Update on our rushing game compared to rest of league

[superonyx]

So opposing coaches can come up with schemes to make life miserable for Weeden and the running game.
Do you think our coaches can come up with a plan to let Weeden and our running game have some success.
I mean, we do game plan also.

As Jason Garrett said, they will plan for this....they do not want Weeden to be Romo, they want Weeden to be Weeden...they have confidence in him.....
The reason they wanted the FO to keep Murray is obvious, he was a team mate. When was the last time you heard a QB & a WR, or any players come out and say, we don't want this guy.....no matter the performance, good or average or below average.

I think our coaches will try to come up with things that help Weeden. Of course. Will it work? I believe it depends on how successful the run game is.

Plenty of teammates leave teams every offseason. It wasn't just about him being a teammate. Romo told everyone on Jimmy Kimmel what his speech was about to Stephen and Jerry. This was a man speaking from the heart realizing his Super Bowl chances were taking a hit without the AP Offensive player of the year sharing the backfield with him. They didn't lobby for the other players who left to be resigned. Players generally don't comment or get involved with others money. They understand the business of the NFL. All the players both present and former that wanted Murray to stay was about what they felt was best for the success of the team.

But I guess Joseph Randle and the 2 million extra salary cap space we saved by Murray not accepting the offer will be enough to carry us.

 

[jazzcat22]

You are asking A LOT for an RB to "break a tackle" when there are players meeting him in the backfield not even a second after a handoff or them running free on a sweep.

And he made a few of our players look like a fool in the receiving game. The guy still has it, the Philly O-Line is disgustingly terrible.

I am not sorry your Eagles team is not playing well. Why the excuses for them losing and not us winning?

Seems to me Randle had a few plays where he turned a loss or no gain into a gains. McFadden on the check down pass, dragged 3 or 4 Eagles for 3 or 4 yards, getting 9 1/2 yards. And had a few runs where he got an extra few yards by driving the pile. It's not breaking tackles, but it's more than what Murray did once contact was made. he went backwards most of the time.

So Murray hurdled a player, that did not make hive look like a fool. Murray made a good choice there. One of these times he will get racked. then who will the fool be.

 

[mattjames2010]

Raiders OL >>>> Eagles OL....okay. 3.3 YPC >>>> .5 YPC. Can I suggest that Sproles isn't struggling? He's averaging 7.7 YPC so far this season.

Yes, everyone gets that Philly's OL has not done Murray any favors. Oakland's OL didn't do McFadden many favors either.

It's also true that, the Dallas OL hasn't done a great job for the RBs this year. Randle has saved their butt a few times, and on several of those plays he did things Murray couldn't do.

Maybe we just need to let the OL get going, and give the RBs a little bit of a chance before we go all crazy?

Darren Sproles had one carry against us. Guess what it resulted in? -4 yards.

McFadden simply just didn't play well in Oakland. Our RBs are offering us about as much as anyone should expect: A bust of an RB, a change of pace back, and a receiving back - is it really a surprise that our rushing attack is average at best?

 

[jazzcat22]

I think our coaches will try to come up with things that help Weeden. Of course. Will it work? I believe it depends on how successful the run game is.

Plenty of teammates leave teams every offseason. It wasn't just about him being a teammate. Romo told everyone on Jimmy Kimmel what his speech was about to Stephen and Jerry. This was a man speaking from the heart realizing his Super Bowl chances were taking a hit without the AP Offensive player of the year sharing the backfield with him. They didn't lobby for the other players who left to be resigned. Players generally don't comment or get involved with others money. They understand the business of the NFL. All the players both present and former that wanted Murray to stay was about what they felt was best for the success of the team.

But I guess Joseph Randle and the 2 million extra salary cap space we saved by Murray not accepting the offer will be enough to carry us.

Well, then I guess Tony should have done what Brady did, defer some of his money to keep a player. Dez should have said, he would take less to keep Murray also.

 

[Jarv]

You are asking A LOT for an RB to "break a tackle" when there are players meeting him in the backfield not even a second after a handoff or them running free on a sweep.

And he made a few of our players look like a fool in the receiving game. The guy still has it, the Philly O-Line is disgustingly terrible.

I saw Randle break a few tackles in the backfield last week and turn a negative gain to a positive gain.

 

[mattjames2010]

I am not sorry your Eagles team is not playing well. Why the excuses for them losing and not us winning?

Seems to me Randle had a few plays where he turned a loss or no gain into a gains. McFadden on the check down pass, dragged 3 or 4 Eagles for 3 or 4 yards, getting 9 1/2 yards. And had a few runs where he got an extra few yards by driving the pile. It's not breaking tackles, but it's more than what Murray did once contact was made. he went backwards most of the time.

