News: BR: Tony Pollard: "I thought I would probably have a better year than I am now"

[Cmac]

So did CowboyRoy.

......he and Tony Pollard didn't take a good look at the blocking on film.

 

[bottleKids]

TP's smartest thing he did was sign the Tag ... he will never get a pay day like this again in his career per year wise.

 

[SteveTheCowboy]

But that's not what was happening last year. It's not like they ran Zeke 20 times at the defense and then Pollard would come it for a big play. Zeke and Pollard were splitting reps all game and Pollard had the same impact early as he did late.

What we see this year is a mix of his injury, blocking, and play calling.

He would have been great as a lead back last year (all other things equal).

No...he wouldn't. Fact is we had the EXACT same issues last year that we do this year.

Remember when everyone exalted Tony's superior "speed to the edge" over zeke? Why do you think that is? Very poor interior blocking/injuries/scheme.

 

[SteveTheCowboy]

The replies in this thread are so cringe.

You guys think it’s because he’s the starter now or some other BS reason other than the fact we can’t run block at all.

I don;t remember you coming to Zeke's defense last year over the very same thing. Maybe you did...I don;t remember.

 

[SteveTheCowboy]

Dink and dunk passing game? Have you time traveled back to 2017? This is one of the most vertical passing attacks in the league and hits chunk plays at a top 3-5 rate lol. Incredibly confused comment.

Dak and WR's improvement at vertical chunks is truly amazing!

 

[calico]

It’s amazing how the cowboys learn lessons then forget about them and make the same mistakes they made in the past.

It’s multiple times now that Jerry and co have let the offensive line crumble while taking half measures at running back.

They must be too drunk to remember anything past a few seasons ago.

 

[quickccc]

I didn't. I've seen what happens to 2nd RB's when they are given the majority of snaps.

It wore Barber down. It exposed Joe Randal.

There is a big difference between coming in fresh to a fatigued defense after it's been pummeled by a power back behind an aggressive O-line and coming in play #1 when the defense is fresh, motivated and inspired.

Imo, it depends upon the RBs ... and it definitely depends upon the coaches.

Frankly i think it's the coaches that have a in stone mindset and set in their ways that forces
RBs into the ground.

They vary. Every back cannot be/have Emmitt Smith, Jerome Bettis and Frank Gore longetivy.
while an Adrian Peterson can come back brilliantly from ACL tear to an MVP like season, still be a workhorse,
a Zeke Elliott can be numb down to a mere journeyman at only prime of his year.

Jason Garrett was one of those stubbornly blind HC that only knows the 90's ground and pound days- and he
used & treated ZK accordingly. Some do not realize that even blitz blocking and absorbing full speed blows
even take a wearing toll.

And Garrett & co, only trusted ZKE in pass protect, and never share more of the duties with relief, spell backup RBs.- even Pollard was seldom used, and that all the more expose ZKE to more bodily punishment,

 

[SteveTheCowboy]

Top third? He's average statistically.

He's is 16th in rushing which does include some QB's.

"top 3rd" is certainly stretching things. He has...no shame.

 

[CowboysFaninHouston]

That's a valid theory, and I suspect there's some truth to it.

As I've studied the fall-off of running backs a lot...I think it's more just his age and total carries. Rbs typically fade starting in their fourth season...it's overwhelming when you look at the data.

which makes what Emmitt Smith accomplished even greater

 

[SteveTheCowboy]

Imo, it depends upon the RBs ... and it definitely depends upon the coaches.

Frankly i think it's the coaches that have a in stone mindset and set in their ways that forces
RBs into the ground.

They vary. Every back cannot be/have Emmitt Smith, Jerome Bettis and Frank Gore longetivy.
while an Adrian Peterson can come back brilliantly from ACL tear to an MVP like season, still be a workhorse,
a Zeke Elliott can be numb down to a mere journeyman at only prime of his year.

Jason Garrett was one of those stubbornly blind HC that only knows the 90's ground and pound days- and he
used & treated ZK accordingly. Some do not realize that even blitz blocking and absorbing full speed blows
even take a wearing toll.

And Garrett & co, only trusted ZKE in pass protect, and never share more of the duties with relief, spell backup RBs.- even Pollard was seldom used, and that all the more expose ZKE to more bodily punishment,

Using zeke as an o-linebacker so much is one of the greatest sins in sports I have ever seen.

"We don;t have to fix the o-line we can just destroy zeke instead".

 

[SteveTheCowboy]

which makes what Emmitt Smith accomplished even greater

Different era...with fearsome o-line and HoF QB.

Having said that...Emmitt was one of the best ever. The team, scheme and coaching facilitated that.

Too bad Zeke couldn't get the same. Emmitt had a more sophisticated football mind, but they actually share a lot of attributes.

 

[quickccc]

Yes, Pollard gets hit often behind the line, but I also see him run into the wrong hole often. In my opinion, he lacks the natural instincts as a runner. Also, he isn't much of an asset in the passing game, when they do throw to him he usually drops the football.

did we see Pollard running into wrong holes and lanes last year in '22 ?

i would only figure that if he did so, ..
1) he was so incredible quick and speedy that he could out-run his mistakes.
2) there was enuff efficient blocking upfront in '22, that it gave him a bit more room and momentum to
to be able to get to those particular holes and lanes, something that clearly has not been the case under Solari
this year in '23.

and this was a guy (Pollard) that i was seeing running very well both off tackle, off the edge, and even up the gut middle.

