Cowboys fans have short memories about RBs

[CowboyRoy]

I think heard Emmitt call it "shake and bake" or something way back when he entered the league. But yeah, he sure could make people miss, and his vision was as good as it got. Their talents are different, but Zeke can play. I just don't think he was the drive and desire had to be great. That's the main difference I see. I'm not really comparing running styles.

Zeke is great. He just isn't worth his contract. I don't think any RB is.

 

[Risen Star]

If the Cowboys would have drafted Tony Pollard in 1993, Emmitt Smith would not be the league's leading rusher.

 

[ksadler1]

Zeke gets winded and pulls himself out of the game. Emmitt has his shoulder savagely dislocated and single handedly wins game against the Giants. I see the similarities...

 

[ABQCOWBOY]

Zeke gets winded and pulls himself out of the game. Emmitt has his shoulder savagely dislocated and single handedly wins game against the Giants. I see the similarities...

Stop...... Everybody knows.

 

[Ranched]

criticism of paying Zeke the contract he signed.
There is some validity to the RB position is expendable and that most wear down before contract is up.
But, I think Zeke is a special RB and is a mold-breaker, much like Emmitt was.

For starters, please never EVER use Ezekiel's name in the same sentence as Emmitt'. There is and never will be a comparison in the two. Ezekiel is already worn down after he received his big pay raise.

He ran the ball a measly 12 x's in Philly when the division crown was on the line AND had the audacity to take himself out because he said he was out of breath. Really?! Heaven help us should he separate his shoulder. Never assume "Cowboys fans" on having "short memories" on any topic. You'll lose.

 

[Chuck 54]

I have always been one who questioned the hordes who think Emmitt was better than Barry Sanders simply because he had more yards at the end of his career. I still think Barry would have turned the world upside down as a Cowboy. That said, Zeke is not in Emmitt’s class....no way. I saw more long TDs in a handful of games by Emmitt than Zeke has had in his career so far. When Emmitt got into the secondary, the man had moves, gear shifts, vision. He was slow in the 40 compared to Zeke, but Emmitt scored lots of long TD runs and knew how to get into the end zone despite his size.

 

[ABQCOWBOY]

He isn't the highest paid, he has a contract going forward that is the highest ever given. But its extremely likely it will be restructured or reduced if he isn't performing.

What he actually has been paid over four years is 28 million, which includes the signing bonus for his extension. And he has more rushing yards than any RB in football over that period even though he missed 8 games with a BS suspension.

Contracts get paid out, even if it's restructured. Players don't lose money.

 

[SSoup]

People touting overpaying a RB by holding up Emmitt as the example to follow are the ones with faulty memories.

The salary cap era as we know it started in 1994. So we got just 1 Super Bowl in the salary cap era out of a team built to win that way. And that one Super Bowl was one we won running on fumes from the team built prior to the salary cap era.

The 7-year extension we signed him to in 1997 was a massive fruitless failure that brought us zero successes, and which hamstrung us for years as Emmitt's own effectiveness waned and as the league moved more and more towards passing.

History doesn't say what you're pretending it says if you're gonna bring up Emmitt as justification for paying a RB huge money, friend.

 

[ABQCOWBOY]

I have always been one who questioned the hordes who think Emmitt was better than Barry Sanders simply because he had more yards at the end of his career. I still think Barry would have turned the world upside down as a Cowboy. That said, Zeke is not in Emmitt’s class....no way. I saw more long TDs in a handful of games by Emmitt than Zeke has had in his career so far. When Emmitt got into the secondary, the man had moves, gear shifts, vision. He was slow in the 40 compared to Zeke, but Emmitt scored lots of long TD runs and knew how to get into the end zone despite his size.

Sanders didn't fit the Offense. Barry was great, no question there but I don't think he fit the Cowboys Offense. Thurman Thomas, you might have something there but not Sanders IMO.

 

[TheMarathonContinues]

Its so insane to me that in 2016 Dak and Zeke took the league by storm...and in 2020 fans seem to have turned on them. I do not understand it.

 

[Chuck 54]

Sanders didn't fit the Offense. Barry was great, no question there but I don't think he fit the Cowboys Offense. Thurman Thomas, you might have something there but not Sanders IMO.

That looks true on paper, but before they ever played a game, if Barry and Emmitt were both sitting there on draft day, you know Jimmy would have taken Barry over Emmitt. Barry would have been great in any offense. He was HOF great in Detroit where he was dodging tacklers in the backfield on most carries. Emmitt was clearly better than Thomas, in my opinion.

 

[PJTHEDOORS]

Pump up Zeke? Make an Emmitt mention.

 

[Kaiser]

Contracts get paid out, even if it's restructured. Players don't lose money.

