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Jerry Jones: Offense Is 'Ahead Of My Expectations'

IRVING (105.3 THE FAN) -- Jerry Jones showed humility this offseason when laying the foundation of expectations for the Dallas Cowboys, using phrases like "uphill battle" and "challenge".

But after a 3-1 start, including a 38-17 trouncing of the New Orleans Saints on Sunday, the tone has changed.

"We were downplaying expectations for the reasons that, look what we were trying to do to build that defense and we really hadn't seen [Zack] Martin, for instance, in the summer," said Jones with Shan & RJ on 105.3 The Fan. "There were some parts we hadn't seen."

Jerry Jones joins Shan & RJ

Jones now believes the offensive line has "gelled", a big reason why DeMarco Murray leads the NFL in rushing with 534 yards through four games. That's 156 yards more than Pittsburgh's Le'Veon Bell, the league's second leading rusher.

"We're ahead of my expectations [from] last summer offensively," added Jones.

Murray also leads the league in another rushing category -- carries. His 99 rushing attempts is 18 more than any other back and puts him on pace for 396 attempts. His 217 carries last season was a career high. For reference, LeSean McCoy led the NFL in 2013 with 314 carries.

Jones calls the Cowboys running back group a "a really good situation" with Joseph Randle and Lance Dunbar more than capable of providing relief for Murray.

"It's probably smart to ease Randle in there more and probably smart for a production standpoint -- for winning - to get Dunbar some more touches."

And the idea that Tony Romo, who has gone three straight games with fewer than 30 pass attempts, is better off taking a secondary role?

"I think you'll see him at times take it on his shoulders and make it happen."

(©2014 CBS Local Media, a division of CBS Radio Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)

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