Ezekiel Elliott: Evaluators Question If Cowboys RB More Of A 2nd-Tier Guy

[kskboys]

Wow, 1200 yards in 17 games! That there is Ring of Honor production.

Not unless he tears up his knee!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[ShortRound]

Red font is angry.

Wasn’t Zeke dealing with Covid last year? Or rumors of?

 

[Batman1980]

I hate to break it to you blueblood but there are 2 camps when it comes to Ezekiel Elliott in Dallas. There are those who don't think runningbacks are usually worth second contracts and there are those who think they're essential to the success of the team. I'm in the first camp and I never wanted us to spend a top 5 pick on him. Just count the number of rushing champs who have a Super Bowl ring since 1995. I think it's Terrell Davis twice and no one else. Those aren't good statistics to help the argument for spending valuable draft capital or cap space on a runningback. Especially on a team with so many holes on defense and an offense clearly built to funnel the production to the receivers.

 

[Hoofbite]

Who wouldn't pale in comparison to Pollard?

Hambrick and Julius Jones. No question.

 

[Hoofbite]

Red font is angry.

Wasn’t Zeke dealing with Covid last year? Or rumors of?

That’d be a new one for me.

 

[USArmyVet]

I think it is obvious Zeke no longer possesses the speed he had as a rookie. It's not just his inability to breakaway either. You can see he can't get outside anymore like he did as a rookie. Last year was the first year since his rookie season where I didn't think he got slower than the year before. I don't know if I would call him second tier, but he is getting paid $15 million a year and performing like a $5 million RB. This is the problem with the Cowboys in general. Too many guys are getting paid more than they produce. $5 million here, $4 million there and before you know it you are $26 million over the CAP in 2022 and nothing to show for it.

Take it even further: look at what the Jaguars running back James Robinson did compared to Zeke:


2020 stats

Zeke 15 Games 244 Carries 979 Yards 4.0 YPC 6 TD's 52 Catches 338 Yards 6.5 YPC 2 TD's 6 Fumbles (5 lost)


Robinson 14 Games 240 Carries 1,070 Yards 4.5 YPC 7 TD's 49 Catches 344 Yards 7.0 YPC 3 TD's 1 Fumble (0 lost)


2021 Salary Cap Hit

Zeke $13.7M ($36.9M dead money remaining)

Robinson $781K




So you have a guy set to make damn near $13M LESS in 2021 who is a better running back than Zeke based stats. Yet another dumb move by Jerry that costs this team salary cap space and progress.

 

[USArmyVet]

ahhhhh



here come the EE Haters...the op knew this would be the responses.

anyone and you know who you are that uses last year as this is what zeke is now rating are what P1 call sports idiots..


zeke may no longer be the best back in the league but his demise is overblown..what hes slower with less long range burst? his 4.0 ofends you , you just described half of ES career YPC AVG..zeke is throwback type back and like ES if you feed him all game in run based offense with good to great OL he will get you yards but the averages suffer..its what a vlume back does and compared to BS ES was slow and fat , different backs completely..put zeke on HOF offense, defense and coaching and im betting that team doesnt miss beat..

he does get the excuse of all those listed in the OP.. add to it he was injured recovering from covid and to boot played behind the worst OL in the league with backup qbs with no passing threat and an offense and defense playing from behind all the time which is not run friendly, and to boot KM changed the offense to pass happy and doesnt use a run game properly..

get over it!!

zekes not 2nd tier he may have slipped a bit for whatever reasons that simply makes him top 6 instead of top 2 you know like Dak to finally move UP to..
these were ES avg per year from 96-2004

3.7
4.1
4.2
4.2
4.1
3.9
3.8
2.8
3.5

hmm if that zeke he would be hated on for being fat and slow lol washed up and overpaid..

Large colored font does nothing but show your emotional investment in defending Zeke when stats and commentators alike all point to his decline in production.

 

[Batman1980]

Red font is angry.

Wasn’t Zeke dealing with Covid last year? Or rumors of?

Not for the entire season. He probably got it from or gave it to Dalton.

 

[MaineBoy]

There is something abnormal going on in this thread. You guys are discussing real facts that point out some limitations in the performance of a Cowboy star. And no one has called you haters or trolls with an agenda. Is there a cloaking device on this thread ?

 

[acr731]

ahhhhh



here come the EE Haters...the op knew this would be the responses.

anyone and you know who you are that uses last year as this is what zeke is now rating are what P1 call sports idiots..


zeke may no longer be the best back in the league but his demise is overblown..what hes slower with less long range burst? his 4.0 ofends you , you just described half of ES career YPC AVG..zeke is throwback type back and like ES if you feed him all game in run based offense with good to great OL he will get you yards but the averages suffer..its what a vlume back does and compared to BS ES was slow and fat , different backs completely..put zeke on HOF offense, defense and coaching and im betting that team doesnt miss beat..

he does get the excuse of all those listed in the OP.. add to it he was injured recovering from covid and to boot played behind the worst OL in the league with backup qbs with no passing threat and an offense and defense playing from behind all the time which is not run friendly, and to boot KM changed the offense to pass happy and doesnt use a run game properly..

get over it!!

zekes not 2nd tier he may have slipped a bit for whatever reasons that simply makes him top 6 instead of top 2 you know like Dak to finally move UP to..
these were ES avg per year from 96-2004

3.7
4.1
4.2
4.2
4.1
3.9
3.8
2.8
3.5

hmm if that zeke he would be hated on for being fat and slow lol washed up and overpaid..