So Murray hurdled a player, that did not make hive look like a fool. Murray made a good choice there. One of these times he will get racked. then who will the fool be.

McFadden wasn't being met in the backfield! There is a damn difference, people. McFadden and Randle have a chance to build up some speed and power.

Anyone suggesting that it's an RBs fault for not making something positive while being met 5 yards in the backfield on nearly every play is showing bias. I wouldn't fault either McFadden or Randle if they were being met well behind the line of scrimmage, the talk would be our O-line underperforming significantly.

 

[Stash]

Way too early to come to any kind of a conclusion on the running game. Factors in both games so far have negatively impacted production. Let's wait until at least mid season before reaching any knee jerk conclusions.

There are only 16 games in a season. To take a look at a trend after 2 of those 16 games is hardly "knee jerk".

While I can and do agree that the Eagles have consistently been tough against the Cowboys' run game, I can also point to an alarming trend that appears to be rearing its ugly head again. A quick move to pass over running.

It's the same flawed tendency this team has had prior to 2014, and the same one they're starting to show this year. Romo's injury is obviously terrible, but losing him may force this team away from once again falling into 'pass happy' habits and to commit to the run.

 

[mattjames2010]

I saw Randle break a few tackles in the backfield last week and turn a negative gain to a positive gain.

Show me a play where Randle was met 5 yards in the backfield on a sweep? Show me their linebackers having free lanes to run through straight to them.

Show me anything remotely comparable to what Murray, or even on Sproles on carry, had to deal with the entire game.

 

[mattjames2010]

And our players said it wasn't true.
Do you think maybe we just played better, and are better. Our OL didn't play stellar either against one of the best front 7 in the NFL.

Our line didn't play stellar, it wasn't a trainwreck either.

 

[superonyx]

Well, then I guess Tony should have done what Brady did, defer some of his money to keep a player. Dez should have said, he would take less to keep Murray also.

He would have. The issue wasn't about the money not being there. It wasn't about Dez. It was the FO not wanting to guarantee more of Murrays contract into the future...

Was it the right move?
I can't say because it would have been a better move if they would have done a better job replacing Murray with more than Randle and McFadden. Was it a good move replacing Murray and only filling the hole with McFadden...absolutely not.

 

[Aven8]

One of best aspects of the Cowboys power running game last season was that is dramatically reduced the number of passes Romo had to throw.

One of the reasons why that matters, as Romo enters his twilight years, is that I'm not sure Romo can hold up to the wear and tear of going back to passing 40 times a game.

Last year Romo averaged 27 attempts a game and, in general, on those passes there was less pass rush because teams were terrified of the running game.

It's just two games in so it's too early to make any definitive judgements, however, IMHO the club has decided to go back the mode of putting everything on Romo's shoulders (so to speak) and I'm not sure that is the best strategy.

It appears they have and that shoulder just got driven in to the ground. I don't care what anybody says this offense is out of whack again.

 

[Jarv]

Show me a play where Randle was met 5 yards in the backfield on a sweep? Show me their linebackers having free lanes to run through straight to them.

Show me anything remotely comparable to what Murray, or even on Sproles on carry, had to deal with the entire game.

Watch the game, Troy mentioned at least once how Randle took a negative run and turned it into a positive. I could give you time frames on Game pass, if you have that?

 

[mattjames2010]

Watch the game, Troy mentioned at least once how Randle took a negative run and turned it into a positive. I could give you time frames on Game pass, if you have that?

I never said that he didn't make something out of nothing. I said show me something similar of linebackers running free into the backfield to meet the RBs 4-5 yards behind the line. That's what the Eagles backs were dealing with.

There is a difference of being met one yard behind the line or at the line and having a LB coming full speed at you the moment the ball is handed off to you. There is no comparison here: The Eagles line was a disaster on Sunday, our line at least showed up.

I can't tell, is this your guys' way of propping up our average backs or just you guys having a grudge against Murray?

 

[xwalker]

Now that week 2 is in the books, we have a little bit bigger sample size since 12.5% of the season has been played. I thought it would be interesting to track how our running game is going in comparison to the rest of the league each week with this being the first entry.

We are currently 20th in rushing offense at 94.5 yards per game.

Last season we averaged 147.1 yards rushing per game, which was 2nd in the NFL behind only Seattle.

So using my UT education I calculate that to be a difference of 52.6 yards less per game we are currently rushing for. Too early to tell exactly why we are struggling running the ball (dropping from #2 to #20), could be injuries affecting how teams play us, could be teams better game planning for us now that they have a year's worth of tape on our line and their tendencies, or it could be that we lost our bellcow and have replaced him with 2nd tier running backs rotating on a committee basis. Time will obviously tell.

We really need to start running the ball a lot better now that Romo is out. We don't have to be #2 in the league again, but we need to be better than #20 considering how many high draft picks were spent on this line.

