It's time to bench Zeke and play Cook

[plasticman]

It's time to cook Zeke and play Luepke.

 

[Redsfan_83]

Yeah that could have got him benched if Dak didn't save his bacon there. The bottom line though is that Zeke is not producing in the backup role. Some guys can come off the bench and some guys can't. It is what it is.. Zeke appears to be one of those guys who needs reps to get into a a rhythm. The Cowboys are not even using him in short yardage and red zone like they should so at this point they may as well bench him, cut him, trade him or whatever. The only way to get value out of him on the field is to use him and if you're not going to use him then why is he here? He's a team guy who will never complain but this is as much of a waste as it was under Kellen Moore. I still think this team's best chance of having a real running game is pounding with Zeke and changing up with Rico. But they aint gonna do that so "Give 'em hell, Rico!!!"

Some good points, but:

- Zeke is old, body breaking down and can't even put his shoulder pads on. That being said, we aren't using him where he is efficient which is RZ and short yardage. He has no business carrying the ball on 1st and 10

- The Dowdle fumble wasn't talked about much because of the game he had. If he is RB1 this cannot happen

- When every game counts then we need a RB2 on the field for when/if Dowdle goes down. We don't have that now, and need to see what Cook has

 

[DuncanIso]

Some good points, but:

- Zeke is old, body breaking down and can't even put his shoulder pads on. That being said, we aren't using him where he is efficient which is RZ and short yardage. He has no business carrying the ball on 1st and 10

- The Dowdle fumble wasn't talked about much because of the game he had. If he is RB1 this cannot happen

- When every game counts then we need a RB2 on the field for when/if Dowdle goes down. We don't have that now, and need to see what Cook has

Rico isn’t reliable.

he almost lost the game.

 

[Gonzomandela01]

Quick google search shows that was Rico's first fumble in 150 attempts. Zeke's averages a fumble every 87 attempts.

Not really about the fumble, that was a great play by the defender, I just feel Zeke has a better nose for the endzone and short yardage. Not Rico's fault, he had a great game.

 

[Redsfan_83]

Rico isn’t reliable.

he almost lost the game.

and here we are, having him as our RB1 when there is a potential vet sitting at home waiting for Jerry to call..SMH

 

[fivetwos]

Whatever anyone says….GM Jerry after the draft said…”I want to see what Zeke Elliott can do as RB1.”

YES, he said that.

That’s who runs this team and we wonder why we don’t get anywhere close to winning.

 

[SuspectCorner]

Zeke was always a mistake to bring in. His positives outweigh the negatives. Team needs more speed in the backfield.

I get what you meant - yep, Zeke is taking up a roster spot that should by some younger RB with legitimate upside. Zeke well-past his downturn.

 

[RonnieT24]

Whatever anyone says….GM Jerry after the draft said…”I want to see what Zeke Elliott can do as RB1.”

YES, he said that.

That’s who runs this team and we wonder why we don’t get anywhere close to winning.

But we have not seen was Zeke Elliott can do as RB1. At no time this season have they used Zeke in that vein. So is this McCarthy thumbing his nose at Jerry then?

 

[RonnieT24]

Some good points, but:

- Zeke is old, body breaking down and can't even put his shoulder pads on. That being said, we aren't using him where he is efficient which is RZ and short yardage. He has no business carrying the ball on 1st and 10

- The Dowdle fumble wasn't talked about much because of the game he had. If he is RB1 this cannot happen

- When every game counts then we need a RB2 on the field for when/if Dowdle goes down. We don't have that now, and need to see what Cook has

This isn't really fair.. Every RB fumbles.. It's part of the game. Sometimes it gets punched out.. Sometimes you take a helmet on the funny bone and lose any semblance of grip and there is literally nothing you can do to hang onto the ball. Though if Zeke's body is truly breaking down then so be it. They still need to be using him in short yardage and red zone. That's just stupid. But maybe he's hurt and can't throw his shoulder into a defender anymore. He gave his body up for this franchise and for that I will always be grateful to him.

 

[pancakeman]

 

[fivetwos]

But we have not seen was Zeke Elliott can do as RB1. At no time this season have they used Zeke in that vein. So is this McCarthy thumbing his nose at Jerry then?

Maybe, but doubtful.

