In just two short weeks, it appears the Cowboys made the right move in letting DeMarco Murray join the dark side – reuniting with Sam Bradford in Philadelphia.
In his absence, the Cowboys have rolled with Joseph Randle, Darren McFadden and Lance Dunbar. Dunbar has served as the pass catcher of the group, with Randle and McFadden combining for 50 carries thus far.
Randle has led the way with 34 attempts and 116 yards, good for an average of 3.4 yards a carry.
More importantly, 23 of Randle’s carries have come on first down. His average gain on the down is 3.39 – almost identical to his yards per carry.
If Randle can maintain this average, he can keep Brandon Weeden ahead of the chains and give Scott Linehan a chance to build his confidence with short passes.
As we saw with his scoring strike to Terrance Williams, Weeden can be very accurate and delivers the ball on time.
Without Dez Bryant and Tony Romo, this offense lacks the firepower to amaze on every single snap. However, they can still dominate time of possession and steadily march down the field.
The Cowboys have had the ball for 77 game minutes this season, which leads the league. Joseph Randle and Darren McFadden must be the key to maintaining that number and giving Marinelli’s defense a chance to shine.
Remember when EVERYBODY was saying ANYBODY could run behind our offensive line? Well, I’m still waiting.
You and me both, Fred.
Though I think McFadden has more to offer as things stand than Randle, and Dunbar is proving to be a great receiver (more than usual with the extra targets). Running the ball isn’t all about juking and jiving across the field, which is why I like DMC. Would be interested to see what Michael can do back there, though.
Thanks for reading, Fred!