Will Darren McFadden Return As The Starter?

[Alexander]

Not only did the season turn out horribly, this side effect delusion that McFadden is actually capable of repeating his 2015 performance is really a downer.

 

[conner01]

Dallas may draft I'm fine with that or they may look to FA I'm fine with that. I fully expect McFadden as well as a lot of guys to have to earn their jobs I don't want to see it handed to him if he keeps it I think he should go out an earn it.

He surprised everyone staying healthy last year. He has the talent to be productive but we do need an alternative if the injury bug returns either fa or draft for sure

 

[Redball Express]

Those who were satisfied with McFadden and want him back as the starter next year must love watching average football and are looking forward to seeing the Cowboys struggle again next season. McFadden's 1089 yards and 3 TD's was way below what an elite runner would have produced behind arguably the best OL in football that had 3 pro bowlers in 2015. Hell, in 2013 Murray produced 1121 yards and 9 TD's behind an OL that had yet to add Martin. McFadden only had 5 more rushing yards than Julius Jones produced in 2006 behind a much lesser OL and Jones had one more TD than McFadden. Despite not having Romo most of the season an elite back would have produced 1500+ and double digit TD's behind our OL. The Cowboys were the worst team in the league on 3rd and one this past season and McFadden contributed to that and we found out he's no faster than Murray nowadays.

Many FANS said McFadden would give us longer runs than Murray because most couldn't take their eyes off his highlight reels from 7+ years ago but the longest run McFadden had from scrimmage this past season was 50 yards due to being chased down while Murray had a 54 yard TD run for Philly. I don't know about some of you but my standard for a starting RB is a lot higher than Darren McFadden. I grew up watching Tony Dorsett dazzling us with sprints to the endzone and Emmitt Smith slithering threw tackles and bouncing off defenders for longer runs and more TD's than McFadden has ever been capable of or ever will be.

The one thing the Cowboys have going is a great OL and I want to see them take advantage of it by putting an elite runner behind it because the back matters! If the Cowboys aren't able to get back to running the ball at least similar to what they did in 2014 especially in short yardage situations Romo will be back attempting 40 plus passes like he did in the opener having to carry the offense which will increase his chances of being injured again and another injury plagued season may force him to retire. I'm fine with McFadden as part of a rotation but he's not near consistent enough to be a starter he averaged under 4.0 a carry in 8 games in 2015.

Agreed.

We must have a go-to RB and not an ever changing landscape of players like last year.

For all the smiles about what DMAC did..

we completely bombed with the rest of the RBs and it was waiver wire city all year.

RB is the #1 position of need for a ton of reasons.

Romo's health, cashing in on the OL we have built and letting the defense play less keeping them fresher all season.

It was the 2014 formula.

We completely went away from that right from the beginning by letting Murray walk and signing Hardy with his money.

Hardy did not win a single game for us.

The running game can.

I want a RB and WR with our top 2 picks.

Then sign FA's for the defense and rebuild it.

Get busy FO.

 

[Doomsday101]

He surprised everyone staying healthy last year. He has the talent to be productive but we do need an alternative if the injury bug returns either fa or draft for sure

I have no issue with that but no matter who the RB is without a competent QB we are not going win many games. As great is AP is without the other aspect of the game he will retire without a ring.

 

[BigStar]

No, there aren't lots of examples.
Adrian Peterson is an exception. He makes 14 million per year.

DeMarco Murray outproduced what DMC did last year 2 times in his entire career. He makes 8mil a year now....

Jamal Lewis was getting 300 carries a season.

DMC produced the 4th highest total in the league in his first year in the offense without even being named starter to begin the season.

His production is only debatable to completely hard-headed or foolish people.

But would it really hurt to give him some legitimate competition (top 3 pick) to share carries with if DMC proves to be the better choice after TC? RBs have short production spurts as you mentioned with Murray.

 

[BigStar]

I would prefer if we just look at the Cowboys. We had 0 passing game, no one was backing off the line worried about our QB and for the 1st 5 games McFadden got very few carries when he did he came in an produced. I don't think he should be handed the job on opening day of the reg season but I think in camp he should be the starter and earn the starting role. If we pick up someone who shows they are better then great make them the starter but who ever gets it needs to go out and earn it.

