What if the Cowboys had waited? And another what if

CowboyRoy

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No he didn’t. But he did get second-guessed anytime a 50/50 call went wrong over the ten years he was here. And of course, not credited at all when they went right. Typical.

We’re seeing now what mediocre coaching actually looks like. Hope you’re enjoying it. Personally, I feel like it’s been riveting.

LOL............hold on a minute!!!! Is the #1 Garrett lover coming out of hiding to defend his fallen hero?

Do you miss him? How often do you think about Garrett? Are you still sad?

The breakup obviously was hard on you since you have been pretty much a ghost around here this year. Broken heart?
 

GimmeTheBall!

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What if Jerry had the courage to stonewall Zeke in his holdout in the summer of 2019? (Like the Steelers wisely did with LaVeon Bell) What if Zeke would have been told they weren’t going to negotiate with him two years early? What if indeed...

In the summer of 2016, the Dallas Cowboys signed Ezekiel Elliott, the 4th pick of the 2016 NFL draft, to a 4 year contract with a 5th year extension option. After 3 very productive seasons (one partially interrupted by a suspension) the Cowboys announced in April 2019 that they would be exercising Zeke’s 5th year option. In fact they announced it before he started his 4th year.

Later in the summer of 2019, Zeke famously headed to Cabo to try and twist Jerry’s arm early in a training camp holdout. Not going into his last year of a contract. After three years. We all know Jerry caved like a cheap suit and made Zeke the highest paid RB in league history.

Fast forward to now. If Jerry hadn’t caved, and we had stayed the course, Zeke’s rookie deal 5th year would be expiring in a few months. Or he could have turned into LaVeon Bell and left. And It’s safe to say had we waited, these things might have happened:
  • Zeke would either be receiving a significantly different contract for his future from Dallas, or perhaps even from somewhere besides Dallas.
  • Without the albatross of the Zeke deal, our roster flexibility would be much rosier.
Sure, hindsight is 20/20. But paying RBs a king’s ransom in today’s NFL is just foolish. We should have known that before 2019. It’s why the only two other teams that made the same mistake by signing big RB deals with LaVeon Bell (the jets) and Todd Gurley (Rams) both got out of those fat contracts early and cut their losses.

And since Zeke signed his big deal, his performance has fallen off the table. Starting last year when we still had T-Fred and the rest or our once great line. Want evidence?
  • Since 2019, Zeke is tied for 25th in the league with just five 20-yard runs in 25 games.
  • Compare that to Nick Chubb and Derrick Henry, who both have eighteen 20 yard runs during that same 25 game stretch.
  • Since 2018, he has dropped from 4.7 ypc to 4.5 in 2019 to 3.7 this year.
So here’s the real question Dallas radio sports man Bob Sturm recently posed:
“If Zeke is no longer breaking big plays — and there are very few cases of players actually getting more explosive with age and wear and tear — should the Cowboys seriously consider turning down his March 2021 activator and playing with $24 million in dead money (split into two seasons) to get out of another doubling-down of his contract in 2022?”

Count me in on that plan. Maybe we could learn from our mistake and move on as the jets and Rams did.

Dear lad: I am of 2 minds on this matter.
The voice in me big and manly head says "Jerry and most of the fandom really believed in Zeke back in 2019. Even I believed Zeke would be a durable 5.0 yard a carry bloke with explosive breakaway power.
I thought, however, that Jerry caved too early and paid the fat one too much.
I came away with the feeling, well, at least our Gringo beast Zeke won't be eating all the food in Cabo in a country that sometimes has food shortages.
No one back then as recently as 2019 saw this debacle coming.

On the other hand, as a one-time survivor of a 3-Jitney crash, I am a firm believer
in limiting your losses and living to fight another day.
Yes, in 2021, trade that fat cat and eat whatever losses we have to.
Zeke is mundane. Quickly ran out of gas. 3.8 ypc average? That is 40th in the league.
 

GimmeTheBall!

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LOL............hold on a minute!!!! Is the #1 Garrett lover coming out of hiding to defend his fallen hero?

Do you miss him? How often do you think about Garrett? Are you still sad?

