Are you okay with Zeke getting 25+ carries a game?

[ConceptCoop]

Out of curiosity, how old were the running backs who exceeded 370 carries a season? Do you have that information?

I don't. Here are all of the players and the years in the study. But they don't list age. Someone could look it up if they wanted to.

http://www.footballdocs.com/running_back_carries.html

 

[Bullflop]

About 22 carries a game would seem ideal for Zeke with someone like Morris available to give him a needed breather now and then. Doing so should help Zeke by ensuring his health and longevity. It should also serve the team well by preserving a prolific running game in the process. Excessive wear and tear on a RB is said to occur in excess of 360 carries a year. 22 carries per game would ensure being just under that mark.

 

[Craig]

If they win a super bowl, sure. If they do thst, i dont care if he never touches 500 yards during the rest of his career.

Anything less than a super bowl win though, and id like to keep that average under 20. Give him 25-30 a game when the playoffs come around.

 

[Fla Cowpoke]

I think close to 20 is a better number. I definitely think they should have had Morris take a bunch of the late game clock killing plays.

 

[Trouty]

About 22 carries a game would seem ideal for Zeke with someone like Morris available to give him a needed breather now and then. Doing so should help Zeke by ensuring his health and longevity. It should also serve the team well by preserving a prolific running game in the process.

Maybe I'm being to rigid on my "25 carries a game" stance. We should use Morris to spell Zeke from time to time. The only thing with Morris, is he is also a RB that feeds off of multiple carries, so how many do we give him, and how many does he need to be effective? He's been great at the goal line, but not so much in open field.

@Sydla makes a great point, Zeke should be getting around 25 touches a game. We need to get this guy involved in the screen/flat routes. But that wasn't the topic of this thread, as the op clearly stated 25+ carries.

I may invoke my right to reassess my original take

 

[ConceptCoop]

I think close to 20 is a better number. I definitely think they should have had Morris take a bunch of the late game clock killing plays.

Exactly. I realize there will be weeks where we need him to have 30 touches to win. But when we're beating the Bears by 14+ in the 4th...come on man!

 

[Zman5]

I think they are/will give him more carries now since he missed so much TC. Also, him being only 21, plays into the decision. I'm sure he'll get less carries in general as season moves along.

 

[jday]

I know there are tons of Zeke threads, but thought this topic was specific enough to warrant its own.

Are you okay with Zeke getting 25+ carries a game?

I like that we're treating him as a bell cow, but don't see the need for 25+ carries. He's the more talented, explosive back and we need to get a lot of value out of him over his rookie contract to justify the investment. I get that. But losing him to injury could prove to be the difference between making and missing the playoffs in a tight NFC.

I love Morris as a back up and think he could be a very solid starter for us, but he's not a playmaker or a game changer. I think he should be getting more carries now so that Zeke is fresh and healthy down the stretch.

I'm with you on this but I understand Lineman's dilemma. With Zeke, there is the potential for a game-breaking Touchdown from any place on the field, everytime he touches the ball. It's hard to take that potential off the field. Furthermore, because of that potential, Dak's job is alot easier as we have seen defenses respecting Zeke's potential. But again I agree with you, Alfred is an awesome change of pace and should get fed more than he has so far...

 

[Trouty]

I'm with you on this but I understand Lineman's dilemma. With Zeke, there is the potential for a game-breaking Touchdown from any place on the field, everytime he touches the ball. It's hard to take that potential off the field. Furthermore, because of that potential, Dak's job is alot easier as we have seen defenses respecting Zeke's potential. But again I agree with you, Alfred is an awesome change of pace and should get fed more than he has so far...

So how would you distribute the load between the two?

 

[Bullflop]

Maybe I'm being to rigid on my "25 carries a game" stance. We should use Morris to spell Zeke from time to time. The only thing with Morris, is he is also a RB that feeds off of multiple carries, so how many do we give him, and how many does he need to be effective? He's been great at the goal line, but not so much in open field.

@Sydla makes a great point, Zeke should be getting around 25 touches a game. We need to get this guy involved in the screen/flat routes. But that wasn't the topic of this thread, as the op clearly stated 25+ carries.

I may invoke my right to reassess my original take

It's probably not written in stone that any RB should have X number of carries, since each one is likely capable of withstanding a certain number that is most advisable to ensure his health and well being. I'm hopeful that the Cowboys' staff will monitor Zeke's carries and keep tabs on approximately the number that he's best suited to tolerate and yet maintain his health as well.

 

[TellerMorrow34]

I have no real issue with it but when they get the chance to spell him with Morris I do think that they should do that. It helps keep Elliot fresh and will help reduce some wear and tear.

 

[tyke1doe]

I don't. Here are all of the players and the years in the study. But they don't list age. Someone could look it up if they wanted to.

http://www.footballdocs.com/running_back_carries.html

Thanks. I did look it up.
Interesting trend I discovered.
All of the backs listed with the exception of one, totaled their most carries and most yardage in either their fourth or fifth year.

Larry Johnson 416 (carries), 4th year
Jamal Anderson 410, 5th year
James Wilder 407, 4th year
Eddie George 403, 5th year
Gerald Riggs 397, 4th year
Ricky Williams 397, 4th year
Terrell Davis 392, 4th year
Barry Foster 390, 3rd year

Of course, Eric Dickerson toted the rock 379 for 2,105 yards in his second year. In his fourth year, he carried 404 times for 1,821 yards and in his eight year carried 388 times for 1,659 yards.

What does this tell us?

I don't know other than unless you're a super stud like Eric Dickerson, when you hit your fourth or fifth year, if you're carrying the ball 370-plus times, you're likely not going to be able to carry a load like that any more in your career.

So unless we're still giving the ball 370-plus time to Zeke in his fourth year, then he should be okay.

Then again, my conclusion isn't scientific by any means. And to fully grasp this issue, one would need to see how many times in college these backs carried the ball because the number of college carries could play somewhere in this.

 

[Thomas82]

Clearly their plan is to use him as much as possible for 5 years.

The same plan Jimmy Johnson had for Emmitt when he was drafted.

 

[Idgit]

Use 'im up.

 

[Thomas82]

Out of curiosity, how old were the running backs who exceeded 370 carries a season? Do you have that information?

I don't know the numbers for all RBs without looking it up, but Emmitt had 373 carries in 1992 at age 23, and 377 in 1995 at age 26.

 

[erod]

Absolutely.

Who was Emmitt's backup? Didn't matter who he was, because he barely sniffed the field.

 

[Swanny]

Right, but we need to him be healthy over that span. He's not holding up for 5 years with 370+ carries in each of them.

Then draft a RB the year after he breaks down.

 

[ConceptCoop]

What does this tell us?

I don't know other than unless you're a super stud like Eric Dickerson, when you hit your fourth or fifth year, if you're carrying the ball 370-plus times, you're likely not going to be able to carry a load like that any more in your career.

So unless we're still giving the ball 370-plus time to Zeke in his fourth year, then he should be okay.

That's actually not accurate. The fact that rookies simply don't get 370+ carries, with the exception of Dickerson, means the sample size isn't there. There's really nothing that suggests 22 YOs handle it better than 26 YOs. If rookies could handle 370+ carries over the first 3 years, we'd see examples of that in the data, and we simply don't.

 

[CF74]

Yes as long as he's moving the chains...

 

[Techsass]

Can't remember the year, but there was that game where even the announcers were saying they should give Emmitt a rest. Jimmy didn't.