A lot of you are missing the point

[NorthwestDallas40]

We didn't lose the game because Zeke didn't carry the ball 35 times. We lost because we weren't in a position for Zeke to carry the ball 35 times.

This.

The offense was not going to win this game. The defense was. All it had to do was make a few stops early in the game. Or force GB to take 3's instead of 7's. The defense failed. More specifically, the defensive game plan failed. We played coverage the whole first half. And primarily rushed 4. You cant do that to Rodgers. He will slide and move, and buy time for his receivers to get uncovered. In the second half, we blitzed. And shut him down. Had we done that from the start, we would have been in a position for Zeke to carry 35 times.

 

[pansophy]

Um, considering we were down 21-3 and Zeke still had 22 carries for 125, I don't see how this argument makes any sense. Green Bay was 3/3 in the red zone and we were 2/4. That's the game right there, never mind that we haven't been able to recover from an offensive penalty all year. People wanted Dak and these are the kinds of things we are going to get with a rookie.

We still put up 31 points, so Dak has shown he is more than good enough to win even if Romo is better. So none of this really matters because if we win against Green Bay we would lose to the Falcons or New England because we aren't built to win 3 shootouts in row.

The problem has been and continues to be the defense. We've been taking gambles at the DE position because we didn't have the draft picks to get difference makers there without secondary concerns. Freeney would have been a good gamble this year, so not sure why we didn't do that. Jaylon will make a difference next year, but we need some real DL help to get over the top.

 

[LittleBoyBlue]

I honestly expected EE to break a big one in the game. Probably would've had they ran him more.

Yes.

He would have.

It was there!


Probably during one of our field goals!

 

[Boyzmamacita]

We didn't lose the game because Zeke didn't carry the ball 35 times. We lost because we weren't in a position for Zeke to carry the ball 35 times.

He didn't need 35 carries. 30 would've been nice and would've made a difference.

 

[VACowboy]

He didn't need 35 carries. 30 would've been nice and would've made a difference.

I don't think we know that.

 

[romothesavior]

Listen, we have a back that is capable of being ridden to a title. He's a special talent who should operate in his own set of rules. Now the odds were against it this year because of the rookie QB and defensive issues but the fact is our head coach is too gutless to let the man showcase his true potential. Jason Garrett should have proven to every one of you that he's a coward. Imagine taking Emmitt Smith off the field for a series each half and on all 3rd downs. Imagine not letting Emmitt touch the ball in a close playoff game in crunch time. The man has no stones. He's gender fluid.

This same scared thought process gave the team a vacation before the playoff game that allowed 21-3 to happen. A hole we should have never had to try to overcome.

You ever see that skit Pat on SNL years ago? That's Jason Garrett. I have zero respect for him anymore. Less than none.

Well said. He's a loser, and so is Linehan.

 

[romothesavior]

I would feel better going into next season minus Linehan. They guy has never really bought into the running game throughout his career.

This is spot on.

If you want your identity to be a smashmouth running offense, Scott Linehan is not your man.

 

[Boyzmamacita]

I don't think we know that.

There were plenty of 3rd and shorts, not to mention the 2nd and 1 that was picked off. It would've made a difference.

 

[romothesavior]

Um, considering we were down 21-3 and Zeke still had 22 carries for 125, I don't see how this argument makes any sense. Green Bay was 3/3 in the red zone and we were 2/4. That's the game right there

This argument totally ignores why we were 2/4 in the red zone. We got totally pass happy on a couple of drives and they stalled.

 

[NotForLong]

If they were willing to pass more then run. Why would you start the ROOKIE BUS DRIVER. And not the legendary gun slinger

 

[VACowboy]

He didn't need 35 carries. 30 would've been nice and would've made a difference.

