Elliott was made for this offense

[Toruk_Makto]

The team has a small window with Romo. We need transformative players right now, whenever we can find them.

Terrible thinking that has gotten us into this mess.

 

[Thomas82]

I was born in Ohio and when I was a kid I really liked College Football. I moved to Massachusetts when I was five, but I still always liked Ohio State. I also liked Michigan oddly enough. My two favorite players in college were Charles Woodson and Eddie George. I always envisioned Woodson joining the Cowboys. I would always trade for him in Madden. I also thought after Emmitt Smith went to Arizona that we would somehow get Eddie George, and while we did, it was too late.

One player that I was the most excited about coming out of College was Steven Jackson. I thought he was an absolute beast, but given our position in the draft, we would never get him. Well, he fell to us, and the Cowboys screwed up and traded out of the pick. It to me was the worst decision since not drafting Randy Moss. I think either of those two drafts would lead us to a Super Bowl.

The Cowboys continued to squander Romo's years, year after year playing with a terrible offensive line. But finally, there was this ray of hope. We started investing in the offensive line. I called early that I wanted us to get Frederick as he was the best center in the draft and would be a good addition to Tyron Smith. I had him on my mock draft in the 3rd round. There was a run on offensive linemen and so we drafted him at the end of the first instead of in the 2nd or 3rd, where we probably wouldn't have gotten him. People were furious, but I saw what was going on. We were putting together a stud offensive line for Romo. We were extending his chances to win a Super Bowl. When we drafted Martin over Manziel I thought I couldn't be happier, until the Cowboys landed 1st round graded La'el Collins in free agency. This is after failing to get David DeCastro or Chance Warmack, or Jonathan Cooper (who I expect will turn his career around in New England).

But we needed to get a running back again. I had hoped we could get Gurley, but when we failed to do so, I was upset, but I remembered the player I really wanted to get. It wasn't Gurley as much as I liked him.

I don't watch college football anymore, but I remember the media storm around a player who was taking over college football: Ezekiel Elliott. He had just run for 230 yards and 2 touchdowns against the best defense in college football. A defense that barely ever lets a running back get 100 yards, let alone 200. I was really impressed and instantly thought of what he might look like with a star on his helmet. But what happened the week after? He runs for 246 yards and 4 touchdowns winning a national title. Back to back milestone games... 476 yards, 6 touchdowns, in two weeks... against two of the best teams in football.

The Cowboys went on to have a great 2014 season where we were actually Super Bowl contenders, and we did so on the heels of DeMarco Murray. Elliott became a distant thought until the playoff run was stolen from us. I did not think we were going to be able to sign Murray and Bryant, and Bryant was much more important than Murray. We got McFadden, who I knew was only a stop gap. After a terrible year, we found ourselves in position to get that player who I thought could transform the Cowboys. A franchise cornerstone player. We could get Elliott.

It was with amazement that I saw people even consider other players ahead of him. This kid is a clear hall of fame caliber player behind this offensive line we've built, I thought to myself. He can do for us what Randy Moss did for the Patriots and turned that offensive into something entirely unstoppable. How could that be compared to a cornerback/safety hybrid who wouldn't have nearly the impact on the defense compared to a running back who would keep them off the field? How could that be compared to a defensive end who wasn't ever a pass rush specialist? How could that be compared to a couple QBs no one ever heard of until draft talk started?

Ezekiel Elliott was the obvious choice. It was a no-brainer to me. In 2006 the Patriots had a good offense. They were 7th in the league in points scored with 24.1 points per game. Definitely a good offense. They didn't need much help there. But they still traded for Randy Moss. The next year they were 1st in the league with 36.8 points per game. 8.4 points per game more than the next best team (The Tony Romo lead, Terrell Owens fueled, Marion Barber backed, Dallas Cowboys). The Patriots were only one of three teams to beat us that year in the regular season. They were a juggernaut who beat up on a smaller juggernaut. It's because you couldn't stop their offense.

That is what Elliott brings to the table. A complete transformation of our offense to not just good, but great. It makes us an offense that is truly terrible to deal with. Joey Bosa or Jalen Ramsey or Wentz or Goff wouldn't have done that. They would just be another guy. We had DeMarcus Ware here for years, a player infinitely better than Bosa or Ramsey, and he couldn't get us over the hump.

People want to argue that the offense did fine with McFadden and expect it would do better once Romo and Bryant are paired up with him. This is a bit ridiculous. McFadden doesn't fit this offense. Why would we cheap gas in a Ferrari? Even Alfred Morris doesn't take us to the next level. The answer is and always was Ezekiel Elliott. He is our Randy Moss addition that takes us to another level of play. Short of getting Adrian Peterson, this was the best thing we could have done, and it might even be better given the difference in age.

