Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones is known for being a little too confident in the team, but it seems he’s grasped that the current depth at running back won’t provide the impact DeMarco Murray did in 2014.
According to Jon Machota of The Dallas Morning News, in an appearance on 105.3 New School, Jones is merely looking for opponents to respect the Cowboys’ rushing attack. Jones said:
“Even if we’re in that game, even if they’ve done a good job of taking it away from us a little bit, even if we’re having to throw more, the word is respect. If we can get defenses to compromise what they do their best to have to work on something that we can do because we have a running game, then we’ve accomplished something going into the game.”
Now, Jones made a tough decision when letting Murray walk to the rival Philadelphia Eagles, because a running back is more easily replaceable than a wide receiver like Dez Bryant.
That’s not to say Murray can be replicated, because, no, he can’t. The Oklahoma product racked up 1,845 rushing yards and 13 touchdowns, adding 57 receptions and 416 yards.
Dallas will enter the 2015 season with Joseph Randle, Darren McFadden and Lance Dunbar on the depth chart. Randle and McFadden will likely share the majority of carries, while Dunbar may contribute as a third-down back.
Last season, Randle averaged 6.7 yards per attempt in limited action, and Dunbar recorded 18 catches for 217 yards. McFadden is the wild card of the unit, considering he managed 3.3 or 3.4 yards per carry in each of the last three seasons for the Oakland Raiders.
The Cowboys will be able to cobble together a serviceable-but-not-stellar unit, but at this juncture, not even Jones is expecting more.