If no one on this board knows what this team looks like without Zeke, then

[Risen Star]

Operation Zeke isn't really that good has commenced.

 

[khiladi]

Our OL is great, but Zeke in his first year had close to a thousand yards of his 1600 with two games left, AFTER the first hit. This guy is always moving forward even when hit and his greatest ability is simply getting a couple extra yards where good RBs go down.

Plus, he also moves incredible when the OL pocket and holes are really small.

When your talking a 2nd and 5 versus a 2nd and seven, the different is huge. And we are talking about KNOWN running plays.

He wears down the defense. It seems like his hips are always facing forward.

He also unlike Adrian Peterson in his prime protects the ball while getting his extra yardage. AP always has ball control issues. Pass blocking Zeke is great as well.

Saying Zeke wouldn’t be great without this OL is absurd.

We haven’t seen enough of Smith to know that much, but we will see...

 

[Stash]

Operation Zeke isn't really that good has commenced.

The same thing happens for each and every other player when they're unavailable.

Why should the league's leading rusher get special treatment?

He's a JAG...

 

[Broges74]

Wow.. I point out something extremely obvious and backed by stats and I'm starting Operation Zeke Really isn't that good and you guys fall for it??

LMAO suckers...

 

[TheSkaven]

Why all the doom and gloom? Is this team really going to start losing because of a missing running back? And if they do then that means we have a coaching problem.

No team should lose because of a running back. Now QB i can see because they are in more control of the offense like what happened to us in 2015. But this team is 4-3 with zeke not 7-0 so why is everyone panicking when they have not played a game without him yet?

I suspect it's because this team is built around the running game, and we are going into a difficult stretch of the schedule with the Chiefs, Falcons and Eagles coming up.

However, I think that McFadden showed that he can be serviceable running back in 2015, and this team has a lot of ways that it can attack you. If you had to list the players that this team cannot lose in order to make the playoffs, I wouldn't have had Zeke in my top 3.

 

[CowboysFanSince88]

Elliott was valuable in keeping the Defense off the field. That could be his biggest loss.

Then why was we 2-3 after 5 games

 

[CowboysFanSince88]

Yeah tell that to the 93 cowboys team...

Back then we had a qb who needed two lines for protection and no mobility

 

[Silver N Blue]

Back then we had a qb who needed two lines for protection and no mobility

in 93? you are 100% wrong the line was in tact and Aikman was in his prime...come correct if you are going to come at all...

 

[HungryLion]

Back then we had a qb who needed two lines for protection and no mobility

Did you really just disparage a hall of fame quarterback and 3x Super Bowl winner to try and defend your argument?

 

[lqmac1]

Next man up!

That works when the guy that goes down isn't an all-pro and the best in the business at his position.

 

[CowboysFanSince88]

in 93? you are 100% wrong the line was in tact and Aikman was in his prime...come correct if you are going to come at all...

Never was a aikman fan

 

[TheCount]

Thats because he is not good

There are plenty of "not good" WR's in the league that are schemed open, but keep beating that dead horse.

 

[Idgit]

I'm less worried about losing the RB than I am demoralized by how it went down. When the league office railroads players for a misguided PR campaign and it hurts your team, it makes it pretty hard to support the league.

The Cowboys still have a lot of offensive weapons. And we've got backup RBs who can be effective. We'll get to see how good Dak really is, and that will be interesting. But it's still tough to watch when you feel the process was a sham.

 

[pugilist]

I know what this team looks like without Zeke, and it wasn't that long ago either, and we still have the RB that carried the load that season with almost the same O-Line and dogcrap at QB

see 2015

(that RB rushed for over 1000 yds that season btw)

 

[NotForLong]

And he was just starting to get in a groove and oh yea we won our last 2 games.

Actually its the Online that is starting to get in a groove

 

[Silver N Blue]

Never was a aikman fan

I'm wondering if you are a boys fan with the lack of historical knowledge you are spewing..

 

[NotForLong]

I know what this team looks like without Zeke, and it wasn't that long ago either, and we still have the RB that carried the load that season with almost the same O-Line and dogcrap at QB

see 2015

(that RB rushed for over 1000 yds that season btw)

Actually he did it in less then a season

 

[wssaustin]

Zeke is probably the only one in our offense that awes any defense in this league. He is a complete back and dominates.

 

[Vinnie2u]

It’s not like he’s Saquon Barkley or Something. Stop being a knucklehead.

 

[Ranching]

That works when the guy that goes down isn't an all-pro and the best in the business at his position.

Always works. What other option is there. If a team doesn't have that attitude then they may as well quit.