The breakup obviously was hard on you since you have been pretty much a ghost around here this year. Broken heart?
Have you, at last, no decency.
What is wrong with you?
Garrett, for all his limitations will prove to be more valuable to N.Y. than Big Mac will in 2 miserable years (if that) in Dallas.
 

eromeopolk

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What if Jerry had the courage to stonewall Zeke in his holdout in the summer of 2019? (Like the Steelers wisely did with LaVeon Bell) What if Zeke would have been told they weren’t going to negotiate with him two years early? What if indeed...

In the summer of 2016, the Dallas Cowboys signed Ezekiel Elliott, the 4th pick of the 2016 NFL draft, to a 4 year contract with a 5th year extension option. After 3 very productive seasons (one partially interrupted by a suspension) the Cowboys announced in April 2019 that they would be exercising Zeke’s 5th year option. In fact they announced it before he started his 4th year.

Later in the summer of 2019, Zeke famously headed to Cabo to try and twist Jerry’s arm early in a training camp holdout. Not going into his last year of a contract. After three years. We all know Jerry caved like a cheap suit and made Zeke the highest paid RB in league history.

Fast forward to now. If Jerry hadn’t caved, and we had stayed the course, Zeke’s rookie deal 5th year would be expiring in a few months. Or he could have turned into LaVeon Bell and left. And It’s safe to say had we waited, these things might have happened:
  • Zeke would either be receiving a significantly different contract for his future from Dallas, or perhaps even from somewhere besides Dallas.
  • Without the albatross of the Zeke deal, our roster flexibility would be much rosier.
Sure, hindsight is 20/20. But paying RBs a king’s ransom in today’s NFL is just foolish. We should have known that before 2019. It’s why the only two other teams that made the same mistake by signing big RB deals with LaVeon Bell (the jets) and Todd Gurley (Rams) both got out of those fat contracts early and cut their losses.

And since Zeke signed his big deal, his performance has fallen off the table. Starting last year when we still had T-Fred and the rest or our once great line. Want evidence?
  • Since 2019, Zeke is tied for 25th in the league with just five 20-yard runs in 25 games.
  • Compare that to Nick Chubb and Derrick Henry, who both have eighteen 20 yard runs during that same 25 game stretch.
  • Since 2018, he has dropped from 4.7 ypc to 4.5 in 2019 to 3.7 this year.
So here’s the real question Dallas radio sports man Bob Sturm recently posed:
“If Zeke is no longer breaking big plays — and there are very few cases of players actually getting more explosive with age and wear and tear — should the Cowboys seriously consider turning down his March 2021 activator and playing with $24 million in dead money (split into two seasons) to get out of another doubling-down of his contract in 2022?”

Count me in on that plan. Maybe we could learn from our mistake and move on as the jets and Rams did.
This is nothing against you. You have always posted sound reason. Your analysis of the situation is correct.

However, I was always taught "Don't clean up dumb people ...it. They're just going to eat more and ....it in the same spot you cleaned up. Leave them alone in their ....it, and have them clean their own ....it.

Jerry Dumbo GM Jones made this mess. He paid a RB, 2 one legged LBs, a DE that was unreliable his first 3 years in the NFL, and paid a tweener DE/DT before paying his Franchise QB with a long term contract. Jerry fooled around with a pathetic "learn on the job" puppet Head Coach wasting talent, and watched his NFC Championship contending defense built during the Parcells years vanish and did not reload for over a decade on defense even with an All Pro RB and Pro Bowl QB, both on rookie deals.

So let Jerry Dumbo GM Jones live in his own crap and clean up is own crap.

Anything Jerry Dumbo GM Jones does with Zeke, Smith, Lee, Lawrence, Crawford, and Dak is not my care. Which reminds me of another saying, "A fool and his money is soon parted". Jerry's got a lot of greenback toilet paper. Let him use it.

Cowboys should worry about the Vikings RB not Zeke.
 

Idgit

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LOL............hold on a minute!!!! Is the #1 Garrett lover coming out of hiding to defend his fallen hero?

Do you miss him? How often do you think about Garrett? Are you still sad?

The breakup obviously was hard on you since you have been pretty much a ghost around here this year. Broken heart?

