Will Darren McFadden Return As The Starter?

[KJJ]

Also, Randle was the bell cow for the unit.

Elsie ran dry after the first half of games can't blame that on the OL. Randle had almost 100 yards in the first half vs Atlanta and lost yards in the second half. We milked him for everything he had in the first half of games.

 

[KJJ]

I posted many times during the summer that Randle was only good for a few carries and would sputter out and I based it off his history when receiving more than 9 carries. In the games he received 10 or more carries he did very little but looked terrific with 4-9 carries padding his rushing average. He was great coming out of the gate with fresh legs but would flame out once his carries started to mount and that became a clear reality to everyone this past season. All the damage he did was in the first half of games and once his carries started to mount his legs went dead. Those who argued thinking he had the stamina to be effective for 15+ carries a game couldn't have been more wrong.

 

[MichaelWinicki]

That's your opinion but in all the discussion we've had on this the past couple of days you never brought up the OL until now so it makes it appear you're searching for excuses. You and others claimed it was our QB situation that hindered our running game but even with Romo on the field opening day we had little running game from Randle or McFadden which forced Romo to have to put the ball up 45 times which was more times than in any game in 2014. McFadden provided ONE yard in 7 carries vs Carolina putting the game on Romo and he ended up on his back again done for the season. If the QB situation was the problem McFadden wouldn't have had some of his best, most consistent rushing averages the final 3 games of the season with Kellen Moore at QB.

It was obvious from watching those games neither the Cowboys or their opponents put max effort out because there wasn't anything for anyone to play for. The Cowboys, Jets and Bills were out of the playoffs and Washington already had the division wrapped up and were just trying to get through the game healthy. Despite an awful game by Moore vs Buffalo McFadden still averaged 5.2 a carry in a meaningless game. Moore put up 435 yards against a Washington defense that was just laying down but a couple of FANS on the board were jumping for joy after the game convinced he's our franchise QB of the future and that Romo's job could be in jeopardy next season.

I only brought up when the discussion started meandering to "The running game the beginning of the season was very poor."

 

[KJJ]

I only brought up when the discussion started meandering to "The running game the beginning of the season was very poor."

You seem to be pointing the finger at everything but the backs. Percy has you hook-line and sinker believing our running game was better than in 2014 but you're not alone he started a thread (link below) spinning that back in Nov with plenty of FANS buying into it. LOL He proves every year that stats don't tell the whole story and how gullible some are here. Some of you would jump off a cliff with him if he provided a stat sheet showing it would be impossible to perish due to all his calculations. LOL Wouldn't surprise me if he comes up with a page full of stats trying to spin that despite being 4-12 in 2015 this was actually a better team than we had in 2014. Randle started the season for the first few games and got off to a pretty good start in some of those games especially against Atlanta where he put up almost 100 yards in the first half but he would poop out in the second half unless you want to blame the OL for his second half struggles? I've made some very solid points for McFadden not being the starter next season and not one person has come up with anything concrete for why he should remain the starter next season. We only won 2 games with him as the starter and our lack of consistency running the football played a big part in that.

McFadden's longest run of the season was 50 yards vs Green Bay which should have been a TD if he still had great speed. He proceeded to have a negative carry on that drive that put us in a passing situation that resulted in an INT. Our lack of consistency in the running game put pressure on all our QBs including Romo and our RB situation has to be addressed if we want to keep Romo healthy and be a better team next season.

http://cowboyszone.com/threads/this-years-running-game-is-better.337436/

 

[MichaelWinicki]

You seem to be pointing the finger at everything but the backs. Percy has you hook-line and sinker believing our running game was better than in 2014 but you're not alone he started a thread (link below) spinning that back in Nov with plenty of FANS buying into it. LOL He proves every year that stats don't tell the whole story and how gullible some are here. Some of you would jump off a cliff with him if he provided a stat sheet showing it would be impossible to perish due to all his calculations. LOL Wouldn't surprise me if he comes up with a page full of stats trying to spin that despite being 4-12 in 2015 this was actually a better team than we had in 2014. Randle started the season for the first few games and got off to a pretty good start in some of those games especially against Atlanta where he put up almost 100 yards but he would poop out in the second half unless you want to blame the OL for his second half struggles? I've made some very solid points for McFadden not being the starter next season and not one person has come up with anything concrete for why he should remain the starter next season. We only won 2 games with him as the starter and our lack of consistency running the football played a big part in that.

McFadden's longest run of the season was 50 yards vs Green Bay which should have been a TD if he still had great speed. He proceeded to have a negative carry on that drive that put us in a passing situation that resulted in an INT. Our lack of consistency in the running game put pressure on all our QBs including Romo and our RB situation has to be addressed if we want to keep Romo healthy and be a better team next season.

http://cowboyszone.com/threads/this-years-running-game-is-better.337436/

Not true.

Do I think McFadden is the greatest thing since sliced bread?

Nope.

