You can't pay everyone

[ABQCOWBOY]

Marcus Lattimore will also be an FA. He could really be interesting, depending on his knee. Also, Mikel Leshoure, who was a pick of our current OC. That could be interesting.

 

[ABQCOWBOY]

Ingram intrigues me. I don't think he's ever gotten a real chance in New Orleans.

Yeah, any of those backs are fits in our Offense IMO but I agree. Ingram would do very well in a downhill running style offense. He's a guy that needs a lot of carries and he would get them in this offense.

 

[ConstantReboot]

Hhm, so he gets drafted in 2011. He missed three games his rookie year. He missed six in 2012 and missed two last year. And he's not injury plagued? Also, the knock on Murray coming out of Oklahoma was that he was injury prone.



This is the first season in four that he's going to break 1,000 yards in a season. And that's due to the fact we have a better offensive line. Sure, he's doing his share of toting the rock, but he's benefiting largely from a vastly improved offensive line.



I'd like to think we could too. Unfortunately, in this salary-cap-strapped era, we may not be able to.

He went over 1k last year. Would have gone 1k his first year if he wasn't injured. Yes the knock on him is he gets injured allot. But maybe by chance he can shake of that injury bug and becomes a pretty productive player. Thats happened many times in the NFL. You don't cut players based on their history. You pay players or try to keep them based on their performance.

 

[ConstantReboot]

You can't pay everyone.

But I sure as bleep will pay DeMarcus Ware over Brandon friggin Carr.

Keep your impact players.

I too would have paid D Ware over Carr. Pissed that we let him go that easily.

 

[tyke1doe]

Again, he hasn't had a significant injury for over 2 years. He broke 1,000 yards in 2013, and was on the verge of breaking it in 2011 before the injury (He was averaging over 5 YPC).

So now it's a significant injury? He was out two games last year due to injury. I don't care whether it's significant or not. Each year he has missed games because of injury. And based on injury in college, I'd say he was injury prone.

So no, Murray isn't just doing it because of how well the line has improved. He has produced since he came into the league.

The standard for a top back is cracking the 1,000 yard mark. Neither in his other three years did attain that mark. So, no, he hasn't been producing since he came into the league, not like a back you'd consider breaking the bank over. Oh, he's doing well now. But I wouldn't overpay him, especially since we can't keep everyone. If we were able to get Todd Gurley or the kid from Wisconsin, we could plug either in and not miss a beat.

 

[ABQCOWBOY]

I would be careful about Gurley. Nick Chubb just ran for over 200, 6.7 YPC, behind that same OL at Georgia.

 

[tyke1doe]

He went over 1k last year. Would have gone 1k his first year if he wasn't injured. Yes the knock on him is he gets injured allot. But maybe by chance he can shake of that injury bug and becomes a pretty productive player. Thats happened many times in the NFL. You don't cut players based on their history. You pay players or try to keep them based on their performance.

My bad, I stand corrected on the 1k last year. Thanks for the correction.
Understand, I'm not saying Murray isn't good. He is. But he has been injury prone. And this is a discussion about options, i.e., who can we keep and who do we need to let walk. If we can sign both Murray and Dez, fine. But if we have to let one go over the other, I say you let Murray go because it's easier in this day and age to find a running back than it is to find a receiver who demands double coverage. What Murray is doing for us now is more significant than what Dez is doing. But, Dez is the more valuable player because with this offensive line, many running backs could do a pretty good job running.

 

[tyke1doe]

I would be careful about Gurley. Nick Chubb just ran for over 200, 6.7 YPC, behind that same OL at Georgia.

Against Arkansas.

 

[Ren]

Dez needs to be the priority, everyone else who's contract are up is replaceable

 

[mattjames2010]

So now it's a significant injury? He was out two games last year due to injury. I don't care whether it's significant or not. Each year he has missed games because of injury. And based on injury in college, I'd say he was injury prone.



The standard for a top back is cracking the 1,000 yard mark. Neither in his other three years did attain that mark. So, no, he hasn't been producing since he came into the league, not like a back you'd consider breaking the bank over. Oh, he's doing well now. But I wouldn't overpay him, especially since we can't keep everyone. If we were able to get Todd Gurley or the kid from Wisconsin, we could plug either in and not miss a beat.

