Twitter: Baldy Breakdown: Zeke is a transformed back; he and Pollard are great 1-2 punch

[RonnieT24]

Right. I think Elliott thought he needed to be bigger because of the physical style he plays, but didn't realize that it was going to sap his quickness. I think his resolve this year was to get some quickness back, and the expectations of the role he's playing could have had a lot to do with it

Not sure it was the coaches who told him to gain or lose weight, but there are plenty of backs who entered the league and then put on weight in order to take and deliver the pounding.

Yeah maybe he's just a bright enough kid that he saw a lot of backs get beat up early in their careers and be gone overnight.. and even among his contemporaries there are two top 5 backs in the league (McCaffrey and Cook) right now who keep missing games mostly because they can't take the punishment of being the every down bell cow of an NFL offense.

 

[gimmesix]

Yeah maybe he's just a bright enough kid that he saw a lot of backs get beat up early in their careers and be gone overnight.. and even among his contemporaries there are two top 5 backs in the league (McCaffrey and Cook) right now who keep missing games mostly because they can't take the punishment of being the every down bell cow of an NFL offense.

There was a back with Philly (I can't remember his name) who started out as a scatback/third-down type, but molded his body to the point where he was an every-down back. I think Elliott saw his success in this league being tied to him being a bulldozer, so he put on more size to make himself even more of one. This year, I think he recognized that he needed some of the quickness back that he lost and he worked on that. I think he should be applauded for the effort, but a lot of our fans are quick to criticize and slow to praise. Once they take a position, they'd rather take it to the grave with them than give the player any credit.

 

[Proof]

that cut back to hit the new hole as epic

 

[Rockport]

If you ACTUALLY watch the games and aren't a complete hater/moron you can see that Zeke is one of the biggest pieces on this very skilled offense. It's really that simple.

He really is. The way he just knocks people on their *** takes it's toll on the defense psyche.

 

[RonnieT24]

that cut back to hit the new hole as epic

The best thing I saw from Zeke last night was the decisiveness. He did not hesitate at all once he got the ball .. He repeatedly attacked the defenders with bad intentions immediately and just kept moving the pile. It was great to watch. What was cool was to see Pollard ALSO run between the tackles with authority. He served notice that he's not just some outside only back.. That's really going to help him going forward. It's also going to help our offense!!

 

[RonnieT24]

He really is. The way he just knocks people on their *** takes it's toll on the defense psyche.

Yeah it's always fun to watch defenders stay down after they tackle Zeke.. I don't want anybody to be hurt but you know that eventually those DBs will start making business decisions when they see Zeke coming..

 

[Proof]

The best thing I saw from Zeke last night was the decisiveness. He did not hesitate at all once he got the ball .. He repeatedly attacked the defenders with bad intentions immediately and just kept moving the pile. It was great to watch. What was cool was to see Pollard ALSO run between the tackles with authority. He served notice that he's not just some outside only back.. That's really going to help him going forward. It's also going to help our offense!!

couldn't agree more. it was great to see too, because even though i wouldn't classify myself as a hater, i've had some concerns with what kind of back zeke will be moving forward. he showed me that he's still that guy.

 

[Cowpolk]

Yeah it's always fun to watch defenders stay down after they tackle Zeke.. I don't want anybody to be hurt but you know that eventually those DBs will start making business decisions when they see Zeke coming..

He trucked a few of players last night that forgot to make the proper business decision

 

[RonnieT24]

couldn't agree more. it was great to see too, because even though i wouldn't classify myself as a hater, i've had some concerns with what kind of back zeke will be moving forward. he showed me that he's still that guy.

I think what we're witnessing is a back who is figuring out how to use both his super powers.. When he game into the league he was ridiculously quick and explosive.. He hit the hole 100 mph on every play.. which works great if there's a hole, which early in his career there generally were.. But people soon forget that there were games when the opposing defense could match up with our o-line or they just stacked.. and in those games Zeke was less of a factor.. Zeke spent 2-3 years learning how to be patient to allow things to develop and "trust the play" ... Now that we are primarily a shotgun team he doesn't get to attack the line of scrimmage at 100 mph anymore. Not only has the line play has fallen off significantly but we have moved the backs up 3 yards closer to the line of scrimmage and now give them the ball standing still most of the time instead of going downhill. I just don't think that will ever be the way to get the most out of Zeke. But it's obviously the offense we're going to run.. Pollard was made for this offense. I think Zeke is just figuring out how to thrive in it.

 

[75boyz]

Zeke finding dirty yards and creating was beautiful. It's underrated and not highlight reel but does absolute wonders for your offense.

Earning 3-4 yards when the defense plays good gap defense is an undervalued asset.

Excellent point. An earmark of his first 2 to 3 years skillset, those dirty pile moving power runs that you thought were a loss or one yard gain were back to a net positive of more like 4 or more again last night.
Zeke and his oline are both currently healthy/in shape and in a nice synch whereas I think the last 2 years a decline had taken place to both.

Nice post and good to see the downhill running game return to this offense.

 

[Rockport]

Yeah it's always fun to watch defenders stay down after they tackle Zeke.. I don't want anybody to be hurt but you know that eventually those DBs will start making business decisions when they see Zeke coming..

Especially in the 2nd half of games.

 

[visionary]

Zeke is a great back, always has been. He’s just been overweight last couple of years . Now he’s showing what he can to

 

[CowboyRoy]

Wow, this is coming from a jack wad who thinks Dak is the = Roger+Troy+Tony so I really don't think @Ronnie has too much to be worried about when you are calling him out for being a homer and all.


lol, this coming from a person who thinks Dak = Roger + Troy. Probably never saw Capt America play did ya? Got no clue what a real QB looks like. It's ok kid. I know it hurts to know down deep that #21 should have been Rookie of the Year. That he really carried this team that season. It's okay son. Let it out. It's gonna be allllllllllllll right. Let all that hatred go, it will only hurt you in the long run. Just let it go.

Why would I be sore about rookie of the year? Dak won it!!

Are you sore about it?

Im the one that had Dak pegged from day one. Apparently I do know what a REAL QB looks like. It looks like Dak.

 

[wrongway]

Ah, I live in south Jersey so one of my favorite things is to listen to Philly Sports radio the day after the Eagles get beat by the Cowboys. They say laughter is good for one's health.

All day, their misery is delicious.