Zeke's most alarming stat the last few years - Is it over?

VaqueroTD said:

For those that don't have ESPN+ and can't see more of the details on their coach/GM/player rankings of running backs, there were 6 RBs picked #1 overall. Derrick Henry had the most and highest votes so he was picked #1 overall. And Zeke was in the "Honorable Mention" category which means he received some Top 10 votes, but not enough to break the Top 10.

A big comment by the voters was that he lost his breakaway speed. For those of us watching the games, this has been apparent. Some blame the blocking.

But here are the longest runs in NFL year-by-year for every season they played for the 6 RBs picked as #1

Derrick Henry 22, 75, 99, 74, 94, 76 (Wow! Talk about dominance his entire career thus far)
Jonathan Taylor 62, 83
Nick Chubb 92, 88, 59, 70
Dalvin Cook 33, 70, 75, 70, 66
Alvin Kamara 74, 49, 40, 49, 30 (Ok, starting to get back to regular human here)
Joe Mixon 25, 51, 41, 34, 32

Zeke?

60, 30, 41, 33, 31, 47

Pollard?

44, 42, 58

Maybe Zeke never was that guy with breakaway speed? His rookie year was the best offensive line he'll ever play with, and he managed a 60 yard but it went back to earth pretty fast.

How about yards/attempt? Pretty similar line. Zeke compares with the guys ranked after the top 4, but still loses out to Pollard.

Derrick Henry 4.5, 4.2, 4.9, 5.1, 5.4, 4.3
Jonathan Taylor 5.0, 5.5
Nick Chubb 5.2, 5.0, 5.6, 5.5
Dalvin Cook 4.8, 4.6, 4.5, 5.0, 4.7
Alvin Kamara 6.1, 4.6, 4.7, 5.0, 3.7
Joe Mixon 3.5, 4.9, 4.1, 3.6, 4.1

Zeke?

5.1, 4.1, 4.7, 4.5, 4.0, 4.2

Pollard

5.3, 4.3, 5.5

So the number missing here is attempts. Can Pollard put up those numbers full-time? Doubtful. Zeke has been the workhorse of our team every year, while can't say the same about everyone on that top 1 list. Some of those guys did not average 300 attempts/year like Zeke, or couldn't play 16 games through everything. You also don't hear it on blocking and Zeke always has his boy Dak's back. This is why you hear it from guys like Aikman - love his heart, love his will -- Zeke will play through anything and is a workhorse, but unfortunately, you don't win points for that, and why we should at least try to give Pollard a shot to have more carries vs Zeke. You also don't win points for playing hurt. It does help you though win the total rushing yards title in a season.

But I guess I'm trying to say, not everything is black & white. Is Zeke that same superstar in his earliest years? No. Especially with him not able to consistently be the workhorse. But he's still one of the better RBs in the league all things considered. The things that get Zeke is he's being paid more than anyone on that list. That I can't argue with, nor can I argue with the fact that none of those guys didn't cost as high a draft pick. None of those #1 votes above was drafted in the first round!

I tried looking around for guys that came out of nowhere after 6 seasons and started leading the league again in stats. Even Emmitt after 6 years never put in one of those stat heavy years again, but he did maintain consistency and was that freak iron horse we all love. Bettis rebounded after 3 years. Even John Riggins in his rebirth with the Skins still put up numbers similar to Zeke's current numbers. Adrian Peterson had a great year at age 30 after all those injuries. But it is tough to find RBs that came back after six seasons.

So yes, probably Zeke's last year unless he takes a sizeable pay cut to stay in Dallas. And yes, we'll find someone who can still put up numbers if we draft right. Appreciate all Zeke did, and I hope he proves everyone wrong, because he is one of my favorite players because of all the intangibles I mentioned - plays hurt, blocks, team player - but won't be surprised to see him in another uniform next year if he doesn't have a miraculous comeback this year which looks unlikely.

