Dallas does miss Zeke

[Whyjerry]

Zeke has less than 200 yards this season and averaging less than 4 yards a carry - they don’t miss him.

 

[InDakEyeBack]

It's hard to know if Pollard is still suffering from last seasons injury or not. I would have liked for him to get this chance without having a career threatening injury before.

 

[conner01]

They should run Martin for those 1-3 Yard up the middle plays lol.

Luepke

 

[conner01]

Zeke has less than 200 yards this season and averaging less than 4 yards a carry - they don’t miss him.

Zeke in the last couple years became a guy that could help on the goal line but too slow to the LOS to be an impact runner anymore

 

[Jarntt]

Zeke has gotten worse every year. His TDs last year were mostly due to opportunity not skill. I'm not sure he'd have any more than the 1 TD he has so far this year if he stayed in Dallas. The team is better without him. It's bizarre how often this comes up from people who supposedly have watched him the last few years.

 

[beware_d-ware]

It's hard to know if Pollard is still suffering from last seasons injury or not. I would have liked for him to get this chance without having a career threatening injury before.

Very fair point.

 

[Whyjerry]

Zeke in the last couple years became a guy that could help on the goal line but too slow to the LOS to be an impact runner anymore

Exactly. Rico needs a few more snaps and MM needs to scheme a better running game. Stop stuffing it between the tackles and mix it up a bit.

 

[RonnieT24]

Zeke has gotten worse every year. His TDs last year were mostly due to opportunity not skill. I'm not sure he'd have any more than the 1 TD he has so far this year if he stayed in Dallas. The team is better without him. It's bizarre how often this comes up from people who supposedly have watched him the last few years.

No, it's not. He was the main reason this team was among the best in the NFL in short yardage and red zone last year and his absence is a big reason why they stink at it this year. You can discuss all his other shortcomings as fair points but there is ZERO doubt in my mind that if they had both the short yardage conversion rate and the red zone efficiency would be WAY up.

 

[kumizi]

With Lamb, Pollard, and Cooks, the Cowboys should be running a modern explosive offense with a lot of pre snap movement.

This is why I hated the MM hire going to the beginning. He is as outdated of a coach as Jason Garrett. He’s having Pollard run it up the middle when he’s one of the most explosive backs in the league.

It’s just so frustrating.

Side note: both MM and JG are similar to most of the fans here. I dunno if the average Cowboy fan is a lot older than other fan bases but there is a serious lack of understanding modern football. People here prefer 3-4 yard tough runs when all the good teams are designing plays that take it to the house.

 

[diamonddelts]

With Lamb, Pollard, and Cooks, the Cowboys should be running a modern explosive offense with a lot of pre snap movement.

This is why I hated the MM hire going to the beginning. He is as outdated of a coach as Jason Garrett. He’s having Pollard run it up the middle when he’s one of the most explosive backs in the league.

It’s just so frustrating.

Side note: both MM and JG are similar to most of the fans here. I dunno if the average Cowboy fan is a lot older than other fan bases but there is a serious lack of understanding modern football. People here prefer 3-4 yard tough runs when all the good teams are designing plays that take it to the house.

Cowboys fans love mediocrity. This is evident with their takes on Zeke. They love lack of production so much they invented short yardage specialist position. No one else in the league even considers anything this foolish.

Even after having to eat crow about Zeke this year, Ronnie and others stubbornly hang on to a myth.

 

[kskboys]

Remember when people assured us that Rico Dowdle and Deuce Vaughan would outperform Zeke this year? That take has not aged well to this point. But there are 11 games left for those guys to pick it up. TP was also supposed to average > 5 ypc and challenge for the rushing title. Which sane people knew was a pipe dream. But again.. 11 games left for things to turn around. I certainly would be happy if we could just establish a reliable running game with Pollard getting about 4.5 yards a pop. We don't need him to lead the league.. We just need him to supply steady production with a smattering of home run balls.

Dowdly hasn't gotten enough chances to prove anything either way yet. Less than 5 carries/game.

 

[RonWashington]

Zeke looks as cooked as grandmas Thanksgiving Turkey . Pass the stuffing …please .

 

[eromeopolk]

Say what you will but Dallas misses Zeke badly. His 12 tds sure helped shore up that redzone and helped make Pollard elite.

Duh you think. Zeke is an overall Franchise RB that played hurt and got punished for by Jerry Dumbo GM Jones. I am glad he is healthy and showing it in NE (no matter their record).

 

[CalPolyTechnique]

The biggest misconception being ignorantly forwarded is that somehow the offense is struggling to put the ball in the endzone due to Pollard.

The reality is this team is struggling in the REDZONE (i.e. 20 yards in). We haven’t had a bunch of goaline situations 3 yards in.

Let me slap you with reality. Zeke was not helping us from 10-yards out.

 

[Bobhaze]

I certainly agree we need another RB here with some power but we could find someone who gave us the same 3.8 yards per carry Zeke did last year at a fraction of the cost.

Zeke was a really good player here for several years but we needed to move on from him. I think his career at this point is at an end. There are younger, cheaper players who could give us what he gave us last year and more that are in the future not the past.

I was mystified during the draft last year why the Cowboys did not draft a RB on Day 2. There were several good young RBs available for the taking like Roschon Johnson, Tyjae Spears, or Kendre Miller.

 

[LACowboysFan1]

Difference between having Zeke and not having Zeke is that when the blocking isn't there, Pollard gets stuffed for no gain or a yard loss. Zeke, due to his size and skill, can grind out a couple of yards most times, and occasionally get 4-5 if he got past the first defender.

And that moves the chains or makes a long next down more manageable.

Little things add up, not saying Dallas would be teh top team in the league, but it would certainly be better...

 

[RonWashington]

Here’s a thought mix in some Dowdle at RB have Pollard split out in motion perhaps, get Tolbert ( forgotten ) involved in red zone. MM & Marty’s son have a week to tinker then it’s a Ram team desperate to stay in a playoff berth hunt . Glad it’s a home cooking game .

 

[LACowboysFan1]

Pollard - 96 carries, 370 yards, 3.9 ypg, 2 rushing tds.
Zeke - 49 carries, 193 yards, 3.9 ypg, 1 rushing td.

Just for fun, let's double Zeke's carries (opportunities) and what do we get?
98 carries, 386 yards, 3.9 ypg, 2 rushing tds.

Gee, looks suspiciously similar to our "star" running back that most everybody was just itching to drop Zeke for. And I would also submit Dallas' line and team is superior to the Pats' line, so Zeke's doing well for his circumstance.

Not saying if Dallas had Zeke instead of Pollard, they'd be back to Zeke's 2016-18 levels, but Zeke cleared waivers, Dallas could have signed him for a reasonable amount and used him judiciously.

Oh well, it's water under the bridge, we can pull for both Pollard in Dallas and Zeke in New England. I like them both....

 

[CalPolyTechnique]

Difference between having Zeke and not having Zeke is that when the blocking isn't there, Pollard gets stuffed for no gain or a yard loss. Zeke, due to his size and skill, can grind out a couple of yards most times, and occasionally get 4-5 if he got past the first defender.

And that moves the chains or makes a long next down more manageable.

Little things add up, not saying Dallas would be teh top team in the league, but it would certainly be better...

You’ve got to be kidding me, smh.

 

[LACowboysFan1]

You’ve got to be kidding me, smh.

Nope. But then you knew that....