Finding Dickerson

[xwalker]

It is no small task to break the Rookie rushing record. That being said, I think it is entirely too soon to discount him at this point.

I've seen some posts recently that really to me reflect a grand misunderstanding of who and what Ezekiel Elliott is.

I noticed this when people said they had a problem with him making the feeding gesture during the game. It told me that they never watched any of his game tape at Ohio State, where he did it throughout his career there. I also saw someone mention that he shouldn't have hurdled a defender and that he could have gotten more yards if he hadn't. That simply wasn't the case. He was going to be tackled short of the first down had he not hurdled, but it should also be mentioned that if you didn't know Zeke hurdles defenders, you didn't watch his tape.

It also strikes me that they don't know what kind of running back he is, which is why they didn't want to draft him in the first place. I saw someone mention that he doesn't break a ton of tackles. This is true and it is also misleading. Zeke was one of the highest ranked running backs in college football in yards after contact. Will he break a ton of open field tackles? Probably not, but that isn't his game.

Let me break down for you one of Zeke's best games in college football. His national championship game against Oregon, where he ran for 246 yards rushing and 4 touchdowns.

Zeke is a power back with a nice compliment of speed, agility, maneuverability, and vision. He is a 225 pound running back at 6'. That is 8 pounds more than Adrian Peterson at 6'1. That is 15 pounds more than Darren McFadden, and almost 20 pounds more than LeSean McCoy.

But back to Oregon... 246 yards rushing... He must have broken an extremely long run to get that, right? Wrong... His longest run of the night was 33 yards. Ezekiel Elliott's talent lies in his ability to continuously get first downs with a combination of his talents. He is a first down machine and he is a touchdown machine. This is what made him the 4th overall pick. This is what separates him from other running backs who have power but can only do short yardage, or only have speed and can't push the pile. He is an all-around running back. Can he hit home runs? Absolutely, and when we're able to spread out defenses again because of the passing game, you'll see him hit home runs, but that isn't his bread and butter. That isn't how he gets his yards. And while that might not excite you, that is how Ohio State won games, and that is how we won games in 2014.

Watch his game tape, you know who you are if you didn't. The dude is a beast.

He is getting enough carries to break the record.

I originally thought they would give Morris more carries and limit EE's stats.

 

[phildadon86]

I think as our Oline gets its act together, along with more in-game experience for EE, that YPC will climb as its done through three games.

One thing that will need to happen for Zeke to have a chance, will be for him to get a ton of carries.

Dickerson may have been a dual threat, but so is Zeke (touted as such, at least). We haven't seen that, yet, either, from him. Garret is not using Zeke as a dynamic back yet, but by all accounts he very much is that Faulk/Dickerson threat (i.e. flat/screen). We shall see, my fingers are crossed

Yeah I'm trying to figure out why we don't use screens to him more. Especially when the other team is blitzing.

 

[DallasDomination]

I thought Adrian Peterson was going to break it but he fell off the last few games of the season.

Zeke has to have some amazing games sprinkled in with some solid ones in order to get it. Not betting on it.

 

[mattjames2010]

Remember when Murray was on pace to break the record, along with a zillion other RBs?

Yeah, good times....

 

[pugilist]

http://www.espn.com/nfl/statistics/team/_/stat/rushing/position/defense

Week 4 Rushing Defense rankings for teams still left on the schedule (obviously these are going to change by end of season)

San Fran # 23
Cinci #18
Green Bay #1
Philly (twice) #2
Cleveland #19
Pittsburgh #4
Baltimore #8
Washington #25
Minnesota #7
New York #5
Tampa Bay #15
Detroit #21

As of now, we have to face 5 top 5 ranked rushing defenses (counting Philly twice) and 2 top 10 rushing Ds. Gonna be really tough to do

 

[windjc]

http://www.espn.com/nfl/statistics/team/_/stat/rushing/position/defense

Week 4 Rushing Defense rankings for teams still left on the schedule (obviously these are going to change by end of season)

San Fran # 23
Cinci #18
Green Bay #1
Philly (twice) #2
Cleveland #19
Pittsburgh #4
Baltimore #8
Washington #25
Minnesota #7
New York #5
Tampa Bay #15
Detroit #21

As of now, we have to face 5 top 5 ranked rushing defenses (counting Philly twice) and 2 top 10 rushing Ds. Gonna be really tough to do

Those stats too early.

At any rate, if our OL stays in tacked, there's no one going to stop us without 8 in the box.

