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It sure looks like the Dallas Cowboys have found their featured running back to hitch their wagon to. Since taking over for the injured Felix Jones, DeMarco Murray has been outstanding. So good in fact that he just set a franchise record for most rushing yards (601) in a four-game span. No, that’s not a mistake, not even Emmit Smith amassed as many yards in a four-game stretch during his Hall of Fame career in Big D. Murray’s 135 yard performance against the Buffalo Bills in Week 10 was the third time in four games that the rookie out of Oklahoma has eclipsed the 100-yard mark, and he now has 674 yards on just 100 carries. Jerry Jones has been so impressed that he felt comfortable naming Murray the starter for the foreseeable future, even when Felix Jones does return from injury. We’ll see how both backs are managed moving forward, but needless to say, if Murray keeps playing at this high of a level, the Cowboys’ chances of making the playoffs increase exponentially.
Murray joined ESPN Radio Las Vegas to talk about enjoying the key role he’s been playing in the Cowboys’ offense lately, if he’s starting to feel all the hits add up now that he’s a featured part of the running game with Felix Jones out with an injury, if the Bills defenders were trash talking to him all game as it appeared on television, how Tony Romo’s success in the passing game set up a big game for the rushing attack, Jerry Jones naming him the starting running back even when Jones does return healthy, how he’s got a good relationship with Jones and not being concerned that they’ll be able to both be successful running the ball for the Cowboys’ offense, the offensive line getting acclimated to his rushing style and playing at a high level lately, and how it’s difficult but important to have a good return to practice on Wednesdays each week.
How much he’s enjoying playing a large role in the Cowboys’ offense lately:
“Oh yeah, I’m definitely having fun. The minute you stop having fun, you’re probably not going to have a lot of success. I love football, I love doing what I do, and our team is playing very well right now. We’re on a high rise.”
If he’s starting to feel the hits add up now that he’s been a featured part of the running game:
“No, I mean, I get massages every Tuesday and Friday, I just happened to get it at 5 o’clock today. My body’s doing well, I’m just going to continue doing what I’ve been doing, keeping my same routine. But my body’s doing great.”
On what looked like quite a bit of trash talking going on between Bills defenders and him:
“The first time I did get into it a bit with one guy, but other than that we were just kind of congratulating each other back and forth. But besides that one incident, there was no trash talking; it was just congratulating.”
On the poor play of the Bills’ defense and if he could tell that he and the Cowboys offense were going to have a big day against them:
“To a certain extent. When you start off the game 11-for-11, Tony Romo did a great job passing, so when you start the game like that, you kind of get them on your heels, and they tend to drop back and play the pass more than the run. That definitely helped out our running game. But Tony was on fire this weekend, and the offensive line did a great job giving him time and also making lanes for me to run through.”
On Jerry Jones naming Murray the starting running back even when Felix Jones returns from injury:
“I haven’t heard that to be honest, I didn’t know he named the starter.”
How it doesn’t really matter who’s the starting running back since multiple backs are used by every team these days:
“It really doesn’t to be honest. I think Coach Skin and Coach Pete do a great job rotating us in, who ever is hot at that time, I’m sure they’ll go with that guy. But me and Felix have a great relationship, so there definitely won’t be any animosity between us. But it really doesn’t matter who starts the game, it’s all about just working hard throughout the game and getting the W at the end of the day.”
If he thinks the offensive line is getting a sense for his running style:
“Definitely, we have a great line. We have a lot of good chemistry between the line and myself. But it all starts with the line on both sides of the ball — if they have success, the football team will have success. They work hard throughout the week, and we definitely have a good thing going on right now.”
On the challenge of returning to practice on Wednesdays:
“To a certain extent. Those are the days you got full-pads in practice. They’re hard, it’s a grind, you’re still a little sore at that time. But that’s when all the banging goes on, and it’s very important for a team because that’s when you get better as a team in my perspective. The inside drill is very important for the line and myself. So during practice you might not like it, but afterwards you definitely feel like you got a great workout and you got better.”
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