DeMarco Murray ready for more carries

Dallas Cowboys running back DeMarco Murray certainly has feature back talent, but the issue with Murray has been durability. He missed three games in 2011, six games last season, and a common concern with Murray is how long he can hold up before a nagging injury takes him down for a few games. Apparently that worry isn’t a deterrent for the Cowboys, as Murray is expecting a larger workload in today’s game against the Kansas City Chiefs.

Dallas Cowboys running back DeMarco Murray (29) runs with the ball against the New York Giants at AT

Murray said, via ESPN Dallas, “I thought it went well. I thought we ran it 20 times but I know they want to run it more, we’ll see how that goes. Whenever you get passes like that, sometimes those are better than handoff runs. (You get) a little bit more space and things of that nature (to run). I thought they did a good job of calling plays.”

When he said, “I thought it went well,” he is referencing the short passes the Cowboys sent his way. Last week against the New York Giants, Murray caught eight passes in addition to the 20 carries he got on the ground. It was a productive day for Murray, but fantasy owners, such as myself, can feel even more excited about Murray’s chances at getting touches against the Chiefs. If the Cowboys do indeed want to give Murray a higher dosage of carries, then he could end up clearing 30 touches. Health is always a question, but it looks like the Cowboys are willing to bypass those concerns.

Jason Garrett wants the Cowboys offense to be more balanced, and they weren’t balanced last week despite the carries Murray received. Rookie Joseph Randle didn’t get a sniff, and only three carries were used up by players other than Murray. The Cowboys offense has always wanted to be more balanced, and I think there’s more of an urgency for that balance with Tony Romo and Dez Bryant playing through some pain. Murray looks poised for another good game against the Chiefs, and I want to see if he can get 25 carries and five receptions.

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