But if I were to have a list of factors that caused the 4-12 season McFadden's performance would rank well below these problems:

-Piss poor passing offense
-A team that was last in the league in negative turnover-differential
-A defense that set a record for fewest turnovers created
-A secondary that is an absolute car-wreck
-A horrible situation at #1 DT spot

Complaining about McFadden is akin to going down on the Titanic and complaining about the long buffet lines.

 

[KJJ]

Not true.

Do I think McFadden is the greatest thing since sliced bread?

Nope.

But if I were to have a list of factors that caused the 4-12 season McFadden's performance would rank well below these problems:

-Piss poor passing offense
-A team that was last in the league in negative turnover-differential
-A defense that set a record for fewest turnovers created
-A secondary that is an absolute car-wreck
-A horrible situation at #1 DT spot

Complaining about McFadden is akin to going down on the Titanic and complaining about the long buffet lines.

We wouldn't have had to rely so much on our passing offense if we had a more talented back. I pointed out the INT vs Green Bay that was a result of a negative carry by McFadden forcing us to have to throw. Had we run the ball more consistently especially on 3rd and short our defense wouldn't have been exposed as much.

The reason the defense looked better in 2014 they weren't on the field as much due to us controlling the ball which kept our D fresh enabling them to force more turnovers. We have plenty of problems on defense but a solid, consistent running game can mask some of those problems by keeping the D fresh and off the field.

 

[MichaelWinicki]

We wouldn't have had to rely so much on our passing offense if we had a more talented back. I pointed out the INT vs Green Bay that was a result of a negative carry by McFadden forcing us to have to throw. Had we run the ball more consistently especially on 3rd and short our defense wouldn't have been exposed as much.

The reason the defense looked better in 2014 they weren't on the field as much and stayed fresher enabling them to force more turnovers. We have plenty of problems on defense but a solid, consistent running game can mask some of those problems by keeping the D fresh and off the field.

The Cowboys went from 3rd to 10th in time of possession.

That's not a dramatic drop-off.

"Protecting" a defense isn't a Super Bowl maker.

And as far as I'm concerned you swop out Murray for McFadden in 2015 and the passing offense was still going to reek.

 

[LittleBoyBlue]

He didn't earn it he got the job by default with the loss of Dunbar and Randle. We entered the season with 3 backs and he was the sole surviver. I don't want to make it sound like McFadden did a terrible job he did play well in some games and ran hard but the consistency wasn't there. It seemed like after a big game he emptied his tank and had nothing left the following week. After an impressive game vs the Giants in week 7 he did very little the following week in a big game against Seattle only averaging 3.2 a carry on 20 carries. With the Cowboys leading 12-10 with around 8 minutes left on a 3rd and 2 McFadden got taken down for a one yard loss resulting in a punt and Seattle proceeded to eat up most of the clock and kicked a FG to beat us. After a 117 yard performance vs Philly in week 9 McFadden was DREADFUL vs Tampa the following week rushing for only 32 yards on 17 carries averaging 1.9 a carry.

The Seattle and Tampa losses really put a dagger in our season neither team was playing very well and both were winnable games but the lack of a running game greatly contributed to those losses. McFadden wouldn't have averaged 4.0 a carry if it wasn't for the final 3 games where we were just playing out the schedule against 3 other teams that had nothing to play for. The Jets and Bills were done and Washington had the division wrapped up. In the games that mattered when the season was still in the balance McFadden wasn't consistent. Anyone who thinks our running game was sufficient this past season and wants to continue with McFadden as our bell cow must have really enjoyed our 4-12 season.

The lack of consistency in our running game played a part in it. Randle wasn't consistent either after a big first half vs Atlanta he had negative rushing yards in the second half which greatly contributed to that loss. In the OT loss to NO Randle averaged 2.4 a carry and McFadden averaged 3.1. We had little running game in the opener but escaped with a win off the arm of Romo. We must run the ball more consistently next season or we'll struggle to go 500 and Romo won't last the season.

You can write all the paragraphs you want. He still earned it.

We had a zero production offense and he still earned his place as RB. With no help.

 

[KJJ]

The Cowboys went from 3rd to 10th in time of possession.

That's not a dramatic drop-off.

"Protecting" a defense isn't a Super Bowl maker.

And as far as I'm concerned you swop out Murray for McFadden in 2015 and the passing offense was still going to reek.

That's a pretty good drop-off and the rankings don't tell the whole story. We held onto the ball MUCH longer in 2014 than this past season due to being so poor on 3rd and short and not having an effective passing offense. Our D got scored on pretty quick in some games which put our offense right back on the field. We also gave up a KO return for a TD that put our offense right back on the field so time of possession rankings can be misleading. Keeping your defense fresh is important even if you have a solid defense. Even a good defense gives up plays when they're tired. Fatigue can make any defense crumble. The passing offense would have sucked regardless if we had Murray but I'm convinced would have run the ball better especially on 3rd and one.