 

[rnr_honeybadger]

Somewhere Jerry Jones is holding up a cardboard cut out of Tony Pollard saying - Hey fans, this is my lesson that I can't seem to learn.

 

[quickccc]

Different era...with fearsome o-line and HoF QB.

Having said that...Emmitt was one of the best ever. The team, scheme and coaching facilitated that.

Too bad Zeke couldn't get the same. Emmitt had a more sophisticated football mind, but they actually share a lot of attributes.

Very fearsome ! ... quite simply the most dominant OL in the history of the NFL.

" Great Wall of Dallas " as the documentary called it.

What i thought was so special was the sheer brute of that 90's OL in the trenches that constantly opened
up huge gapping holes in the trenches that Emmitt could easily get in/out of ...

but also when it came to the 2nd level of defenders, it became the Emmitt show, ..evading and whiffing tacklers, hard to knock off his feet balance, powering thru arm-tackles, nose for the goal line.

The only thing one could say about Emmitt, was that he wasn't a breakaway threat as a receiver outta the backfield,
but his combination of innate run skills, durability and toughness and high capability as a blitz blocker more than
made up for that.

 

[SteveTheCowboy]

Very fearsome ! ... quite simply the most dominant OL in the history of the NFL.

" Great Wall of Dallas " as the documentary called it.

What i thought was so special was the sheer brute of that 90's OL in the trenches that constantly opened
up huge gapping holes in the trenches that Emmitt could easily get in/out of ...

but also when it came to the 2nd level of defenders, it became the Emmitt show, ..evading and whiffing tacklers, hard to knock off his feet balance, powering thru arm-tackles, nose for the goal line.

The only thing one could say about Emmitt, was that he wasn't a breakaway threat as a receiver outta the backfield,
but his combination of innate run skills, durability and toughness and high capability as a blitz blocker more than
made up for that.

Yes sir!

Those big holes allowed Emmitt to get steam, get his balance and vision. He was a MASTER at it. DB's and even safeties didn't really want Emmitt coming at them like that.


This the problem we are having now. (and previous couple years). The RB's are having to side step on the handoff or run up the backs of o-line. Even if they get through they got no steam.

 

[OmerV]

I told countless posters Pollard wouldn’t be as good as a starter. He was a fan favorite and now some want Dowdle starting ahead of him.

I thought he would as long as he still had limits on his carries. I never thought he could be a workhorse.

But I suspect there is more to it than that. I think the O-Line is regressing, and I'm not convinced he was fully back to his old self after his ijury

 

[Proof]

To Pollard's defense, he doesn't exactly have an o-line that's healthy. Plus, Tyron Smith and Zack Martin are in their 30's, and Smith is constantly nursing injuries.

yeah, there's a number of factors coinciding that led to this dud of a season for him. he had more carries than zeke last year, so i'm not buying the "he's just better facing a tired defense" line. coming off injury, line run blocking going completely south, etc

 

[quickccc]

Plus Biadez sucks and Steele has been been a turnstile since coming back from his own injury. We seem to like rewarding injured players for past performance as if the injury never happened.

Tyler B can't seem to get the 2nd level of defenders anymore.
And he has whiffed way too many blocks whether vs run or in pass game. His game has really fallen off vs '22.
Before last year, I was already prepping myself to get a better replacement but he proved solid last year.
Is there some unknown to the public, non-closed lingering injury going on with him this year?

Otherwise a highly regarded, new starting rookie center in the NFL draft is gonna be really high
on Cowboys player priority list.
That's not a position they can be satisfied with a cheap, vet JAG in FA. .

 

[DallasCowboys2080]

That's a valid theory, and I suspect there's some truth to it.

As I've studied the fall-off of running backs a lot...I think it's more just his age and total carries. Rbs typically fade starting in their fourth season...it's overwhelming when you look at the data.

interesting. since you know a lot about this i want to pick your brain a little.

running backs in todays NFL dont seem as prominent as they used to be. it seems back in the day, say the time of emmitt smith, barry sanders, thurman thomas, marshal faulk and eddie george etc. there was more going on with that position and they seem to be around longer.

what happened?

 

[gimmesix]

CowboyRoy was wrong about a lot of things. Too bad he's no longer around to eat lots of crow. He was wrong about Tony Pollard, this Oline, Biadasz supposedly was going to make the Pro Bowl, the Cowboys would fare better without Zeke, etc.

We had endless debates about Elliott. Some he was right about and some he was wrong about. There were some things that did not need to be said the way that he said them, but that's neither here nor there.

The one thing I won't argue is that Elliott did not need to be kept for the amount Dallas was paying him. His play had slipped and injuries were starting to take their toll. I never had a problem with giving Pollard more carries, because he showed he deserved them or a bigger role. I didn't even have a problem with franchising him. My only contention was that having Elliott gave us a good 1-2 punch. Each player had a lane that they stayed in (although I felt we needed to give Elliott a few more outside runs the last year he was here). And I questioned whether Pollard could be as effective if we started asking him to do things that better suited Elliott.

Some of our fans get too caught up in backing a certain player, like things can't change for that player from year to year or they just have to be right about that player. I try not to get overly invested in any one player because I just want whatever is best for the team to make it great to help it win. The running back plan was clear to a lot of us that it was not best for the team. Elevating Pollard to starting back coming off a serious injury smelled of what we did with Gallup. Bringing in Ronald Jones II for cheap to be his primary backup smelled of what we just did with James Washington. I would have liked to hope that the front office learned from what it did with the receiver position in 2022, but it just repeated those mistakes at the running back position in 2023.