Is Pollard the best RB in the league?

[SteveTheCowboy]

my opinion differs from some but I have never considered zeke special. I have considered our OL special and many a back could have put up the numbers he did. thats just me though

I swear to god we wouldn't have Dak here without Zeke. There just aren;t many rookie RB's that give you that kind of year...regardless of OL.

You should love Zeke for giving Dak a year that kicked tony to the curb.

 

[SteveTheCowboy]

I don’t know why people don’t want to keep Elliot. I was disgusted when we drafted him. He brings so much to the team.

Zeke is the kind of player that does things...that people don;t notice. They don't know, or pretend to not know...how much heat he took off Dak through the years. They casually don;t notice or casually forget how many times he threw a huge block that most RB's, especially STAR RB's...would "make a business decision" about.

They have forgotten what an EXCELLENT dump off he's been for Dak.

We should just concentrate on winning this game....making a playoff run...and moving past the wild card.

I think we have too many fans that want to be MORE right about blasting Zeke and his demise, than cheering on this whole team.....to make good use of our blessings.

 

[cnuball21]

I swear to god we wouldn't have Dak here without Zeke. There just aren;t many rookie RB's that give you that kind of year...regardless of OL.

You should love Zeke for giving Dak a year that kicked tony to the curb.

We wouldn’t have Dak here without Zeke? Well that’s an interesting take.

 

[Buzzbait]

I don’t think he’s the best but he’s good . I also don’t think what the titans and Giants are doing is a bad thing
They recognize what their identity needs to be and they are doing it
We have tried that ourselves but zeke fizzled too soon or kellen didn’t stick with it or a combination of both
Running backs are a dime a dozen and can be found every draft

Yes decent RBs may be a dime a dozen, but the really GOOD ones aren't as plentiful as the decent ones.
Personally I wouldn't trade Pollard for a dozen of those just decent ones. Course neither am I suggesting that RBs should be paid outlandish contracts like Zeke carved out of the Cowboy's cap. That was foolishness on Jerry's part.

 

[MonsterD]

This stat reflects Pollard's entire career, and gives us a large sample size of 400 carries.


IN NFL HISTORY - Highest average (400 minimum carries)


Zeke has averaged 4.4. Not in top 200.

Felix Jones is 29th.

 

[cnuball21]

I’d love to keep Zeke around as the complimentary back moving forward but he’s have to take a massive paycut for it to make sense…like massive.

Something around 2/3 million instead of 15. That’s what guys like J Williams, Foreman and Ingram are making.

 

[quickccc]

If not he's a min top 3.....No way he's leaving

BTW side note...The Titans and Giants are wearing the hell out of Henry and Barkley. Giants and Barkley have DeMarco Murray written all over it.

Coaches ..teams tend to do that (wear the hell outta backs)

hell Jason Garrett even did that with Zeke - Bulked him up and Beat him up - and obviously he declined and was flat never the same again.

That's the only way they know how to win...that's a security blanket with them to load up on those type of backs.

they don't seem to know how to lessen the pounding.. get/rely on a talented, reliable enugh backup that can share the toll, relief and lessen the pounding
and better preserve and stretch out the load can career of the star back.
Not everybody cannot be Emmitt Smith, Walter Payton, Jerome Bettis, Barry Sanders Iron Man.

- i dunno how the heck Derrick Henry is dare keeping his pace up - and he even missed the later portion with a injury.
Barkley is still trying to return to form with that previous ACL , but the struggles with the team offense is demanding more totes and carries
with him. Plus this is a contract year so he probably won't be complaining.

- i dunno what will become of the HC situation here, and i further hope the Jones don't try to intervene and make matters worse.
But coaches matter big time with Pollard.
Pollard is Not the best RB based on his occasional splash plays - as he's not asked to carry the team as the likes of Henry, Jon Taylor, and Nick Chubb.

 

[quickccc]

If not he's a min top 3.....No way he's leaving

BTW side note...The Titans and Giants are wearing the hell out of Henry and Barkley. Giants and Barkley have DeMarco Murray written all over it.

- And Tony Pollard's style, his way, his frame work dictates we have to be aware and careful how he is used.
We have to be aware and schemed with his strengths vs weaknesses. Pluses vs minuses.

- His ball carries and even his blitz blocking assignments have to be monitored.
Even absorbing pounding from blitzing LBs can add up.
i don't think Pollard is a finesse back but i don't think he is a powerhouse load of a thud in short yd/goal line the way Zeke is .

- Not only his overall carries/touches matter but the way Pollard is scheme-designed matters just as equal.