Tough season for you, eh bro? I feel bad for you with all the losing and coaching problems because of how far in front of your skis you got talking ish when you had no clue. +3 wins for hiring McCarthy alone! And here it’s week 10 of the season and we have 2 wins, total and some bad coaching decisions and the first sign of significant player discontent with a staff in a decade. I mean...ouch. It’s been brutal.
 

CowboyRoy

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Tough season for you, eh bro? I feel bad for you with all the losing and coaching problems because of how far in front of your skis you got talking ish when you had no clue. +3 wins for hiring McCarthy alone! And here it’s week 10 of the season and we have 2 wins, total and some bad coaching decisions and the first sign of significant player discontent with a staff in a decade. I mean...ouch. It’s been brutal.
lol.....no it’s been great actually. I’ve reemed the coaching for their errors whenever they happen. Unlike you I don’t applaud ineptitude.

every staff gets bashed or applauded based on the results. There is no homer logic here.

and unlike you I don’t need excuses or 10 years to evaluate a coach.

getting a top 5 pick would be music to my ears, punks like jaylon and zeke have been exposed which hastens their exit.

Meanwhile your lover over at the giants is overseeing one of the worsts offenses in football and he didn’t lose his starting g qb or half his players. No surprise there. Jones has regressed.
 

TheSkaven

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What would have happened:

1. Jerry holds the line, Zeke comes back after the Cowboys start 3-0 without him.
2. Zeke would have been signed during the offseason.

Same outcome.
 

garyo1954

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Tough season for you, eh bro? I feel bad for you with all the losing and coaching problems because of how far in front of your skis you got talking ish when you had no clue. +3 wins for hiring McCarthy alone! And here it’s week 10 of the season and we have 2 wins, total and some bad coaching decisions and the first sign of significant player discontent with a staff in a decade. I mean...ouch. It’s been brutal.

You can tell its been a tough year for some folks when they say the Giants have one of the worst offenses in the league and the Cowboys have only scored 9 more points (204 to 195). Dare we ask how he feels about the Cowboys?

And no mention of Saquon Barkley lest we see heads exploding!
 

ultron

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The guy was the #1 running back in the world when he was a senior in college. From 2015-2018 Zeke was the best RB in college football and won 2/3 rushing titles in the nfl and the only reason he didn’t get it 3 years in a row is because he got suspended for no reason, for 6 games in a season that is arguably the best of his entire career.

In other words, they had to sign Zeke and he’ll be here for 2 more seasons & then he’ll be cut.
 

SteveTheCowboy

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You can tell its been a tough year for some folks when they say the Giants have one of the worst offenses in the league and the Cowboys have only scored 9 more points (204 to 195). Dare we ask how he feels about the Cowboys?

And no mention of Saquon Barkley lest we see heads exploding!
Saquon Barkley
 

SteveTheCowboy

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The guy was the #1 running back in the world when he was a senior in college. From 2015-2018 Zeke was the best RB in college football and won 2/3 rushing titles in the nfl and the only reason he didn’t get it 3 years in a row is because he got suspended for no reason, for 6 games in a season that is arguably the best of his entire career.

In other words, they had to sign Zeke and he’ll be here for 2 more seasons & then he’ll be cut.
Suspended when the police said the girl lied, and GODell's female investigator said nothing happened.
GODells' vendetta against Jerry and Zeke paid the price.

Oh yeah...after the Cowboy's best season in YEARS. A Rookie MVP, NFL Rushing Champ and Coach Of The Year.
 

Idgit

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You can tell its been a tough year for some folks when they say the Giants have one of the worst offenses in the league and the Cowboys have only scored 9 more points (204 to 195). Dare we ask how he feels about the Cowboys?

And no mention of Saquon Barkley lest we see heads exploding!

The Giants are a well-coached team. They’re juggling starters some at some positions, but I think they’ll be getting better down the stretch.

This season has been just brutal to watch. Not just the bad Cowboys football but the empty stands and the boring games is all really adding up. I have to admit to a certain perverse satisfaction in watching all the backpedaling going on in the threads though. So much smack-talk proven so completely and obviously wrong.

I’d feel better about it if it didn’t signal the need for a major rebuild with a front office I have no faith in whatsoever coming very soon.
 

garyo1954

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The Giants are a well-coached team. They’re juggling starters some at some positions, but I think they’ll be getting better down the stretch.

