Is Zeke a top 3 running back?

[Gremell12]

Zeke is top 2 and he’s not 2.

 

[gjkoeppen]

With regard to your first paragraph, total yards is a weak stat. Something like 8 out of 10 of the past total yards leaders have also carried the ball the most so please stop using that as the determining factor of who the best back in the league is. Barkley had a better ypc so hypothetically he would have the total yards records if he had carried the ball as many times as Zeke.

Correct, it is my opinion Zeke would not lead the league in rushing if he ran behind last years Giants O line. Some O lines, yes, but not the Giants IMO.

So are you comparing a QB missing a receiver to being equivalent to a RB fumbling the ball? I’m a bit confused at what you’re getting at there.

Nice quiz, I don’t care. There’s no way you’ll ever convince me that fumbles aren’t a black eye on a RB and just because they didn’t all happen to be turnovers that means they didn’t matter.

Here's the problem with you being so hung up on ypc and how it relates to a running back's primary job. You can have a back have a 10 yards per carry but that back had 2 carries all year and 1 was for 20 yards and the other was for no gain. That turns out to be 10 yards per carry. Now 10 ypc is really impressive but I'd rather have the back that lead the league in rushing. Now I know Barkley had more than 2 carries last season but the principle is still the same. At the end of the day Elliott did his job more than Barkley and thus was the leagues leading rusher AGAIN.

As far as the incomplete passes / RB fumbling I brought that up because YOU said those fumbles were wasted downs because Elliott acxcording to you didn't perform the other primary job of ball security. So I asked you if you got so excited about Prescott badly thrown incomplete passes because completing passes is his primary job. I see you don't like it when i use your own logic against you.

Now I also think backs don't want to fumble and if they do it a lot but aren't productive like leading the league in rushing that they'll be shown the door. There was a QB who threw a lot of picks but never lost his starting job. In fact he holds the NFL record for most picks but at the time he retired he also held the NFL record for most TD passes, Brett Favre. The point here is when you lead the league in good things some of the bad things get forgiven and doesn't change the good things.
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[blueblood70]

Here's the problem with you being so hung up on ypc and how it relates to a running back's primary job. You can have a back have a 10 yards per carry but that back had 2 carries all year and 1 was for 20 yards and the other was for no gain. That turns out to be 10 yards per carry. Now 10 ypc is really impressive but I'd rather have the back that lead the league in rushing. Now I know Barkley had more than 2 carries last season but the principle is still the same. At the end of the day Elliott did his job more than Barkley and thus was the leagues leading rusher AGAIN.

As far as the incomplete passes / RB fumbling I brought that up because YOU said those fumbles were wasted downs because Elliott acxcording to you didn't perform the other primary job of ball security. So I asked you if you got so excited about Prescott badly thrown incomplete passes because completing passes is his primary job. I see you don't like it when i use your own logic against you.

Now I also think backs don't want to fumble and if they do it a lot but aren't productive like leading the league in rushing that they'll be shown the door. There was a QB who threw a lot of picks but never lost his starting job. In fact he holds the NFL record for most picks but at the time he retired he also held the NFL record for most TD passes, Brett Favre. The point here is when you lead the league in good things some of the bad things get forgiven and doesn't change the good things.
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agreed Aria is using his narrative to hate on Zeke when fumbles happen to all players who carry the ball a lot WR, QB, and others..I mean Daks Fumbles some where he was just trying to set his throwing motion with no one around etc Amari had a few late last year, drops by WRs not an issue? primary job is catching, also Dez had the is a few games..Zeke does not fumble a lot not more then the average because if he did id remember.. hes a RB they get hit from every angle and Defenders constantly trying to gang tackle and rip the ball out..it happens when you lead the league in carrys you might have few more fumbles lost or not..

 

[ultron]

He's not a top 3 running back, he's a top 1 running back. I've never seen a super star get so disrespected before.

 

[ScipioCowboy]

Top running backs of 1995:

1) Barry Sanders
2) Chris Warren
3) Rodney Hampton
4) Emmitt Smith

 

[gjkoeppen]

Top running backs of 1995:

1) Barry Sanders
2) Chris Warren
3) Rodney Hampton
4) Emmitt Smith

Again the primary job for a RB is to run gaining yards.

