Jerry Jones: Zeke was (picked) too high for us"

[CowboyRoy]

So how could a guy who got suspended ruin a season when anybody could run behind that line ?

Because we missed the playoffs by one game. Zeke plays 6 games we win at least one more.

And I never said "anyone". If your going to lie, lets just move on.

 

[tomokawan]

Team would have been worlds better with Ramsey in the first and Henry in the 2nd. Henry was the better back and we needed defense and a defensive leader.

Hindsight sure is nice. You could hindsight everything. Still will never know. They both could have got injured or If we took Ramsey it would have changed the draft and Henry may not have been there. Pointless to should have could have.

 

[Typhus]

Those days are over!!!!

Would have to be a super dynamic RB, with honey hands, weighed 275 and ran a 4.4

 

[tyke1doe]

You don't need hindsight to see that taking a RB early in the draft is a mistake.

Yeah, I did.

 

[Hawkeye0202]

Different time and the league is different.

It was a great pick then but it was never the smart pick long term. Even then.

But..

A lot of people didn’t like Ramsey because he played more safety than corner and didn’t have a lot of picks.

Ramsey was too much of a hot head for Garrettt's liking. Like you said, Zeke's pick was 100% about helping Romo get us to the next level.

 

[atlantacowboy]

Which rushing title should Zeke return?

I would return both of them for an NFC title game appearance. His addition made no difference to the team. We could run the ball with or without him. The re-tread McFadden ran for 1k yards the previous season behind that great OL.

No RB is worth the 4th overall pick. It was bad value and the team agrees, unfortunately its In hindsight.

 

[sandbridge77]

Because we missed the playoffs by one game. Zeke plays 6 games we win at least one more.

And I never said "anyone". If you’re going to lie, let’s just

Because we missed the playoffs by one game. Zeke plays 6 games we win at least one more.

And I never said "anyone". If your going to lie, lets just move on.

Sorry you can’t imply his success was the result of his o line then blame him for a bad year because he wasn’t available for 6 games, mutually exclusive concepts.

 

[CATCH17]

I would return both of them for an NFC title game appearance. His addition made no difference to the team. We could run the ball with or without him. The re-tread McFadden ran for 1k yards the previous season behind that great OL.

No RB is worth the 4th overall pick. It was bad value and the team agrees, unfortunately its In hindsight.

I’d take Adrian Peterson but that’s about it in the last 20 years.

If Romo had stayed healthy though and won a title I think Zeke would have been worth it.

Zeke was amazing when he could outrun the whole defense.

A lot of backs have power or speed but he had both.

 

[CowboyRoy]

Sorry you can’t imply his success was the result of his o line then blame him for a bad year because he wasn’t available for 6 games, mutually exclusive concepts.

It wasnt a bad years we had 9 wins despite his suspension. We were one game from making the playoffs. If you think Zeke is great then you would agree that Zeke playing in 6 more games would have resulted in at least one more win. Its common sense.

And if you remember that year it was the first year that Zeke came in out of shape and fat. Its when all the fat jokes started.

 

[starfan1]

I’d take Adrian Peterson but that’s about it in the last 20 years.

If Romo had stayed healthy though and won a title I think Zeke would have been worth it.

Zeke was amazing when he could outrun the whole defense.

A lot of backs have power or speed but he had both.

he did it to himself when he had a choice to avoid contact he didnt always do that early on and it took a toll.

 

[starfan1]

It wasnt a bad years we had 9 wins despite his suspension. We were one game from making the playoffs. If you think Zeke is great then you would agree that Zeke playing in 6 more games would have resulted in at least one more win. Its common sense.

And if you remember that year it was the first year that Zeke came in out of shape and fat. Its when all the fat jokes started.

was that also the beginning of Tyrons missed games? wasnt that the year of the famous Chaz green game? i think leary had also left that year and that had an impact

 

[CowboyRoy]

was that also the beginning of Tyrons missed games? wasnt that the year of the famous Chaz green game? i think leary had also left that year and that had an impact

Bravo..............you nailed it!!! Well done. That was the first year of Tyron beginning to crumble and miss games. He was also hurt for another 3 games limping around. The Oline was in shambles with him out of the lineup. Cowboys were woefully unprepared for Zeke's suspension and backup Olineman were terrible. CHAZ GREEN and Garrett. LOL

Smith's 2017 season was marred by multiple injuries, which included to his knee, back, groin, and hip. He started and played in 13 games.

 

[CowboyRoy]

was that also the beginning of Tyrons missed games? wasnt that the year of the famous Chaz green game? i think leary had also left that year and that had an impact

 

[CowboyRoy]

And yes I believe that this may have been the first year of Connor Williams rookie year and he was terrible his rookie year. Line was in shambles.

 

[starfan1]

And yes I believe that this may have been the first year of Connor Williams rookie year and he was terrible his rookie year. Line was in shambles.

I believe Connor Williams was a rookie in 18 but ill double check

 

[Reid1boys]

The team was always in the unt with Zeke... imagine a rookie Dak trying to run things if we didnt have Zeke from day 1 with Dak.

The poster above that said they wanted Ramsey... you think we would have had any more success if we had Ramsey and no Zeke? I do not.

