Game turned when they put Zeke back in for Pollard

[RonnieT24]

Easier to be explosive when you only get the ball a few times a game, teams set their defense to defend main players, not part timers. We saw Moose do very well when he ran the ball or got passes, but does anybody think if he was the main running back he'd been anywhere near as good as Emmitt in tough situations? (Yes I know he was a fullback instead of a running back, speaking in generalities here). Many were screaming for Marion Barber to be the starting running back instead of a part time guy, but when he became that, his effectiveness went down substantially.

Pollard is quicker, that's easily seen, but he doesn't get the tough yards nearly as well as Zeke. We need both of them...

Not only Barber but idiots screamed for Hambrick to replace Emmitt.. fail.. then they screamed for Barber to replace Julius.. fail.. then Felix to replace Barber.. fail.. It has played out so many times over the course of the last 25 years not just in Dallas but in a number of places. It's the sexy new girl syndrome.

I don't understand how some folks watch these games.. It's like all the times Pitt was in the backfield when the back took the handoff never happened. When it happened to Zeke he usually made positive yards anyway.. When it happened to Pollard he went down. Negative yards on 4 of 9 carries yesterday. He was fortunate that he got great blocking on the edge a couple of times and got to the second level untouched and he has the quickness to jet through the gaping hole. There were no gaping holes for Zeke for one simple reason.. When Zeke is on the field he has the attention of all 11 guys on the defense. When he's off the field the attention shifts elsewhere.. Remember the play where they faked it to Zeke and handed to the WR coming around? I think it was Cooper.. Three defenders went with Zeke.. nobody even looked at Cooper until he had like 9 yards. That people fail to understand this basic component of NFL football is mind boggling to me. The lead back gets more attention and thus has to work harder for his yards. Period. With Dak out of the game and no real passing threat his job is twice as hard .. If Gilbert can step up his performance maybe another half a notch Zeke might have a chance to get off. But I fully expect us to hand the reigns back over to Dalton when we come back from the bye.. Good luck with that..

 

[LACowboysFan1]

Not only Barber but idiots screamed for Hambrick to replace Emmitt.. fail.. then they screamed for Barber to replace Julius.. fail.. then Felix to replace Barber.. fail.. It has played out so many times over the course of the last 25 years not just in Dallas but in a number of places. It's the sexy new girl syndrome.

I don't understand how some folks watch these games.. It's like all the times Pitt was in the backfield when the back took the handoff never happened. When it happened to Zeke he usually made positive yards anyway.. When it happened to Pollard he went down. Negative yards on 4 of 9 carries yesterday. He was fortunate that he got great blocking on the edge a couple of times and got to the second level untouched and he has the quickness to jet through the gaping hole. There were no gaping holes for Zeke for one simple reason.. When Zeke is on the field he has the attention of all 11 guys on the defense. When he's off the field the attention shifts elsewhere.. Remember the play where they faked it to Zeke and handed to the WR coming around? I think it was Cooper.. Three defenders went with Zeke.. nobody even looked at Cooper until he had like 9 yards. That people fail to understand this basic component of NFL football is mind boggling to me. The lead back gets more attention and thus has to work harder for his yards. Period. With Dak out of the game and no real passing threat his job is twice as hard .. If Gilbert can step up his performance maybe another half a notch Zeke might have a chance to get off. But I fully expect us to hand the reigns back over to Dalton when we come back from the bye.. Good luck with that..

I almost, repeat almost, wish Zeke would have missed the game yesterday, so that Pollard would have been the lead running back, so we could see if indeed Zeke is the problem....

 

[RonnieT24]

I almost, repeat almost, wish Zeke would have missed the game yesterday, so that Pollard would have been the lead running back, so we could see if indeed Zeke is the problem....

If the injuries keep piling up we will probably get to see Pollard as the #1 guy at some point this season. It will be interesting to see how he does when defenses spend all week studying film on him.. One thing I do know is that if I was an opposing DC anytime he was in on a passing down I would make him have to pick up a blitz. He's been terrible at it.. but like anyone he has a chance to get better with more reps.

 

[CalPolyTechnique]

The notion of teams paying all their “attention” on Zeke is pure myth.

He doesn’t even lead the league in percentage of carries facing a stacked box.

As an aside, 1,319 career carries now and just four (4) runs of 40+ yards (with three coming his rookie season).

That’s a paltry .003% of his carries going for big plays.

That’s nearly statistically impossible.