The thing that really stands out is the lack of success on 3rd and 1 with this great OL. This team needs to ensure they have a back (starter preferably) who can convert those runs while giving the team more stability in sustaining drives and helping the Defense.

 

[Doomsday101]

But would it really hurt to give him some legitimate competition (top 3 pick) to share carries with if DMC proves to be the better choice after TC? RBs have short production spurts as you mentioned with Murray.

I agree. I will say whoever wins the starting job should get the bulk of the carries. Too many RB will say they have to get into flow of the game and can only do that by getting ample carries in a game. If guys are constantly rotating in and out no one gets into that comfort zone.

 

[BigStar]

I agree. I will say whoever wins the starting job should get the bulk of the carries. Too many RB will say they have to get into flow of the game and can only do that by getting ample carries in a game. If guys are constantly rotating in and out no one gets into that comfort zone.

That's why I say draft properly and let the winner prove themselves in TC, not during the season. The team should have that game planned for when the season starts Day 1 and use a fatigue system instead of committee system.

 

[Doomsday101]

The thing that really stands out is the lack of success on 3rd and 1 with this great OL. This team needs to ensure they have a back (starter preferably) who can convert those runs while giving the team more stability in sustaining drives and helping the Defense.

Thing is it was not just McFadden none of the backs were getting many of the 3rd and shorts and as good as the OL is when you have 5 blocking 8 to 9 defenders the chance of someone shooting the gaps and make the hit in the backfield is great. Frankly there were a lot of situations where I wished Dallas did not go into the jumbo package and spread the defense out then run the ball.

 

[BigStar]

Thing is it was not just McFadden none of the backs were getting many of the 3rd and shorts and as good as the OL is when you have 5 blocking 8 to 9 defenders the chance of someone shooting the gaps and make the hit in the backfield is great. Frankly there were a lot of situations where I wished Dallas did not go into the jumbo package and spread the defense out then run the ball.

Well despite the limited chances Randle/Michael got to be involved in those statistics, DMC can claim the majority of that failed percentage. Murray converted in those circumstances, and a talented back (with better wiggle/power) would as well. All D's put at least 8/9 in the box on 3rd and short so that is excusing the RBs. I agree about spreading it out if you're going to rely on McFadden to produce 3rd and shorts but D's would still cheat/scheme around that,etc. We know JG wouldn't have a backup...

 

[CATCH17]

Murray was extremely elite in 2014 and I firmly believe in our offense behind our OL he would have had 1300+ and at least 8 TD's minus Romo. Charles only played 5 games this past season with KC due to an injury and Bell missed a majority of the season with an injury. Gurley missed 3 games with an injury so you can't avoid paying a back because of the fear of injuries they're going to happen at that position. Lynch missed a lot of time in 2015 with injuries. We messed up by trusting Randle who we knew had off the field concerns and not looking for a back who would have complimented our OL better. We put too much faith in our OL to make several average backs productive.

Murray had a great year. Those types of years usually don't happen year after year and he was not the reason for those big numbers.


Murray is great at finishing runs and he was great in short yardage situations but Romo and the OL had a lot to do with his numbers being what they were.

The guy has no vision and managed to get 1800 yards. He's not a 7-8 mill a year type of player and he'll keep proving that in Philly.



Yes Bell and Charles got injured and as good as they are it just shows the risk you have when you pay that position.


I'm all for upgrading the RB but i'd much rather pay McFadden 2 mill then pay a guy like Murray who is overrated money like he is one of the best in football.

 

[CATCH17]

Thing is it was not just McFadden none of the backs were getting many of the 3rd and shorts and as good as the OL is when you have 5 blocking 8 to 9 defenders the chance of someone shooting the gaps and make the hit in the backfield is great. Frankly there were a lot of situations where I wished Dallas did not go into the jumbo package and spread the defense out then run the ball.

Coaching definitely hampered the run game as well.


Predictability with downs & distances + formations really hurt us.

Also, McFadden had to run with a year of tendencies that Murray did not have to run against opposing teams knowing and Dallas is super predictable when it comes to when we will run.

 

[BigStar]

Agreed.

We must have a go-to RB and not an ever changing landscape of players like last year.

For all the smiles about what DMAC did..

we completely bombed with the rest of the RBs and it was waiver wire city all year.

RB is the #1 position of need for a ton of reasons.

Romo's health, cashing in on the OL we have built and letting the defense play less keeping them fresher all season.

