First it was Joseph Randle, then it was Emmitt Smith and now LaDainian Tomlinson agrees that DeMarco Murray left plenty of yards on the field last year for the Dallas Cowboys.
Speaking with Jay Betsill in a special to The Dallas Morning News, Tomlinson dished on this hot topic:
“As a guy that watches a lot of film, Emmitt is correct. There was a lot of times, and DeMarco is a very physical runner and instead of making that last guy miss and taking it for 50 or 60, he would try and run him over. That’s just his style and he would end up getting tackled for 20 instead of 50. So Emmitt is right in that sense, but at the same time, one thing that I do respect about DeMarco is he knows his strengths. He is not a juke guy, he’s a downhill, physical runner.”
The fact that three running backs have all said the exact same thing is astounding, considering Murray led the league in rushing last year with 1,845 yards and scored 13 touchdowns to boot.
For some perspective, that’s the 17th-highest rushing total for a single season in league history.
When Randle said “there was a lot of meat left on the bone” regarding Murray’s 2014 performance, many thought he was just being haughty. When Smith said Murray could have rushed for 2,500 yards, many thought he was on the “if I were the one running the ball” train, reminiscing about the old days.
Furthermore, both are Jerry Jones loyalists, and so their statements don’t hold much weight in the eyes of many skeptics.
But Tomlinson has no loyalty to Jones, the Cowboys or anyone else involved in the discussion. He’s simply telling it like he sees it. And given his status as a legendary running back himself, perhaps it’s time we all listened and believed.
Murray left a lot of yards on the field.
This speaks volumes about Dallas’ remarkable offensive line, which only got better this offseason with the addition of rookie La’el Collins. Whether it’s Darren McFadden, Randle or anyone else rushing the ball this year, we should expect the Cowboys to have success behind this dominant unit.
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