You could take a rookie off the streets and I’d wager good money he could turn at least 1% of those carries into long runs.

 

[Sydla]

Maybe. I think he’s still elite. I’m just not sure he has his head on right and is properly motivated. But it is also possible he is slipping. He seemed sluggish earlier in the year, but is showing a bit more burst. How we are using him isn’t helping him any on his runs.

Not sure why you think he's elite anymore. He has no burst anymore. As CalPoly has noted, he has few any explosive runs. He's basically a between the tackles, grind it out TB now.

 

[jaythecowboy]

Yes...let's take performance and comments form FOUR YEARS ago and act like someone said it yesterday.

gawd...people. Hate em.

Exactly. How dumb to you have to be to go back 4 years and act liek it's now...AND think you;re so clever with it?

Nah people even said it when Dak went down this year. Even going as far as to say losing Dak was a "blessing in disguise" because now Zeke can carry the team.

 

[cern]

Can we blame the KMoore packages, the KMoore red-zone play-callin', the KMoore RB shuffling, the KMoore creativeness for FGs, the KMoore predictability on downs, the KMoore absence of Pollard in a hurry-up offense?....Can we?

no we can't. at least not logically. kellen called a brilliant game for the most part. the fault, imo, lies with our dc. our soft coverages in the game allowed yet another team to come from behind and beat us as the clocked ticked down. brown, one on one, against claypoole was a killer for us.

 

[CouchCoach]

Momentum seemed to have shifted.......................Cowboys were driving down the field and Pollard had just busted loose for couple of nice 18-20 yard runs. 2 more than Zeke has had in 3 years. It looked like Pollard was just primed to break one more tackle he would take it to the house.

Then they got stupid and put Zeke back in. And that's where it all stalled. If Pollard plays 80% of the game, the Cowboys win.

Anyone see the ball bounce right off stone hands chest on the 10 yard out on that final drive?

Why they continue to feature Zeke in the run game remains a big mystery.

Pollard: 9 carries for 57 yards.........6.3 average (Looked like he was just getting warmed up)

Zeke Idiot: 18 carries for 2.8 yards

15M reasons a year isn't a mystery. #4 pick, holds out two years early and the owner capitulates, think the first year Cowboys HC is going to risk embarrassing the owner?

 

[RonnieT24]

The notion of teams paying all their “attention” on Zeke is pure myth.

He doesn’t even lead the league in percentage of carries facing a stacked box.

As an aside, 1,319 career carries now and just four (4) runs of 40+ yards (with three coming his rookie season).

That’s a paltry .003% of his carries going for big plays.

That’s nearly statistically impossible.

You could take a rookie off the streets and I’d wager good money he could turn at least 1% of those carries into long runs.

First of all your definition of a "big play" is off. In the NFL they consider any run over 10 yards a big play. Don't take my word for it.. look it up for yourself. Throwing out this imaginary barrier of 40+ yard runs makes no sense. Those are rare for nearly all backs... and simply is NOT how you gauge a back's effectiveness. It's a small part but it's hardly the end all be all. Consistent production is far more valuable than occasional flash and dash. I'm sorry it's not as sexy to watch a team march down the field methodically with 3,5,4,6,5,4 yards on runs but that's more conducive to winning football than a guy who goes 1,2,-2, 0,-3, 50. The first guy would have 27 yards after 6 carries.. The second guy would have 48 yards after 6 carries. Who's having the better game? Mind you the first guy's team stayed in 3rd and manageable the whole drive and cashed it in for points.. The second guy's team was in third and long and punted twice before his big run.

 

[CalPolyTechnique]

First of all your definition of a "big play" is off. In the NFL they consider any run over 10 yards a big play. Don't take my word for it.. look it up for yourself. Throwing out this imaginary barrier of 40+ yard runs makes no sense. Those are rare for nearly all backs... and simply is NOT how you gauge a back's effectiveness. It's a small part but it's hardly the end all be all. Consistent production is far more valuable than occasional flash and dash. I'm sorry it's not as sexy to watch a team march down the field methodically with 3,5,4,6,5,4 yards on runs but that's more conducive to winning football than a guy who goes 1,2,-2, 0,-3, 50. The first guy would have 27 yards after 6 carries.. The second guy would have 48 yards after 6 carries. Who's having the better game? Mind you the first guy's team stayed in 3rd and manageable the whole drive and cashed it in for points.. The second guy's team was in third and long and punted twice before his big run.

Feel free to provide evidence.

