Tony Romo returned in Week 11 and the Dallas Cowboys won their first game since Week 2. During that seven-game losing streak, a lot went wrong for the Cowboys. However, one bright spot was Darren McFadden. When Joseph Randle went down with injury, McFadden came in and turned into exactly what the Cowboys needed from the running back position.
All season long, the Cowboys were relying on a committee from the running back position. However, McFadden has been the closest thing to DeMarco Murray. Since being named the official starter in Week 7, McFadden has carried the football 132 times for 494 yards. McFadden has also caught 15 passes for 110 yards.
When you look back when Randle was the starter, he consistently made erratic decisions with the football. Most Cowboys fans can think back to Week 4, when Randle barely scored a touchdown by leaping over the line and gracing the football over the goal-line. Randle also isn’t the three-down type of back the Cowboys needed to successfully run their zone-blocking offense. McFadden is just that.
The Cowboys have made a lot of intriguing decisions over the course of this season. Currently on the Cowboys’ roster, Dallas houses multiple players that have off-field concerns or off-field history. The one that stands out is obviously Greg Hardy. However, the reason why Hardy is here is because his play outweighs his off-field history. That’s not quite the case with Randle.
The latest segment in the Randle saga is that he was arrested at a casino following an altercation. About a year ago, Randle was arrested for stealing underwear and cologne from a department store. With these stories developing, the decision to cut Randle continues to look like a good one.
Hence the difference between someone like Joseph Randle and someone like Greg Hardy.
Randle has proven time and time again that he'll never learn how to stay out of trouble. He just simply doesn't have the capacity to keep his nose clean for very long.
Why have the Cowboys stuck with Hardy all this time? Despite the overblown incidents like trying to fire up your teammates during a game and slapping at a coach's clipboard or being late to a team meeting, Hardy hasn't given them a real-world reason to think he can't handle himself off the field.
Personally, I'd have cut Randle after his off-season incident this past year. Just can't trust the guy.