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VaqueroTD said:

For those that don't have ESPN+ and can't see more of the details on their coach/GM/player rankings of running backs, there were 6 RBs picked #1 overall. Derrick Henry had the most and highest votes so he was picked #1 overall. And Zeke was in the "Honorable Mention" category which means he received some Top 10 votes, but not enough to break the Top 10.

A big comment by the voters was that he lost his breakaway speed. For those of us watching the games, this has been apparent. Some blame the blocking.

But here are the longest runs in NFL year-by-year for every season they played for the 6 RBs picked as #1

Derrick Henry 22, 75, 99, 74, 94, 76 (Wow! Talk about dominance his entire career thus far)
Jonathan Taylor 62, 83
Nick Chubb 92, 88, 59, 70
Dalvin Cook 33, 70, 75, 70, 66
Alvin Kamara 74, 49, 40, 49, 30 (Ok, starting to get back to regular human here)
Joe Mixon 25, 51, 41, 34, 32

Zeke?

60, 30, 41, 33, 31, 47

Pollard?

44, 42, 58

Maybe Zeke never was that guy with breakaway speed? His rookie year was the best offensive line he'll ever play with, and he managed a 60 yard but it went back to earth pretty fast.

How about yards/attempt? Pretty similar line. Zeke compares with the guys ranked after the top 4, but still loses out to Pollard.

Derrick Henry 4.5, 4.2, 4.9, 5.1, 5.4, 4.3
Jonathan Taylor 5.0, 5.5
Nick Chubb 5.2, 5.0, 5.6, 5.5
Dalvin Cook 4.8, 4.6, 4.5, 5.0, 4.7
Alvin Kamara 6.1, 4.6, 4.7, 5.0, 3.7
Joe Mixon 3.5, 4.9, 4.1, 3.6, 4.1

Zeke?

5.1, 4.1, 4.7, 4.5, 4.0, 4.2

Pollard

5.3, 4.3, 5.5

So the number missing here is attempts. Can Pollard put up those numbers full-time? Doubtful. Zeke has been the workhorse of our team every year, while can't say the same about everyone on that top 1 list. Some of those guys did not average 300 attempts/year like Zeke, or couldn't play 16 games through everything. You also don't hear it on blocking and Zeke always has his boy Dak's back. This is why you hear it from guys like Aikman - love his heart, love his will -- Zeke will play through anything and is a workhorse, but unfortunately, you don't win points for that, and why we should at least try to give Pollard a shot to have more carries vs Zeke. You also don't win points for playing hurt. It does help you though win the total rushing yards title in a season.

But I guess I'm trying to say, not everything is black & white. Is Zeke that same superstar in his earliest years? No. Especially with him not able to consistently be the workhorse. But he's still one of the better RBs in the league all things considered. The things that get Zeke is he's being paid more than anyone on that list. That I can't argue with, nor can I argue with the fact that none of those guys didn't cost as high a draft pick. None of those #1 votes above was drafted in the first round!

I tried looking around for guys that came out of nowhere after 6 seasons and started leading the league again in stats. Even Emmitt after 6 years never put in one of those stat heavy years again, but he did maintain consistency and was that freak iron horse we all love. Bettis rebounded after 3 years. Even John Riggins in his rebirth with the Skins still put up numbers similar to Zeke's current numbers. Adrian Peterson had a great year at age 30 after all those injuries. But it is tough to find RBs that came back after six seasons.

So yes, probably Zeke's last year unless he takes a sizeable pay cut to stay in Dallas. And yes, we'll find someone who can still put up numbers if we draft right. Appreciate all Zeke did, and I hope he proves everyone wrong, because he is one of my favorite players because of all the intangibles I mentioned - plays hurt, blocks, team player - but won't be surprised to see him in another uniform next year if he doesn't have a miraculous comeback this year which looks unlikely.

