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| Image credit to:boards.dallascowboys.com |
Demarco Murray in quick work against Chargers.
After the game of Dallas Cowboys’ 3-0 preseason victory over the Oakland
Raiders, it looked like the re-worked, more powerful running game wasn’t quite
clicking.
The Cowboys’ offense, which came into
2012 with the expectation it would have a greater focus on the running game,
managed to earn a lackluster 54 yards on the ground. Perhaps even more
disconcerting was the fact that the first team offense ran the ball only three
times for a total of three yards.
In Saturday night’s 28-20 loss to the
San Diego Chargers, the Cowboys did not exactly dominate with their ground game
(they finished with only 81 rushing yards) but they provided a little taste of
what to expect from their starting running back.
Demarco Murray did not stay on the field deep into the game, as
he had hoped he might coming into Saturday, but as a consolation the Cowboys
gave him the ball early and often in the first series.Tony
Romo got the ball to Murray for the first
play of the game with a quick pass, which turned into a nine-yard gain. Not to
be denied the first down, Murray received a handoff the very next play for a
gain of five yards.
Murray touched the ball on five out
of the first six plays from scrimmage and finished with 12 yards rushing and 18
yards receiving. He was pulled from the game after the first series but the
message was established: the Cowboys were determined to get the ball to their
running backs and control the time of possession.
After the game Murray talked about
his eagerness to get the ball early in games so that he can get the offense
going and move the chains.
“As a running back you always want to
have the first couple touches to establish the running game or establish
anything, really,” Murray said. “Everybody wants the ball first, just to set
the tone for the game. We did a great job of that today.”
While Murray wants the ball as much
as possible he has faith in the play calling of his head coach, Jason Garrett.
“Coach Garrett does a great job of
putting us in the right position to make plays,” Murray said. “We have a lot of
weapons on the offense. He does a great job of spreading the ball around and
getting the ball to guys in different situations. Of course, everyone wants the
ball.”
Less promising was Felix
Jones’ continued struggles in the preseason. For a player known
for his speed, Jones has looked relatively lethargic by his standards in the
preseason. He managed 10 yards off of three carries and also dropped a pass
that hit both of his hands.
While Jones still holds a valuable place within the offense,
converted fullback Jamize
Olawale continued to impress in San Diego and is doing all he can
to compete with Jones for snaps. Saturday night Olawale ran the ball more times
than every other running back combined.
After the game Tony Romo also shared
his opinion about the overall running game. A solid running game always makes a
quarterback’s job easier, but Romo explains that it is not so simple that one
can just blame the play calling or the running back when the numbers on the
ground are low. He warned against getting caught up in the week-to-week rushing
totals.
“The running game, there’s going to
be a lot of articles written about it,” Romo said. “But some weeks you’re going
to run the ball well, some weeks you’re not. Some teams are going to
structurally have a defensive game plan to slow that down and in the NFL you
really can do that if you decide to commit to certain things.”
Romo explains that the running game
is not as simple an on/off switch and that there is a lot of strategy that goes
into the play-calling. Overall, he was pleased with what he saw from ground
game.
“I sometimes think it’s kind of silly
to say ‘we need to get the running game going,’” Romo said. “Well, if you hand
it off against seven men and you only have six blockers, it’s not good to get
the running game going. I think we had good numbers (tonight). A lot of guys
blocked well tonight. Some weeks are going to be better than others.”
Romo makes valid points about the
shortsightedness of overstating the rushing numbers in certain games. The
Cowboys’ offense involves a fair amount of swing passes and screens to the
running backs. Those yards will not show up in the rushing total, but they are
executable plays that get the running backs involved and help to control tempo.
For example, Saturday night against
San Diego the two leading rushers for the Cowboys were Jamize Olawale and
Murray, who combined for 42 rushing yards. However, they were both targeted as
receivers during the game and combined for 48 rushing yards. Their all-purpose
yards may be a better indication of their effectiveness.
Murray, in particular,
proved again in the first series of the game that he can carry a very heavy
workload and that he is willing to get involved in moving the ball any way that
he can. If Murray is able to replicate what he did early in the game for four quarters,
the running game will be of little concern.
