DeMarco Murray will be one of the more interesting players to watch this season, for fantasy and real football.
An unheralded third-round pick by the Dallas Cowboys in 2011, Murray burst onto the scene with a 253-yard game against the St. Louis Rams in his rookie season. He put together a string of four straight 100+ total yard games in November, and it was no surprise to see Dallas go 4-0 in that span. But Murray was bothered by a foot injury all last season and enters this season coming off a hamstring problem.
Murray saw his most preseason action last weekend when he carried the ball 12 times for 51 yards and caught two passes for 14 yards and a touchdown. But he was benched after fumbling on his second possession and didn’t return until the second half.
He told reporters on Monday what he thought about while being benched.
“Let it marinate a little bit,” he said, via ESPN Dallas. “It was a little frustrating, I got to be honest. But I’m just trying to make plays. I’m a competitor.
“I wasn’t mad at anyone, I wasn’t pouting on the sidelines, I wasn’t anything. I was waiting for my opportunity to get back in the game. Once my number was called, I was ready to play.”
Murray also said he respected the coaches’ decision to bench him after the fumble. Head coach Jason Garrett’s message was simple — they can’t have that on the team.
Murray’s fumbling issues go back to last season. The Cowboys back lost fumbles in Weeks 15 and 16 last season, including one inside his 10 that resulted in a touchdown, and another inside the red zone. Prior to those fumbles, he hadn’t lost one in his NFL career. Murray said at the time that he wasn’t bothered by the fumbles. If you combine those two fumbles with the preseason fumble, you could be looking at the possible beginnings of a problem. The Cowboys better hope that’s not the case.
Murray said this offseason that he will play all 16 games this season, which is always much easier said than done. He’s a good player and I’m expecting a solid season from him.
