If you dislike the Dallas Cowboys you'll probably argue that a team with only one playoff victory in 16 seasons shouldn't be called America's Team.
ESPN's Stephen A. Smith brought up that point while Cowboys running back DeMarco Murray was on "First Take" Wednesday morning.
Unlike Smith, Murray was laid back when responding. Smith wasn't satisfied with several of Murray's answers so the co-host continued to get louder. Murray never seemed fazed by Smith's multiple attempts to get the third-year back to say something he might later regret.
"The stats say we haven't done those things you've said but all that matters is this year and right now," Murray said. "We're ready to take the next step and get things going."
In regards to the criticism that the Cowboys have received for going three consecutive seasons without a playoff berth, Murray said it's something he understands but is not concerned with. The 25-year-old Las Vegas native said he's only worried about the thoughts of the people within the organization.
"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."
Asked by Smith if the Cowboys underachieved last season, Murray responded: "Not at all. We're getting better." (Murray later said on "The Herd with Colin Cowherd" that the Cowboys have underachieved the last two seasons.)
When Smith reminded Murray that they've been 8-8 the last two years, Murray again responded: "We're getting better. That's all I can say about that. We're getting better."
Asked how they didn't underachieve, Murray again used that three-word response.
"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."
Not even Smith's attempt to focus on a future goal could get Murray off track.
"The goal this year is just to get better," Murray said. "Make sure we execute. You look at last year, in the fourth quarter, we were in every game. We got to finish better. We got to execute better. We got a lot of talent. … We all got to stay healthy, we all got to execute and make sure we're all on the same page."
No goal of winning the division, making the playoffs or the Super Bowl?
"Our goal is to get better during training camp," Murray said, "continue to build our foundation and we'll see what happens then."
Smith closed his line of questioning by asking for specifics on how the Cowboys are going to 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."
Follow Jon Machota on Twitter: @jonmachota
