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Darren McFadden’s Injury Woes Continue to Plague Him

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Darren McFadden Oakland Raiders

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Darren McFadden misses practice due to strained hamstring” or “Darren McFadden to be out 2 to 4 weeks with knee sprain” are words Dallas Cowboys fans should get used to hearing as this is par for the course for the oft-injured running back from Oakland. Clearly the latter injury is not something that has happened yet. Still, here we are only a few weeks into the OTAs and McFadden is already having to sit out due to a hamstring issue.

It is early in the offseason training program and there is certainly no need to push any of the team’s stars at this point, but when you are trying to revitalize your career with one of the best offenses in the league, you need to make yourself available and take advantage of every opportunity that’s awarded to you while you can. Last year was the first time in his career that he was available for all 16 games and the numbers he put up were far from impressive.

Now both McFadden and the Cowboys will point out the fact that he played behind an awful offensive line and had a rookie quarterback throwing to average at best receivers, and they would both be right in their claims. But this is the NFL and you are expected to produce even when you are presented with less-than-ideal situations. Tom Brady still produced two years ago without a single weapon on offense. Even Tony Romo put up Pro-Bowl like numbers behind one of the worst offensive lines in the league in his first year as a starter.

When given the opportunity to play behind a somewhat decent line in 2010, McFadden did put up over 1,100 yards on the ground and averaged over five yards a carry. He also caught 47 passes for 500 yards that same year, but his season was cut short due to injury. He came back out the following season and was starting to put up similar numbers when yet another injury slowed him down.

This year he has the chance to play behind possibly the best offensive line in the league, along with Pro Bowlers Tony Romo, WR Dez Bryant and TE Jason Witten. So if he is able to stay healthy and fend off the up-and-coming Joseph Randle, he could once again put up big numbers and help this team get to the Super Bowl. But as the early returns are showing everyone in Dallas, it looks as though injuries may once again keep that from actually happening.

Kelly Anderson is a blogger for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @bgipp01 or add him to your network on Google.

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