You SHOULD care if it's a significant injury or not. It's normal for an RB to miss a game or two a season or be hampered by some form of injury. Murray has been healthy, outside of those two games that he missed, since 2012.

I just had a discussion with someone who brought up Spiller and how he's not injury prone like Murray because of the "Games started". No, Spiller has been hampered by injuries his entire career, it just didn't show up on the games started. Murray hasn't had any lingering injuries since 2012. An RB only missing 2 games in over 2 years is actually really good, especially with Murray being a high contact guy.

And who the hell is saying Murray will be "breaking the bank"? Look at the contracts for all the RBs in the league. He'll be getting around what McCoy is getting, and that is certainly manageable. "Breaking the bank" would be if he gets what Peterson is getting, which is around $14 mill a year.

You gotta love this "Plug and play" talk, that's what leads to 6-10 seasons. You think it's easy to find an RB that can run, catch, and block as well as Murray does? No other RB has started a season with over 100 yards in 7 straight games, and you think you can just pluck an RB from the draft and have that duplicated? We have no business drafting an RB high when we already have a stud RB on our team. We have more pressing needs on defense.

 

[DoomsDayD]

Murray will probably get a 4 year 26 mil deal. Jerry holds the Franchise tag card that would put our guy back into contract year training mode again which is good for the Cowboys. Our WR corps is young and loaded with decent talent to play in the passing game. This will make many of the zone cringe but the smart thing to do is trading Dez for younger players if we can find a taker, and signing the Learys and the Carters and the Ro's & Durant... and not stretching things out to future cap hell problems. Win now is not the only solution rather win every year should be the goal. The old guys (we don't have many) like Free will be gone and same goes with Carr who has contributed to this team but will be a casualty. Melton will have to be looked at as a new free agent, released and resigned

I just heard that if Jerry Jones uses the TAG it will cost 10 million. I am not a cap man so dont know.

 

[blindzebra]

I just heard that if Jerry Jones uses the TAG it will cost 10 million. I am not a cap man so dont know.

The thing about the tag is yes it is more than the low ball offer we floated at 4 mil per, which means we'd probably go 5-6 and he might get 8-10 on the open market, but we'd have no cap moving forward.

To me I'd keep him for 1 year at 10 vs 4 years at 6 just because of the beating this season is going to give him.

 

[ABQCOWBOY]

Against Arkansas.

Against anybody, those are very good numbers IMO. I think you have to take a good hard look at how good Georgia's OL is this year.

 

[BAT]

So now it's a significant injury? He was out two games last year due to injury. I don't care whether it's significant or not. Each year he has missed games because of injury. And based on injury in college, I'd say he was injury prone.



The standard for a top back is cracking the 1,000 yard mark. Neither in his other three years did attain that mark. So, no, he hasn't been producing since he came into the league, not like a back you'd consider breaking the bank over. Oh, he's doing well now. But I wouldn't overpay him, especially since we can't keep everyone. If we were able to get Todd Gurley or the kid from Wisconsin, we could plug either in and not miss a beat.

C'mon, Dallas had the least rushing attempts the last 3 years. Does not matter if you plug in Jim Brown, if you don't hand him the ball, he can't do squat.

 

[Stash]

But if we have to let one go over the other, I say you let Murray go because it's easier in this day and age to find a running back than it is to find a receiver who demands double coverage. What Murray is doing for us now is more significant than what Dez is doing. But, Dez is the more valuable player because with this offensive line, many running backs could do a pretty good job running.

This speaks to something I've really been thinking of lately.

Strength in the lines can make or break a team, more than perceived "glamour" positions like wide receiver, running back, or cornerback.

And I hope the current success has shown this Cowboys organization that truth going forward.

I hope that their is a philosophical change in the thinking and that the team continues to invest heavily in the trenches on both sides of the ball.

It all truly does start up front.

 

[Verdict]

I would not sign Leary long term. I would go out and draft a guy or sign a reasonable FA.