- Only just last week can i say Pollard was Finally used by oft-criticized. Kellen Moore .. in the passing game.
That was McCaffrey like mismatch vs pass. A wheel route vs coverage LBs that cannot handle his explosive burst.

- The vibe i got is HC and even management team came (forced) Kellen to design/use Pollard in the pass game.
And not just dump off safety valve passes.

This Vikes further lets us know all the more how under-utilized - and skill wasted Pollard has been under Kellen for so many years here.

 

[quickccc]

If we're gonna keep, re-sign Pollard to a lucrative contract.
We'll likely have to get replace Kellen Moore.

Imo, he will never be the top potential and productivity he can be under Kellen.
Look at how Pollard has been so wasted and under-utlized his career here ?

What if Pollard had a true OC, true coaches that can exploit his full skill set while
not pounding wear and tear upon him ?

 

[Havic]

If we're gonna keep, re-sign Pollard to a lucrative contract.
We'll likely have to get replace Kellen Moore.

Imo, he will never be the top potential and productivity he can be under Kellen.
Look at how Pollard has been so wasted and under-utlized his career here ?

What if Pollard had a true OC, true coaches that can exploit his full skill set while
not pounding wear and tear upon him ?

I'm not defending KM at all with Pollard being under utilized but how much of that is Coach Jerry justifying Zeke's contract?

 

[Mr_437]

Coming out of college Pollard was a RB/Receiver type player, so I look at him as a weapon/chess piece...like Micah is for the defense.

I view Pollard contract wise comparable to Aaron Jones ($12M), and like Jones I feel TP needs a tag team partner RB (AJ Dillon) who is a tough guy. Zeke is good for that role now, but the issue is he has too high a price tag for the role.

I have no problem paying TP $12M per especially when I look at how much they'll probably pay CeeDee ($22M/year). It's about Playmakers.

 

[Praxit]

..isnt it ironic, that players do well last year on contract? I know, its not a conscious decision, it just happens.

 

[starfan1]

I swear to god we wouldn't have Dak here without Zeke. There just aren;t many rookie RB's that give you that kind of year...regardless of OL.

You should love Zeke for giving Dak a year that kicked tony to the curb.

That’s a different take. Tony kicked himself to the curb though he was done. 2016 was a special year it would be nice to don it again this year

and I’m just not buying that zeke is one of the few backs that could do it. Murray did it 2 years prior it was the line

 

[DanA]

I’d put him on par with Alvin Kamara who signed a 5 year 75m contract in 2020. The RB market has deflated a little since then but I think Pollard would be looking for 5 years 60m which is above what we should pay. IMO we should Franchise tag him and then let him walk.

 

[McKDaddy]

Imo Nick Chubb is the best back in the league followed by Henry.

Either of those two

 

[mardwin]

I hope we keep him for the right money. He is definitely one of the best. I question our coaching staff for limiting his opportunities until the middle of year 4.

I mean Zeke was hurt last year and was still fed the ball. A few weeks ago JJ was bloviating about how Zeke is the key. SMH

Pollard is not going anywhere. Zeke is more at risk to be released than Pollard hitting free agency. Pollard has shown in recent years that he's the most explosive playmaker on offense no other player comes even close to his YAC impact.

 

[RonnieT24]

This stat reflects Pollard's entire career, and gives us a large sample size of 400 carries.


IN NFL HISTORY - Highest average (400 minimum carries)

Zeke has averaged 4.4. Not in top 200.

Neither is Emmitt Smith, Tony Dorsett or Walter Payton.. which should tell you something about how important that stat is.. Secondly 400 carries is not a "large sample size." It's barely more than one season for the old school workhorse backs. Lastly whoever made this list must have had an agenda because they somehow managed to leave off Jim Brown (5.2 ypc for his career), Joe Perry (5.0) and Gale Sayers (5.0) .. As such I can't take any of it serous.

 

[HappyOnions]

I don't see any back playing better than TP.
Conventional wisdom would say Chubb or Henry
But in my opinion, Pollard has been playing better than any back in the league this year.

He's probably one of the top 3 home run threats in the league regardless of position.

 

[beware_d-ware]

TP has been awesome this year, but Nick Chubb is a baaaad man.

I will never miss an opportunity to point this out. Chubb has gone over 5 YPC five seasons in a row, on some pretty sketchy Browns offenses.

 

[Thomas82]

The Cowboys had a special with young Zeke but wasted him. I'm not sure I would trust them not to waste the next one as long as Kellen Moore is callin the shots.

Yeah, they not only wasted him, but also stole some greatness from him.