Cowboys news: Ezekiel Elliott is dominating OTAs thus far

So, OTAs bring out the hater and homer in fans. Well, so do practices in camp, preseason games, and even games that count.

Tends to happen when people are passionate about something. Going to be a lot to comment on this year. Fun times ahead. Buckle up.

One quick comment before I run like hell away from another "Zeke's great/less filling" argument. You can absolutely see a lot about a guy in OTAs. There are a ton of ways you can tell if a player is killin it. If Zeke can run away from the 4.3 linebacker we just drafted that will jump out at you. It will tell you that either the 4.3 linebacker don't run 4.3 or maybe Zeke got back some of his juice. If he can outmaneuver guys when both are without pads then he can outmaneuver those same guys when both are in pads. If he can make a 90 degree cut without losing any momentum or speed you can see that too. If he runs routes like a wide receiver you notice.. If he catches everything thrown his way you can see that as well. He has certainly looked slimmer and quicker in the videos that have been posted. But yeah.. I need to see it in pads before I get too excited.. But it's okay to see it in this setting and start to anticipate what it's going to look like in pads.

MountaineerCowboy said:

I like to just take little mental notes.

I have Zeke, Dak, Smith, and Martin on either my "looks amazing in camp" or "best shape of my life" lists. It's a nice little thing to have incase excuses get made.

Am I missing anybody?

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Troll

MountaineerCowboy said:

Also, is "dominating" our defense even impressive?

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Always negative always.

If the offensive line has the same injury woes he'll look like the same back.

Rockport said:

Always negative always.

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I can't take it anymore, bro.

Whyjerry said:

“Dominating OTAs...”

Oh brother...

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Well, they can judge his movement skills compared to previous years. If he's looking fast and crisp, that's a good thing even in non-padded practices.

gimmesix said:

Well, they can judge his movement skills compared to previous years. If he's looking fast and crisp, that's a good thing even in non-padded practices.

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Yep.. this is especially true when you take into account that you are judging him against other guys ALSO not in pads who will ALSO look faster and quicker compared to in pads.

Risen Star said:

If the offensive line has the same injury woes he'll look like the same back.

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Hopefully if the line does have the same injury bug this year Kellen Moore will help Zeke out by not running him between the tackles so much and letting him get beat up that way. If Zeke has regained that rookie year burst then we can start getting him outside more and see how many corners we can induce to make business decisions about tackling him.

Risen Star said:

If the offensive line has the same injury woes he'll look like the same back.

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The question will be are we better equipped to handle those injuries than we were last year, when we had to start a UDFA at right tackle, a right tackle at left tackle and a player coming off injury who had not played in a single NFL game at right guard. I don't know that we are, but I hope so.

RonnieT24 said:

Hopefully if the line does have the same injury bug this year Kellen Moore will help Zeke out by not running him between the tackles so much and letting him get beat up that way. If Zeke has regained that rookie year burst then we can start getting him outside more and see how many corners we can induce to make business decisions about tackling him.

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Remember how they used to run delays and draws a lot during the Romo years when our offensive line struggled to move people? Why don't they do that now? Seemed like the perfect antidote for the run game woes last year.

gimmesix said:

The question will be are we better equipped to handle those injuries than we were last year, when we had to start a UDFA at right tackle, a right tackle at left tackle and a player coming off injury who had not played in a single NFL game at right guard. I don't know that we are, but I hope so.

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You're right. Matt Farniok. My mistake.

I'm embarrassed.

Doomsday101 said:

For as quickly as Dallas Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliott raced out of the gates to stardom early in his career, he has taken a bit of a step back in recent years. The 2020 season was perhaps the toughest season for Elliott in his career. But on Saturday, Cowboys offensive coordinator Kellen Moore shared his excitement for a new and improved Elliott in 2021.

“Zeke’s had an awesome offseason. He’s looked great out there, he’s got total command of the whole thing. It’s been great,” Moore said. “…I think he looks really, really good out there. I mean just fast, crisp, in and out of things. He, you know, looks really good and we’re excited.”

...

During the press conference, Moore was asked about using Elliott in a receiver role to help him be even more impactful to the Cowboys’ offense. In his five-year career, Elliott has caught an average of 48.2 passes per season for an average of 391.4 yards and two touchdowns per season. Moore admitted that having players able to step into different positions on the field will be beneficial as he tries to build a threatening offense to opposing defenses.

https://www.bloggingtheboys.com/202...s-ezekiel-elliott-is-dominating-otas-thus-far

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Sweet! Definitely would be great if 21 can show once again why he was the 4th overall pick! Go Zeke!!