 

[MichaelWinicki]

That's a pretty good drop-off and the rankings don't tell the whole story. We held onto the ball MUCH longer in 2014 than this past season due to being so poor on 3rd and short and not having an effective passing offense. Our D got scored on pretty quick in some games which put our offense right back on the field. We also gave up a KO return for a TD that put our offense right back on the field so time of possession rankings can be misleading. Keeping your defense fresh is important even if you have a solid defense. Even a good defense gives up plays when they're tired. Fatigue can make any defense crumble. The passing offense would have sucked regardless if we had Murray but I'm convinced would have run the ball better especially on 3rd and one.

They may have ran the ball better on 3rd on 1's here & there... In the final analysis it wasn't going to make for a successful season regardless.

 

[KJJ]

You can write all the paragraphs you want. He still earned it.

We had a zero production offense and he still earned his place as RB. With no help.

He got the job by default with Dunbar and Randle going down....FACT! I'll ask you did McFadden perform well enough this past season that you would be content with him carrying the load again next season? Did his 1089 yards and 3 TD's excite you? He had a Julius Jones type season from 2006 and he lost his job at the end of the 2007 season.

 

[LittleBoyBlue]

He got the job by default with Dunbar and Randle going down....FACT! I'll ask you did McFadden perform well enough this past season that you would be content with him carrying the load again next season? Did his 1089 yards and 3 TD's excite you? He had a Julius Jones type season from 2006 and he lost his job at the end of the 2007 season.

Give him a full season with Romo.
You know he's good.
You know he's effective.

 

[KJJ]

They may have ran the ball better on 3rd on 1's here & there... In the final analysis it wasn't going to make for a successful season regardless.

We ran the ball a lot better on 3rd and one in 2014 it wasn't even close. Running the ball better on 3rd and one would have won us more than 4 games because we lost some tight games this season especially to Seattle where a stout running game would have won that game. We had them down by 2 points with 8 minutes to play but we couldn't run the ball to milk the clock.

They ended up milking it on us putting themselves in FG range to beat us. We beat them primarily with the running game in 2014 by wearing them down. Our running game wore down several teams. With Murray in 2014 we were running the ball for first downs on 3rd and one, two's and even on some 3rd and three's.

 

[KJJ]

Give him a full season with Romo.
You know he's good.
You know he's effective.

We won't have Romo a full season if McFadden and the other backs we have next season don't do a better job than they did this season. To keep Romo healthy we need a solid, consistent running game.

 

[KJJ]

Romo needs a back he can lean on. John Elway would have never won a SB if he didn't finally get an elite back in Terrell Davis to take the load off him. Many feel Dan Marino never won a championship due to not having a great running game led by an elite runner. We're not likely to ever build a great defense while Romo is still the QB we're too far away defensively to do it so his only chance at a championship is a great offense led by an elite back. We can only hope we can build the defense good enough that a great offense can overcome any defensive flaws we have.

 

[MichaelWinicki]

We won't have Romo a full season if McFadden and the other backs we have next season don't do a better job than they did this season. To keep Romo healthy we need a solid, consistent running game.

I get the whole, "A good running game helps a passing game" but Romo's injuries had everything to do with Romo holding the ball too long and not with the state of the running game.

 

[MichaelWinicki]

We ran the ball a lot better on 3rd and one in 2014 it wasn't even close. Running the ball better on 3rd and one would have won us more than 4 games because we lost some tight games this season especially to Seattle where a stout running game would have won that game. We had them down by 2 points with 8 minutes to play but we couldn't run the ball to milk the clock.

They ended up milking it on us putting themselves in FG range to beat us. We beat them primarily with the running game in 2014 by wearing them down. Our running game wore down several teams. With Murray in 2014 we were running the ball for first downs on 3rd and one, two's and even on some 3rd and three's.

Regardless.

This team was going no where leading the league in negative turnover-differential.

 

[KJJ]

I get the whole, "A good running game helps a passing game" but Romo's injuries had everything to do with Romo holding the ball too long and not with the state of the running game.

Having 45 passing attempts in the opener points to the lack of a running game. He was on pace for another 40+ passing attempt game when he was injured in Philly. In the two games he was injured we had no running game. He was back having to do too much.

 

[KJJ]

Regardless.

This team was going no where leading the league in negative turnover-differential.

If we had a better running game the defense wouldn't have spent so much time on the field being fresh and alert would have led to more turnovers. Our turnover differential was -22 the worst in the league and +6 in 2014. A lot of the difference had to do with the defense being tired and spending too much time on the field. It's hard to force turnovers when you're fatigued.

 

[MichaelWinicki]

Having 45 passing attempts in the opener points to the lack of a running game. He was on pace for another 40+ passing attempt game when he was injured in Philly. In the two games he was injured we had no running game. He was back having to do too much.

Yep.

I remember.

The offensive line wasn't very good in either game.