Emmitt lead the league with 1773 yards
Sanders was 2nd with 1500 yards, 273 less
Hampton was 8th with 1182 yards, 590 less
Warren was 4th with 1346 yards, 427 less

So how do backs that ran for less yards be better than Emmitt?
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[QuincyCarterEra]

Again the primary job for a RB is to run gaining yards.

Emmitt lead the league with 1773 yards
Sanders was 2nd with 1500 yards, 273 less
Hampton was 8th with 1182 yards, 590 less
Warren was 4th with 1346 yards, 427 less

So how do backs that ran for less yards be better than Emmitt?
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The primary job of a running back or any position for that matter to help your team win in whatever fashion necessary.

Primary job for RBs might be running(not the case anymore), but that's not their only job, far from it actually.

Using a bulk stat total as the sole basis for a player being better or worse than another, especially considering the disparity between Emmitt's surrounding talent, is just silly. Kinda like saying Zeke had the most rushing yards so therefore he has to be the best runningback. Makes that person look very foolish.

 

[ScipioCowboy]

Again the primary job for a RB is to run gaining yards.

Emmitt lead the league with 1773 yards
Sanders was 2nd with 1500 yards, 273 less
Hampton was 8th with 1182 yards, 590 less
Warren was 4th with 1346 yards, 427 less

So how do backs that ran for less yards be better than Emmitt?
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I was being sarcastic.

 

[jay94]

He's great top 3 maybe. The best RB in the league should do much more with our renowned oline. Saquon is running behind Jags, no I'm not saying he's the best.

 

[kskboys]

He's great top 3 maybe. The best RB in the league should do much more with our renowned oline. Saquon is running behind Jags, no I'm not saying he's the best.

Will Hernandez, Nate Solder, and Spencer Pulley are all quality players.

 

[gjkoeppen]

The primary job of a running back or any position for that matter to help your team win in whatever fashion necessary.

Primary job for RBs might be running(not the case anymore), but that's not their only job, far from it actually.

Using a bulk stat total as the sole basis for a player being better or worse than another, especially considering the disparity between Emmitt's surrounding talent, is just silly. Kinda like saying Zeke had the most rushing yards so therefore he has to be the best runningback. Makes that person look very foolish.

I see, running for less yards helps your team win more according to your logic. A little common sense for you. Linemen primary job is to block, receiver's primary job is to catch passes, so if a position is identified by and called running back just what would common sense say his primary job is? That's right running with the ball. Now if you have a back that 2 out of the last 3 years has led ALL running backs in rushing again common sense would say, gee he must be the best running back. Now I'm not saying that there aren't other backs that do some non-primary parts of the position more than Elliott, but again what is the position called. Using you logic they should now be called running-pass catching- blocking-passing backs to cover all of the things that ARE NOT a running back's PRIMARY job.
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[gjkoeppen]

I was being sarcastic.

Thanks for clarifying that.
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[gjkoeppen]

He's great top 3 maybe. The best RB in the league should do much more with our renowned oline. Saquon is running behind Jags, no I'm not saying he's the best.

To many people think the line of 2017 and 2018 was the same line of 2016 and it wasn't. 2017 there was a 40% change all season and 60% for part of the 2017 season from what they had in 2016. No way near as good as 2016. In 2018 they were without their All Pro center all year and shuffling players in 2 other positions so there was at least a 40%, sometimes 60% change from the 2017 line. The play was getting bad enough that the O-line coach got fired. Yes the 2016 line was great but it wasn't great in 2017 and 2018 so to use that as a detractor for Elliott again leading the league in rushing in 2017 is stretching it a bit.
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[quickccc]

At least with the zeke vs barkley comparisons, I could at least say it’s a intriguing debate for one or the other and I’m so in awe with both players that
I could respectively favor this vote or that vote.

Barkley I feel is the more elusive and a tad bit more faster than zeke, he is so very hard to corral in the open field, as I’m constantly seeing defenders sliding off his legs week after week .
And while zeke is more the one-cut and gone style, barkley has the arrays of stop-jump stop re-start moves to elude tacklers and then he’s off to the races.

Both players are dangerous in the pass game (ala zeke’s patented quick screen passes that often break for chunk yards downfield)
Both players are explosive and breakaway homerun hitters, but in that area, I’d give that notch to Barkley by a tad bit.

But I also feel Elliott is the more powerful, stronger, inside the tackles runner. I’ve heard past testimony from defenders that zeke punishes you and wears you down when they have to meet him head on, and he is still making yards forward even at the tackle point. And while Saquon is decent as a blitz-blocker, hes not in Zeke’s level in that area.
There may not be a better pass blocker among starting RBs in that category than zeke.

