Cowboys running backs coach Gary Brown will work with DeMarco Murray this offseason to avoid contact where can, part of an ongoing effort to keep the University of Oklahoma product. Another reason they’d like Murray to stop initiating contact with defenders is that a rule change will make it so this year, if a back ducks his head going into a hit, it’ll be a penalty.
But Murray doesn’t plan on altering the way he approaches the game.
"I'm not changing my running style," Murray said, per ESPN Dallas. "If I get fined, hopefully, [Tony] Romo will take care of the first couple [of fines]."
The rule change has been criticized widely by running backs--including Cowboys Hall of Famer Emmitt Smith--for potentially making runners sitting ducks for closing defenders while others believe the rule will just be incredibly hard to call. This group includes head coach Jason Garrett.
"It's really a tricky thing from the standpoint of, it's so well-intended," Garrett said. "We all understand the challenges that it puts the officials in. A lot of the defenseless player calls they've had to make over the last couple years are hard calls. The game happens fast, and they've got to be bang, 'He hit him with his head first; it wasn't his shoulder.' Players duck. All the things that go into making those snap judgments. They're difficult.
"I think the real concern that the coaches might have is simply that it's a hard rule to officiate, and far be it from us to say we understand what an official's going through. But the game does happen fast and those collisions happen quickly. I think it's well-intended."
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