DeMarco Murray was making the rounds at ESPN’s headquarters appearing on Colin Cowherd’s radio show and finding his way on to ESPN’s First Take. Stephen A. Smith kept testing DeMacro Murray, but the young running back handled it like a pro and weathered the storm.
Smith asked Murray about the Cowboy’s nick name “America’s team” which has come under fire after the lack of postseason success the Cowboys have had since their last Super Bowl victory.
“The stats say we haven’t done those things you’ve said but all that matters is this year and right now,” Murray said, via the Dallas Morning News. “We’re ready to take the next step and get things going.”
He responded to criticism that the Cowboys haven’t made the playoffs in three seasons.
“We understand the expectations here in Dallas Cowboys Nation,” Murray said. “We have a lot of great players and we’re definitely ready to change some things around here. We moved some things around in the off-season and we’re getting better. This year, we’re doing some things differently and we’re excited about where we’re going, where we’re heading.”
Smith asked if the Cowboys underachieved last year.
“Not at all. We’re getting better.”
Smith pointed out that the Cowboys have gone 8-8 in consecutive seasons.
“We’re getting better. That’s all I can say about that. We’re getting better.”
Smith wasn’t satisfied with that answer and pressed Murray again.
“We’re getting better,” Murray said. “Every day, we’re getting better. Last year was last year. We’re not talking about the past, we’re not talking about the Super Bowl victories. Right now, we’re talking about this year, 2013.”
Smith finally buckled and asked for specifics on how the Cowboys will improve.
“I think the No. 1 thing we need to do is finish,” Murray said. “I feel there were a lot of games last year that we were in it early, we were in it late, but we just didn’t finish. There was times where we didn’t convert that first down that we needed, that we kicked a field goal when we needed six points. I think finishing for the Cowboys is going to be huge for us this year. We worked on a lot of situations this year in mini-camp and OTAs and that’ll translate over to training camp. We’re working hard and that’s all that we can do.”