Bill Polian on Zeke

[JJHLH1]

Just ask ourselves this question. If we put Romo (of 2014) in as starter rather than Dak would Zeke be more successful or at least as successful as he is now and if Dak has NO Zeke would he be as successful or now.

Zeke would likely be less successful than he is now if Romo was the QB, which is probably one of the reasons that factored into Cowboys decision to go with Prescott. Romo's lack of mobility is a liability that limits the options available to the offense. We have seen during the last 2 games just how valuable Dak's runs can be. Those runs force the defense to play honest instead of just crashing down on Zeke. Dak's presence causing a slight hesitation to the defense can make a huge difference with a player as talented as Zeke, as the announcers pointed out during the Vikings game.

 

[TellerMorrow34]

I'd say it's Zeke for sure.

It's hard to not give Dak a whole lot of credit because he's been amazing but Zeke is the guy that has this all working for us. His ability to run inside and out, make plays in the passing game, is making the game easier for Dak and that's a great thing all around for the Cowboys.

 

[tyke1doe]

He's right.

He's keeping teams up on the line of scrimmage, making almost every play man coverage for Dak. Rookie quarterbacks can throw against man coverage much easier than NFL zones.

That actually hurts Zeke to a degree. If Romo was playing, they'd have to back off, and Zeke would probably have a couple hundred more yards.

I've got my seatbelt securely buckled on the Dak bandwagon. But I'd be less than honest if I didn't say I really would like to have seen what Romo could have done with Zeke.

It's hard to say a quarterback who's had relatively good success in the NFL, is a millionaire and who won't have to worry about life after football financially has had bad luck. But, dang, this would appears as if it was all set up for Tony Romo and not only does he get injured, so does Kellen Moore and then Dak plays lights out so much so that Romo doesn't get his job back when he finally gets healthy.

 

[Bullflop]

Realistically, I see no useful purpose in separating Dak and Zeke from one another as if they're working separately and in competition. They're both an integral part of a team that complement one another in every way possible. Between the both of them, they make this team what they have become and will be in 2016 and beyond. Working as members of a winning team, they're both primal causes for our present situation.

Lauding one without giving due credit to both as part of a vastly improved team makes no sense to me whatsoever. Between the two of them, they've made this team what they are and will be for many years. They complement one another and the team as well and are friends, not competitors. Take away one of them and the other wouldn't be quite the same. I wouldn't have it any other way, thanks to both of them.

 

[tyke1doe]

That's become apparent to me even during the games. At the beginning of the season, I was happy to see Alfred Morris get his opportunities. Now I dread it when I see him on the field. Not that's he's a bad player, but the difference between he and Zeke is huge. The offense doesn't look close to itself without Elliott out there.

I'd love to see what the productivity numbers for the offense have been with and without Elliott on the field. I think the differences would be stark.

I remember posters saying Morris and Lamar Miller would be a fitting running back for this offense, more so than taking Zeke at #4. Miller has essentially disappeared in Houston. He's more anonymous than he was in Miami. Morris is a good back. But it's clear he's not Zeke.

 

[tyke1doe]

If I had a vote it would be Zeke.

As good as Dak is you can't help but notice defenses crowding the box and run blitzing throughout the game although Dak has been really good the last few games.


Derek Carr will win it though unless he loses a couple more games.

We need Carr to have some stinkers or our guys won't win MVP.

Brady shouldn't even be considered this year.

I agree on Brady.

I don't think Carr beats out either Dak or Zeke.
We would have to go into a severe slump for Carr to win.
Understand what's going on here. Dak and Zeke are basically OWNING the league as ROOKIES!
Carr is in his third year. Carr is really good, but I don't think his impact is as "profound" as Dak's and Zeke's.

 

[CATCH17]

I agree on Brady.

I don't think Carr beats out either Dak or Zeke.
We would have to go into a severe slump for Carr to win.
Understand what's going on here. Dak and Zeke are basically OWNING the league as ROOKIES!
Carr is in his third year. Carr is really good, but I don't think his impact is as "profound" as Dak's and Zeke's.

You have to consider the type of guys that will be voting and you also have to consider that Dak and Zeke will split votes.

Brady on the East coast and Carr on the West coast will get a ton of votes for simply that reason alone and Dak and Zeke will be splitting votes.


As of now if Carr won the MVP it would be completely understandable and it would go to a vet QB just like the NFL wants.

 

[dogunwo]

ESPN's crew is just lame and Dilfer is not a good pre-game guy at all but I do enjoy his analysis.


NFL Network is the best IMO.

They got rid of Warren Sapp and they have hid Jamie Dukes so well that we he goes unnoticed.

I really enjoy the gameday crew. Even Marshall Faulk.

I also like the Fox pre-game.

ESPN would be better off letting their Fantasy football crew do their actual NFL games and get the Bermans of the world out of there. Freshen it up.

Berman is the only one that needs to be replaced IMO

 

[Clarkson]

I think teams have figured out Dak, stop Zeke and play the playaction. Double Dez and we have trouble moving the ball

Oh yeah, just stop Zeke and the play-action while doubling Dez. Easy.

No one has "figured" this offense out. A down game in Minnesota doesn't imply that in the least. Defenses know we're going to run the ball; stopping it is the whole issue. Most of them can't. Hell, even Minnesota didn't really stop it. Zeke went nuts in that game with out two calls that brought back big runs; two calls that were very questionable and had nothing to do with the results of the play.

