Dallas Cowboys head coach Jason Garrett sounds like a man who knows it won't be easy to replace the prodigious contributions of running back DeMarco Murray.
Murray, behind the vaunted Cowboys offensive line, currently comprised of four first-round talents - if you include the recently added La'el Collins - amassed over 1,800 yards rushing on 392 carries last year - totals which led the NFL by no small margin.
With Murray off to the greener pastures of Philadelphia this offseason, Garrett and team owner Jerry Jones know it's going to be ifficult to replicate that kind of success on the ground, no matter who ends up seeing the majority of the carries for Dallas.
One of the men seemingly at the head of the line of possible replacements for Dallas is former Murray back up, Joseph Randle.
Randle, likely more confident that he can fill the hole left by Murray's departure than Garrett or Jones or any of the fans in Dallas, suggested recently that Murray "left a lot of meat on the bone" in the run game for the Cowboys last year.
Garrett was not pleased by Randle's comments.
"We addressed that with Joe really immediately,'' Garrett said, via David Moore of The Dallas Morning News. "I think sometimes comments like that get taken out of context or they are not really intended the way they come out.
"I think Joe has great respect for DeMarco as we all do. Joe did a good job with his opportunities. Joe and everyone else on our football team, we have to focus on what we do, not with what we say and I think he understands that.''
Considering Randle has all of 105 rushing attempts for 507 yards and five touchdowns in two seasons of NFL work to his name, it's not surprising that Garrett wants him focused on working and not offering media sound bites.
"But the biggest thing is you need to focus on doing, not talking,'' Garrett said.
The still just 23-year-old Randle will be competing with veteran Darren McFadden for the lead role in the Cowboys backfield this season. It'd probably go a long way toward helping his cause if he kept his mouth shut from here on out.