If this team is going to win, it's going to be on the strength of the Offensive Line doing what it can do best. And that is run blocking. And you want to put the best piece possible back there. And while people might think Gurley or Fournette are better runners than Elliott, I'm not sure any back in the country is a better fit for a zone scheme blocking offensive line that gives running backs opportunities if they have the vision to take them.

Elliot isn't only better than Alfred Morris and Darren McFadden. He is better than Todd Gurley and Leonard Fournette. He is better than Eddie George. He is a cornerstone franchise player, who every fan should be excited about. We got another shot at a player like Steven Jackson and we have the tools on offense to make best use of him. We have the chance to create an Emmitt Smith like beast. Nothing we could have done this year to help Romo compares to this.

 

[Manwiththeplan]

It was with amazement that I saw people even consider other players ahead of him.

Well, today's news is why many of us wanted a QB. Now, we may have gotten lucky with Dak, I sure hope so, but the no brainer to me was Goff/Wentz at #4 (I wasn't in favor of trading up).

He can do for us what Randy Moss did for the Patriots and turned that offensive into something entirely unstoppable.

Just my personal opinion, but I hate Randy Moss comparisons. No player since Randy Moss has impacted his team as a rookie the way he did and no player changed an offense the way he did in 2007 with the Pats. I don't even think a RB, no matter how good, is capable of doing that.

 

[MSCowboyFan]

Wow GB...lived in Mass. but loved O$U, mich. and the Cowboys? I believe the term bandwagon fan would apply here. I kid...I KID. Just bustin' your chops.
I was the only rabid Cowboys fan at my high school in Michigan (most were Lions, Packers, Bears and Vikings fans) and I took a huge amount of verbal abuse

 

[casmith07]

I would love for that to happen, and if it did, he was easily worth the 4th rounder... but I can't really see him getting 1800+ yards while keeping his carries under 300. If Zeke was the only quality back that we had, I'd be fine with him getting more carries since that would be a necessity, but when you have a quality back like Morris right behind him, for the sake of the team and for Zeke's long term sustenance, it'd be better to keep his carries reasonable.

I don't see him getting 1800 plus.

 

[Galian Beast]

Well, today's news is why many of us wanted a QB. Now, we may have gotten lucky with Dak, I sure hope so, but the no brainer to me was Goff/Wentz at #4 (I wasn't in favor of trading up).



Just my personal opinion, but I hate Randy Moss comparisons. No player since Randy Moss has impacted his team as a rookie the way he did and no player changed an offense the way he did in 2007 with the Pats. I don't even think a RB, no matter how good, is capable of doing that.

Tell that to the Jets and Broncos who were able to take their offenses to the next level with free agents.

 

[Galian Beast]

Wow GB...lived in Mass. but loved O$U, mich. and the Cowboys? I believe the term bandwagon fan would apply here. I kid...I KID. Just bustin' your chops.
I was the only rabid Cowboys fan at my high school in Michigan (most were Lions, Packers, Bears and Vikings fans) and I took a huge amount of verbal abuse

As a kid I came into sports because of players, not teams.

I liked Charles Woodson and Eddie George. Thus I liked Michigan and Ohio State.

I liked Michael Jordan and Sean Kemp, thus I liked the Bulls and Supersonics.

I liked Ken Griffey Jr. and Nolan Ryan, thus I liked the Mariners and Texas Rangers.

I liked Troy Aikman, so I liked the Cowboys.

I liked Paul Kariya, Patrick Roy, and Mark Messier, thus I liked the Ducks, Avalanche, and the Rangers.

 

[Manwiththeplan]

Tell that to the Jets and Broncos who were able to take their offenses to the next level with free agents.

what season are you talking about? I assume 2013 for the Broncos, so fair enough going from Tim Tebow to Peyton Manning had an impact on par with Randy Moss', but the Jets?

 

[Galian Beast]

what season are you talking about? I assume 2013 for the Broncos, so fair enough going from Tim Tebow to Peyton Manning had an impact on par with Randy Moss', but the Jets?

Look at what the Jets were able to do on offense last year compared to the year before.

 

[Manwiththeplan]

Look at what the Jets were able to do on offense last year compared to the year before.

I have no doubt they improved by virtue of getting rid of Rex Ryan, who at that point lost control of the team but I guess my point is the Randy Moss comparisons get thrown around to often and going from an inept offense to an above average one like the Jets did, is not a Randy Moss type impact. It's just a lot easier to go from really bad, to good, not to mention they upgraded with Brandon Marshall and going from Geno Smith to Ryan Fitzpatrick. But going from above average to all time great is significantly harder.