I think that Leary could be replaced with a second round pick, or possibly a third round pick with a reasonable probability of no drop off in talent. After that you could find a guy to replace him, but the chance of having a drop off is greater. Having said that, I think that unless an impact player is available when we pick (probably after pick 25) I would consider trading back in the first round and picking up two good players with that late first round pick. We could trade back and turn the two replacement picks into two likely starters at a non premium position (linebacker, guard, rt, safety, running back, tight end, 1 tech dt).

I think cornerback is going to be high on the list of needs next year unless we keep Carr.

 

[BAT]

I gotta say, even if we don't sign Murray, which I hope we do, there are a lot of really good backs that will be FA's next year.

Both Vereen (25) and Riddly (25), Mark Ingram (24), Ryan Matthews (27), DMac (27), Justin Forsett (29), Ahmad Bradshaw (28), there are a lot of pretty good backs in FA.

We could easily draft a guy and sign one of these guys if we were unable to sign Murray to a reasonable contract. I love Murray but there is no reason at all we should over pay.

None of those backs can carry Murray's jock. It would be a tragedy to lose Murray and take a step back after the success so far this season. Either Murray or Bryant will be franchised, no way Jerry let's either go.

 

[blindzebra]

I think that Leary could be replaced with a second round pick, or possibly a third round pick with a reasonable probability of no drop off in talent. After that you could find a guy to replace him, but the chance of having a drop off is greater. Having said that, I think that unless an impact player is available when we pick (probably after pick 25) I would consider trading back in the first round and picking up two good players with that late first round pick. We could trade back and turn the two replacement picks into two likely starters at a non premium position (linebacker, guard, rt, safety, running back, tight end, 1 tech dt).

I think cornerback is going to be high on the list of needs next year unless we keep Carr.

Leary is playing as well as the 3 first round picks and his UDFA status means we can sign him at a similar cost as that unknown 2nd rd draft pick.

 

[tyke1doe]

You SHOULD care if it's a significant injury or not. It's normal for an RB to miss a game or two a season or be hampered by some form of injury. Murray has been healthy, outside of those two games that he missed, since 2012.

Is it normal? Says who? Do you have a link or an expert who says it's normal for a back to miss two games in a season? Who established this benchmark?

I just had a discussion with someone who brought up Spiller and how he's not injury prone like Murray because of the "Games started". No, Spiller has been hampered by injuries his entire career, it just didn't show up on the games started. Murray hasn't had any lingering injuries since 2012. An RB only missing 2 games in over 2 years is actually really good, especially with Murray being a high contact guy.

It's interesting that you start at 2012 instead of taking his entire career into play. That's shading the stats in your favor. In his first year, Murray missed three games. He missed six in his second year. He missed two last year. To make your argument stronger you omit the years with the greater missed games. You're being disingenuous.

Second, I don't care what some other fan said about Spiller. If you get injured and it keeps you out of a game, and it does so every year, you're injury prone. There's nothing wrong with that. But the comparison is being made to players who don't miss games because of injury.

And who the hell is saying Murray will be "breaking the bank"? Look at the contracts for all the RBs in the league. He'll be getting around what McCoy is getting, and that is certainly manageable. "Breaking the bank" would be if he gets what Peterson is getting, which is around $14 mill a year.

Uh, breaking the bank would be paying more than the Cowboys are able to pay. All banks are different. All banks don't store the same amount of cash. What Minnesota can afford is different than what Dallas can afford. Murray is on pace for a record-setting year. You don't think he's going to want top dollars?

You gotta love this "Plug and play" talk, that's what leads to 6-10 seasons. You think it's easy to find an RB that can run, catch, and block as well as Murray does? No other RB has started a season with over 100 yards in 7 straight games, and you think you can just pluck an RB from the draft and have that duplicated? We have no business drafting an RB high when we already have a stud RB on our team. We have more pressing concerns on defense.

Well, the Cowboys found him in the third round? Are the Cowboys the only team that can find good players in low draft rounds? Furthermore, doesn't a third-round pick on Murray suggest that the Cowboys can find the same type of talent in the lower rounds?

 

[ABQCOWBOY]

Leary is playing as well as the 3 first round picks and his UDFA status means we can sign him at a similar cost as that unknown 2nd rd draft pick.

The reason I would not give him a long term, big money contract is the degenerative condition he's facing. Could easily be throwing money away on a big long term contract.