How to replace DeMarco Murray, and other Cowboys camp storylines

A surprise playoff run last season that ended with a controversial call has the Dallas Cowboys thinking Super Bowl going into this season.

That’s been enough to rejuvenate a stagnant fan base, and most believe this Cowboys squad can end what has become a 20-year championship drought.

The journey begins Tuesday, when the Cowboys arrive at training camp in Oxnard, Calif. And there are plenty of storylines going into the season.

Here are five storylines to watch:

1. Replacing DeMarco Murray. Despite being dogged by some of the game’s greatest runners, such as Emmitt Smith and LaDainian Tomlinson, for not gaining more yards, Murray had a remarkably productive season. He led the league in rushing by almost 500 yards and carried it almost 400 times. That’s not going to be easy to reproduce, but the Cowboys are going all-in on backup Joseph Randle and newcomer Darren McFadden.

That seems like a gamble regardless of how talented the offensive line is. Randle has 105 total regular-season carries in two years, while the injury-prone McFadden has reached the 1,000-yard mark only once in seven seasons.

Did the Cowboys take what Murray did for granted? They’ll find out.

2. The stars’ practice schedules. As executive vice president Stephen Jones said recently, the art to training camp is simply getting out of it with no significant injuries.

The Cowboys played it safe with quarterback Tony Romo a year ago, taking precautionary measures with his surgically repaired back. Romo didn’t practice more than two consecutive days a year ago and, while it might not be that extreme, expect Romo to be monitored throughout camp.

So will wide receiver Dez Bryant, who missed most of the off-season program with a contract dispute. There’s no question Bryant is in shape and ready to go, but the Cowboys need to keep him in check early and not let him go 100 mph out of the gate.

Also expect players coming off injuries such as linebacker Sean Lee and right tackle Doug Free to be monitored early in camp.

3. Camp battles. The Cowboys’ roster is more set than in years past, but there is still a handful of position battles to watch, starting with linebacker.

Middle linebacker Rolando McClain is suspended for the first four games, opening the door for someone such as fourth-round draft pick Damien Wilson or free agent addition Jasper Brinkley to win the season-opening job. Second-year pro Anthony Hitchens will also be challenged in his pursuit of the strongside linebacker job.

Other position battles of note: La’el Collins likely pushing Ronald Leary for the starting left guard job, as well as the kick returner/fifth receiver spot to replace Dwayne Harris.

4. Points of emphasis. It’s always interesting to see what coach Jason Garrett and his staff are stressing in training camp. Plenty of importance is put on turnovers, goal-line sets and special teams.

But there should also be a heavy dose of time management. For all the controversy surrounding Dez Bryant’s non-catch in the divisional loss at Green Bay, the Cowboys butchered the end of the first half in that game.

They had a chance to make it a two-possession game-leading 14-7 with the ball, but couldn’t convert a third-and-1 from the 27. What followed was a missed field goal by the Cowboys, and a made field goal by the Packers.

Instead of a 17-7 or possibly 21-7 lead at halftime, the Cowboys only led 14-10 going into the locker room.

5. Increased expectations. The Cowboys had no outside expectations going into last season. The defense had been one of the worst in league history, Tony Romo was coming off another back surgery and Jason Garrett carried the dubious “lame-duck” label.

Now they are one of the sexier Super Bowl picks with a stout offensive line, a healthy Romo and an improved defense. It should be interesting to see how they handle the two vastly different outlooks going into the season.

This story was originally published July 25, 2015 at 4:49 PM with the headline "How to replace DeMarco Murray, and other Cowboys camp storylines."