Cowboys confident Zeke can lead a running back-by-committee backfield

[BleedSilverandBlue]

Everyone, say it with me: The Dallas Cowboys are not attempting to win this year. The entire point of the 2024 and 2025 season is to play a ton of young players and clear a bunch of garbage contracts off of the books.

This is going to be a pretty painful year.

Nothing they are doing indicates this is a season in which they intend to win anything.

 

[john van brocklin]

I expect Zeke will be utilized mostly for short yardage situations and for his pass blocking abilities to protect Dak. He's surely not what he once was on 1st downs, but let's look for another RB to tend to that more often than not. Whether it's another member of our RB corps or some other RB yet to be acquired, remains to be seen. I also believe Malik Davis will have a fighter's chance to prove himself in 2024. It's far from a hopeless wish!

I like Zeke as a short yardage specialist.
But not at that contract.
We could have paid a little more and gotten a true number one lead back.

 

[G2]

I'm also confident, in the Front Office not knowing how to evaluate RBs or use them when you have one.

 

[Risen Star]

Thank you for providing a link so we know you didn't make up the post.

 

[Motorola]

Bingo......finally somebody here gets it.....or is willing to admit it.

They going full Panzer, Sherman, Tiger and Abrams up in this mug.

Tanks...one of the many fascinating inventions of warfare weaponry.

 

[Kingofholland]

The RB room reminds me of the RB room in 2015. We signed an under achieving back who averaged under 3.5 per carry the last few seasons in Mcfadden to be the lead guy in a room of unproven backs.

The Cowboys are going to need to get that offensive spark from Rico or Vaughn because Zeke likely won't open the game up. However, I do have confidence that Zeke can still get the tough yards needed inside the 5 and short yardage. Then again Mcfadden ended up being a bright spot in 2015 and went on to have one of his more productive years so hopeful the RB room will end up being better than what's on paper today.

 

[rambo2]

This feels like a repeat of the "We don't need a #1 WR , we'll just spread the ball around" experiment from a few seasons ago, but with RBs. And that worked out so well..........

One could say that It worked out when they traded for Cooper. All eyes will be watching Trey Benson, MarShawn Lloyd, and Jaylen Wright and compare them to Kneeland, and Marist Liufau.

 

[Roadtrip635]

One could say that It worked out when they traded for Cooper. All eyes will be watching Trey Benson, MarShawn Lloyd, and Jaylen Wright and compare them to Kneeland, and Marist Liufau.

It worked out in the sense of what not to do again, don't neglect a position and think throwing a bunch of JAGS at the problem is going to be a positive solution and then having to make a big in-season move to solve what shoulda been taken care of in the off-season. It's still the off-season, but the problem is the guys that are still available are at least a tier below JAG.

 

[Motorola]

It worked out in the sense of what not to do again, don't neglect a position and think throwing a bunch of JAGS at the problem is going to be a positive solution and then having to make a big in-season move to solve what shoulda been taken care of in the off-season. It's still the off-season, but the problem is the guys that are still available are at least a tier below JAG.

Which makes it all the more puzzling about not using a a draft pick - no matter what round - on an RB that was accomplished in his collegiate play. (Duece Vaughn last year.)

I recall way back in the day (somewhat giving away my age range) the Cowboys taking a significant gamble with first-round picks on a a couple of running backs from small universities __Calvin Hill out of Ivy League Yale, and Duane Thomas from Division Ii West Texas Sfate.

 

[rambo2]

It worked out in the sense of what not to do again, don't neglect a position and think throwing a bunch of JAGS at the problem is going to be a positive solution and then having to make a big in-season move to solve what shoulda been taken care of in the off-season. It's still the off-season, but the problem is the guys that are still available are at least a tier below JAG.

Some team will trade a back before the trade deadline and some will be cut. I do think it would have been better to draft a back. Either Benson at 56 or a trade back or MarShawm Lloyd at 87 or Jaylen Wright at 87 or trade back. I think that it is a good possibility that Benson will hurt them on the Cardinals and Lloyd for sure will hurt on the Packers. The Cowboys should have gotten either Benson, Lloyd, Wright, or Davis. They had their chance and they didn't do it. Kneeland and Marist Liufau better be good players.

 

[SuspectCorner]

Honestly I do not believe we finish 2024 with the RBs we have rostered now.

That seems like a VERY likely proposition.

 

[diamonddelts]

Zeke probably won’t carry the mail - just special delivery… I think short yardage specialist.

Mail will never get delivered. One blade of grass specialist

 

[zekecowboy]

I'm probably going to record the games, and watch them when it's convenient. I'm no longer scheduling ANYTHING around Cowboys games. If I catch wind that we lost beforehand, I'm not even going to waste my time.

I will probably watch more of the preseason games this year. Curious to see how Trey Lance performs.
Agree with your philosophy, 2024 is simply a rebuild year but nobody wants to admit it, can't hurt season sales.

 

[Sydla]

The RB room reminds me of the RB room in 2015. We signed an under achieving back who averaged under 3.5 per carry the last few seasons in Mcfadden to be the lead guy in a room of unproven backs.

The Cowboys are going to need to get that offensive spark from Rico or Vaughn because Zeke likely won't open the game up. However, I do have confidence that Zeke can still get the tough yards needed inside the 5 and short yardage. Then again Mcfadden ended up being a bright spot in 2015 and went on to have one of his more productive years so hopeful the RB room will end up being better than what's on paper today.

McFadden had battled some injuries but was a much better athlete and still had some explosiveness that Elliott simply doesn’t have anymore.

 

[plasticman]

The only thing holding them back is reality.

 

[gimmesix]

It worked out in the sense of what not to do again, don't neglect a position and think throwing a bunch of JAGS at the problem is going to be a positive solution and then having to make a big in-season move to solve what shoulda been taken care of in the off-season. It's still the off-season, but the problem is the guys that are still available are at least a tier below JAG.

I don't know. Every few years we seem to do it at some position, so I don't think they learned what not to do again.

 

[raven55]

very funny if it wasn't so stupid

 

[VaqueroTD]

Might as well complete the picture and add these two as depth for the RB committee.

 

[CyberB0b]

At this point I don’t think Zeke’s issue is even physical tread issue. He’s supposedly is and looks to be in the best shape of his career every year a continues to decline. To me it more a mental processing issue. From, eyes, to brain, to reaction is a tick off. Accumulation of hits to the head from his style of running!

It’s definitely a physical tread issue. He’s had a ton of touches in the nfl and college.

 

[Cowboys5217]

However, I do have confidence that Zeke can still get the tough yards needed inside the 5 and short yardage.

What gives you this confidence? Zeke only had 3 rushing TDs last season.