Heading into the 2012 NFL off-season, the Dallas Cowboys have a lot of areas to work on, from the defensive secondary to both the defensive and offensive lines. However, one area they no longer need help at all is at the running back position.
Despite injuring his ankle and missing the end of the 2011 NFL season, DeMarco Murray is the future of the franchise and is the best running back that has run for the Cowboys since Emmitt Smith left the team. Murray and Felix Jones provides Dallas with a one-two punch they haven't had since Tony Dorsett and Hershel Walker shared the backfield for one season over 20 years ago.
Murray ran for 601 yards in his first four starts for the Cowboys. He broke the record for most rushing yards in a single game and did it in dominating style. I can't recall Dallas having a running back like Murray in years. Emmitt Smith was a bowling ball, at 5-9, 216 lbs. Felix Jones is 5-10, 218 lbs.
DeMarco Murray is 6-0, 227 lbs of solid muscle. There has not been a player as powerful as Murray since Herschel Walker played for Dallas. As a matter of fact, Walker, at 6-1, 225 lbs, is a good comparison to Murray. Both men were hard runners with great speed that were complete game changers.
Walker helped Dallas become the best team in the '90s, thanks to his trade to Minnesota coming with a lot of draft picks. Murray also has the chance to help lead the Cowboys back to the promised land and he will do it on the field for Dallas.
If you want another good comparison, look at Adrian Peterson. Murray followed Peterson for the Oklahoma Sooners, where it was Murray who shattered the school's records for all-purpose yards and touchdowns. The two runners are almost identical in their appearance with Murray being slightly more muscular. Peterson was also feared to be injury prone after suffering a broken collar bone that ended his regular season for Oklahoma. Until this season's ACL tear, he has been very durable.
Murray is also considered injury prone but played enough to shatter the Sooners' records. Don't let his ankle injury worry you. Murray will be back in 2012 and has proven to be a resilient competitor. Also, don't be surprised if he starts to put up Adrian Peterson numbers once Dallas gets their offensive line fixed.
Author Shawn S. Lealos has a bachelor's degree in journalism from the University of Oklahoma (2000) and has been a Dallas Cowboys' fan since he was a child. His favorite players range from Roger Staubach and Tony Dorsett to the Triplets of the 90s and he enjoys talking about all Cowboys' related news, good or bad
