Twitter: Cowboys have expressed interest in trading for RB Duke Johnson

[Dre11]

Would love it, as soon as I heard they were shopping him, I felt he would be perfect here.

 

[AmericanCowboy]

Duke Johnson isn't a 3rd down back though lol. He's a change of pace back who can play some slot for you and be a receiving threat and cause mismatches.

This is a good way of looking at it.

Kill two birds with one stone!

 

[TheMarathonContinues]

Why do you say that? There are lot of backs who could give you 30 carries over a period of games. They may not be able to do that over an entire season but over a stretch of 5 games, they are not impossible to find. I mean, lets face it, if we lost Zeke for the entire year early on, then we would probably be done for the year. But lets say you lose him with 6 games to go and you are battling for the division, that would suck if your offense tanked. That's really what I think you look for, is that guy.

Because there aren’t many guys I want taking 30 carries. I don’t want Kamara with that many carries. Guys like Zeke? I do.

 

[ABQCOWBOY]

Because there aren’t many guys I want taking 30 carries. I don’t want Kamara with that many carries. Guys like Zeke? I do.

He's a back up. He's not going to get a sustained 30 carries over 16 games season over season.

I don't get why you would say this. I mean, our Offense is built around the power running game. That's not going to change so long as Zeke is here. If you go away from that, then you rely on Dak winning games for you via the pass and I've never really seen us be able to do that. If Zeke went down, what choice would you have?

 

[xwalker]

I am still very frustrated at how this club appears to value Lewis.

The guy won us the Saints game on just a handful of snaps.

But hey, no length. RIchard is no different than Marinelli with his "quick twitch" hangup.

It not really about length as much as playing style. In college Lewis played the opposite technique from what KR prefers (trail vs over). Lewis continued playing his trail technique in 2018 (KR does not force players to change technique but will migrate to the players that do play his technique).

The overall coverage scheme is designed around the CBs technique. It affects the Safeties and LBs responsibilities.

If CBs play the Lewis trail technique, they require deep protection from the Safety. With the KR technique the CBs cover the sideline area even on deep routes which narrows the field for the Safeties.

The KR scheme is a hybrid man-zone. In their base cover scheme the outside CBs play man if the WR takes a outside release or the CB plays zone if the WR takes an inside release. The LBs and Safeties play zone.

It's all predicated on the CBs technique. The CBs have to force the WR to commit inside/outside but also stay over the WR because they don't get deep sideline help.

KR created a role for Lewis to utilize his skillset in the Dimeback role. It allowed and actually took advantage of the trail or under technique played by Lewis because he had over the top protection and was able to undercut routes which resulted in a key INT.

KR didn't just throw Lewis out there with no plan on how he fit into the role/scheme.

The previous secondary coaches were not very good, IMO. They ldid many things that were not good highlighted by playing Byron Jones at Strong Safety for much of 2017.

 

[xwalker]

The Cowboys had him fairly high on their draft board that year (it was one of the years the draft board photos were leaked).

 

[speedkilz88]

 

[CowboyRoy]

That was a question. I'm asking. Because I'm not familiar with his weaknesses. Seems ideal as a backup. He does more than one thing well. That seems to be the definition of a all around back lol. Now can he take 30 carries a game? Probably not but I don't want him to.

IF Zeke goes down, gets suspended, holds out, or is gone in two years he is NOT the type of back that can carry the load. He is a little scat back type guy. Catches passes out of the backfield, ect….ect…

Dunbar had 2 or 3 nice runs that first year before he got hurt and Jones has been looking for a guy like that ever since. Now for a scat back, he is good. But this team needs another good back that can carry the load.

I really don't want to pay Zeke 15 million per year. And if you don't have another good back and you allow him to hold you hostage, it hurts negotiations or your ability to trade him or let him walk.

 

[Alexander]

 

[Alexander]

 

[xwalker]

Well, the top 4 rushers in the league last year were but Chris Carson the 5th leading rusher, was a 7th round pick. Phillip Lindsay, 9th leading rusher was undrafted.

