Twenty-eight years ago, then-Los Angeles Rams coach John Robinson asked his future Hall of Fame running back if he could handle 30 carries in a game.

Eric Dickerson couldn't say yes fast enough.

And when the 1986 season opener was over, Dickerson had done even more: 38 carries for 193 yards and two touchdowns. All that was left was to answer Robinson's next question.

View photos DeMarco Murray is on pace to carry the ball 424 times this season. (USA TODAY Sports) More

"He asked me, 'Well, do you think you can do it again?'" Dickerson recounted with a laugh.

You can tell that Dickerson likes telling that story. In his mind, it's a good illustration of what his NFL era was like. It was tough, challenging – in both good and bad ways. So you can understand why he takes a different view of Dallas Cowboys running back DeMarco Murray than the rest of us. As it stands, Murray is on pace for a mind-numbing 424 carries this season, which would set the league's single-season rushing attempts mark, eight more than what Larry Johnson did in 2006.

But Dickerson – the league's all-time single-season rushing leader – says this is all a breath of fresh air. Much to the contrary of popular hand-wringing.

"He's wearing the right number to do it," the Hall of Famer said with a laugh, noting his numerical kinship with Murray's No. 29. "… It comes down to the player, if he wants to carry it that much. That's his job if they give it to him 45 times."

In this more health-conscientious era of the NFL (or what some veterans call the "softer" era), that's almost an unthinkable stance. Sure, Murray is off to a captivating start. He's on track to break the 2,000-yard rushing mark. He's only the second NFL player in history to rush for at least 100 yards in the first six games of a season (the other is Jim Brown).

Yet, with concussions and the general knowledge of the pounding players take, it's hard to look at Murray and not cringe. From a professional standpoint, he's in a contract year and running straight into a bank. But from a medical standpoint, there's a safe plummeting toward him from the bank's second-floor window.

The Cowboys aren't exactly refuting that. Just last week, team owner Jerry Jones and head coach Jason Garrett were both fretting about Murray's workload. It should be dialed back, they said. Others should get involved in the running scheme – this was the memorandum.

View photos Eric Dickerson rushed for 1,821 yards in 1986, the season he carried the ball 404 times. (Getty Images) More

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