 

[bsbellomy]

I do think Zeke is going to do great but this weird fantasy that we're going to recreate 2014 just isn't going to happen. It was a perfect storm of crummy run defenses, a back in a contract year, and most importantly our complete indifference to running that contract year back into the ground. I actually think Zeke is going to catch a load of passes and because of the gas can defense we employ I expect us to fall well short of 2014's totals (which still would be a formidable attack).

Trust me, if these coaches think the best way to win the SB is running him into the ground they'll do it.

 

[Dundalis]

There are some really good secondary players entering the draft next year. A few will make Ramsey look pedestrian

Elliott was the right pick and will be the cornerstone of the future.

There are some good ones, I'm not sure any are as good and as versatile as Ramsey.

Really? What NFL defense has Fournette run against... That's what I thought. I wouldn't take Gurley over Zeke because of his injury history. RB's
don't last long in the NFL when they have had bad injury histories. That's just the nature of the position. They take extreme punishment. Zeke behind our
OL has a chance to play as long as Emmitt did because he won't get the carries and punishment Emmitt took.

So what, Elliott only gets validated after 7 carries in a pre-season game? Before that he wasn't the consensus no. 1 back on this team because he hadn't faced NFL competition?

You are right, RB's don't last long in this game, there is no need to qualify this as if it only applies to those with bad injury histories and there is no reason to believe Elliott will be any different, other than wishful thinking. Backs just don't last as long as Emmitt did, he was a one of a kind. Just saying Elliott is gonna be the same because he's fortunate enough to be relatively injury free so far in his young career, isn't proof of anything. He'd never had a hamstring injury up until a few weeks back too. But it happened. His injury free record isn't likely to last given his position.

 

[DakotaReign]

Zeke is going to keep our defense off the field in 2016 like he Murray did in 2014 but that we couldn't do in 2015.

Because the extra 1:06 the defense was on the field in 2015 vs 2014 was because we couldn't run the ball and not because we couldn't pass the ball.

Yup.

It's the false narrative of those in love with Zeke and offense.

If a defensive player isn't completely changing the defense overnight then he isn't an "impact player."

Those same people forget that Tyron didn't even transfer the offensive line overnight yet alone the offense at large. And he's probably the best player on the team. It takes slow and steady accumulation and investment on either side of the ball for an elite unit to develop.

You have to start that process or you'll end up saying every year that "so and so isn't transforming the defense."

Underrated and truthful post.

 

[VACowboy]

I agree with a lot of the OP but I think the plan is (or should be) bigger than Ezekiel Elliot. Unlike a lot of people, I believe there's more than one way to win in the NFL.

We have a dominant run-blocking offensive line. We have a pair of elite RBs. We have a QB who has wheels and happens to be a fantastic ball-handler. This team has all the tools to feature a multi-faceted running attack like the NFL hasn't seen in a long time, something similar to Seattle's offense with misdirection and play sequences. Split 350 touches between Elliot and Morris, sprinkle in some Lucky Dunbar, a little run-pass off the zone read to keep them honest and then drop back off boot action throw the ball down the field to Dez--none of which involves anything that's not already in the playbook (except maybe the run/pass stuff). We've lready seen Dak run the Dallas offense from the shotgun and Zeke gashing a good defense on stretch plays and read draws. Hell, it's what these two guys are good at. At a time when defenses are going fo quickr pass rushers on the DL and lining up corners at LB, I can't think of a better plan than punching all those little fellas in the teeth.

 

[NeonNinja]

Ramsey is not a game changer on defense. Zeke is on offense, IMO. Zeke is special.

 

[Texas_Pete]

Dez and Zeke will be must see TV on the sideline all year:

 

[Bluefin]

 

[Texas_Pete]

Not sure if posted, but this a fantastic BTB piece on Zeke's debut vs Seattle: http://www.bloggingtheboys.com/2016...cowboys-ezekiel-elliott-complete-running-back

Love the gifs

 

[ConstantReboot]

Zeke and Morris's running styles fit this offense perfectly like a glove. Whats worst for opposing defenses is that their going to have to deal with Dak - who is a dual threat of not only passing but running the ball as well.

People here are too worried on whether Dak can handle the pressure of a pro-style defense. However, hasn't it occurred to them that other teams defenses are going to have a nightmare in game planning against us.

There is no film on Dak except for preseason. For whatever film that they watch they'll probably notice that Dak run's the play action better than anyone else and runs an effective screen plays with his mobility. Romo sad to say was never that good in utilizing screens. Thus that is something that defenses will have to account for when playing against Dak.

Teams know what Romo can and can't do. So how will other teams defend against our offense is the question we should be asking instead.