Does Zeke have a bounce back year?

[LACowboysFan1]

If he gets volume then he will have nice numbers and I know nice numbers is the only way some of you know how to judge the quality of a player.

I want to see some explosive plays from Zeke and a minimum of 10 Touchdowns.

I don't care about how many yards he is running for. He should be judged on big plays and hitting pay dirt.

If big plays are no longer apart of his game then we should look to get away from that contract, move on to Tony Pollard, and draft Pollards replacement for when his time is up.

This is how a modern day NFL team should operate at the RB position. Stop chasing the 90's.

Zeke's longest run ever was 60 yards. That was in 2016 when he was new to the league and with one of the top lines in football. Also being new to the league teams didn't know how fast he was, his moves, etc. in the NFL.

He's never been, imho, a "home run" back. Explosive plays can be simply getting a first down when he has to fight through would-be tacklers, doesn't have to be a 30 yard run, again imho. And he has those every year. Getting the long run is as much a function of teams not playing defense properly as anything the back himself can do. One missed block on a screen pass that's behind the l.o.s. means a negative gain, and there's not a whole lot a back can do in that case as he's usually having to concentrate on just catching the ball and not fumbling once he does. We've also seen that many times, Cowboys haven't been able to run a decent screen play since Dorsett left. (Only a slight exaggeration).

Good thing is barring injury we'll see how he does this year. Not that I expect it to happen, but if he does have a bounce back year, would be nice to see some "I was wrong" posts from the doubters.

But I won't hold my breath...

 

[Cowboysheelsreds053]

Oh Lord, going to wake up you know who! LOL

 

[JD_KaPow]

Yes
1475 ry
420 rec yards
14 tds
If he can't reach those numbers and possibly surpass them its time to move on but i believe he bounces back.

If he can't reach 1475 rushing yards and 14 TD it's time to move on? You realize there have only been four RB seasons that meet that in the last decade?

I'd expect a few perfectly adequate seasons from Zeke going forward, which may translate into pretty big numbers if the Cowboys have a good season with a lot of second-half leads. But I don't expect him to look like a "special" back ever again.

 

[Ranching]

And if so, what would that bounce back year look like?

He's fat enough to bounce! Lol....I think he can reach 1200 rushing, but his biggest impact under MM will be the passing game. 800 yards. 2000 total and about 20 tds

 

[CATCH17]

Zeke's longest run ever was 60 yards. That was in 2016 when he was new to the league and with one of the top lines in football. Also being new to the league teams didn't know how fast he was, his moves, etc. in the NFL.

He's never been, imho, a "home run" back. Explosive plays can be simply getting a first down when he has to fight through would-be tacklers, doesn't have to be a 30 yard run, again imho. And he has those every year. Getting the long run is as much a function of teams not playing defense properly as anything the back himself can do. One missed block on a screen pass that's behind the l.o.s. means a negative gain, and there's not a whole lot a back can do in that case as he's usually having to concentrate on just catching the ball and not fumbling once he does. We've also seen that many times, Cowboys haven't been able to run a decent screen play since Dorsett left. (Only a slight exaggeration).

Good thing is barring injury we'll see how he does this year. Not that I expect it to happen, but if he does have a bounce back year, would be nice to see some "I was wrong" posts from the doubters.

But I won't hold my breath...

It’s a big play league.. Bottom line.

That’s why we beat a 49er team with Pollard in the lineup when we looked hopeless.. He hit home runs.. Homeruns win games.

 

[Ranched]

Zeke hasn't bounced back since his big payday.

 

[LACowboysFan1]

He's fat enough to bounce! Lol....I think he can reach 1200 rushing, but his biggest impact under MM will be the passing game. 800 yards. 2000 total and about 20 tds

1,200 yards rushing, even at his last year career low of 4.0 ypc, means he needs only 300 carries, which is just under 19 per game. At his age, 19 carries a game is certainly doable...