 

[scottsp]

Records and the accolades that go with them are wonderful, but committing to this end comes at what cost for the club and the player? Not so sure breaking a rookie in with 380 carries is the best idea.

 

[pugilist]

Those stats too early.

At any rate, if our OL stays in tacked, there's no one going to stop us without 8 in the box.

Yeah that's why I said they are obviously going to change, but we can only go by what we have so far

I agree on the OL. If there is a bright spot to facing these tough running Ds, it's our OL

 

[pugilist]

i think Leary might give a bit of a boost on inside runs as I think he is better suited than Collins to get more push at the point of attack as opposed to pulling and mauling (Collins does this better imo)

 

[kevm3]

Unless he's averaging like 9 yards a carry, I'm not too keen on him breaking for 1800 yards given we have Morris on the team. No need to run him into the ground. He's young, but you want to prolong his career by splitting the load fairly.

 

[Eddie]

Can't wait to see what Zeke will do. He just got 150 in his third pro game. Sky is the limit

Now if we can only play the Bears for 13 more games, he'd be in the Hall of Fame.

 

[Plankton]

Oy.

This debate on both sides is getting tiring as all get out. But, to mention Elliott with Eric Dickerson after three games is the epitome of insane. And this is from someone who is an Ezekiel Elliott fan, and one who didn't mind the draft selection at all.

Let Elliott prove himself as he goes along. So far, he has had two subpar performances (production in game 1, ball security in game 2), and one excellent performance. I think now that he's developing a rhythm and chemistry with the offensive line, and that he's rounding into shape, his best performances are in front of him. To anoint him this early is allowing for expectations that no one can measure up to. He's going to be a terrific player - to claim that he's going to be a Hall of Fame quality guy after three games is off the wall. Enjoy watching him and let his play speak for itself.

And for those of you who didn't like the pick, get over it. It's done with and it can't be changed.

 

[Gameover]

He won't get close. Ridiculous thread

 

[perrykemp]

Game after next against Green Bay will be interesting. They are #1 in the NFL in rush defense by a very wide margin allowing 41 yards per game so far.

They also play with only 2 down lineman the majority of the time which you would think would be an advantage for Dallas.

 

[Trouty]

Oy.

This debate on both sides is getting tiring as all get out. But, to mention Elliott with Eric Dickerson after three games is the epitome of insane. And this is from someone who is an Ezekiel Elliott fan, and one who didn't mind the draft selection at all.

Let Elliott prove himself as he goes along. So far, he has had two subpar performances (production in game 1, ball security in game 2), and one excellent performance. I think now that he's developing a rhythm and chemistry with the offensive line, and that he's rounding into shape, his best performances are in front of him. To anoint him this early is allowing for expectations that no one can measure up to. He's going to be a terrific player - to claim that he's going to be a Hall of Fame quality guy after three games is off the wall. Enjoy watching him and let his play speak for itself.

And for those of you who didn't like the pick, get over it. It's done with and it can't be changed.

I completely agree, Plankton.

However, speaking for myself, these threads are fun for keeping track of how close he is/pace he's on towards breaking the record. Beyond that, it's absurd to think we have the second coming of <insert any HoF> at this point. Just a fun thread, like the one we had in '14 as Demarco was chasing Emmitt (was that an @Hostile thread?).

Definitely cosign on getter over Zeke at 4. As you said, it can't be changed.

 

[DenCWBY]

I would like to see him running some designed short passing plays. It's safe and opens up the deep game which Dak is starting to work on. Hear Zeke has good hands and that will be another arrow in our offensive quiver for defenses to deal with. If Garret does not exploit this angle, he's leaving a lot of potential meat on the bone.

 

[bayeslife]

Sorry I'm just gonna skip reading what I'm sure was a well reasoned argument to say this

-clears throat-

McFadden could have done it

 

[tyke1doe]

I'm not going to get excited about Zeke breaking Dickerson's record until he rushes for over 200 yards.

If he doesn't have one or two of those, he aint touching Dickerson.

 

[Gameover]

Game after next against Green Bay will be interesting. They are #1 in the NFL in rush defense by a very wide margin allowing 41 yards per game so far.

They also play with only 2 down lineman the majority of the time which you would think would be an advantage for Dallas.

What changed? They were bad at run D in 2014-15?

 

[kevm3]

I'm not concerned with Zeke putting up some obscene amount of yards as much as I am whether he's a consistent option to march down the field and can pick up 3 to 4 yards minimum each time he touches the ball. What made Murray so special is that he almost never went backwards and he was a huge reason we consistently converted first downs and ran out the clock.