Emmitt Smith: DeMarco Murray ‘could have had 2,500 yards'

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It seems as if the DeMarco Murray nitpicking just keeps coming.

A couple months after Dallas running back Joseph Randle said he thought Murray left some yards on the field last year, legendary Cowboy Emmitt Smith got in on the action as well.

"When I think about DeMarco Murray, he has his own talent, but when I was watching him run last year, and this is just me evaluating, I saw some opportunities there that was left on the football field where he could've had 2,500 yards. But he maximized what he had and he did the best with what he had," Smith said recently in an interview on Sports Radio 1310-AM in Dallas.

Murray had the best season of his career in 2014, rushing for a career-high 1,845 yards on 392 carries while being crowned rushing champion. However, much of Murray's success from last season has been credited to Dallas' offensive line, which was arguably the best in the NFL.

"There are certain talents out there that turn sugar into wine," Smith said. "DeMarco did that on his own, and yes he did have a great line in front of him to make that happen too."

Nevertheless, Murray's season was one for the record books.

After trading away star running back LeSean McCoy, Chip Kelly went out and signed not one, but two running backs in Murray and Ryan Mathews, to add with Darren Sproles and give the Eagles a dangerous combination in the backfield.

In Philadelphia, Murray will surely see his workload decrease with Mathews backing him up. That's not a bad thing, though, as Murray is in dangerous territory after his taxing number of carries from a season ago, as our Reuben Frank points out. Murray and Mathews will be able to split carries to ensure they remain healthy and durable throughout the season. 

As for the Cowboys, no clear cut starting running back has been decided upon yet. In the mix are Randle, Darren McFadden and Lance Dunbar. 

Regardless of who starts, Smith said he expects Dallas' running game to remain productive.

"Do I expect us to go out and run the ball exactly how DeMarco Murray ran last year?" he asked. "Probably not as an individual but I do see us collectively being able to run the ball as effectively as he did last year."

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