It was the 2014 formula.

We completely went away from that right from the beginning by letting Murray walk and signing Hardy with his money.

Hardy did not win a single game for us.

The running game can.

I want a RB and WR with our top 2 picks.

Then sign FA's for the defense and rebuild it.

Get busy FO.

Gimme a QB @ 1-4, RB/WR combo and right there with you. Obv if we have to trade up those last two options are off the table this year, etc. But the investment in Lawrence, Crawford (benefit of the doubt considering he was injured all year), Irving, and Gregory. A solid 1 tech and this front 7 looks much better assuming Gregory gets stronger to seal the edge. A good 1 tech can be found in FA/mid-late Draft/UDFA. This leaves a decent FA Rb/mid pick to compete with DMC if we get our future QB in the first.

 

[percyhoward]

You think Weeden, Cassel and Moore were big concerns for opposing defense? With no real threat it was easy to key on the run game for defense.

The lack of a passing threat is the elephant in the room.

From 2011-14, on intermediate-to-deep targets (more than 15 yards), we had a 114.8 passer rating. In 2015, our backups had a rating of 45.4 on intermediate-to-deep targets. That's a 60% drop in efficiency.

Opposing defenses probably noticed that.

When Weeden and Cassel were playing, on plays from the opponent's 10-yard line or closer, we had 7 rushing TD and 2 passing TD. That's 2 passing TD in 9 games. In the 48 games leading up to that point (2011-14), we'd scored 61 passing TD from the 10-yard line or closer. Weeden's and Cassel's games resulted in an 83% drop in production from the passing game inside the 10.

Opposing defenses probably noticed that.

In spite of it all, we were still one of the league's top running teams.

 

[percyhoward]

Well despite the limited chances Randle/Michael got to be involved in those statistics, DMC can claim the majority of that failed percentage.

You haven't really looked into this. Far from "claiming the majority of the failed percentage," McFadden was the team's only successful option on 3rd and 1. He converted 6 of 9, while the rest of the team converted 2 out of 10.

Here are the conversion rates for all Dallas' short-yardage and goal line plays in 2015:
McFadden 15 of 21 (71%)
rest of team 14 of 29 (48%)

 

[jnday]

The thing that really stands out is the lack of success on 3rd and 1 with this great OL. This team needs to ensure they have a back (starter preferably) who can convert those runs while giving the team more stability in sustaining drives and helping the Defense.

I agree and the third and short is a weakness for DMac. He has the stats of any average RB that would run behind this line, but his impact is minimal . He doesn't make many plays that any other RB wouldn't make. I don't expect him to improve any at this point in his career. RB is still a strong need for this team.

 

[Alohawg1]

You haven't really looked into this. Far from "claiming the majority of the failed percentage," McFadden was the team's only successful option on 3rd and 1. He converted 6 of 9, while the rest of the team converted 2 out of 10.

Here are the conversion rates for all Dallas' short-yardage and goal line plays in 2015:
McFadden 15 of 21 (71%)
rest of team 14 of 29 (48%)

When opinion is B-slapped with facts, yikes!

 

[BigStar]

You haven't really looked into this. Far from "claiming the majority of the failed percentage," McFadden was the team's only successful option on 3rd and 1. He converted 6 of 9, while the rest of the team converted 2 out of 10.

Here are the conversion rates for all Dallas' short-yardage and goal line plays in 2015:
McFadden 15 of 21 (71%)
rest of team 14 of 29 (48%)

You got me there, no questions asked. Damn surprised tbh. I guess the question turns to who were the RBs part of the 14/29 out of curiosity? tks in advance

 

[BigStar]

I agree and the third and short is a weakness for DMac. He has the stats of any average RB that would run behind this line, but his impact is minimal . He doesn't make many plays that any other RB wouldn't make. I don't expect him to improve any at this point in his career. RB is still a strong need for this team.

Found out about his recent 3 and 1 success @percyhoward (71%) but also agree there should be talented competition to be brought in to compete for starting role (like any team looking not to get complacent with some wiggle/elusiveness/strength in top 3 picks (trade up for QB excluded, etc.)

 

[JPostSam]

i feel the same way i felt going into last season: mcfadden is fine as the backup. relying on him as the starter is an unnecessary gamble, and a poor plan for the future.