Emmitt and Tony want Zeke to stop hurdling

[Direwolf63]

They say it opens him up to unneccessary potential for injury.

http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/p...oncerned-over-ezekiel-elliotts-running-style/

 

[DallasEast]

They say it opens him up to unneccessary potential for injury.

http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/p...oncerned-over-ezekiel-elliotts-running-style/

They are not the only ones saying that. I agree and said it last season too. I'm old enough to remember a great running back like Gale Sayers who hurdled his share of defenders too. His great but short career ended way too soon due to an overly exposed knee injury.

Elliott is young and modern medicine can do wonders now but knees are still susceptible to unpredictable trauma. He should avoid having his wheels suffer as many setbacks as he possibly can.

 

[superonyx]

Yea and instead he can lower his head and end up with CTE like Tony has.

Let the kid run and enjoy the ride.

 

[CowboyDan]

Its such a natural part of his running style that I'd hate to see him try to take it out of his game. I don't even want him to think about his running style. He doesn't overuse it, but when the situation presents itself it's almost instinctual. It's like telling Barry Sanders not to juke...it ain't gonna happen and you wouldn't want it to.

 

[erod]

Both Emmitt and Dorsett were excellent at maximizing runs without taking big hits. They found ways to fall and slither under hits.

That's why they played so long compared to others.

 

[AbeBeta]

Increase the chance of injury. But increases the chance of awesome, highlight reel fodder.

I say it stays.

 

[erod]

Increase the chance of injury. But increases the chance of awesome, highlight reel fodder.

I say it stays.

It's awesome, but it also screams Bo Jackson, Shaun Alexander, and Barry Foster.

 

[DFWJC]

Sure is fun to watch.
They are right though...fwiw.

 

[StylisticS]

I have to agree with them as well. I get scared every time he does that.

 

[GhostOfPelluer]

The shelf life on a RB is generally short regardless. Let Zeke be Zeke.

 

[JoeKing]

It's part of his identity as a runner. Leave him alone.

 

[ABQCOWBOY]

Yea and instead he can lower his head and end up with CTE like Tony has.

Let the kid run and enjoy the ride.

This post makes no sense to me at all. If your concern is CTE, well, he is the most exposed when his body is in the air. Head injuries don't just occur by running into piles. Head injuries also occur when your head hits the turf. Every coach teaches you not to do this. There is a reason they teach this. If you are truly worried about this, I would expect that you would not wish to see him put his body in such a vulnerable position.

IDK.

 

[Direwolf63]

Yea and instead he can lower his head and end up with CTE like Tony has.

Let the kid run and enjoy the ride.

And if he gets flipped and lands on his head while hurdling, then what? That would be worse than going into a pile.

I'll just accept the advice of the 2 guys who ran for around 30,000 yards between them.

But I don't see Zeke changing however. He just does it on instinct. Until he gets hurt, he will keep doing it.

 

[superonyx]

And if he gets flipped and lands on his head while hurdling, then what? That would be worse than going into a pile.

I'll just accept the advice of the 2 guys who ran for around 30,000 yards between them.

What if 1 of the guys has a severe brain injury caused from too many hits to the head?

 

[Doomsday101]

More than injury the part that concerns me is the ball getting away from the body as you hurdle a defender. Makes it easier to have the ball knocked out.

 

[superonyx]

This post makes no sense to me at all. If your concern is CTE, well, he is the most exposed when his body is in the air. Head injuries don't just occur by running into piles. Head injuries also occur when your head hits the turf. Every coach teaches you not to do this. There is a reason they teach this. If you are truly worried about this, I would expect that you would not wish to see him put his body in such a vulnerable position.

IDK.

My post was actually light hearted and half joking. I found it ironic that Tony D is suffering from CTE while giving another player advise about contact.
Zeke only hurdles guys that are going low to take his legs out. So you either want him to take shots to the legs and risk injury or you want him to lower his head and take more blows to the head.
Now I am not saying Zeke should always jump....but just like he hammered Cam Chancellor to send the message that he will hit you, he is also hurdling to send the message that if you keep trying to take his legs out then he will jump you.
Leg injuries are a real concern. Just ask AP.

 

[KJJ]

His hurdling could cause a serious shot to the knee.

 

[gimmesix]

They are not the only ones saying that. I agree and said it last season too. I'm old enough to remember a great running back like Gale Sayers who hurdled his share of defenders too. His great but short career ended way too soon due to an overly exposed knee injury.

Elliott is young and modern medicine can do wonders now but knees are still susceptible to unpredictable trauma. He should avoid having his wheels suffer as many setbacks as he possibly can.

How many times did he actually hurdle a defender? I remember three.

I think if he was doing it every game or several times a game, we'd need to be concerned about it, but it's really only a minor part of his game that everyone notices because of how many times he does it.

For instance, how many times did he lower the crown of his helmet into a defender? No one complains about that because that's what running backs do even though it is dangerous for them to do it.

 

[SDCowboy]

Eh, he doesn't hurdle often enough for me to be worried about it.

 

[DandyDon52]

My post was actually light hearted and half joking. I found it ironic that Tony D is suffering from CTE while giving another player advise about contact.
Zeke only hurdles guys that are going low to take his legs out. So you either want him to take shots to the legs and risk injury or you want him to lower his head and take more blows to the head.
Now I am not saying Zeke should always jump....but just like he hammered Cam Chancellor to send the message that he will hit you, he is also hurdling to send the message that if you keep trying to take his legs out then he will jump you.
Leg injuries are a real concern. Just ask AP.

good point , the jumping actually is avoiding the one hit.
I say let him do it, but tell him to be wise about when to do it.
He goes high enough, that it is hard for a Def player to get a bad hit on him while in air.