I disagree. Tyrone Crawford is about to lose a boatload of money. DeMarcus Ware lost money when he was cut and he is one of the best Cowboys ever.

 

[PJTHEDOORS]

I think Zeke is a better RB than Emmitt physically gifted wise.
As for his conditioning issues, I think a lot of that was due to his off field issues affecting that. In 2017 he was dealing with the suspension issues and last year his holdout affected him by missing Training camp.
Hopefully he will be able to dedicate to the offseason conditioning and a full TC which should help his conditioning issues. It seems Zeke has always been trying to play himself into condition after the season starts.
If you remember, Emmitt also had conditioning issues. He really dedicated himself to conditioning and addressing his hamstring issues after the 94 season.
Barring anymore suspension issues, I think we will see the best of Zeke.
As for how/why I think Zeke is like Emmitt, I was referring mainly to the fact that it is possible for a RB to play at a high level for beyond the avg RB career.

Better ONLY using power.

 

[Flamma]

I think Zeke is a better RB than Emmitt physically gifted wise.
As for his conditioning issues, I think a lot of that was due to his off field issues affecting that. In 2017 he was dealing with the suspension issues and last year his holdout affected him by missing Training camp.
Hopefully he will be able to dedicate to the offseason conditioning and a full TC which should help his conditioning issues. It seems Zeke has always been trying to play himself into condition after the season starts.
If you remember, Emmitt also had conditioning issues. He really dedicated himself to conditioning and addressing his hamstring issues after the 94 season.
Barring anymore suspension issues, I think we will see the best of Zeke.
As for how/why I think Zeke is like Emmitt, I was referring mainly to the fact that it is possible for a RB to play at a high level for beyond the avg RB career.

After his rookie season Emmitt was an absolute work horse. I've only seen that from Zeke in his rookie season. Hopefully what you said is true as far as the reason, but it doesn't account for every season.

I could be wrong, but I don't remember Emmitt having too many conditioning issues. If you're talking about a hamstring issue after the '94 season, he's already played 5 seasons. Then the next two seasons he had over 700 carries combined. Good Lord, I can't imagine what he would have done with a good hammy.

 

[ABQCOWBOY]

Its so insane to me that in 2016 Dak and Zeke took the league by storm...and in 2020 fans seem to have turned on them. I do not understand it.

Why do you see it that way?

 

[TheMarathonContinues]

Why do you see it that way?

Were you on this site in 2016? Things have changed a lot since then. The Zeke turn happened when he wanted to get paid sooner rather than later in fear this team would run him into the ground and move on. The Dak turn happened his rookie year when Romo didn't get his job back. Some were fine with him thinking he was just keeping the seat warm for Romo but once Romo never got that job back......Dak became a enemy.

 

[America's Cowboy]

He isn't the highest paid, he has a contract going forward that is the highest ever given. But its extremely likely it will be restructured or reduced if he isn't performing.

What he actually has been paid over four years is 28 million, which includes the signing bonus for his extension. And he has more rushing yards than any RB in football over that period even though he missed 8 games with a BS suspension.

You don't think other top RBs with hefty contracts don't have clauses in pay just like Zeke received with his new contract last year? Of course they do. I bet it still makes Zeke one of the top 3 highest paid RBs.

 

[Established1971]

There are a lot of Cowboys fans on this forum and elsewhere that seem to have short memories about the RB position. Particularly when it comes to the criticism of paying Zeke the contract he signed.
There is some validity to the RB position is expendable and that most wear down before the contract is up.
But, I think Zeke is a special RB and is a mold-breaker, much like Emmitt was.
Emmitt played for over a decade at a high level. Zeke looks to be the type of RB who will excel longer than the average time frame for RBs. He has no history of getting hurt and seems to have the build/athleticism to endure at a high level for multiple years. Now, could he suffer an injury and affect his longevity but that's the nature of the beast.
His contract is basically a 3 year deal, starting this season, for the guarantees and I think he should have no problem justifying the pay given his performance and importance to the team. Many RBs that sign big deals get them out of luck due to having a breakout season and then they either get injured or revert back to their true selves and reveal themselves as average RBs who can be replaced.
Zeke is an exceptional RB specimen and if healthy, he should be the bell cow for more than 3 years and justify his contract.

Emmit AND Tony D. When we have won we have had a hall of fame RB and I think Duane Thomas could have been too if he wasnt such a mental case

 

[America's Cowboy]

Zeke doesn't have Jimmy, Troy, Irvin and a number one defense either.

True, Coach, but he does have the highest paid Oline in the whole league...by far. Plus, Dak, Amari and Gallup are pretty good productive teammates just like Troy, Irvin and Harper were for Emmitt. The only difference was the coaching, but Zeke's defense finished ranked 11th last year. Not bad for a Marinelli run defense.