This season has been just brutal to watch. Not just the bad Cowboys football but the empty stands and the boring games is all really adding up. I have to admit to a certain perverse satisfaction in watching all the backpedaling going on in the threads though. So much smack-talk proven so completely and obviously wrong.

I’d feel better about it if it didn’t signal the need for a major rebuild with a front office I have no faith in whatsoever coming very soon.


We're in the same boat.
 

Trendnet

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Elliott's production has dropped EVERY YEAR since his rookie season so you can't blame this year's line for that. Starting his rookie season 2016 he had 1631 yards, 2017 suspension season he had 983 yards, 2018 he had 1434 yards which is less than 2016, and 2019 he had 1357 Yards which is less than 2018 and at the present rate he won't pass last years amount. You need to stop thinking of Elliott from his rookie season and see that it's been down hill since.

His contract if he's cut as a post June 1st will add the exact same amount to the dead money next year as if they kept him and suffer another year of down production.
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hahaha, this is so absurd.

His production went down "EVERY YEAR" if you don't look at it linearly.
 

gjkoeppen

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hahaha, this is so absurd.

His production went down "EVERY YEAR" if you don't look at it linearly.




I know this is going to be really tough for you to answer but what is the primary function for a running back? Need any hints? It's gaining yards by running. Now here's another tough question for you. How does someone monitor how well a running back has gained yardage. Well they add up the total number of yards a running back gains in each game and at the end of the season they have a total number of yards he has gained for the season. Now even a kid in the 1st grade can tell you that 982 is less than 1631 and 1434 is less than 1631 and 1357 is less than 1434. So what has that shown us. Lets see, that the production of a running back's primary function has drop in production in every year since his first.
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Trendnet

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I know this is going to be really tough for you to answer but what is the primary function for a running back? Need any hints? It's gaining yards by running. Now here's another tough question for you. How does someone monitor how well a running back has gained yardage. Well they add up the total number of yards a running back gains in each game and at the end of the season they have a total number of yards he has gained for the season. Now even a kid in the 1st grade can tell you that 982 is less than 1631 and 1434 is less than 1631 and 1357 is less than 1434. So what has that shown us. Lets see, that the production of a running back's primary function has drop in production in every year since his first.
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That's a lot of words just to say "what do linear mean"
 

gjkoeppen

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That's a lot of words just to say "what do linear mean"



No it's a lot of words that Elliott's production has fallen every year since his rookie season. Oh and linear:

1. arranged in or extending along a straight or nearly straight line.
2. progressing from one stage to another in a single series of steps; sequential.

Neither of which applies to Elliott's loss of production. Stop trying to use words that you really don't know what they mean.
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jnday

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if my aunt had balls she'd be my uncle! That said I wish the cowboys had not picked Zeke with the number 4. Looking babk its apparent how dumb it was and then compound it by extending him. But I'm sure the OSU apologist will back Zeke to no end.

The right pick was Ramsey although I cant stand him either
With Ramsey’s attitude, just how long would he have stayed in Dallas? Ramsey definitely hasn’t had the impact on the teams that he has played for that Zeke has had. I will be the first to say that Zeke has declined rather rapidly, but I sure don’t Ramsey would have had the direct effect that Zeke has had on wins or loses.
 

starfan1

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With Ramsey’s attitude, just how long would he have stayed in Dallas? Ramsey definitely hasn’t had the impact on the teams that he has played for that Zeke has had. I will be the first to say that Zeke has declined rather rapidly, but I sure don’t Ramsey would have had the direct effect that Zeke has had on wins or loses.

I would agree with the Ramsey and attitude portion but disagree with impact part. Imagine Ramsey and Jones in the secondary for 4 years along with the GOAT (Heath) lol! Zekes production could have been duplicated or even exceeded by other backs certainly henry behind this line. I mean Ramsay has been a top CB for 5 years running. him and Jones in secondary and second round pick of Henry

Much more impactful then just Zeke. The strength of this team was the OLINE which made it clear that more than just Zeke could have excelled. (Murray, McFadden, Morris all did well)
 
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