Bob Sturm Stats: Zeke vs. Pollard on First Down

[CalPolyTechnique]

Combo of Elliott being banged up, Elliott already in decline as a player, his lack of explosiveness and really his limitations as an in between the tackle runner at this point........... multiple times in recent games, you can just see DEs crashing down because there is little threat of Elliott going outside. Dallas doesn't even try to run him on sweeps and tosses like they used to.

Also with Pollard in the game, teams likely see him more as a pass threat so they can't just focus on the run.

At this point, it's pretty clear what a mistake it was to resign Elliott and frankly, his ineffectiveness is an issue over the last half of the season that has hurt the O.

Agreed.

I also don’t want the Cowboys running him on sweeps because he does have the speed to make the edge and turn the corner. How many times have we seen the edge chase him down on the backside?

Zeke his rookie season was like a bat outta hell when he took the handoff and hit the hole, much like Pollard does now.

Sometime in 2017 he started changing his approach and started patiently pitter-pattering to the line ala LaVeon Bell. Problem is he doesn’t have the burst to accelerate when a lane opens or exploit a gap.

 

[glimmerman]

Pollard is hurt also. My hope is that they are resting him to play more in the playoffs. Elliot would be further along if they left him alone. Last Sunday was attempt to rest both and also Moore abandoned the run. He is not as smart as we think. He is a Linehan guy and he would abandon it also. We have our 3rd string RB who could be running it also. I didn’t see much out of him but if he is getting first team reps he should be better by now. All I know is if we only run 12 times in the playoffs we will lose. Every game we get 100 yards we win. So keep pushing. You will pop a big one..

 

[CalPolyTechnique]

It’s a comparison of 26 to 45 rushes.

They should actually pull in the stats to see how many of the rushers were against stacked boxes, just to see if the defenses were playing run or not.

Ezekiel Elliott

Tony Pollard

 

[CalPolyTechnique]

Pretty small sample size for Pollard. In addition, Zeke has been injured but is getting better, is a better pass protector, and a better receiver. I watched one play where Dak got flushed from the pocket and Pollard just turned around and stood there. Pollard got hurt with only a slight increase in his touches, I'm not sure what would happen if he was the feature back. Troy Hambrick was supposed to be better than Emmitt because he would come in for a few plays and get more yards but when he became the starter it didn't work out that way.

Yeah, man, Zeke is not a better receiver.

 

[morasp]

Yeah, man, Zeke is not a better receiver.

Yeah man I think he is. On the play similar to the Pollard one I mentioned as soon as Dak got flushed he would have been running to get open and we would have had positive yardage.

 

[CalPolyTechnique]

Yeah man I think he is. On the play similar to the Pollard one I mentioned as soon as Dak got flushed he would have been running to get open and we would have had positive yardage.

I’m not sure what you’re referencing but in terms of being a receiver fundamentally, 1) Pollard is much better catching the ball and 2) doing something with it when he does.

Zeke had two drops last week and another one he let clank off his chest and bobbled around until he finally caught it.

 

[morasp]

I’m not sure what you’re referencing but in terms of being a receiver fundamentally, 1) Pollard is much better catching the ball and 2) doing something with it when he does.

Zeke had two drops last week and another one he let clank off his chest and bobbled around until he finally caught it.

Pollard has two fumbles after the catch. I'm talking about when Dak is in trouble trying to get open to avoid a sack or incompletion. It's been happening quite a bit lately.

 

[CATCH17]

Pollard is hurt also. My hope is that they are resting him to play more in the playoffs. Elliot would be further along if they left him alone. Last Sunday was attempt to rest both and also Moore abandoned the run. He is not as smart as we think. He is a Linehan guy and he would abandon it also. We have our 3rd string RB who could be running it also. I didn’t see much out of him but if he is getting first team reps he should be better by now. All I know is if we only run 12 times in the playoffs we will lose. Every game we get 100 yards we win. So keep pushing. You will pop a big one..

What if Moore is calling runs and Dak is changing the playcall?

 

[Sydla]

Yeah man I think he is. On the play similar to the Pollard one I mentioned as soon as Dak got flushed he would have been running to get open and we would have had positive yardage.

Yeah, you must be watching a different Elliott than most of us. Pollard is the better receiver at this point and can do more things when he catches the ball than Elliott at this point.

 

[morasp]

Yeah, you must be watching a different Elliott than most of us. Pollard is the better receiver at this point and can do more things when he catches the ball than Elliott at this point.

The Elliot I've seen is much better in the scramble driil. Pollards receiving stats are a little better so far but I would much rather have Elliot in there on passing downs than Pollard. He's much more situationally aware. Elliot in backfield and Pollard split out would be OK.

 

[glimmerman]

What if Moore is calling runs and Dak is changing the playcall?

Then Dak is self inflicting. If I was having a rough time then I am going with the run.. We ran 12 times and had broke a long one that was called back.. Why not go back to the well..Go off tackle. We had Tyron back and never ran a toss or pitch to that side..

 

[glimmerman]

Yeah, you must be watching a different Elliott than most of us. Pollard is the better receiver at this point and can do more things when he catches the ball than Elliott at this point.

Next year will be big year, last year of Pollard so he will be pouring it on. And Elliot is hurt like Pollard. Both will hopefully be healthy and want to see if Elliot is injured or going down hill.. Elliot is showing flashes of healing up. He had a TD a week ago and ran over both safeties and Sunday he had one called back but the run looked good. I am so pissed at Shultz for that hold. He didn’t need to, Elliot had the cut and was gone. Real drive killers have hurt both RBs. Pollard had a long one on the same side called back in a loss because of a hold. Seems every long run this year has been called back..

 

[ArtClink]

What if Moore is calling runs and Dak is changing the playcall?

That’s a convenient way to blame Dak for everything and mk sure Moore remains blameless. It was the opposite in the Romo era; everything was the offensive coordinator’s fault.

 

[CATCH17]

That’s a convenient way to blame Dak for everything and mk sure Moore remains blameless. It was the opposite in the Romo era; everything was the offensive coordinator’s fault.

But it’s totally reasonable considering he has the power to do that and does it all the time throughout a game.

 

[Sydla]

But it’s totally reasonable considering he has the power to do that and does it all the time throughout a game.

We've run for over 100 yards in multiple games this year. Why wasn't Dak overriding runs in those games?

This isnt a Dak problem (in reference to him opting out of all these run calls).

 

[Walker]

Keep Zeke for one more year, but they need to reduce his role and increase Pollards role especially come playoff, they are just at two different levels. Only time I would ever put zeke in is if you know your opponent knows your going to 100% pass and you plan on using him for blocking.

 

[CATCH17]

We've run for over 100 yards in multiple games this year. Why wasn't Dak overriding runs in those games?

This isnt a Dak problem (in reference to him opting out of all these run calls).

I’d look at the correlation between leading in the game and attempts vs being behind in the game and abandoning the run.

 

[ArtClink]

But it’s totally reasonable considering he has the power to do that and does it all the time throughout a game.

Conversely, we'll never when Moore calls the wrong play and Dak audibles out to a more high probability play. Either way, none of us know when Dak audibles out.

 

[CCBoy]

If the team really wants Zeke Elliott blocking a lot, just make him a fullback, with both Pollard and the heavy set on the field as well. Push some issues here...

 

[MyFairLady]

The only thing less effective than handing the ball of to fat Zeke is throwing it his way. His effectiveness as a pass receiver is historically bad. Almost unbelievable it is so bad.