 

[LACowboysFan1]

It’s a big play league.. Bottom line.

That’s why we beat a 49er team with Pollard in the lineup when we looked hopeless.. He hit home runs.. Homeruns win games.

So Pollard's "home runs" was the reason for the win? You mean his 11 carries for 29 yards, other than the one 40 yard run? Home RUN (singular), in a game where the Cowboys scored 41 pts? And let's not forget playing the poor Bengals, with Pollards 11 carries for 39 yards, or the 10 for 31 against Arizona, or 9 for 12 yards against Philly. Those home run games?

Zeke did not have a good year, but overall neither did Pollard. Running behind a line missing THREE starting linemen at times will do that for you.

Think we need to see how this year goes, if he line and Dak are healthy before we cast aside a 2 time NFL rushing champion, who's only going to be 26 years old at season's start, with no major injuries. Anybody who doesn't hope Zeke doesn't come back strong is just hoping their pet cat takes over....

 

[aria]

EzE will be on another team in 2022 so he better shine this year.

Don’t get me excited! Fingers crossed, I don’t think we’ll be that lucky though.

 

[Winonesoon]

1550yds 18TDs. 300yds receiving 3 TDs

 

[StuckMojo]

Can we get a revamped running scheme from Moore? Yes it will help to have O-line healthy but i don’t think Moore’s good with the ground game. Not sure Zeke will get 14 TDs, because Dak likes to fake Zeke and keep it down inside the 5/10 yard line. But as long as we score TDs I don't care who scores them.

 

[CATCH17]

So Pollard's "home runs" was the reason for the win? You mean his 11 carries for 29 yards, other than the one 40 yard run? Home RUN (singular), in a game where the Cowboys scored 41 pts? And let's not forget playing the poor Bengals, with Pollards 11 carries for 39 yards, or the 10 for 31 against Arizona, or 9 for 12 yards against Philly. Those home run games?

So the big play didn’t win us the game?

Zeke did not have a good year, but overall neither did Pollard. Running behind a line missing THREE starting linemen at times will do that for you.

Think we need to see how this year goes, if he line and Dak are healthy before we cast aside a 2 time NFL rushing champion, who's only going to be 26 years old at season's start, with no major injuries. Anybody who doesn't hope Zeke doesn't come back strong is just hoping their pet cat takes over....

If you watched the game you would know Pollard was getting chunk plays in the passing game too.

Big plays win games..

The 3 yard and a cloud of dust days of RBs mean nothing without big plays and our QB isn’t exactly a big play guy either unless we are playing a garbage opponent.


Not to mention an incredibly sloppy team that finds ways to constantly move backwards.


This bowling ball version of Zeke is an overrated player and our results reflect that over the past few seasons.

 

[CouchCoach]

He bounces back if he improves on the fumbles, he led all RB's with 6.

He is not bouncing back to where he was before that new contract and he's not in the offense to do that. He is the RB on a passing team now and will be even more of an expense with what they're paying him.

He is not the asset he was; best thing for him is to do no harm. Don't fumble and pick up the rushers.

 

[Section446]

Nope, average player.

 

[aikemirv]

Nope, average player.

I think he is a greatly skilled player with average motivation and low level maturity to be a pro.

 

[Risen Star]

1,700 yards rushing, 400 receiving and 20 total TDs.

 

[aria]

Oh Lord, going to wake up you know who! LOL

Already been here. Hopefully the O line is top 5-10 again otherwise it will be another below average year for the most over paid RB in NFL history. I was always told he carried the offense, pretty sure last year was clear evidence who has been responsible for the offense’s success and it sure as hell wasn’t the ewok.

 

[Risen Star]

1,700 yards rushing, 400 receiving and 20 total TDs.

Wait. I thought you said Pollard.

 

[Xeven]

Zeke will go as the O Line goes.

So will the rest of the O

 

[Xeven]

Zeke seems to get lost after first burst. Can’t get those game winning second level runs. Like he doesn’t see openings.