Highest rushing grades in goal to go situations since 2015

[TheMarathonContinues]

I'd like to see what other RBs can do behind our line. We'll have to agree to disagree. You're satisfied but I am not. Not changing my mind either.

Well we've seen it. We've seen Joseph Randle run behind it. We've seen Darren McFadden. We've seen Demarco Murray. We've seen Alfred Morris. 2014 is the best offensive line we've had in this era and Demarco ran for 1800. Says it all.

LOL @ "Not changing my mind either".....I believe you lol.

 

[khiladi]

This myth has already been debunked. Someone posted on this site that Dak is actually better when Zeke is not on the field.

The six game suspension says he is not. And the amount of time Zeke is on the field is pretty much every play, meaning when Zeke isn’t on the field, Dak is in selective situations, meaning a much smaller sample size, meaning nothing to really compare against.

Plus this rushing stat is absurd, because most of them are QB options, meaning defenses key in on Zeke. 4 of Dak’s first 8 rushing TDs came on the QB read option for example.

 

[gimmesix]

I can only speak for myself but it's because Dak has over performed expectations while Zeke has under performed expectations. Had Zeke continued to perform at his 2016 level I wouldn't be complaining about him. I would have hoped he wouldn't have peaked in his rookie year but it seems that's what he had done.

Then his biggest fans have to come up with all kinds of excuses for him while exaggerating how good he is by saying things like "he pushed pile 4-5 years every play" or "he always falls forward for 3 yards". Mind you, his yards before and after contact don't support these statements but doesn't stop them being said.

Dak has underperformed his 2016 numbers, too. I guess if we're going by draft position, he's overperformed that. But my expectations for starters isn't based on where they were drafted.

Note that I'm not saying either has played poorly. I'm just not sure I understand why fans would be mad at Zeke for not playing as well as he did as a rookie but elevate Dak when he's done the same.

 

[aikemirv]

What?

The post was "line him up at RB and take Zeke off the field"

 

[Future]

So what does that say about how defenses guard against Dak? Doesn't seem like teams are worried about Dak running.

And this is exactly why it's not Zeke's grade that matters.

 

[Aviano90]

Dak has underperformed his 2016 numbers, too. I guess if we're going by draft position, he's overperformed that. But my expectations for starters isn't based on where they were drafted.

Note that I'm not saying either has played poorly. I'm just not sure I understand why fans would be mad at Zeke for not playing as well as he did as a rookie but elevate Dak when he's done the same.

Well, what did you expect from Dak when he was drafted? I was just hoping for a back up QB to prevent spending millions on a proven veteran loser. He's far exceeded my expectations.

Zeke met my expectations in 2016. He hasn't since.

 

[Aviano90]

Well we've seen it. We've seen Joseph Randle run behind it. We've seen Darren McFadden. We've seen Demarco Murray. We've seen Alfred Morris. 2014 is the best offensive line we've had in this era and Demarco ran for 1800. Says it all.

LOL @ "Not changing my mind either".....I believe you lol.

So, Zeke isn't really special then. It's just the offensive line. You make a good case for not using a 4th overall pick for RB.

 

[TheMarathonContinues]

The six game suspension says he is not. And the amount of time Zeke is on the field is pretty much every play, meaning when Zeke isn’t on the field, Dak is in selective situations, meaning a much smaller sample size, meaning nothing to really compare against.

Plus this rushing stat is absurd, because most of them are QB options, meaning defenses key in on Zeke.

The 6 game suspension was a cluster F from this coaching staff itself. This same coaching staff watched Adrian Clayburn sack him 6 times and did nothing about it. Let's not have revisionist history.

And I asked it earlier so I'll ask again. If Dak is benefiting from teams keying in on Zeke why is no other quarterback benefiting from that? Am I to believe he's the only quarterback in the league who benefits from it?

 

[TheMarathonContinues]

So, Zeke isn't really specials then. It's just the offensive line.

I never said he was special. Stats say he is. I'm saying his production has been special.

But I will say this. Just because you have a great offensive line doesn't mean you are guaranteed to have a great running game. There are some great offensive lines who don't have great running games.

 

[TheMarathonContinues]

The post was "line him up at RB and take Zeke off the field"

Oh you replied to me I didn't make that statement though lol.

 

[khiladi]

And again, if you look at VOLUME, the Cowboys and Dak face 8 or more stacked boxes than any other team, because of Zeke. Zeke critics try and obfuscate last year by looking at percentile. The problem is Zeke has been running into more stacked boxes than any other back in this league since he came here, meaning Dallas even rubs him predictably into them.

You can probably blame the QB for not checking out of plenty of them, while he does run the QB read option well and often keeps it and is built like a truck.

 

[Swagger]

I ask again...……...what is to like about Zeke? The guy is about as unlikeable as it gets.

Do you know him personally?

People (not aimed at you in any way just generally) get too hung up on liking or disliking professional athletes or supposed celebrities like actors.

I do not know any of them personally so I only judge my opinion on them if they are good at what they are paid to do.

