NewsBot
New Member
- Messages
- 111,281
- Reaction score
- 2,947
"I see a guy who has vision, explosion, speed and quickness," Smith told Jean-Jacques Taylor of ESPN.com. "I just see a guy that's poised to do great things in this league and has an offensive line that will give him an opportunity to do it. I'm loving what I'm seeing. I am inspired."
In his first 11 games, Elliott is leading the league with 1,285 yards on 263 carries and has already smashed the Cowboys' franchise mark for rushing yards gained by a rookie, which was 1,007 held by Tony Dorsett in 1977, per Taylor.
He also has an opportunity to break Eric Dickerson's all-time rookie mark of 1,808 yards in 1983. Though he will have to average 110 yards per game just to tie that mark.
Smith's rookie mark of 937 yards was broken by Elliott in just nine games this season, however he still has about 17,000 yards to go just to break the 47-year-old's rushing record.
Elliott has also proven that he can find the end zone, adding 12 touchdowns to his impressive resume, while his 107.1 yards per game also leads the league.
His agility and explosiveness as a runner has proved too much for NFL defenses to handle and provided moments for Smith to educate his son.
One of those moments came in the fourth quarter of Dallas' Thursday night Week 13 win over the Minnesota Vikings, when Elliott unleashed a jump cut that left the defense in his dust on the way to a 30-yard gain, via the NFL:
"It was a beautiful jump cut. It was beautiful," Smith said. "I used it as a tool to show my son—most people don't even know what a jump cut is—and illustrate what he did and how he got out into the open. It was a great teaching moment."
The move also showed a lot to Smith, who knows a thing or two about building a successful career in the NFL: "When you do things like that, it means you got excellent vision. Your vision takes you there, and then whether you use a jump cut or a sidestep depends on what you have in your arsenal. It was one hell of a move."
With less than one professional season under his belt, this could very well be just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the construction of Elliott's NFL game.
But with the way he has seemingly floored one of the game's best rushers in just 11 outings, it's safe to assume that Elliott's ceiling has no limit.
Stats courtesy of Pro-Football-Reference.com.
Read more Dallas Cowboys news on BleacherReport.com
Continue reading...