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

[KJJ]

I thought we needed to go running back in the second and tight end in the fourth because of the promise shown by Ferguson and Hendershot. I was wary of Achane, but he's having a good year. The player I wanted was Charbonnet but he was gone before we picked in the second. But some liked Tajae Spears and he's doing well in Tennessee, Achane. Kendre Miller also went in that range, but he hasn't done much for New Orleans.

I actually wanted a TE with either our first or second pick because we lost Schultz, and the jury was still out on Ferguson and Hendershot. I wanted either Dalton Kincaid or Sam Laporta. When we selected Schoonmaker I almost fell off my chair. He was the last TE I expected us to take. Even the ESPN draft panel didn’t sound thrilled with the pick. The first thing Kiper said was that he wasn’t a very skilled receiver. We could have drafted a blocking TE later in the draft. There was no reason to reach for a TE that high when we had a couple of promising young TEs. The Schoomaker pick was a huge mistake. However, had we taken a back we may have ended up with one of the other RBs that went ahead of Achane who haven’t done anything.

 

[gimmesix]

I actually wanted a TE with either our first or second pick because we lost Schultz, and the jury was still out on Ferguson and Hendershot. I wanted either Dalton Kincaid or Sam Laporta. When we selected Schoonmaker I almost fell off my chair. He was the last TE I expected us to take. Even the ESPN draft panel didn’t sound thrilled with the pick. The first thing Kiper said was that he wasn’t a very skilled receiver. We could have drafted a blocking TE later in the draft. There was no reason to reach for a TE that high when we had a couple of promising young TEs. The Schoomaker pick was a huge mistake. However, had we taken a back we may have ended up with one of the other RBs that went ahead of Achane who haven’t done anything.

Well, Robinson has been good and so has Gibbs, but we had not chance to get them without trading up in the first, and I don't think anyone was for that. Charbonnet has been good, but went six picks before ours in the second round. Jury's definitely out as much on Miller as it is on Schoonmaker. Tyjae Spears has rushed for nearly 500 yards and 4.7 per carry, so he may have been a good option to pair with Pollard. And then there's Achane. So really only one of those six backs looks like a miss so far.

 

[JoeKing]

Pollard acknowledges what we all see, he has not contributed the way we expected him to and the way the FO paid him to play. However, I bet we don't see him returning any of that money so I'm not interested in his acknowledgements. You underperformed, son. Just shut up and do better!

 

[starfan1]

I was OK with the Mazi pick because I've been wanting us to seriously address the DT spots for years. He wasn't the player that I wanted, but I was glad to at least see them take a shot. Schoonmaker might develop into a really good tight end, so I'm not going to knock that. I just felt it wasn't a pressing need and we kind of forced it like it was.

I wanted them to address DT as well just not in the first but I guess this is a Dan Quinn thing draft a big ugly have them lose weight and develop quickness versus power. I like Osa as a pass rusher cant stand him as a run defender. I do like Hankins hes more of a prototypical DT. We could use 1 more like him I dont think Mazi is it but theres still time. The second round pick is a head scratcher to me because Fergy showed plenty last year as did Hendershot although not as much as Fergy.

I think we needed OL and RB iin the worst way and we avoided it till late and took a inspector gadget at that. They must have faith in Ball and Waletsko is my guess. Im nothing more than a chair jockey though. I loved last years draft hate this one thus far

 

[starfan1]

Well, Robinson has been good and so has Gibbs, but we had not chance to get them without trading up in the first, and I don't think anyone was for that. Charbonnet has been good, but went six picks before ours in the second round. Jury's definitely out as much on Miller as it is on Schoonmaker. Tyjae Spears has rushed for nearly 500 yards and 4.7 per carry, so he may have been a good option to pair with Pollard. And then there's Achane. So really only one of those six backs looks like a miss so far.

I wanted Gibbs bad but he went higher than i thought he would. I figured Bijan was a pipe dream so not getting him didnt shock me. Charbonnet went higher than I thought he would as well heck for that matter most all of the RBs did. We should definately make it a priority this draft along with OL and LB

 

[Stash]

I think this is another example of this team paying ‘franchise money’ to guys who simply aren’t franchise players.

It was the same when they tagged Schultz the year before.

They’re not bad players, but you don’t pay great money for good players.

 

[Cowboyny]

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.

Certainly the scheme has played a negative role, but Pollard just doesn't look like the same explosive player post injury.