CowboyRoy said:

You mean as opposed to hanging out in Cabo? Why would us haters not like Zeke working out? If he can earn his money, that is all us haters want. Unfortunately he hasn't.

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I have not been nearly as hard on Zeke as you and several others have been, but you are making a good point. Everybody would be happy if Zeke returned to form and played up to his contract. He used to hurdle people, make defenders miss and he could break away long runs. Since he signed his contract, his play has declined to the point where he is an average power RB with a fumble problem. I agree with you, the criticism would stop if his play improved. The team was winning more games when the offense was run through Zeke instead of passing the ball too much. It seems like Martin is the only player that has played up to his contract, but I would not have a problem if Zeke does the same.

Whyjerry said:

“Dominating OTAs...”

Oh brother...

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Seriously. Is tackling even allowed in OTAs lol

It's just OTAs. Wait until he puts his pads on. Then see how he looks.

At least, that's what I heard on here.

Risen Star said:

Remember how they used to run delays and draws a lot during the Romo years when our offensive line struggled to move people? Why don't they do that now? Seemed like the perfect antidote for the run game woes last year.

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Man don't get me started on what I affectionately refer to as "the infernal draw." Yes we used to run it a lot and it was somewhat effective between the 20s but when we got into the red zone and needed to punch it in defenses would eat it for lunch. I think the main difference now is the formation. Back in the Romo years we were still a largely under center team. The draw is a lot more effective from that alignment (IMHO) because you get the action of the QB dropping back to freeze the defense. Now that we are in shotgun 90% of the time you lose that. All you get it the little quick show of the ball and then put it into the back's belly. It's not enough to distract the defense.. especially after Dak went down and they knew that pretty much their only chance of getting beat was to let #21 get rolling.. With Dak out there was no need to fear our passing game so teams focused on Zeke.. The other issue is that the thicker version of Zeke simply is not a draw play type runner. He's a straight ahead downhill one cut runner. Asking him to take the ball from a dead stop and then go find a hole (which often wasn't there) is a losing proposition. With the line allowing as much penetration as it did he was having to beat a guy or two the instant he got the ball just to get back to the line of scrimmage. Pollard is much better suited to run that style of offense IF you can keep the penetration to a minimum. But as we saw last year, when guys got hold of him in the backfield it was a loss because he's simply not as strong as Zeke to drag two 280 pound guys back to the line of scrimmage. What I hope we see this year is a slimmed down quicker Zeke and maybe a little thicker and stronger version of Pollard. If we get that and we keep Dak healthy, the run game will be fine because teams are going to have to go to 7 dbs to stop our passing attack! LOL!

BourbonBalz said:

Why make a comment like this? It makes zero sense. All we’ve had so far is OTAs and minicamp. He’s doing all he can do as of now and apparently performing great. Newsflash! It’s the off-season where no games are played. LOL. This is nothing more than a negative comment and an opportunity to gripe.

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I think it was a fair comment. The fact all we have to judge from is OTA's doesn't change the fact it seems odd to talk about "dominating" in an environment where there isn't any competition for him to dominate. Getting past a defender in shorts and no pads who isn't trying to tackle you or even make hard contact isn't exactly "dominating".

If the comment had been "he looks great" that would have been better because it can simply mean he looks to be in shape and moving well etc …. "Dominating" just seems to be a buzz word to add spice to a story.

J12B said:

Seriously. Is tackling even allowed in OTAs lol

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Tackling isn't even allowed much in practice these days, I think.

jnday said:

I have not been nearly as hard on Zeke as you and several others have been, but you are making a good point. Everybody would be happy if Zeke returned to form and played up to his contract. He used to hurdle people, make defenders miss and he could break away long runs. Since he signed his contract, his play has declined to the point where he is an average power RB with a fumble problem. I agree with you, the criticism would stop if his play improved. The team was winning more games when the offense was run through Zeke instead of passing the ball too much. It seems like Martin is the only player that has played up to his contract, but I would not have a problem if Zeke does the same.

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Running the ball is a reflection of the Oline. Passing the ball more is a reflection of the state of the defense. When the Oline was great and the defense was middle of the pack, this team was winning a lot more games.