DeMarco Murray 'disappointed' in fumbles streak

By Tim MacMahon | ESPNDallas.com


ST. LOUIS -- It seems as if you can count on three things with DeMarco Murray each game.

Murray will rush for at least 100 yards. He will score a touchdown. And he will fumble on the Dallas Cowboys' first series of the game.

As pleased as Murray might be about his production, he’s awfully frustrated about his problems holding on to the football.

“It’s very disappointing,” Murray said. “I’m very disappointed in letting that one go. I’ve got to get it fixed and I will get it fixed.”

Murray, who had only three lost fumbles in his first three NFL seasons, thought he fixed the problem with his decision during the week to go back to using his right hand to hold the ball. He held the ball primarily with his left hand in the first two games, a change he made before this season to free up his strong hand for stiff-arming.

But Murray was holding the ball with his right hand when Rams linebacker Alec Ogletree stripped it Sunday, knocking it loose as Murray was falling to the ground after being tripped.

“Great play by them,” said Murray, who has lost fumbles in four straight games dating to last season. “I think 52 came back and made the fumble happen. I’ve just got to hold it high and tight.”

Coach Jason Garrett clearly doesn’t consider benching Murray to be a reasonable response to his repeated fumbles. It’s hard to blame Garrett, considering that Murray is the NFL’s leading rusher with 385 yards after becoming the first Dallas back with three consecutive 100-yard games since Emmitt Smith.

“We’re going to continue to give him the ball and he’s got to get it right,” Garrett said. “He’s going to get it right.”

I bet the coaches are telling him "don't fumble" instead of, "protect the football."

They're planting the seed for the fumbles, in his mind.

Remember when Tiki Barber had a fumbling problem and he changed the way he cradled the football? Murray needs to change his technique instead of just switching hands.

Cowboysrule122 said:

Remember when Tiki Barber had a fumbling problem and he changed the way he cradled the football? Murray needs to change his technique instead of just switching hands.

Keep reading...

Yep he should talk to Emmitt about ball security. But the main thing that cured Emnmitt's fumble habit he had in college, high school and even pee-wee was when he came to Dallas, and Jimmy admonished his staff to always say "protect the football" and never, "don't fumble."

It's all in the mind, the Pygmalion Effect.

I don't know their stats but schiano had every every player hold The ball ridiculously high and tight. Hire him

Cowboysrule122 said:

Remember when Tiki Barber had a fumbling problem and he changed the way he cradled the football? Murray needs to change his technique instead of just switching hands.

Keep reading...

The problem is they did change his technique, and that's probably led to the fumbles.

With the way he had been carrying it, he had like 3 fumbles in 600 touches

Doomsday said:

Yep he should talk to Emmitt about ball security. But the main thing that cured Emnmitt's fumble habit he had in college, high school and even pee-wee was when he came to Dallas, and Jimmy admonished his staff to always say "protect the football" and never, "don't fumble."

It's all in the mind, the Pygmalion Effect.

Keep reading...

Didn't Emmitt and all the other RBs had to carry the ball with them AT ALL TIMES --- even off the field, and every player, even on offense were to always attack that ball?

LAZARUS_LOGAN said:

Didn't Emmitt and all the other RBs had to carry the ball with them AT ALL TIMES --- even off the field, and every player, even on offense were to always attack that ball?

Keep reading...

It worked for home EC class. Carried an egg around for a week without cracking it and now I'm fit to raise a child.

I got a brown egg. I immediately threw that shit on the pavement as soon as I left school and told my teachers the next day that a black guy stole it.

I remember when I was a young black running back at a college who's color scheme was similar to Florida State and I fumbled in a game so coach made me carry a football with me all over campus and challenged the other players to get the ball from me and one time in English class I had the ball but another player knocked if from my grip while I was taking notes so he, I, and a few other players in that class went tumbling down the aisle to the front of the class trying to recover the ball which I ultimately did.

Ask Jane at True Value.

I didn't read that but I knew what it was by the body of text. Only hostile gets you to type more than two sentences. So :