“Anyone can run behind this offensive line!” – Cowboys Nation
This was the quote that many of us relied on to diminish the impact of losing DeMarco Murray this offseason. As far as what the team did to lessen this, they invested in Darren McFadden while putting a lot of faith in Joseph Randle.
Just before opening night against the Giants, the team scrambled to acquire Christine Michael from the Seahawks. Michael did not see his first carry until week 4 in New Orleans.
However, entering the bye week with three straight losses, the team vowed to change things up offensively and start Matt Cassel along with Michael in the backfield. This ultimately led to a 27-20 loss on the road to the Giants, in which the entire offense looked their best since the loss of Tony Romo and Dez Bryant.
This was without Christine Michael getting nearly the workload we expected, but with Darren McFadden gaining 152 yards on 29 carries. Now, I see what you’re saying, doesn’t this merit starting DMC going forward?
Ultimately, that is what the team has chosen to do leading up to a game against Michael’s former team – the Seahawks.
However, I feel that the return of the running game’s success at the Giants was truly a case of anyone being able to run behind our offensive line against that defense on that particular day.
McFadden showed flashes of Murray, running north and south and fighting for extra yards. The play calling by Linehan was much less vanilla than it was with Brandon Weeden, which kept defenses honest and allowed these running lanes to develop.
The offensive line fed off of the energy of McFadden scrapping for every inch – something Christine Michael should be able to do a better job of.
Michael runs with a very low center of gravity, and can push ahead for extra yards. Theoretically, if the offensive line plays like it did against New York, Christine Michael can have similar success to McFadden this past week against his former team.
Agree? Disagree? WE WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU! Stay posted to InsideTheStar.com for Staff Writer Shane Denney’s defense of McFadden, and voice your opinion with a comment below or a tweet to @ShoreSportsNJ.