I mean, is 30 the cutoff? Would 28 have won us the game or did it have to be 30? If 30 would have made a difference, would 32 have made more of a difference? Seriously, we got down by 18 points, tied the game once and then re-tied it again with 35 seconds left. I'll definitely agree that we should have been running the ball in short yardage situations, but I don't see how anyone can say 8 more carries by Elliot would absolutely have made a positive difference. They may have, but I think it's impossible to state that as fact.

 

[Alexander]

EE was rested for a month and had the same amount of carries, on average he had for the year. What was the point of resting him?

That is the question I was asking, especially when he did not even suit up in Philadelphia.

 

[Boyzmamacita]

I mean, is 30 the cutoff? Would 28 have won us the game or did it have to be 30? If 30 would have made a difference, would 32 have made more of a difference? Seriously, we got down by 18 points, tied the game once and then re-tied it again with 35 seconds left. I'll definitely agree that we should have been running the ball in short yardage situations, but I don't see how anyone can say 8 more carries by Elliot would absolutely have made a positive difference. They may have, but I think it's impossible to state that as fact.

It's what got us here and we strayed from it. We didn't run him enough when it was close early either. We put too much pressure on Dak. Although Dak responded well, we should've involved Zeke more. The Packers are glad we didn't.

 

[VACowboy]

There were plenty of 3rd and shorts, not to mention the 2nd and 1 that was picked off. It would've made a difference.

Definitely. Without a doubt. I don't think you can get predictable and run the ball on every short yardage down, but more of those should have been in Elliot's hands, no question. At least IMHO. What I quibble with is the generic idea that we lost because Zeke didn't carry the ball enough.

 

[Boyzmamacita]

Definitely. Without a doubt. I don't think you can get predictable and run the ball on every short yardage down, but more of those should have been in Elliot's hands, no question. At least IMHO. What I quibble with is the generic idea that we lost because Zeke didn't carry the ball enough.

It was our identity all season. If we had to lose, I would rather lose doing what we do best. Feed him!

 

[VACowboy]

It's what got us here and we strayed from it. We didn't run him enough when it was close early either. We put too much pressure on Dak. Although Dak responded well, we should've involved Zeke more. The Packers are glad we didn't.

We didn't stray away from the run. We got behind by 18 points to an offense it looked like we weren't going to be able to stop and had to pass the ball to catch up. Even so, Zeke was a half a carry over his season average. I guess you could make the case that we should have run the ball more when we got behind or something, but I think it's hard be content grinding out 8-minute drives when Rodgers is ripping down the field for seven every time he gets the ball, especially when we're kicking field goals.

 

[VACowboy]

It was our identity all season. If we had to lose, I would rather lose doing what we do best. Feed him!

It is, and we did. As I pointed out, he was just over his season average for carries. Actually, we stuck with the run despite the fact that we spent almost the whole game catching up. I wonder how many times in NFL history a team has run the ball more than it usually does in a game when's gotten down by at least 18 points.

 

[Alexander]

This.

The offense was not going to win this game. The defense was. All it had to do was make a few stops early in the game.

Then we really, really overestimated the capabilities of this defense.

 

[LittleLexodus]

We didn't stray away from the run. We got behind by 18 points to an offense it looked like we weren't going to be able to stop and had to pass the ball to catch up. Even so, Zeke was a half a carry over his season average. I guess you could make the case that we should have run the ball more when we got behind or something, but I think it's hard be content grinding out 8-minute drives when Rodgers is ripping down the field for seven every time he gets the ball, especially when we're kicking field goals.

This. We had to score quickly and get chunk yardage when we got down 28-13 so we abandoned the run mostly. I just wish we would have given Zeke a chance on the last possession at 3rd and 3.

 

[Alexander]

What is funny is some of the same people who suggested Elliott was a bad pick are the same people that are suggesting it was a good move to save him up.

What happened to run the backs until their wheels fall off? They are only good for a few years.

Bottomline is this, we made poor use of our best players.

When someone like Brice Butler is a big part of your early game plan, guess what, you did it wrong.