Don't forget the receiving yards by the RBs.

This year: Total 18 for 211

2014 first 2 games: Total 7 for 52

 

[Kevinicus]

Darren Sproles had one carry against us. Guess what it resulted in? -4 yards.

McFadden simply just didn't play well in Oakland. Our RBs are offering us about as much as anyone should expect: A bust of an RB, a change of pace back, and a receiving back - is it really a surprise that our rushing attack is average at best?

I saw that video of McFadden in Oakland. He got what he could.

You are picking and choosing your arguments. Sproles has a 7.7 YPC on 6 carries. He had one bad carry against Dallas. Small sample size you say? Exactly.

It's still just 2 games, and Randle has shown quite a lot IMO. He did not have great numbers against Philly, but I think he had a lot more than he should have considering the blocking he received. It's silly to think Murray would be doing much more if he was back there...unless you think defenses would just drop back and play the pass if he was in the game?

 

[jazzcat22]

I never said that he didn't make something out of nothing. I said show me something similar of linebackers running free into the backfield to meet the RBs 4-5 yards behind the line. That's what the Eagles backs were dealing with.

There is a difference of being met one yard behind the line or at the line and having a LB coming full speed at you the moment the ball is handed off to you. There is no comparison here: The Eagles line was a disaster on Sunday, our line at least showed up.

I can't tell, is this your guys' way of propping up our average backs or just you guys having a grudge against Murray?

Then how about giving props to our DL for opening up lanes for our LB's to come in and make the play. Give Sean Lee credit, and as he just got DPOW too. Our OL stopped their DL for the most part as not to allow our RB's to get hit in the backfield. One of the so called better DL's in the NFL.
Again, give our lines some credit as opposed to theirs playing bad. Maybe we had something to do with that. Maybe our front 7 is something to be dealt with now. It's only been a few games, but 53 rushing yards per game is a good start.

 

[Doomsday101]

Cowboys need to improve in the running game that is all there is to it. Our longest run is 15 yards and seeing the Cowboys getting stuffed at the goal line does give me reason for concern. Adding to it watching Randle getting stuffed at the 1 yard line

 

[mattjames2010]

I saw that video of McFadden in Oakland. He got what he could.

You are picking and choosing your arguments. Sproles has a 7.7 YPC on 6 carries. He had one bad carry against Dallas. Small sample size you say? Exactly.

It's still just 2 games, and Randle has shown quite a lot IMO. He did not have great numbers against Philly, but I think he had a lot more than he should have considering the blocking he received. It's silly to think Murray would be doing much more if he was back there...unless you think defenses would just drop back and play the pass if he was in the game?

I never said Sproles had a bad game against Atlanta - I have said that Sproles is a better fit for that Philly offense than Murray is, especially if they continue with plays going east to west. Simple fact is, Sproles got hardly any playing time and the one carry he did get was the same results Murray had - being met behind the line.

You saw the video? Yet you didn't noticed McFadden's poor balance, inability to break tackles, bad vision, no strength. McFadden was simply a below average back for most of his career in Oakland.

And Randle has shown to be a good receiver. That's great. When is Randle going to show us that he's a 1,000 yard back? You know, what the majority of you said he'd get easily this year?

 

[Doomsday101]

I never said Sproles had a bad game against Atlanta - I have said that Sproles is a better fit for that Philly offense than Murray is, especially if they continue with plays going east to west. Simple fact is, Sproles got hardly any playing time and the one carry he did get was the same results Murray had - being met behind the line.

You saw the video? Yet you didn't noticed McFadden's poor balance, inability to break tackles, bad vision, no strength. McFadden was simply a below average back for most of his career in Oakland.

And Randle has shown to be a good receiver. That's great. When is Randle going to show us that he's a 1,000 yard back? You know, what the majority of you said he'd get easily this year?

I agree right now you can't even see the bone there is so much meat on it. Right now Dallas is getting by but I think Dallas is going to have to find a way to get more out of the running game

 

[mattjames2010]

Then how about giving props to our DL for opening up lanes for our LB's to come in and make the play. Give Sean Lee credit, and as he just got DPOW too. Our OL stopped their DL for the most part as not to allow our RB's to get hit in the backfield. One of the so called better DL's in the NFL.
Again, give our lines some credit as opposed to theirs playing bad. Maybe we had something to do with that. Maybe our front 7 is something to be dealt with now. It's only been a few games, but 53 rushing yards per game is a good start.

I have already given Lee credit enough. All throughout the game day thread, even mentioning him being the best contender for comeback player of the year.

This doesn't take away the fact that the Philly O-Line was about as effective as they were while sitting on the bench. Mincy also looked like the best run defending DE in the league, as did Lawrence. Their guards are terrible, and their tackles aren't playing much better.