potent passing offense. Romo had one of the best years at QB of anyone in the league last year. We have one of the best #1 receivers in the game. Behind him there is a very good #2, an all pro TE, a remarkable slot receiver and decent receiving backs. And to top it off one of the best offensive lines in the NFL to pass block.
Romo would only need to throw for 38 additional yards per game to make up the difference lost in Murray’s production. At worst we would only have to switch out about 6 rushing attempts for passing attempts each game to accomplish this. Romo was almost dead last in the league in passing attempts. Adding 96 more attempts would only put him in the middle of the pack in attempts last year. He would merely have to be average in attempts to make up the difference. I would actually love it if we did not rely so heavily on the run game.
It is not like a team has to have a single RB take 400 rushing attempts to have success. All the other teams that made the playoffs did not have 1800 yard rushers with 400 rushing carries. There is not a single successful formula for making the playoffs.
Some would argue that we must have rushing success in order to protect the defense.
If our defense got worse I would agree it would be an uphill battle. Two years ago the defense was terrible and last year it was improved but still suspect. Yet it was productive enough to win 12 games. This year it looks to improve even more with key pickups in free agency, returning players and the draft. One could question if the gains will outpace the losses. I for one believe they will. With the improvements I actually think this defense will not just survive games but will begin to dominate in some games. Two years ago the defense struggled to finish games yet we still won 8 games and just missed the playoffs. Last year they upgraded enough to have some key stops. This year I think they will not just survive but will occasionally impose their game play on opponents. I do not think they will be top 5 but maybe top 14. I just don’t think 6 additional passing attempts per game will change the time of possession that much.
I guess all this to say one runner will not make that dramatic of a change to this team. Last I checked this is still a team sport and the loss of one man should not drop the team dramatically especially when that player is not the QB
Okay we don’t have Murray anymore and his production but let’s say we go from 1800 to 1200 yards using RBBC. Not an unrealistic number at all. I think we have a chance to do better than that.
AdamJT13 posted this: FWIW: Last season, we averaged more yards per rush when Murray was not on the field than when he was on the field. We also averaged more yards per pass when Murray was not on the field than when he was on the field.
However, if we don’t do better is not impossible for the passing game to make up the difference. It is a smaller task than most might imagine.
It is not like we have chopped liver in our passing department. We are not relying on a rookie QB and poor receivers. We do have a very potent passing offense. Romo had one of the best years at QB of anyone in the league last year. We have one of the best #1 receivers in the game. Behind him there is a very good #2, an all pro TE, a remarkable slot receiver and decent receiving backs. And to top it off one of the best offensive lines in the NFL to pass block.
Romo would only need to throw for 38 additional yards per game to make up the difference lost in Murray’s production. At worst we would only have to switch out about 6 rushing attempts for passing attempts each game to accomplish this. Romo was almost dead last in the league in passing attempts. Adding 96 more attempts would only put him in the middle of the pack in attempts last year. He would merely have to be average in attempts to make up the difference. I would actually love it if we did not rely so heavily on the run game.
It is not like a team has to have a single RB take 400 rushing attempts to have success. All the other teams that made the playoffs did not have 1800 yard rushers with 400 rushing carries. There is not a single successful formula for making the playoffs.
Some would argue that we must have rushing success in order to protect the defense.
If our defense got worse I would agree it would be an uphill battle. Two years ago the defense was terrible and last year it was improved but still suspect. Yet it was productive enough to win 12 games. This year it looks to improve even more with key pickups in free agency, returning players and the draft. One could question if the gains will outpace the losses. I for one believe they will. With the improvements I actually think this defense will not just survive games but will begin to dominate in some games. Two years ago the defense struggled to finish games yet we still won 8 games and just missed the playoffs. Last year they upgraded enough to have some key stops. This year I think they will not just survive but will occasionally impose their game play on opponents. I do not think they will be top 5 but maybe top 14. I just don’t think 6 additional passing attempts per game will change the time of possession that much.
I guess all this to say one runner will not make that dramatic of a change to this team. Last I checked this is still a team sport and the loss of one man should not drop the team dramatically especially when that player is not the QB