 

[khiladi]

The 6 game suspension was a cluster F from this coaching staff itself. This same coaching staff watched Adrian Clayburn sack him 6 times and did nothing about it. Let's not have revisionist history.

And I asked it earlier so I'll ask again. If Dak is benefiting from teams keying in on Zeke why is no other quarterback benefiting from that? Am I to believe he's the only quarterback in the league who benefits from it?

Actually, it was the same trend from Denver, prior where Dak was on his way to setting team records for most INTs returned for a TD. Then Linehan actually took the all away from Dak and fed Zeke on average plus 20 times and Dallas ended up going on a 3 game winning streak and then Zeke was suspended, and the Cowboys couldn’t score even 10 points against the three winning teams they played (Falcons, Eagles and Chargers) and wallowed in mediocrity against teams in BIGGER disarray than what you claim the Cowboys were in, including the Commanders, Giants and Oakland. You can maybe use the excuse for Clayburn, but not the rest of them.

The fact is, it was the same coaching staff...

 

[Aviano90]

I never said he was special. Stats say he is. I'm saying his production has been special.

But I will say this. Just because you have a great offensive line doesn't mean you are guaranteed to have a great running game. There are some great offensive lines who don't have great running games.

Maybe that's where we are different. He should be special, particularly behind this offensive line. That's why we used a 4th overall pick. We already had a top running attack in the league. We wanted to make it better. If all we want is a high yardage total, we just give RBs more carries.If they average 4 YPC they get 1600 yards if you give it to them 400 times.

Alfred Morris gave us 547 yards in 2017 averaging 4.8 ypc, compared to Zeke's 4.1 ypc that year. He did that primarily being the started in Zeke's 6 game absence, 3 of which were when our offensive line was at our worst since 2012. He also faced a stack box on a greater percentage of carries than Zeke faced. That shouldn't happen. No way should that happen.

 

[aikemirv]

Take Elliott out and have Prescott line up at RB since he is better at the goal line.

See how successful Prescott is when the defense knows what's coming.

This myth has already been debunked. Someone posted on this site that Dak is actually better when Zeke is not on the field.

Oh you replied to me I didn't make that statement though lol.

 

[TheMarathonContinues]

And again, if you look at VOLUME, the Cowboys and Dak face 8 or more stacked boxes than any other team, because of Zeke. Zeke critics try and obfuscate last year by looking at percentile. The problem is Zeke has been running into more stacked boxes than any other back in this league since he came here, meaning Dallas even rubs him predictably into them.

You can probably blame the QB for not checking out of plenty of them, while he does run the QB read option well and often keeps it and is built like a truck.

That's odd.......according to Nextgenstats.....
https://nextgenstats.nfl.com/stats/rushing#percent-eight-defenders

Ezekiel Elliot is 27th in the league in facing 8 or more stacked boxes at 19%. Where did you get that Dak and Zeke face more stacked boxes than any other team?

 

[khiladi]

Maybe that's where we are different. He should be special, particularly behind this offensive line. That's why we used a 4th overall pick. We already had a top running attack in the league. We wanted to make it better. If all we want is a high yardage total, we just give RBs more carries.If they average 4 YPC they get 1600 yards if you give it to them 400 times.

Alfred Morris gave us 547 yards in 2017 averaging 4.8 ypc, compared to Zeke's 4.1 ypc that year. He did that primarily being the started in Zeke's 6 game absence, 3 of which were when our offensive line was at our worst since 2012. He also faced a stack box on a greater percentage of carries than Zeke faced. That shouldn't happen. No way should that happen.

Morris averaged 3.5 YPC against 8+ stacked boxes that year, while Zeke averaged 4 YPC. And percentage is nothing like volume, when you are talking such a huge same size especially when it’s 35% to 38%. And the fact that Morris faced that percentage shows just how much defenses respected Dak that year.

 

[TheMarathonContinues]

What? When he says take Zeke out I assumed he was saying put Pollard in. Not put Dak at running back. What did you take from that post?

 

[Aviano90]

Morris averaged 3.5 YPC against 8+ stacked boxes that year, while Zeke averaged 4 YPC. And percentage is nothing like volume, when you are talking such a huge same size especially when it’s 35% to 38%. And the fact that Morris faced that percentage shows just how much defenses respected Dak that year.

Do you still believe Zeke is a home run hitter? 2 more years have gone by since our debate with no home runs.

 

[khiladi]

That's odd.......according to Nextgenstats.....
https://nextgenstats.nfl.com/stats/rushing#percent-eight-defenders

Ezekiel Elliot is 27th in the league in facing 8 or more stacked boxes at 19%. Where did you get that Dak and Zeke face more stacked boxes than any other team?

VOLUME versus PERCENTAGE... of you adjust for volume, Zeke is easily top 10. With Zeke, you definitely have to normalize the stats, because he rushes MORE than any other back in the league, plus more into stacked boxes. Situational backs may performance better percentage wise, because they are going full situationally.

That’s often the problem with people using stats. They don’t know how they are using them.