The Dallas Cowboys have made balance a priority. Tony Romo is not the type of quarterback that can carry an offense all by himself. He needs help from several players surrounding him. While he excels at being a game manager, Romo cannot be counted on to make every big play in clutch situations. As a result, Jerry Jones made the run game a real priority. DeMarco Murray was the man slated to be the new x-factor in Dallas, but so far that is not how things are working out.
Murray could potentially help make or break the Cowboy's upcoming season. He sits at No. 1 on the depth chart and expects to always be with the first team offense. However, during Saturday's crucial third preseason game where the starters stay in longer than usual, Murray was sitting on the bench for a good 20 minutes of game time. The running back was pulled from the game by Jason Garrett after fumbling on the team's second possession.
"It was a little frustrating, I got to be honest," Murray said, via FoxSports.com. "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. (Garrett) made the decision, and hey, I'm a team player so I respect the decision. He's a smart coach. Great coach. I'm always gonna be behind him. Whatever is best for the team, I'm all for it."
Murray is well-aware that bad mouthing the coach gets a player nowhere and so will fumbles. Murray was benched for Phillip Tanner. If this was a regular season game, the likelihood of that happening is slim. Murray returned in the second half with eight carries for 45 yards and 7-yard touchdown reception. He certainly made up for the fumble.
"We know how important the ball is," Murray said. "I think there's different approaches to go about it, so they chose to go about it that way. And I respect that. Just got to take care of the ball. At the end of the day, that's the whole message."
Jerry Jones praised the running back for how he handled to benching. The running back was not putting on the sideline or complaining to players about the move. The owner called Murray a "man" for playing hard in the situation.
The turnover issue is the biggest issue in Dallas. The previous week against Arizona, the Cowboys turned the ball over six times. Naturally starting that habit again was not sitting well with Garrett.
"DeMarco's a man. He understands team. He understands what his role is on this football team. We just felt that was the right thing to do, and he responded exactly how we thought he would respond, came back and played really hard and really well and took care of the rock," Garrett said.
Murray laughed with reports when asked if Romo would be benched if he threw an interception. Murray knew the answer to that question was no.
