Plankton
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https://www.si.com/nfl/2017/11/02/jimmy-garoppolo-trade-san-francisco-49ers-mmqb
1. What the Cowboys will do without Zeke. Because the situation is fluid—and has been for months—it has to be mentioned that the Second Circuit could grant Ezekiel Elliott an injunction before this weekend, and he could, hypothetically, still not miss a game. But the likelihood is that he will, and that means the makeup of the Cowboys team will change to some degree. How much depends on how the backs in his place perform.
For right now, the expectation internally is that Alfred Morris will be the lead back, with Darren McFadden platooning on run downs, and Rod Smith playing a role on passing downs. The real difference, as the Dallas staff sees it, will come from a game management standpoint. For all Elliott’s strengths, the coaches see his efficiency as a runner. “If you run on first down,” one staffer says, “you’re almost guaranteed 3-4 yards.”
To translate, that means that the coaches, for the last year-and-a-half, could pretty much pull a lever and create 2nd-and-6. For a young quarterback like Dak Prescott, that’s enormous, because it limits a defense’s ability to be creative in pressuring him and keeps them off-balance in general. For a play-caller, it means having an open playbook on a down-to-down basis, without having to worry about getting into third-and-manageable or out of third-and-long nearly as much. And yes, the offensive line is still intact, and the backs remaining are hardly incompetent. But pending appeal, this is a loss for sure.
1. What the Cowboys will do without Zeke. Because the situation is fluid—and has been for months—it has to be mentioned that the Second Circuit could grant Ezekiel Elliott an injunction before this weekend, and he could, hypothetically, still not miss a game. But the likelihood is that he will, and that means the makeup of the Cowboys team will change to some degree. How much depends on how the backs in his place perform.
For right now, the expectation internally is that Alfred Morris will be the lead back, with Darren McFadden platooning on run downs, and Rod Smith playing a role on passing downs. The real difference, as the Dallas staff sees it, will come from a game management standpoint. For all Elliott’s strengths, the coaches see his efficiency as a runner. “If you run on first down,” one staffer says, “you’re almost guaranteed 3-4 yards.”
To translate, that means that the coaches, for the last year-and-a-half, could pretty much pull a lever and create 2nd-and-6. For a young quarterback like Dak Prescott, that’s enormous, because it limits a defense’s ability to be creative in pressuring him and keeps them off-balance in general. For a play-caller, it means having an open playbook on a down-to-down basis, without having to worry about getting into third-and-manageable or out of third-and-long nearly as much. And yes, the offensive line is still intact, and the backs remaining are hardly incompetent. But pending appeal, this is a loss for sure.