So 40+ yards is an “imaginary barrier” and then you turn around and say “oh, it’s actually 10 yards.”

Lulz.

“Big play” is a completely subjective term so to think your definition is gospel is unintentional comedy.

Secondly, if you do define a “big play” as merely a 10-yard run that’s silly. I’m using the parameters NFL.com utilizes which is 40+ runs.

What Zeke proponents like to do is overstate his supposed other traits such as pass blocking and receiving because they know an argument cannot be made for him simply as a runner.

I value a well-rounded RB, but trait #1 of any supposed “elite” running back is to bring something special; something dynamic; as a ball carrier.

 

[cern]

First of all your definition of a "big play" is off. In the NFL they consider any run over 10 yards a big play. Don't take my word for it.. look it up for yourself. Throwing out this imaginary barrier of 40+ yard runs makes no sense. Those are rare for nearly all backs... and simply is NOT how you gauge a back's effectiveness. It's a small part but it's hardly the end all be all. Consistent production is far more valuable than occasional flash and dash. I'm sorry it's not as sexy to watch a team march down the field methodically with 3,5,4,6,5,4 yards on runs but that's more conducive to winning football than a guy who goes 1,2,-2, 0,-3, 50. The first guy would have 27 yards after 6 carries.. The second guy would have 48 yards after 6 carries. Who's having the better game? Mind you the first guy's team stayed in 3rd and manageable the whole drive and cashed it in for points.. The second guy's team was in third and long and punted twice before his big run.

"big play" is a bit subjective, ronnie. a one yard run for a td at the end of the game to come from behind and win by 4 points would be considered a big play. our own tony romo was known for making "big plays" between the 20 yard lines. but not so much in the red zone. but like you i'm a move the chains guy. 4, 5 yards at a pop leading to first down after first down. a "big play" to me is what i think it is, and i don't care what any stats show to the contrary.

 

[Sydla]

Feel free to provide evidence.

So 40+ yards is an “imaginary barrier” and then you turn around and say “oh, it’s actually 10 yards.”

Lulz.

“Big play” is a completely subjective term so to think your definition is gospel is unintentional comedy.

Secondly, if you do define a “big play” as merely a 10-yard run that’s silly. I’m using the parameters NFL.com utilizes which is 40+ runs.

What Zeke proponents like to do is overstate his supposed other traits such as pass blocking and receiving because they know an argument cannot be made for him simply as a runner.

I value a well-rounded RB, but trait #1 of any supposed “elite” running back is to bring something special; something dynamic; as a ball carrier.

These guys are just really struggling to wrap their heads around the reality that Elliott is nothing more than a good, decent back that lacks big play potential and as become a between the tackles mauler type TB.

 

[jjktkk]

Momentum seemed to have shifted.......................Cowboys were driving down the field and Pollard had just busted loose for couple of nice 18-20 yard runs. 2 more than Zeke has had in 3 years. It looked like Pollard was just primed to break one more tackle he would take it to the house.

Then they got stupid and put Zeke back in. And that's where it all stalled. If Pollard plays 80% of the game, the Cowboys win.

Anyone see the ball bounce right off stone hands chest on the 10 yard out on that final drive?

Why they continue to feature Zeke in the run game remains a big mystery.

Pollard: 9 carries for 57 yards.........6.3 average (Looked like he was just getting warmed up)

Zeke Idiot: 18 carries for 2.8 yards

Money and Zeke's confidence surely played a factor.

 

[Redsfan_83]

Seemed like when they wanted to stop him they did. He was TFLd on 4 of 9 carries. People get all excited because he will bust one every now and then but you cannot hang your hat on a running game that goes for negative yards 40% of the time .. Pollard had 52 yards on 3 carries.. and 5 yards on the other six. If they hand it to him 9 more times does he replicate that and get 114 yards on 18 carries? Or does he start to wear down and lose some of his starch? I'm sure he will get a chance to show which is the real him at some point this season as I expect us to rest Zeke a couple of games at the end of the year.

When Zeke looks as bad as he has, when a RB like Pollard comes in showing speed, vision and tough runs this is bound to be discussed and debated. To say that if he was faster he would have hit home runs on these is foolish, and you know that. If you watch games Zeke has not had the box stacked on each of his runs, he hits 10 yards and is done. Zeke actually looked a bit beter yesterday, and a bit more zip and broke more tackles than he has the last few weeks. Still far from where we need him to be. No doubt teams will limit our run game and let our QB beat them..without Dak, this has not and won't happen against any good team.