 

[btcutter]

Zeke would likely be less successful than he is now if Romo was the QB, which is probably one of the reasons that factored into Cowboys decision to go with Prescott. Romo's lack of mobility is a liability that limits the options available to the offense. We have seen during the last 2 games just how valuable Dak's runs can be. Those runs force the defense to play honest instead of just crashing down on Zeke. Dak's presence causing a slight hesitation to the defense can make a huge difference with a player as talented as Zeke, as the announcers pointed out during the Vikings game.

We have to disagree then.
Romo (of 2014) was mobile enough. But he was having an MVP type of year himself. He certainly makes better throws and read than Dak that year and took care of the ball. Romo's ability to audible and pass would prevent 8-9 man in the box. Defense has to respect Romo's ability to burn them when they stack the box. Nothing against Dak whom I think is the heir apparent (love him too) but Romo is the better passer hands down.

 

[manster4ever]

Tough question..I think Tony makes more plays down the field throwing, but I also see multiple plays where Tony is going down in the backfield that Dak turns into positive yardage.

Yeah, thing is Tony is a lot more skittish than Dak. He's more apt to bail or scuttle a play. Tony has never been able to simply throw the ball away. NOT saying he isn't smart enough, but rather that he's a gunslinger and always thinks there is a play to be made. Sometimes there isn't and the ball should simply be thrown into the ground or the stands.

 

[Doomsday]

I think a some of people knock him because of the offensive line, and because he isn't a flashy player, bouncing around out there like L. Bell.

He is never going to be like Emmitt or Sanders, he is more of a one cut and see ya type back with great power. He rarely loses yards and turns a lot of 2 yards gains into 6 or 8 yard gains by making himself small and powering through the hole. Defenses have to account for him on every single play or he can take it to the house. How many other backs in this league can you say that about?

 

[VACowboy]

I think teams have figured out Dak, stop Zeke and play the playaction. Double Dez and we have trouble moving the ball

I think that's sound philosophy. The problem is, it doesn't work unless you have great players, like Baltimore and Minnesota. And unless you're into the thrill of covering the spread it doesn't work then either.

 

[Silver N Blue]

That's become apparent to me even during the games. At the beginning of the season, I was happy to see Alfred Morris get his opportunities. Now I dread it when I see him on the field. Not that's he's a bad player, but the difference between he and Zeke is huge. The offense doesn't look close to itself without Elliott out there.

I'd love to see what the productivity numbers for the offense have been with and without Elliott on the field. I think the differences would be stark.

Just look at Dmac's numbers from last year.

 

[ConceptCoop]

At the beginning of the season, I was happy to see Alfred Morris get his opportunities. Now I dread it when I see him on the field. Not that's he's a bad player, but the difference between he and Zeke is huge.

Good point. Me too. In fact, Zeke has spoiled me so much that it's hard to watch MOST NFL RBs these days. Outside of McCoy, Johnson, Bell and Murray, everyone else looks so average compared to Zeke.

 

[ConceptCoop]

I think teams have figured out Dak, stop Zeke and play the playaction. Double Dez and we have trouble moving the ball

How do you stop Zeke and double Dez with only 11 guys in the field?

 

[JJHLH1]

We have to disagree then.
Romo (of 2014) was mobile enough. But he was having an MVP type of year himself. He certainly makes better throws and read than Dak that year and took care of the ball. Romo's ability to audible and pass would prevent 8-9 man in the box. Defense has to respect Romo's ability to burn them when they stack the box. Nothing against Dak whom I think is the heir apparent (love him too) but Romo is the better passer hands down.

Yes, we will agree to disagree. Dak has done a phenomenal job of not turning the ball over, even better than Romo's career year of 2014. That allows the team to stick with the run game instead of playing from behind. Zeke benefits from that. And Dak benefits from Zeke, so it's all good. Just like Romo benefited from having the league's leading rusher in 2014.

 

[tyke1doe]

You have to consider the type of guys that will be voting and you also have to consider that Dak and Zeke will split votes.

Brady on the East coast and Carr on the West coast will get a ton of votes for simply that reason alone and Dak and Zeke will be splitting votes.


As of now if Carr won the MVP it would be completely understandable and it would go to a vet QB just like the NFL wants.

Good points. I hadn't considered those.

 

[Super_Kazuya]

He may actually be right, but Zeke's chances are starting to wane a bit. Make no mistake, in the rare instances of RBs winning it's because they were statistical super freaks... 2000 yards or 30 TDs or some other oddity. Not only has Zeke fallen off of the 2000 pace he's fallen off the rookie record pace as well... and it looks like he's heading to a lighter workload as well with possibly some meaningless games coming up.

 

[Cowboy06]

I respectfully disagree. It all starts with the QB and Dak's play has been outstanding. He certainly benefits from having Zeke in the backfield, but at the same time Zeke also benefits from having Dak as his quarterback. Al Michaels or Chris Collinsworth mentioned this during the Vikings game, how defenders have to hesitate slightly before they can focus on Zeke because they aren't sure if Dak is going to run with the ball. It's a perfect combination and I'm thankful it's ours.

Great issue to have huh? Two MVP candidates and both are rookies on the same team.