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Hardline said:

I would draft RB Bjion Robinson if he's on board next year. I would even draft him in the first round.
He is elite and would be the best RB in the NFL day one.
I don't care how much you kick and scream this is a passing league. The Cowboys are only competitive with great RBs and Robinson is a deadly passing threat out of the backfield.

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xwalker said:

Definitely a wow player.

I'm not against drafting a RB in the 1st as long as it's pick 20 or later.

Zeke at #24 would have been a great pick. Zeke at #4 was questionable.

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CowboysFaninHouston said:

Zeke is done. Jerry caved and gave him a large contract and he can't get rid of him

Zeke should be gone next year

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Hardline said:

Zeke was drafted to pair with Romo. Zeke would've been a more dominate RB with Romo.

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SteveTheCowboy said:

You zeke haters are ...haters. When people do the same thing to Dak you go apenuts.

I'm going to post this once again...you don;t even have to watch the whole thing. Just watch the first three plays and tell me "zeke is done"...even the announcer said "burst". Then he shows the POWER to shove everyone into the endzone on the third play.

You love Dak so much yet Dak would not exist without 2016 zeke and continued tough blocking. The one time Dak gets injured he went into no man;s land. Dumb.

But anyway...I do dare you watch AT least the first three playts...that is if you can STAND to watch Zeke do well. I know it will be rough on you but try to have the patience and fortitude to watch one minute of zeke busting chops.

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CowboysFaninHouston said:

Show me where I went apenuts on Dak. I do ask questions, I do call out bullshiet.

You Dak haters take anything and spin it into anyone loving Dak because they criticized another player. This had nothing to do with Dak but he lives in your head rent free. You are.obsessed and consumed by Dak.

You are so full of hate you can't see straight nor anything else.

P.s.
Are you a Zeke lover?

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CowboysFaninHouston said:

Show me where I went apenuts on Dak. I do ask questions, I do call out bullshiet.

You Dak haters take anything and spin it into anyone loving Dak because they criticized another player. This had nothing to do with Dak but he lives in your head rent free. You are.obsessed and consumed by Dak.

You are so full of hate you can't see straight nor anything else.

P.s.
Are you a Zeke lover?

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big dog cowboy said:

We've all seen Zeke's speed decline over the years. Look at some videos of him at Ohio State and you will wonder what happened to that guy.

I hate for the Cowboys to cut Zeke but it's either that or eat his deal because there is no way he takes a big enough reduction in salary to justify his stats. I mean, if his deal was for only $9M a year he would still be over paid.

The Cowboys could draft a RB in the 3rd and get comparable production at a fraction of the cost. Use Zeke's money to plug a hole (or 2) and overall the team gets better.

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basel90 said:

the QB touches the ball on every offensive play. I just have the feeling dak wants to help his struggling buddy sometimes , and help himself by his frequent check downs etc. in order to chase completion stats. It has derailed so many drives .

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Ranched said:

He may not be finished, but he's certainly finished in Dallas come 2023. Elliott's going elsewhere to keep a quarterback standing lol.

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JoeKing said:

As long as Zeke can keep #4 standing to make a play, he's not finished.

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CowboyRoy said:

Brother of your trying to say it was a good pick then but a bad pick now, that makes no sense. And that is a nice way of putting it.

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SteveTheCowboy said:

Why would I be a dak hater for calling you out on hating zeke?

You called zeke over and done. Show me where I said one bad word about Dak.

If you want to count me saying "show me where Dak put the team on his shoulders"....you might be spinning some bull yourself. I never said he DiDN'T I asked a guy to tell me what he thinks.

I have never spoken a bad word about Dak. I have said we can win with him. I DARE ya to find me talking crap about Dak. Go ahead...I'll wait...not holding my breath of course. Man up put your money where your mouth is. I dare ya.

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SteveTheCowboy said:

I figured you didn't have the moral ethical fortitude or real fandom to watch Zeke do good. You proved me right more than i ever could thanks, hater.

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