Murray was mildly stirred by news of Garrett's remark — but not shaken.
Maybe that's because Murray's production in a 24-21 win over Giants was as good as any game all season, and he's on a bit of a roll heading into a Thanksgiving game against Oakland on Thursday.
"No, it doesn't bother me," Murray said. "Not at all."
Throw in the cold and wind on New York's home field, in contrast to the room-temperature comfort of the Cowboys' $1.2 billion stadium when he played St. Louis, and it just might have been Murray's best day of the season.
Even if he didn't quite finish all his runs.
Maybe he's not saving himself for the next play, but the numbers say Murray isn't hurting himself by sidestepping contact from time to time.
NOTES: The Cowboys signed LB Martez Wilson, a third-round pick by New Orleans in 2011, after he was released by the Saints last month. Dallas released TE Andre Smith and DT Everett Dawkins and dropped LB Taylor Reed from the practice squad. QB Alex Tanney was claimed by Cleveland off the Cowboys' practice squad. Garrett said there were no immediate plans to add a third quarterback.
"I never think about that,Deion Sanders Falcons Jersey UK," said Murray, who has 634 yards,2018 NFL Draft Jersey, four touchdowns and a shot at his first 1,000-yard season if he stays healthy. "Like I said, I think maybe that's my first time doing that. So I don't see it as a big deal."
"It's not cowardly," Garrett said. "He's the furthest thing from that. Just watch the rest of the game. Sometimes you make a judgment about how you see a situation and make a decision. When you re-evaluate it on tape, you think,Abdou Diallo Jersey, 'Maybe I could've done something different.' Those plays happen fast. You have to make a decision quickly."
Last year,NFL Jerseys China, Murray was on his way to a huge day in Baltimore when he sprained a foot late in the first half. He missed six games, then missed two more this year after spraining a knee ligament against Washington in Week 6.
IRVING,NFL Jerseys China, Texas (AP) — DeMarco Murray sped into the open field around right end, with a choice of taking on a defender or drifting toward the sideline.
Murray easing up as he went out of bounds — he actually did it twice — leading coach Jason Garrett to have a rare moment of candor by saying Murray "needs to finish runs better."
Let one thing be clear: Garrett wasn't questioning his running back's toughness. He was probably just as surprised as anyone to see the key to his running game choose comfort over contact.
It wasn't his best statistical day — that would be the 175-yard game against St. Louis, his only 100-yard day of the season. But the 6.1-yard average on 14 carries (86 yards) was second only to his dominance of the Rams.
"I thought it was good," Murray said. "I thought the offensive line blocked well. Hopefully we can continue to do that."
Now Murray's coming off back-to-back games of at least 80 yards for the first time since consecutive 100-yard outings his rookie season. And he's averaging nearly 6 yards per carry in his past two starts.
"Maybe that's not a dumb thing to do," Garrett said. "We just sit here with coaches and say couple of those you could've been more physical and aggressive with. He was physical and aggressive throughout the game and played a good football game for us. He was a big part of our success for the game."
So many times in his career,Custom Manchester United Jerseys, the bruising Dallas running back has turned up field and lowered his head. But not on this particular play Sunday against the New York Giants.
For his part, Murray says he basically felt trapped and figured it was the smart thing to do. He's missed games because of injuries in all three of his seasons, so the next thought is maybe he's trying to protect himself.
Murray shattered an ankle when a defender fell on his foot making a tackle seven weeks after the rookie had set a franchise record with 253 yards rushing in his first game as the primary back in 2011.
Wrong, he says. |