 

[Cowboyny]

Have you seen a breakdown on the run blocking scheme Dallas is running this year?
Curious if they are trying to fit a square peg into a round hole with Pollard.
I'm too lazy to rewatch games but it feels like the RBs this year for most inside runs are assigned gaps and not reading like they did in years past with the OZBS

I know last year they were below the NFL average for success rates running Outside zone runs(20% vs NFL 24%) last year
Barely above Inside zone (27% vs 26%)
At NFL average for Man at 28%

But with Philbin out and Solari knowing every scheme since Dinosaurs walked the earth I haven't seen an breakdown yet on splits on blocking schemes.
He has coached all sorts of blocking schemes.
And of course every team will have run calls that incorporate every scheme but lean on some more than others.

This is a topic we need to take a deep dive after the season. Scheme change definitely has had a negative impact on the team's running game.

 

[Cowboyny]

He’s an open field guy. Swing outside into free space. Get him a pass a few yards downfield.

He’s not a between the tackles guy.

They are not using him to his strengths.

He was getting chunk runs last year both inside and outside, but none this yr with better personnel up front. Scheme is a big part of why it hasn't worked.

 

[VaqueroTD]

He ain't gonna be a Cowboy next year. Book it.

Don't know. Looks healthier now. And he just played himself into a smaller contract. Spend or draft on a thunder and keep lightning if the price is right.

 

[KJJ]

Well, Robinson has been good and so has Gibbs, but we had not chance to get them without trading up in the first, and I don't think anyone was for that. Charbonnet has been good, but went six picks before ours in the second round. Jury's definitely out as much on Miller as it is on Schoonmaker. Tyjae Spears has rushed for nearly 500 yards and 4.7 per carry, so he may have been a good option to pair with Pollard. And then there's Achane. So really only one of those six backs looks like a miss so far.

Those backs have been good but we weren’t going to take a back in the first round unless Robinson had fallen to us, which wasn’t going to happen.

 

[CATCH17]

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

Blocking was fine last year.

In fact there were huge holes that Zeke was just too slow to get through.

That’s why Pollard was an elite runner behind it.

 

[Cowboysheelsreds058]

CowboyRoy and Aria, what in the h—- happened to them both?

 

[SteveTheCowboy]

Blocking was fine last year.

In fact there were huge holes that Zeke was just too slow to get through.

That’s why Pollard was an elite runner behind it.

But now?

The o-line is way worse THIS year, eh?

Dude...

 

[CATCH17]

But now?

The o-line is way worse THIS year, eh?

Dude...

Yep. Very obvious.

 

[Teague31]

giving a back a second contract is stupid. 100% of the time

 

[Pass2Run]

Well, Pollard can redeem himself for whatever it is he feels like he hasn't done. I mean, I want to see him turn it up a notch for the playoffs. Same for the OL.

This isn't the same team that got blown out by San Fran, at least it doesn't look like it to me.

I still think what they did to him last year was dirty, and intentional, considering it happened more than once during the game.

 

[T-RO]

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?

they were around a lot longer because coaches didn't pay as much attention to the analytics. The vast majority sure weren't as effective in their later years, playing on because of their name reputation.

-In his last five seasons George never once averaged over 4.0 YPC
-Thurman Thomas? In his first five seasons averaged about 4.7 YPC. In his last eight seasons about 4.0
This same falloff isn't the case with every great RB of lore, but it's true for about 3/4 of them.

 

[DallasCowboys2080]

they were around a lot longer because coaches didn't pay as much attention to the analytics. The vast majority sure weren't as effective in their later years, playing on because of their name reputation.

-In his last five seasons George never once averaged over 4.0 YPC
-Thurman Thomas? In his first five seasons averaged about 4.7 YPC. In his last eight seasons about 4.0
This same falloff isn't the case with every great RB of lore, but it's true for about 3/4 of them.

im sorry, forgive my stupidity, so how was the longevity of RBs affected by the coaches paying attention to analytics?

 

[gimmesix]

Those backs have been good but we weren’t going to take a back in the first round unless Robinson had fallen to us, which wasn’t going to happen.

Maybe I'm having trouble connecting the dots here. Only Robinson and Gibbs were first-rounders. We might could have gotten Charbonnet with a slight trade-up, but we could have taken Spears or Achane with our second-round pick or perhaps even with a slight trade-down. We just did not value taking a back.