gimmesix
Fat, drunk and stupid is no way to go through life
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I see some hope being placed in the RB group that we've added this year, and that's understandable to some extent simply because we haven't seen this group either succeed or fail here. However, I do think there is reason to look at this group and wonder if we did any better this year than last year.
Miles Sanders vs. Ezekiel Elliott: Elliott had hit the wall that catches up to all players. He had averaged 3.8 YPC, then 3.5 YPC his last two years before going to New England and averaging 3.1. Elliott was in his seventh year when the wheels fell off. Sanders is going into his seventh year, but it appears that his wheels may have come off sooner. He's averaged 3.3 and 3.7 the last two years. Expecting him to recapture his juice is probably expecting too much. This one is likely a wash.
Rico Dowdle vs. Javonte Williams. Dowdle was our best back last year. He was coming off a season in which he averaged 4.1 YPC in a No. 2 role and averaged 4.6 when given a bigger role. That earned him a deal with Carolina, and Williams was brought in as his replacement. Williams has averaged 3.6 and 3.7 YPC in a time-sharing role in Denver the last two years. It's hard to say that he'll ever get back to the form of his first two years while Dowdle's stock is on the rise. Advantage Dowdle.
Jayden Blue vs. Royce Freeman, Before stashing Dalvin Cook on the practice squad and finding out he was just as cooked as Elliott, Dallas first brought in Freeman. Freeman was coming off a 4.1 season with the Rams in a backup role. He had a decent start to his career (averaging 4.0 per carry as a rookie) but it derailed pretty quickly. Blue brings an element to the run game that Dallas didn't have last year with his speed. The Cowboys are hoping that he can outplay his draft status (fifth round). Freeman was a third-round pick (71) while Blue was taken at 149, and we saw what became of Freeman. With this one, we just hope it turns out better.
Phil Mafah vs. Malik Davis. Davis was a UDFA that looked like he was going to at least carve out a backup role, but he faded quickly. Mafah was practically a UDFA, since he was taken in the seventh round. We have to hope he outplays his draft status as well.
Deuce Vaughn vs. Deuce Vaughn. There are times that Vaughn has shined and times when his lack of size has shown. He likely has to prove this year that he deserves a spot on the roster or he'll be gone. He had a grace period the last two years as a fifth-round pick and the son of a Cowboys staffer.
We're all hoping that the guys we've got will be better than the ones we lost or cut, but there are a lot of question marks here. We did not clearly upgrade and may have actually downgraded from Dowdle. It'll be interesting to see how it turns out, but the grass isn't always greener on the other side.
Miles Sanders vs. Ezekiel Elliott: Elliott had hit the wall that catches up to all players. He had averaged 3.8 YPC, then 3.5 YPC his last two years before going to New England and averaging 3.1. Elliott was in his seventh year when the wheels fell off. Sanders is going into his seventh year, but it appears that his wheels may have come off sooner. He's averaged 3.3 and 3.7 the last two years. Expecting him to recapture his juice is probably expecting too much. This one is likely a wash.
Rico Dowdle vs. Javonte Williams. Dowdle was our best back last year. He was coming off a season in which he averaged 4.1 YPC in a No. 2 role and averaged 4.6 when given a bigger role. That earned him a deal with Carolina, and Williams was brought in as his replacement. Williams has averaged 3.6 and 3.7 YPC in a time-sharing role in Denver the last two years. It's hard to say that he'll ever get back to the form of his first two years while Dowdle's stock is on the rise. Advantage Dowdle.
Jayden Blue vs. Royce Freeman, Before stashing Dalvin Cook on the practice squad and finding out he was just as cooked as Elliott, Dallas first brought in Freeman. Freeman was coming off a 4.1 season with the Rams in a backup role. He had a decent start to his career (averaging 4.0 per carry as a rookie) but it derailed pretty quickly. Blue brings an element to the run game that Dallas didn't have last year with his speed. The Cowboys are hoping that he can outplay his draft status (fifth round). Freeman was a third-round pick (71) while Blue was taken at 149, and we saw what became of Freeman. With this one, we just hope it turns out better.
Phil Mafah vs. Malik Davis. Davis was a UDFA that looked like he was going to at least carve out a backup role, but he faded quickly. Mafah was practically a UDFA, since he was taken in the seventh round. We have to hope he outplays his draft status as well.
Deuce Vaughn vs. Deuce Vaughn. There are times that Vaughn has shined and times when his lack of size has shown. He likely has to prove this year that he deserves a spot on the roster or he'll be gone. He had a grace period the last two years as a fifth-round pick and the son of a Cowboys staffer.
We're all hoping that the guys we've got will be better than the ones we lost or cut, but there are a lot of question marks here. We did not clearly upgrade and may have actually downgraded from Dowdle. It'll be interesting to see how it turns out, but the grass isn't always greener on the other side.
