Dallas Cowboys: Can Ezekiel Elliott Take Team Worst To First?

[zrinkill]

Yes.

Troy suffered numerous injuries in Dallas behind our line. Are you going to assume that those lines were bad?

I did not say they were bad ....... but the last line of defense for a QB is a RB that will block

What changed from Troy's destruction his first year in the league ...... was Emmitt Smith was drafted ........ Tony has never had that.

 

[zrinkill]

Rushing efficiency isn't correlated with win %.

Again ....... the 90's boys could have still been as dominate without Emmitt Smith ....... at least thats what I am hearing.

 

[RoboQB]

Just like 37 year old John Elway did not need Terrell Davis.

Romo is an 36

Boom!

I like the way you think.

Romo needs a clock controlling run game (circa 2014) in order to hide the flaws in the defense and keep him
from having to play out of his mind just to get the team to 8-8 only to see the haters come out of the woods and
claim he's not a top QB... That really irks me.

The running game is essential, especially after Thanksgiving, in order for this team to succeed... I know that... you know that.
But some people, you just can't reach. Mostly because they're on a message board so it's impossible to grab them and shake the life out of them.... uh, wait, what happened?
I must've blacked out there for a moment.... lol

To further hammer down your point, I remember a particular game in the Meadowlands that was pivotal to the Dallas Dynasty. Emmitt's signature game.
He put the team on his back. If they lose that game, no home field advantage, no playoff bye... maybe no Emmitt the next week... just reminiscing... what a game!

 

[Toruk_Makto]

I did not say they were bad ....... but the last line of defense for a QB is a RB that will block

What changed from Troy's destruction his first year in the league ...... was Emmitt Smith was drafted ........ Tony has never had that.

Go back and look at those plays Tony got hurt. A running back would have made no difference.

 

[Toruk_Makto]

I didn't ask you that. I asked you does a better than above average back help or hurt Romo?

The NFL is about the acquisition of talent, talent that helps your team perform better and more efficiently.

Stats are dependent upon players performing. And Tom Brady is going to perform better than Matt Cassel just as Ezekiel Elliott is going to (we anticipate) perform better than Darren McFadden.

Do you deny this?

Do you have a point?

Romo was great before Murray. Before Zeke. And if Zeke got hurt week 1 Romo would be great after Zeke.

 

[tyke1doe]

Do you have a point?

Romo was great before Murray. Before Zeke. And if Zeke got hurt week 1 Romo would be great after Zeke.

It hurts you that much to answer my question.

 

[percyhoward]

But absent the defense - which from a talent standpoint was piss poor in 2014 - what changed?
I'll tell you what changed. Our commitment to the running game highlighted by DeMarco Murray.

The arrival of Frederick and Martin, and the commitment to the running game that resulted from that were no doubt the biggest changes for the offense -- but not the biggest factor in the overall improvement of the team in 2014. The offense was already Top 5. The defense was horrible.

It isn't black and white, and the offense did improve from 2013 to 2014. But the defense improved even more. It's impossible to attribute the improvement of 4 games (from 8 wins to 12) to any one single factor, but if you had to do so, you'd attribute it to the improvement on defense. Points per drive is the best stat to use, because it correlates so highly with wins, and because it eliminates the effect of the defense having faced fewer possessions due to longer offensive TOP. It's only concerned with what happens within each possession.

Points per drive (NFL rank)
2013
offense 4th
defense 30th

2014
offense 2nd
defense 16th

And there's not just one single factor that explains why the defense was so much better in 2014, but if there were, it would be strength of schedule.

Average Offensive DVOA of Dallas Opponent (NFL rank)
2013 5th
2014 30th

For all the discussion of the effect of the running game on the 12-4 record, there is little talk about the defensive improvement. And basically none at all about what most significantly affected that improvement -- the schedule of weak, turnover-prone offenses the defense faced.

 

[tyke1doe]

The arrival of Frederick and Martin, and the commitment to the running game that resulted from that were no doubt the biggest changes for the offense -- but not the biggest factor in the overall improvement of the team in 2014. The offense was already Top 5. The defense was horrible.

It isn't black and white, and the offense did improve from 2013 to 2014. But the defense improved even more. It's impossible to attribute the improvement of 4 games (from 8 wins to 12) to any one single factor, but if you had to do so, you'd attribute it to the improvement on defense. Points per drive is the best stat to use, because it correlates so highly with wins, and because it eliminates the effect of the defense having faced fewer possessions due to longer offensive TOP. It's only concerned with what happens within each possession.

Points per drive (NFL rank)
2013
offense 4th
defense 30th

2014
offense 2nd
defense 16th

And there's not just one single factor that explains why the defense was so much better in 2014, but if there were, it would be strength of schedule.

Average Offensive DVOA of Dallas Opponent (NFL rank)
2013 5th
2014 30th

For all the discussion of the effect of the running game on the 12-4 record, there is little talk about the defensive improvement. And basically none at all about what most significantly affected that improvement -- the schedule of weak, turnover-prone offenses the defense faced.

Thank you for your analysis. I appreciate it.
My point, however, is that acquiring talent - wherever - helps the team overall. And acquiring talent at the running back position helps (not hurts) Romo.

I don't understand why it's so difficult for some posters (I'm not saying you're one of these posters) to admit this.

I am well aware of our defensive deficiencies or, maybe I should say, the lack of talent on the defense. But it didn't appear that where we were in this draft, a defensive talent was as clear cut as the offensive talent available to us at the #4 pick, and that talent is named Ezekiel Elliott.

I'm more "bumped" by the second-round pick than I am the first round pick because that second-round pick has a huge question mark beside him, and we need defensive help this year.