 

[ultron]

Pollard looks like he’s shot out of a cannon when he takes a hand off, I don’t know if I’ve ever seen a RB go from 0 to 60 as fast as Pollard does.

 

[Cydios]

HERE'S ZEKE'S ISSUE: He's a power center runner, but you need an oline. He has almost no finesse. He always has gained weigh. Now, whether that's muscle or he's been fed too much, that's to be debated. He also attracts attention. When Pollard is in there, the defense 75% of the time will play to the pass, so he's able to break a couple. He's also faster and can juke. This goes back something we said about DeMarco Murray... "Is it him or the Oline" Zeke get's hit twice before the line of scrimmage. He was coached to be patient and let the lane open. You can't do that now with this line. You gotta go fast and hit the lane no matter what. Nothing's going to open up.

 

[jjktkk]

I would think that it's pretty simple .. if you watch the game you will see that the defense paid about 3 times the attention to Zeke as they did to Pollard. How many times were there three defenders in the backfield when Zeke got the ball? Meanwhile Pollard got a couple of runs where he was untouched for the first 10 yards. You know why that happens? Because when Zeke is off the field the defensive focus shifts elsewhere. Pollard gained 52 of his yards on 3 carries.. then put up a stellar 5 yards on the other 6 carries. Under 1 yard per tote. Love the big plays but consistently moving the ball and keeping the greenhorn QB out of 2nd and 3rd and long as well as keeping the defense honest is also valuable in the long run. As for your assertion that Pollard has had 2 more 20 yards runs than Zeke has had in 3 years.. Why make a false statement like that? It weakens your argument when you support it with tripe. .. Zeke is banged up and could easily have sat this one out completely.. But you don't want a guy making his first ever start in the NFL out there unable to count on his running back to pick up the blitz. On a team that has gone 65/35 pass run ratio your back has to be good in blitz pickup. Pollard simply isn't there yet. As it was he got plenty of chances.. He was dropped for losses on 3 of his 9 carries or was it 4? You can't build a consistent running attack being TFLd over a third of the time.

I think they have it about right mixing in Pollard for about a third of the touches. Until he picks up the blitz better he's not going to be trusted out there in the hurry up. Period. And until he develops the ability to push the pile for a couple even when the blocking is less than stellar ( which is going to be the case more often than not the rest of this year..) he remains the change up.
I know nobody wants to hear it but that's the reality.


I know nobody wants to hear it but that's the reality.

The main skill I want out of my RB, is his running ability, which right now, Pollard is superior to Zeke. Both rbs have talent to catch the ball out of the backfield. While Zeke is an outstanding pass blocker, he lacks the juice he use to have And because of Zeke's big contract, anytime Pollard shows him up during game time, it's magnified.

 

[RonnieT24]

"big play" is a bit subjective, ronnie. a one yard run for a td at the end of the game to come from behind and win by 4 points would be considered a big play. our own tony romo was known for making "big plays" between the 20 yard lines. but not so much in the red zone. but like you i'm a move the chains guy. 4, 5 yards at a pop leading to first down after first down. a "big play" to me is what i think it is, and i don't care what any stats show to the contrary.

Yeah I think the term most used is actually "explosive play." Most teams call any run over 10 yards and any pass play over 20 an explosive play. But truth be told there is no one single definition so people are free to pick their own line of demarcation. Nobody was expecting Zeke to deliver any of the above yesterday with a balky hammie coming into the game. No one seems to want to address the fact that Pollard went for 0 or negative yards on 4 of his 9 carries. I'm not getting all excited over that because that's losing football. He had the same number of TFLs as Zeke on half the carries. Sure it's fun to watch the occasional big play but in the mean time you're in a lot of 2nd and 12s. The attention Zeke garnered yesterday was the main reason Gilbert was not broken in half by the Steeler defense. If they had any fear of our passing attack at all they would have put more DBs in the game and played light box. The fact that they stayed in their base defense most of the time even though we were in 3-wide is really all you need to know about what they thought of Zeke.. Tomlin said all week he was the focal point of their defensive gameplan. They felt like they could survive Gilbert having a decent game but would be in trouble if they let Zeke get going.

 

[MyFairLady]

Looked pretty bad trying catch that pass at the end of the game. Something I am always told we need to do more of because he is such a great receiver. IMHO he is one of the worst RBs ever to try to catch passes out of the backfield this year.

 

[MyFairLady]

His yards per target is now 4.9. That is good for 160 out of 167.