James Conner, Lamar Miller, Jordan Howard, all lower round picks or undrafted guys. The truth is that the notion that you can get a quality back in the 4th or 5th is fueled by the fact that it is true. You actually can.

The RB position has outliers every year but the mid/late/udfa types historically don't produce year after year like the early round guys.

 

[ABQCOWBOY]

The RB position has outliers every year but the mid/late/udfa types historically don't produce year after year like the early round guys.

I have never actually done the numbers but I don't know that you have more success spending high picks on RBs, over lower picks that you can develop. There are just two many examples of lower ranked players making good contributions. I mean, this should not be so difficult, to me. We have our starting back. What we want is a reliable second string buy. That doesn't need to be a 1st round pick and they can definitely be found in the later rounds. You just have to make an effort to draft them.

 

[TheMarathonContinues]

He's a back up. He's not going to get a sustained 30 carries over 16 games season over season.

I don't get why you would say this. I mean, our Offense is built around the power running game. That's not going to change so long as Zeke is here. If you go away from that, then you rely on Dak winning games for you via the pass and I've never really seen us be able to do that. If Zeke went down, what choice would you have?

Well they do need to get away from running Zeke into the ground. You can do that without relying heavily on Dak.

 

[TheMarathonContinues]

IF Zeke goes down, gets suspended, holds out, or is gone in two years he is NOT the type of back that can carry the load. He is a little scat back type guy. Catches passes out of the backfield, ect….ect…

Dunbar had 2 or 3 nice runs that first year before he got hurt and Jones has been looking for a guy like that ever since. Now for a scat back, he is good. But this team needs another good back that can carry the load.

I really don't want to pay Zeke 15 million per year. And if you don't have another good back and you allow him to hold you hostage, it hurts negotiations or your ability to trade him or let him walk.

Trading for Duke doesn’t prevent you from drafting a back.

 

[Blast From The Past]

I am still very frustrated at how this club appears to value Lewis.

The guy won us the Saints game on just a handful of snaps.

But hey, no length. RIchard is no different than Marinelli with his "quick twitch" hangup.

Both of those coaches can't see the forest for the trees! Lewis is a competitor first and foremost and has played at his height for a long time and has been successful but Richard can't get over the fact he is not his prototypical size and height. Utilization of a players strength has plagued this team for years.

 

[ABQCOWBOY]

Well they do need to get away from running Zeke into the ground. You can do that without relying heavily on Dak.

If you have a backup who can carry the load you can but if you don't, then it's on Dak and it's probably not going to go well. Johnson is not that guy IMO. He has skills but he is not 3 down back capable of giving you the carries you will need in order to run our Offense if Zeke were to go down.

BTW, I am not so sure that the teams plan is not to run Zeke and not sign him to a long term deal.

 

[TheMarathonContinues]

If you have a backup who can carry the load you can but if you don't, then it's on Dak and it's probably not going to go well. Johnson is not that guy IMO. He has skills but he is not 3 down back capable of giving you the carries you will need in order to run our Offense if Zeke were to go down.

BTW, I am not so sure that the teams plan is not to run Zeke and not sign him to a long term deal.

I think you can if you add more screen plays and underneath stuff for their slot and tight ends. Everything doesn’t have to be 20 yard pass plays.

 

[ABQCOWBOY]

I think you can if you add more screen plays and underneath stuff for their slot and tight ends. Everything doesn’t have to be 20 yard pass plays.

But then you are changing the Offense. What you would like to do is run the same Offense without having to make everybody on the entire Offense change. What you would really like to have is a situation in which you can plug in another back and run the same Offense.

 

[northerncowboynation]

Yeah, don't see it. We tend to value draft picks over players. I suppose we did trade for Austin last year but look how well that worked out. Not saying it's a bad move, just don't see it happening. Do we even have a 5'th round pick? We tend not to value 5'th rounders. 5'th or later for the Duke

 

[Bowdown27]

Time of year cowboys will be involved in all talks to boost team or player value.