IRVING -- In Alfred Morris' short time with the Cowboys, the veteran running back has immediately taken notice of Jason Garrett's standard.

Morris said the Cowboys head coach praised the team after Wednesday's organized team activities because they practiced well.

That wasn't the case Tuesday. There were missed assignments and the tempo of practice did not meet his standard.

"He ripped us a new one," Morris said. "He has a standard and I love that. ... 'This is the standard, don't go below this. Go higher, but don't go below it.' I love that."

First-round pick Ezekiel Elliott hasn't been around Garrett much, either. But he has also quickly become aware of the standard.

"The standard from coach Garrett is excellence," Elliott said. "You're the Dallas Cowboys, you're expected to compete for a Super Bowl every year, so that's nothing but excellence. The standard he has for us is the same standard we hold each other by."

Ultimately, the Cowboys would like to return to the offensive success they experienced in 2014, establishing the run and taking pressure off their defense. Darren McFadden, Elliott and Morris will likely each have a role in getting that run game on track.

Elliott is expected to take over DeMarco Murray's role as the bell cow.

But Jason Witten cautions those who simply believe plugging in a talented runner like Elliott will immediately flip Dallas back to a 12-4 team.

"Yeah, I think you've got to be careful," Witten said. "Every team is different. A lot of things happened in that season that you can't predict. But I think what our coaching staff and our organization has tried to do is create a winning formula. It starts with that, being an offense that attacks at all times and does it through both the run game and the pass game.

"That's with Tony [Romo] and then the running game by committee. I think [Elliott] is a great weapon. He's very eager to learn. He's a humble guy. Obviously he has a lot of talent, picked as high as he was. So he comes in here and seems like he's embracing this opportunity. As a rookie, you have to do that. I think he's done a really good job of that so far just in the couple of weeks I've been with him. He works the right way. He kind of fits our mold of what we're trying to do as a football team."