Dak without Zeke

[Proof]

i'm sitting here trying to figure out who all these people are that don't know the impact zeke has on the offense, and that things will be a bit more difficult without him.

is that really a thing, and do they post here?

 

[roughneck266]

Yeah. The club has enough depth to be successful on offense. The big loss will be the defense. The club really needs Elliott's clock eating ability to keep the young, probably average, defense off the field.

Agree 100%. Defense is going to have to prove a lot of doubters wrong even without that issue to have a great season.

 

[PA Cowboy Fan]

i'm sitting here trying to figure out who all these people are that don't know the impact zeke has on the offense, and that things will be a bit more difficult without him.

is that really a thing, and do they post here?

I think it's going to be tough but we'll just have to wait and see.

 

[plasticman]

The best historical franchise winning percentage belongs to the Cowboys at 57.3. The Worsr is the Panthers at 49.0. That means the difference between the best and worst is 8.3% or approximately an average of 1.3 games a season.

Translation:

It is always difficult to win an NFL game.

A missing Pro Bowl RB can make an impact....if you let it. However, a good team is exactly that, it is a team, A group of players who attempts to win games through a combined effort.

When a team is built properly, injuries and other types of player absence is not as impactful because there is someone behind him that has been properly coached and prepared to contribute. Obviously, they will not contribute the same level of productivity so it is the responsibility of the rest of the team to absorb the additional workload.

How many teams draft a RB in the first round while retaining one that had a thousand yards the previous season? Folks seem to forget that McFadden was a thousand yard rusher in 2014. Assuming he stays healthy, as we always assume Elliot would be, McFadden will be a force behind this offensive line.

As for Dak, here is my prediction and reasoning:

Last season Dak passed every single test for a possible franchise quarterback. He started and made significant plays, he led the team to come from behind victories, he kept mistakes to an absolute minimum, he played well against dominant defenses, and his team straight out won.

Not only did Dak accomplish this, he set records while doing it. Dak was so good that he went from being treated as a rookie to being evaluated as a veteran within a few week of the season's start.

Again, as good as Zeke was, it often took big plays in the passing game to win. This would include QB scrambles for TD's. I'm talking about plays in which Zeke's presence on the field was only significant in pass protection. Dak made those plays. I'm still talking about a rookie quarterback. The expectation for a rookie starting QB is that he won't lose the game with mistakes, he will find a way to get the ball to a playmaker.

However, Dak Precott is a playmaker in his own right. No matter the RB or the rest of the offense, there has been only three times since 1970 where a QB had a season with a lower INT percentage. Two of them were by Brady in his 30's.

There has been only one time in NFL history that a quarterback with a higher QB rating scored as many rushing TD's and that was Steve Young in the 1994 season, the year the 49ers won the Super Bowl.

Dak's performance in 2016 was comparable to Hall of Famers, not in their rookie years but at the peak of their careers. Now, Ezekiel Elliott is certainly a great RBI and the line is absolutely elite, but no offense in history is capable of transforming a rookie 4th round draft pick into an record setting NFL quarterback.

And now my prediction:

Dak will continue the same level of play with or without Zeke. There is no need to worry if Dak can weather the storm. Dak is the storm.

 

[stilltheguru88]

Can Zeke play while the case is being appealed?

 

[Insomniac]

The best historical franchise winning percentage belongs to the Cowboys at 57.3. The Worsr is the Panthers at 49.0. That means the difference between the best and worst is 8.3% or approximately an average of 1.3 games a season.

The Tampa Bay Bucs have gone 250-393-1 for s .393 Win%.

 

[waving monkey]

I'll take Dak without Zeek over
Zeek without Dak

 

[stilltheguru88]

Yea I didn't mean it like that. I love Dak and glad he's our QB. I just mean we'll see how he can ignite this team during Elliott's absence. He has to do what Tony had to do for years. I guess that's onething that comes with being the qb of the Cowboys.

Go 8-8?

 

[plasticman]

The Tampa Bay Bucs have gone 250-393-1 for s .393 Win%.

Thanks for the correction, my computer didn't scroll down for some reason.

 

[T-RO]

I'll take Dak without Zeek over
Zeek without Dak

I agree...not even close in my opinion.

Look at how we did w/out Dez last year...barely missed a beat. Might have even played better w/out him.

The loss hurts but it's more on the order of a 5% overall diminishment of the team...something like that.

 

[beacamdim]

I agree...not even close in my opinion.

Look at how we did w/out Dez last year...barely missed a beat. Might have even played better w/out him.

The loss hurts but it's more on the order of a 5% overall diminishment of the team...something like that.

I agree Zeke's loss can be overcome. But it has to be more than a 5% impact.

Otherwise why would people be so worked up?

And if so, how could anyone have argued that Zeke should have even gotten a sniff of MVP consideration last year? 5% is pretty damn INvaluable.

 

[StarBoyz83]

Hopefully it will improve the passing game since rb can't be relied on as much as usual. I know they can Be better than 23rd in passing.

 

[T-RO]

I agree Zeke's loss can be overcome. But it has to be more than a 5% impact.

Otherwise why would people be so worked up?

And if so, how could anyone have argued that Zeke should have even gotten a sniff of MVP consideration last year? 5% is pretty damn INvaluable.

There are 45 players taking the field! The difference in how a single player can impact a game...when we are talking a great starter and a good backup....just isn't that huge.

The exception is with quarterback.

Now if we were to lose someone like Tyrone Smith...an elite all pro who has a scrub backup...that's a different story. Big falloff at an important position.

 

[Pants]

Weeden played without Zeke, Demarco, and Dez. We saw what that looked like.

Dak might have to carry a much bigger load for these six games.

However, something tells me an injunction will be in place, and he won't have to.

Lots of respect Erod, but you are dangerously close to comparing Weeden to Dak

...as far as the injunction, I would LOVE to have a bucket of popcorn ready and be looking at Mara when that comes down and he sees that Dallas will play at full strength in Week 1

 

[kevm3]

we've already seen dak without zeke and it was last preseason where he was lighting it up. The excuse back then was it's only preseason and the coordinators didn't have 'the book' on him yet. We also seen dak without dez. he still performed.

 

[cowboyschmps3]

Well, it looks like we may all see how much Zeke attributed to Dak's success if the 6 game suspension holds. I am one who thinks that the threat of Zeke had a huge effect on the ability of Dak to put up the numbers he did. I also think Dak played extremely well but many discount Zeke's effect on that. Even Troy and the 93 Cowboys could not win without Emmitt.

I think it could be a rough 6 games!

I totally agree with everything, but those 6 games will give us a look at how Dak has developed in an offseason with the team and show us what he's really bout, I feel like we got the backs to fill in, now having Zeke just makes everything better so if we start off good those 6 games everybody after those 6 games better watch out cause when Zeke gets back it's just going to be that much better.