The Dallas Cowboys’ first-team offense played 11 snaps in Monday night’s prime-time preseason opener against the Oakland Raiders. And much like their counterparts, the Cowboys’ offensive starters didn’t look ready for prime time. Quarterback Tony Romo was without wide receiver Miles Austin (hamstring), and only had Dez Bryant (hamstring) for a snap or three. Bryant [...]
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According to Don Banks of SI.com, Dallas Cowboys running back DeMarco Murray has looked great in training camp so far, after a break out year during his rookie season in 2011.
“Last year’s breakthrough rushing star has gotten off to an eye-opening getaway in his second season, and he looks determined to prove he was no half-season flash in the pan in 2011, when he gained a team-best 897 yards and averaged 5.5 yards per carry despite starting just seven games,” wrote Banks. “Murray’s season ended early in Week 14, when he fractured his right ankle in a home loss to the Giants, and Dallas’ playoff contention expired shortly thereafter.
“Murray is running with speed, power and determination, and shows no ill effects of his December leg injury. I’m the last guy to give fantasy football advice, but if I played, I’d find room for him on my roster. He rushed for just two touchdowns last year, a total he calls unacceptable and one he vows to increase many times over. His teammates gush about his intensity and how he runs with a mean streak, and in one recent practice he set the tone by bowling over reserve cornerback Teddy Williams, sending him to the sidelines with a concussion.”
Murray is hands down the best running back on the Cowboys roster. If he’s able to stay healthy this season, their running game will give opposing defenses major problems.
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The Dallas Cowboys and owner Jerry Jones love what they’ve seen from running back DeMarco Murray. The thing that really stood out to Jones was that he can carry the ball between the tackles.
“The thing that excited me the most was the question mark on him: ‘Was he a good inside runner?’” Jones said. “We saw that he could carry the mail inside. We didn’t know that. The draft didn’t know that. The NFL didn’t know that. But he showed that. So that is very encouraging. That gives you the stability or credibility that you like as your back.”
“There are those in the Cowboys’ organization who believe Murray has a chance to be one of the great ones, like (Emmitt) Smith and Tony Dorsett,” wrote Clarence E. Hill of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.
I think the only thing that may stand in the way of Murray having a great career, is his inability to stay healthy. He must prove that he’s not injury prone.
Cowboys running back Felix Jones and two teammates passed their conditioning tests Wednesday, and will be able to return to practice Friday. Jones, wide receiver Andrew Holmes and safety Brodney Pool passed their tests while the rest of the team had a morning walk-through, though they won’t practice this afternoon, according to Brandon George of [...]
The Cowboys got training camp started with conditioning tests on Monday and not every member of the team was ready for the task. Most notable among the three players who failed the test was running back Felix Jones. Jones wasn’t able to pass the test, which required him to run 60 yards in eight seconds, [...]
The issue of closing windows came up a lot around the Cowboys this offseason. Jason Witten fretted about it, but Tony Romo felt that was going too far. DeMarco Murray thought the window was wide open, DeMarcus Ware felt it shutting and Jerry Jones proclaimed that he was the only one who decided about the…
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According to Calvin Watkins of ESPNDallas.com, Cowboys running back Felix Jones has been cleared to practice with training camp just days away from opening.
“Dallas Cowboys running back Felix Jones has been medically cleared to practice before the start of training camp, according to a source,” Watkins reported.
Jones has been held out of offseason OTA’s and minicamp after undergoing offseason shoulder surgery.
The Cowboys will look for Jones to team up with second year running back DeMarco Murray to create one of the NFL’s most potent running attacks.
It’s rare that the difference between winning the division and missing the playoffs comes down to inches, but that might have been the case for the Cowboys in 2011. On third-and-five with just over two minutes to play and the Cowboys clinging to a 34-30 lead over the Giants in Week 14, Tony Romo missed [...]
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During an ESPN Chat, Dallas Cowboys running back DeMarco Murray indicated that his ankle is doing great and he won’t be limited once training camp kicks off in a couple of weeks.
“The ankle is doing great. I’ll be able to do whatever the coaches want me to do,” said Murray.
If the Cowboys are going to have a shot at getting back to the playoffs, they’re going to need Murray to stay healthy. There running game has to go through him this season.
Cowboys running back DeMarco Murray said he’s back to 100 percent, and ready to build on his eye-opening rookie season. During a chat Wednesday on ESPN.com, Murray said the ankle which he broke last December was fully healed, and wouldn’t be an issue when training camp opened. “The ankle is doing great,” Murray wrote, via [...]
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Calvin Watkins of ESPNDallas.com believes that head coach Jason Garrett and the Dallas Cowboys really trust running back DeMarco Murray after allowing him to carry the ball 20 or more times in five games last season. That is the most for any running back since Garrett became the offensive coordinator in 2007.