I used to hear some favoring Gurley ahead of zeke, because of both his own version of explosiveness and the way his receiving skills is being so well used and exploited in the Rams pass game.
They use him in the same fashion as we see Alvin Kamara is being used, up the field, isolations, quick screens that gets in space quickly to use his open field skills.
But with his arthritis knee, will we see Gurley at that level from this point on , and how often .. or less ?

Be interested to see if Bell's new support, surroundings, scheme with NYJets keeps his production at the level as it was with his ex-team Steelers.

My Top five RBs:
Zeke Elliott Dal
Saquon Barkley NYG
Todd Gurley Rams
Leveon Bell NYJ
Alvin Kamara NO

 

[QuincyCarterEra]

I see, running for less yards helps your team win more according to your logic. A little common sense for you. Linemen primary job is to block, receiver's primary job is to catch passes, so if a position is identified by and called running back just what would common sense say his primary job is? That's right running with the ball. Now if you have a back that 2 out of the last 3 years has led ALL running backs in rushing again common sense would say, gee he must be the best running back. Now I'm not saying that there aren't other backs that do some non-primary parts of the position more than Elliott, but again what is the position called. Using you logic they should now be called running-pass catching- blocking-passing backs to cover all of the things that ARE NOT a running back's PRIMARY job.
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Do you even read the stuff you post?

 

[glimmerman]

Elliot is the best RB in the NFL right now, off the field he isn't winning..

 

[aria]

agreed Aria is using his narrative to hate on Zeke when fumbles happen to all players who carry the ball a lot WR, QB, and others..I mean Daks Fumbles some where he was just trying to set his throwing motion with no one around etc Amari had a few late last year, drops by WRs not an issue? primary job is catching, also Dez had the is a few games..Zeke does not fumble a lot not more then the average because if he did id remember.. hes a RB they get hit from every angle and Defenders constantly trying to gang tackle and rip the ball out..it happens when you lead the league in carrys you might have few more fumbles lost or not..

Hate on Zeke by saying he’s the second best in the league? Wow.

Zeke supporters bring up total yards and ignore the fact that he carried it more than any other back. Seke supporters don’t ever acknowledge how much better of an O line Zeke had his rookie year and even last year compared to Barkley. Fumbles aren’t good, no matter how you spin it and Zeke leads the league in fumbles by a significant margin. Barkly supporters bash him for gaining big chunk plays and not getting enough “dirty yards” but refuse to acknowledge his lack or running lanes compared to Zeke.

Whatever, I’m sick of going in circles with the same arguments over and over again. I’m sure our O line will be better than the Giants once again, Zeke will lead the league in rushing once again from carrying the ball more than every other back and Zeke supporters will say he is the best because of that.

Unless something drastically changes this year then I will continue to say Barkley is a better back by a small margin. Sorry to get so many panties wadded up because I think the guy is a menace off the field and is ONLY SECOND BEST on the field If that means I’m not a true fan than so be it, I guess neither is half the fan base that doesn’t think Dak is either.

 

[aria]

Will Hernandez, Nate Solder, and Spencer Pulley are all quality players.

Solder was one of the lowest graded tackles in the first half of the season. Pulley quality? He barely graded out as average. Their starting right guard and right tackle were both fired half way through the season, what does that tell you? The replacement for the right tackle (Erek Flowers) was the 2nd worst RT in the league IIRC.

That would be equivalent to having 2 Chaz Greens on the right side for practically the entire season. We played one game with him against the Falcons and Dak got a free pass for being shell shocked for the rest of the year. Hernandez is the one O lineman they had that was better at that position than our own and it took him about half a season to pick it up as well. Almost every other lineman we had was either better or significantly better than the rest of theirs.

 

[gjkoeppen]

Do you even read the stuff you post?

It makes more sense that those that want to say that the RUNNING BACK that lead the league for 2 out of the last 3 years doing his PRIMARY job is not the best running back.
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[QuincyCarterEra]

It makes more sense that those that want to say that the RUNNING BACK that lead the league for 2 out of the last 3 years doing his PRIMARY job is not the best running back.
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He lead the league in rush attempts both those years by a sizable margin. Want a cookie?

No the primary job for an RB now is gaining yards and scoring. Zekr doesn't come close to leading those categories.