Was the gigantic font and multiple colors really necessary?

 

[CowboyRoy]

With only 7 runs of 20 plus yards in 2 seasons, YES.

No excuse "he didn't have Dak".

No excuse "Dallas can't make the playoffs unless Zeke rushes for 1,000 plus".

No excuse "he didn't have a good offensive line".

"Elliott rushed for a career-low 979 yards and six touchdowns (tied for his career low) in 2020, posting a long run of just 31 yards.

"Backup Tony Pollard was in many respects the more effective running back last season, especially when it came to big bursts out of the backfield.

He had four carries of 20-plus yards in 2020 last season in 101 carries versus three for Elliott in 244 carries."

https://syndication-bleacherreport-com.cdn.ampproject.org/v/s/syndication.bleacherreport.com/amp/10006862-ezekiel-elliott-rumors-evaluators-question-if-cowboys-rb-more-of-a-2nd-tier-guy.amp.html?amp_gsa=1&amp_js_v=a6&usqp=mq331AQIKAGwASCAAgM=#amp_tf=From %1$s&aoh=16253178433147&csi=0&referrer=https://www.google.com

Yawn....................old news!!!

 

[acr731]

There is something abnormal going on in this thread. You guys are discussing real facts that point out some limitations in the performance of a Cowboy star. And no one has called you haters or trolls with an agenda. Is there a cloaking device on this thread ?

Give it time. The main culprit always seems to show up. I have wondered, though, if he would have the balls to bully people to their faces.

 

[CowboyRoy]

Why doesn't Zeke get the 'no defense' excuse like Dak does?

Well first..............no one is dumb enough to blame Zeke for the defensive woes like some morons are doing with Dak...........and because while Zeke is fumbling and putting up career low numbers, Dak is putting all time great career numbers and leading the #1 passing game in NFL history. Even with Zeke fumbling, doing little, and the Oline injuries.

 

[Ranched]

All the carries through the years will put a toll on your body. Hopefully he has put more time into quickness/agility than putting on more muscle. Also don’t think this coaching staff is good with the running scheme.

He only lasted 3 years. He plummeted after his big payday. Coaching has nothing to do w/it being Pollard continues to play lights out.

The fans have noticed awhile back & now the media. Other backs play for their pay & have played a lot longer & aren't declining because of the "toll on your body" excuse.

If he doesn't put the numbers up this year, Zeke fans will be on another franchise' board w/their excuses for him.

 

[acr731]

Thats easy...............because while Zeke is fumbling and putting up career low numbers, Dak is putting all time great career numbers and leading the #1 passing game in NFL history. Even with Zeke fumbling, doing little, and the Oline injuries.

I cherish all the super bowl wins those historical personal stats have produced for the team. Oh wait........

 

[CowboyRoy]

....and that on fire record book had Dallas at a 1-3 record heading into the Giants game where Dak got hurt.....but with Dak it's a team loss but if a win Dak led the team to victory. Stop the hypocrisy.

So you think it was Dak's great play that lead them to a 1-3 record?

You cant be that football dumb?

 

[CowboyRoy]

If Tyron and La'el are truly healthy, Zeke will easily eclipse 1200 yards. He doesn't have that Ohio burst or top end anymore but he is built to handle the 300 tough carries he'll get.

A lot of people forget we were losing so much last year never really got a rhythm in a lot of games. I expect it to completely flip this year but that's just eternal optimism.

Wow...........1200 yards on 300 carries? That sucks actually. WE dont need ONE back to take all 300 carries. There is probably about 100 backs or more in the NFL that could average 4 yards per carry in this offense behind our line. Perfectly fine with a RB by committee and going with the hot hand.

 

[CowboyRoy]

There is something abnormal going on in this thread. You guys are discussing real facts that point out some limitations in the performance of a Cowboy star. And no one has called you haters or trolls with an agenda. Is there a cloaking device on this thread ?

Its one thing to hate bad play. Its another to hate great play.

 

[USArmyVet]

So you think it was Dak's great play that lead them to a 1-3 record?

You cant be that football dumb?

Resorting to childish name calling I see. Typically people who lack any ability to debate as an adult with acute intellect resort to that so wear that patch proudly.

 

[jazzcat22]

You all do know Zeke played last year with a sore / strained hamstring, and when that was mostly healed he played with a calf injury.

But go ahead and hate all you want. We seem to have these threads 5 times a day.
We have such hater fans, probably the worse fan base in sports. Unless this place just draws in the haters and trolls.

I realize Zeke has not been Zeke from his rookie year, and there can be excuses, and there may not be many excuses either. But last year was an odd injury filled year for the entire team.
2019 Zeke came in out of shape and slow from his hold out, that is on him. So I will see how dedicated he is this year since there are good reports of that.