Dallas Cowboys QB Tony Romo threw for almost 5,000 yards last season and the team finished with an 8-8 record. The offense only scored touchdowns 51 percent of the time they advanced the ball into the red zone. Therefore, despite Romo’s impressive numbers, the offense often bogged down at the worst possible times.
The reason for this is the lack of a consistent run game. Cowboys’ running back Demarco Murray has suffered frequent injury the past two seasons. When Murray went out, so did the run game, leaving Romo passing the ball excessively.
Murray skipped the first four days of OTA’s as a precautionary measure. Murray said he chose this route to be safe and smart. He added that he may have pushed himself too far in the past when he shouldn’t have leading to an injury becoming worse. Murray also said that he fully intends to play all 16 games this season.
All of Cowboys Nation certainly hopes so, because if he does play all 16, Dallas will likely have its first 1,000 yard rusher since Julius Jones in 2006. In his first season Murray rushed for 897 yards in 13 games and last year he rushed for 663 yards in 10 games.
In two seasons, Murray has averaged 4.8 yards per rush. Just for some perspective, Adrian Peterson’s career average is 5.0 yards per rush and Arian Foster’s career average is 4.5 yards per rush.
Murray has the ability and skill to be a top five running back, but it all hinges on his health. If he stays healthy he will probably eclipse 1,000 yards rushing this season and hopefully be a stabilizing factor in what has been a sporadic Dallas offense.
On the fifth day of OTA’s, Murray returned to the practice field for individual workouts with the other running backs although he did not take part in full team drills.