 

[stiletto]

The team was always in the unt with Zeke... imagine a rookie Dak trying to run things if we didnt have Zeke from day 1 with Dak.

The poster above that said they wanted Ramsey... you think we would have had any more success if we had Ramsey and no Zeke? I do not.

I do, the defense would've been a lot better. Zeke wasn't responsible solely for the offense success at first. It was 80% the OL, 10% Dak and 10% Zeke. They certainly benefitted from a Beast Offensilve Line and the defensive would certainly been upgraded during that time with a player like Ramsey. That Oline was locked in, Zeke didn't do anything special with that line. Any quality starting RB wouldve had a good year just like McFadden and Demarco Murray the years before.

 

[RonnieT24]

Drafting Zeke too high came within a play of getting to the NFC championship during his rookie year. I can't help but imagine how different things would be today if the Cowboys had made it past the Packers and that 35 second window. They would have hosted the Falcons the following week.

If Zeke hadn't been suspended in 2017 then the Cowboys would have gone to the playoffs for three consecutive seasons during Zeke's first three seasons, most likely with a divisional playoff game in each. With three chances in a row, I believe they would have gotten one of them.

Zeke wasn't drafted too high, he was resigned too high. Jerry made his greatest mistake when Zeke held out. That was Pollard's rookie season. Pollard ran for over 100 yards in his 3rd career game as a non-starter. Zeke would have shown up in week #4.

Yep.. the number of people who cannot grasp this is astounding. I would even go so far to say that even re-signing Zeke would have been the right move if they were going to keep using him the way the did in 2016-2018. But they changed the offense when they handed the keys to Moore and the results were a lot more fancy passing numbers but less use for a bell cow running back. If they had kept handing him the ball 20+ times a game I think it would have been money well spent. The change in offensive philosophy is what made Zeke's deal a bad one. That and handing the offense over to a guy who only used him as a glorified fullback which led to his body breaking down years sooner than it should have.

 

[RonnieT24]

Yes I have said many times that Zeke's suspension single hadidly ruined that season.

What I said about the line is that you put any good back behind that 2016 line and give him 300 carries and he will be challenging for the rushing title.

What of it?

Murray had 1800 yards behind that line. McFadden had 1400 combined yards behind that line the year prior. 1100 yards rushing and 4.6 ypc in 2015.

Any good back? In 2016 Alfred Morris averaged 3.5 ypc and Darren McFadden 3.6 behind that same line. And I dare say both those guys were at least "good" backs.. though neither was ever what I would consider "great."

And Zeke did not "challenge for the rushing title." He won it by 300 yards while sitting out the last game. He averaged over 5 yards per carry and scored 15 rushing TDs while combining for almost 2000 yards from scrimmage. By comparison you keep bringing up McFadden's 1100 yard 2015 but gloss over his FOUR rushing TDs. Zeke ran for 500 more yards, had more receiving yards and oh yeah.. found pay dirt 4 times more often. All while playing one less game. Even Murray's magnificent 2014 he needed 1 more game and 70 more carries to achieve what he did.. And he ALSO scored three fewer TDs. And did I mention that the 2014 team ran the ball MORE than the 2016 team?

Point being.. it's okay to acknowledge that Zeke was special when he came into the league and thanks to Moore slamming him into the line over and over and making him pass block 40 times a game his body gave out. Both things can be true. If I'm not mistaken during the season that Zeke won his second rushing title in 2018 Joe Looney was the center, some rookie named Connor Williams was the left guard and Tyron missed 3 games and Zack missed 2. Let's quit acting as if the guy was not special his first 4 years in the league because he absolutely was. And we should all be saddened that the Cowboys wasted it. I know I am.

 

[stiletto]

Any good back? In 2016 Alfred Morris averaged 3.5 ypc and Darren McFadden 3.6 behind that same line. And I dare say both those guys were at least "good" backs.. though neither was ever what I would consider "great."

And Zeke did not "challenge for the rushing title." He won it by 300 yards while sitting out the last game. He averaged over 5 yards per carry and scored 15 rushing TDs while combining for almost 2000 yards from scrimmage. By comparison you keep bringing up McFadden's 1100 yard 2015 but gloss over his FOUR rushing TDs. Zeke ran for 500 more yards, had more receiving yards and oh yeah.. found pay dirt 4 times more often. All while playing one less game. Even Murray's magnificent 2014 he needed 1 more game and 70 more carries to achieve what he did.. And he ALSO scored three fewer TDs. And did I mention that the 2014 team ran the ball MORE than the 2016 team?

Point being.. it's okay to acknowledge that Zeke was special when he came into the league and thanks to Moore slamming him into the line over and over and making him pass block 40 times a game his body gave out. Both things can be true. If I'm not mistaken during the season that Zeke won his second rushing title in 2018 Joe Looney was the center, some rookie named Connor Williams was the left guard and Tyron missed 3 games and Zack missed 2. Let's quit acting as if the guy was not special his first 4 years in the league because he absolutely was. And we should all be saddened that the Cowboys wasted it. I know I am.

He WAS NOT special. He was good. Just looked special behind a locked in and Elite Offensive Line. Soon as the line disintegrated, Zeke became a JAG. McFadden/Zeke/Murray all did pretty well with the core offensive line when it was intact. Murray was better than Zeke.