Todd Archer, ESPN Staff Writer 6y

After idling in Cowboys' garage, Alfred Morris starting to rev up

FRISCO, Texas -- Alfred Morris doesn't do flash. It's why he still drives a 1991 Mazda 626 he has nicknamed "Bentley."

Bentley had been in the garage for most of the season and only recently went to the shop. It seems Morris was fiddling around with the fuses the day before the Dallas Cowboys left for training camp in July and shorted the ignition.

Some self-admitted laziness kept Morris from getting the Mazda to the repair shop, but his wife took the initiative to get it fixed. In 2013, the car was retooled, fitted with a GPS and a camera system, among other upgrades not part of the 1991 model, so while it has 147,000 miles on the odometer, the engine is relatively fresh.

"Still young," Morris said. "Still a lot of life."

Morris was talking about his Mazda, but he might have been talking about himself as well. He finally got the car back Saturday, two days after he ran for a season-high 127 yards and a touchdown against the Washington Redskins, his former team.

In four games after Ezekiel Elliott was suspended for six games, Morris has run 64 times for 307 yards. Over a 16-game season, that would translate to 1,228 yards on 288 carries, which is similar to three of his first four seasons with Washington in which he ran for 1,613, 1,275 and 1,074 yards.

Morris is not a back who will dazzle with breathtaking moves and dazzling long runs, although he has a 70-yarder this season. His secret is between the tackles, the dirty yards, and making sure a play that can get only 3 yards doesn't turn into a negative run because he was looking for a long run.

"He's one of those guys that is always moving forward, very rarely takes negative plays," offensive coordinator Scott Linehan said. "He's just got a feel for the game. He's got a patient run style, which a lot of guys get in a hurry to get up in there. He runs with a really good pace, but he doesn't outrun his blocks. I think that's a big part of why he is one of those guys that can just sustain the ability to take the ball 25 times a game and be productive and at the end of the day he's probably going to average a little over 4 yards per carry, and that's what you have to do in this league."

Morris had 89 yards on 15 carries in the second half against Washington. Because the Cowboys did not fall behind by multiple scores, like they did in their three-game losing streak against the Atlanta Falcons, Philadelphia Eagles and Los Angeles Chargers, they were able to stick with the run game.

His style fits with the Cowboys' zone running scheme.

"He can do a lot of things, but he's really, really good in the zone game," right guard Zack Martin said. "When we really started to pick it up, we went straight to the wide zone, kind of our bread and butter."

One time Morris tried a spin move, looking for extra yards, and was knocked backward.

"It's a game of inches," Morris said. "Say you get those 2 yards, a third-and-8 is a lot more manageable than third-and-15, so it's a big deal to me. If I can get back to the line of scrimmage, even if it's like a busted play and somebody came free, that's a win to me just because a negative gain is only going to make it that much harder to convert."

Morris' 27 carries were the third most of his career and the most since he had 33 against the Cowboys in the 2012 season finale when he scored three touchdowns. His 127 yards were the fourth most he has had in a game and his most since 139 yards in 2013 against the Minnesota Vikings.

"I felt good, honestly," Morris said. "I mean, like three or four days of rest, I felt great. Usually I don't get sore until like two days after the game, but even when I woke up [last] Saturday, my back was a little sore, but I'm like, 'I'm good. Yeah, I feel good.'"

His hold on being the Cowboys' lead back is likely going to be gone after two more games with Elliott set to return from his suspension on Dec. 24 against the Seattle Seahawks. With Morris, the Cowboys' run game has been efficient, and he has potentially helped his future by playing well in a contract year.

"It's good for me to kind of show, ‘Hey, I still got this,' because I still do," Morris said. "And I know a lot of people may be like, 'Oh, he's washed out,' but I don't listen to that."

His production as a lead back has returned, just like Bentley.

"I got my baby back," Morris said. "That's all that matters."

He was talking about his car, but he could have been talking about his game, too.

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