Elliott seemed to be in a larger role in Cleveland. When did the supposed shoulder injury happen? Maybe a factor. It may have coincided with then. I couldn’t know, but sorry it does really feel as if Jerry either wanted to give his buddy a shot that no one else would have. Maybe Jerrys ego likes him having to play for cheap after getting killed on the second deal. RB1 was always a reach but again, I don’t blame Elliott for that one. He sold Jerry on it. The best salesman are often the easiest sold…because they want to believe.

Cook is probably worth a look at this point.

 

[RonnieT24]

Maybe, but doubtful.

Elliott seemed to be in a larger role in Cleveland. When did the supposed shoulder injury happen? Maybe a factor. It may have coincided with then. I couldn’t know, but sorry it does really feel as if Jerry either wanted to give his buddy a shot that no one else would have. Maybe Jerrys ego likes him having to play for cheap after getting killed on the second deal. RB1 was always a reach but again, I don’t blame Elliott for that one. He sold Jerry on it. The best salesman are often the easiest sold…because they want to believe.

Cook is probably worth a look at this point.

Even in that game which was a blowout most of the day he only got 10 carries. I know we lost one possession to Turpin's punt return TD but 10 carries for your RB1 is nothin. I don't think us fans will ever truly know what the deal is. I just know I don't like it both for Zeke and for the team. The running game stinks overall and even in this last game which was their best it was mediocre at best. I will say that the change in blocking philosophy we made during the game seemed to create a lot more second level chances. I think I saw more runs with guys getting to the second level with a head of steam in that one game than I had seen in the previous 4 games combined. I definitely want to see more of that. I am down to see what Cook has in the tank too. His running style may be more suited for the rotational back role than Zeke's. Like I said earlier this season.. Zeke is still running like he has time to feel the defense out when he needs to running like what we used to call "smear the queer" back in the day.. where you tried out every move, cutback, and body contortion you could not to get tackled.

 

[CT Dal Fan]

Zeke and Cook are pretty much the same player right now.

Assuming the Cowboys don't add someone else before the trade deadline the backfield touches need to primarily go to Dowdle and Luepke anyway.

 

[J-man]

You’re living in the moment. It’s easy to sit here now saying Zeke shouldn’t have been signed but Dowdle had yet to establish himself. We needed the competition in camp and the extra backs due to losing Pollard. Dowdle has taken control of the starting position, but he’s still an average back. Had Dak not fallen on his fumble in the closing seconds everyone would be wanting to move on from Dowdle. He would’ve been persecuted had the game ended with that fumble.

How am I living in the moment? I have said since day 1 of Zeke 2.0 that he wasn't fit to be our full time RB. And I have been saying they needed to upgrade the RB room for 3 years. I told everyone before they even let Zeke go that Pollard couldn't be RB1 in our system and that we better go get Zeke's replacement.

And everything you just said in this post, is agreeing with everything I said in my post. Zeke is washed, Rico is not the answer and we need a new starting RB.

 

[zrinkill]

Zeke has already been benched ...... I agree with Cook unless he has looked bad in practice.

 

[KJJ]

How am I living in the moment? I have said since day 1 of Zeke 2.0 that he wasn't fit to be our full time RB. And I have been saying they needed to upgrade the RB room for 3 years. I told everyone before they even let Zeke go that Pollard couldn't be RB1 in our system and that we better go get Zeke's replacement.

And everything you just said in this post, is agreeing with everything I said in my post. Zeke is washed, Rico is not the answer and we need a new starting RB.

I have no idea what you said when Zeke was signed. Most fans including myself weren’t thrilled about bringing him back but Dowdle only had 361 yards rushing and 2 TDs last season so we couldn’t risk hitching our wagon to him. After passing up Aaron Jones and Derrick Henry we were stuck. Who else would have been a better option to be part of our rotation than Zeke? After losing Pollard, we couldn’t go with Dowdle and Deuce Vaughn so brining back Zeke made some sense. We signed Cook to the practice squad as insurance. He’s washed up but he’ll get an opportunity at some point. Some fans want to give Dowdle the full load, which would be silly. We need to keep him fresh so rotating backs makes sense. When you don’t have a great back you have to go with a committee.

 

[JW82]

Cut not bench