On the other hand, Felix Jones has only carried the ball 20 or more times in two games since being drafted in 2008.
As explosive as Jones can be, he’s not a complete back like Murray, who’s stronger and can take more of a beating from opposing defenses.
The Bills’ website breaks down the contenders at left tackle. DE Olivier Vernon and RB Lamar Miller are making the cross-Miami move from Hurricanes to Dolphins. S James Ihedigbo is on the Patriots’ roster bubble. Said Jets C Nick Mangold of people teasing his sister for playing football and being a weightlifter, “I’ve never been…
Dallas Cowboys running back DeMarco Murray broke his right ankle Sunday night, ending his record-setting rookie season and creating another obstacle for Dallas in its bid for a playoff berth.
Murray burst onto the scene by rushing for a franchise-record 253 yards, the seventh-most in NFL history, in October. That earned him a spot in the starting lineup, and the Cowboys soon surged to first place in the NFC East.
In the first quarter of a showdown with the Giants for that spot atop the division, Murray was pulled down at the end of an 8-yard gain and got his right ankle pinned awkwardly to the turf. It was diagnosed as a fractured ankle and a high ankle sprain.
IRVING, Texas (AP) — The Dallas Cowboys like their chances of making a serious run at the playoffs despite their 4-4 record, and that’s not just because of how soft their upcoming schedule appears to be.
Some optimism is based on the recent play of running back DeMarco Murray, and how the rookie’s success is affecting quarterback Tony Romo.
Murray rushed for 139 yards on 22 carries and caught four passes for 47 more yards in Sunday’s 23-13 home win over Seattle.
An improved running game created more offensive balance against Seattle, helping Romo go 19 for 31 for 279 yards and two touchdowns. What’s more, Romo wasn’t guilty of an interception and wasn’t sacked.
Murray has shown that his club-record 253-yard output in his first extended play against St. Louis was no fluke. When Felix Jones returns from a high ankle sprain, Jones could wind up as Murray’s backup.
The news for the Cowboys from Sunday wasn’t all good. Wide receiver Miles Austin left in the second quarter with a right hamstring injury and didn’t return. Austin is expected to be out for as long as a month.
Missing all of last Sunday’s game with injuries were linebacker Sean Lee (left wrist), punter Mat McBriar (left foot), cornerback Mike Jenkins (right hamstring) and Jones.
Coach Jason Garrett said he was “hopeful” McBriar and Jones would be available for Sunday’s home game against Buffalo.
Rookie punter Chris Jones was signed off the practice squad for the Seattle game, averaging 43 yards on four punts.
Austin won’t be back anytime soon, sidelined by the latest in a series of hamstring problems that have plagued him throughout his six-year career.
With Austin out, more will be expected from wide receivers Dez Bryant, Laurent Robinson and Kevin Ogletree. The Cowboys could also call up one of three receivers from their practice squad.
Murray’s emergence has been a pleasant surprise for the Cowboys. A third-round pick from Oklahoma, Murray’s development was hampered by the lockout, then he suffered another setback with a hamstring injury in training camp.
But Jones’ injury created an opening for Murray, and he’s taken advantage with 466 yards over his last three games.
“He runs really, really hard,” Cowboys tight end Jason Witten said. “Obviously we have seen those big runs he’s had, but he turns 2- or 3-yard gains into nice 10-yard gains. He takes some big hits and he gets up. … He’s been a dynamic player for us. Our offense and really our team has been better and had success because of the way he plays.”
Witten wouldn’t offer any opinion on which back deserves to start when Jones is healthy again. But the seven-time Pro Bowl selection did say the Cowboys will be even more potent on offense when both are available.
“The more of those types of players you can have, the better you are going to be,” Witten said. “We are going to have a great 1-2 punch when Felix gets healthy. It’s going to put us in a great situation. Felix is the type of player who anytime he gets it, he can take 40, 50 yards on a normal run. But I think DeMarco gets his carries, for sure.”
With their 10-point victory over Seattle, the Cowboys bounced back from a 34-7 road thrashing at the hands of the Philadelphia Eagles a week earlier. Even though Sunday’s win came over a team that isn’t a playoff contender, the Cowboys needed some positive reinforcement.
The Cowboys have a favorable upcoming schedule. After Sunday’s meeting with Buffalo (5-3), they are at Washington (3-5), home against Miami (1-7) and at Arizona (2-6).
After that, the opponents get tougher: home and home against the division-leading New York Giants, at home against Philadelphia, and at Tampa Bay.
Garrett isn’t making any predictions after a break-even first half of the season. That’s not his style.
“We’ve done a lot of things to build on over the first eight games, a lot we can be positive about,” Garrett said. “We’ve played a lot of young players and they’ve stepped into roles and done a nice job. That’s hard to do in the NFL. But we have to get better. The teams that win in this league, the teams that make the playoffs, are the teams that improve over the course of the season.”