Twitter: Most rushing yards per attempt

[pansophy]

Rushes for those players

Pollard: 119
Taylor: 270
Chubb: 190

Easier to do in a complementary role. What Taylor is doing is amazing considering his workload.

This. People forget fans chasing Emmitt out of the building because Troy Hambrick was getting 5.1 YPC in a similar complementary role. When he became the main guy those numbers dropped to 3.5 YPC. Even Hambrick said he was surprised how much harder the running was as the feature back.

 

[Aviano90]

This. People forget fans chasing Emmitt out of the building because Troy Hambrick was getting 5.1 YPC in a similar complementary role. When he became the main guy those numbers dropped to 3.5 YPC. Even Hambrick said he was surprised how much harder the running was as the feature back.

I remember when fans wanted to chase Randle and DMC off after 2015 and we had a top 10 rushing attack. There was no mention of our QBs sucking or the WR1 missing/playing injured the entire year. We just had to spend #4 pick the following year for a generational running back. But when he posts 4 ypc, it’s OK. We would rather keep pounding that rock inefficiently instead of utilizing the player currently performing at a higher level.

 

[Proof]

The fact that JT is doing it as the only weapon on that Colts offense is impressive. He’s averaging more YPA than Derrick Henry’s best season and has almost 3x the yards Tony Pollard has.

quenton nelson is a bad man

 

[Proof]

Obviously they wanted something to push out but always a good idea to wait for the entire week to finish before you count "leader" stats.

ehh it’s avgs. not counting stats, not a big deal

 

[Batman1980]

It really is unfortunate that both guys are injured. I would have liked to see if Pollard could handle 25-30 carries. Now the foot injury just makes me nervous.

He's a scatback with a bit of pop to him, not built to handle more than 10-15 touches a game.

 

[visionary]

Yes Pollard is doing well but he wouldn’t last the whole season as the lead bell cow back

my guess is he leaves next year and all of you will see that

 

[RonnieT24]

I remember when fans wanted to chase Randle and DMC off after 2015 and we had a top 10 rushing attack. There was no mention of our QBs sucking or the WR1 missing/playing injured the entire year. We just had to spend #4 pick the following year for a generational running back. But when he posts 4 ypc, it’s OK. We would rather keep pounding that rock inefficiently instead of utilizing the player currently performing at a higher level.

The fallacy in this statement is simply that we do NOT pound the rock.. We run one run play followed by three passes.. Early game defenses are geared to stop the run because teams want you to become one dimensional. By allowing the defense to dictate that you are doing them a huge favor. That's the main reason the Cowboys offense has not been anywhere near the same as it was during the win streak. There is simply no commitment to the run at any point. You have to stick with the run in order to "pound it." What we do is sprinkle in a run here and there and then get mad that it isn't working. Yes Pollard creates an occasional splash play with his speed and that is extremely valuable. But there is valid concern whether he can do that from the jump. He has not shown that in the past and he has come into the game on the first series multiple times this year and not done much more in those instances than Zeke was doing. In his lone start against SF last year he entered the final drive of that game with something like 19 yards on 12 carries. He had two big runs on that drive to get him to better numbers but up to that point he had done nothing on the ground when the defense painted the target on HIS back. And really only got those two big runs in garbage time when the Niners' defense was basically in give up mode because we were up big on them. We can be enamored with the threat of his big plays all we want but when this team is throwing it 70-75% of the time his blocking is an issue no matter how you slice it. Not that he's bad at it but he's not as good as the other guy. I don't know if Pollard would be a better choice to start at this point .. but there are guys who get fired for losing games who don't think he is.. That's good enough for me.

 

[khiladi]

After 5 years of giving any good QB the type of looks to make them lick their chops, Zeke’s performance is now, particularly with the injury, exposing how mediocre this QB is. Actually, you can also count the beginning of this season in this period, when Zeke was averaging close to 6 YPC, and wasn’t fumbling through ball. Talk about a waste of a short SB window for this QB project..

Taylor is essentially proving that a good OL and RG is why the Cowboys were winning since 2016, irrespective of the QB.

I was saying in 2019, they basically were turning Zeke into a pass blocking back to pad Dak’s stats, which is why the offense completely stalled. And then Moore ran the ball against the Rams and Commanders, and we won the games without any problems. The Rams game was the most impressive of the season, probably most impressive in Dak’s time here, and AD couldn’t even sniff the backfield and this was the game that ended the horrendous play by “Air Dak”.

 

[Aviano90]

The fallacy in this statement is simply that we do NOT pound the rock.. We run one run play followed by three passes.. Early game defenses are geared to stop the run because teams want you to become one dimensional. By allowing the defense to dictate that you are doing them a huge favor. That's the main reason the Cowboys offense has not been anywhere near the same as it was during the win streak. There is simply no commitment to the run at any point. You have to stick with the run in order to "pound it." What we do is sprinkle in a run here and there and then get mad that it isn't working. Yes Pollard creates an occasional splash play with his speed and that is extremely valuable. But there is valid concern whether he can do that from the jump. He has not shown that in the past and he has come into the game on the first series multiple times this year and not done much more in those instances than Zeke was doing. In his lone start against SF last year he entered the final drive of that game with something like 19 yards on 12 carries. He had two big runs on that drive to get him to better numbers but up to that point he had done nothing on the ground when the defense painted the target on HIS back. And really only got those two big runs in garbage time when the Niners' defense was basically in give up mode because we were up big on them. We can be enamored with the threat of his big plays all we want but when this team is throwing it 70-75% of the time his blocking is an issue no matter how you slice it. Not that he's bad at it but he's not as good as the other guy. I don't know if Pollard would be a better choice to start at this point .. but there are guys who get fired for losing games who don't think he is.. That's good enough for me.

I would take 3 RBs averaging 5 yards a carry rather than 1 getting 4 ypc. This assumption we need one RB to consistently be able to run 20-30 times per game is eye rolling to me. I will take 3 giving me 10 carries each if we are more efficient at it.

 

[JoeyBoy718]

quenton nelson is a bad man

Is he light years better than Zack Martin? Then what’s Zeke’s excuse?

 

[Proof]

Is he light years better than Zack Martin? Then what’s Zeke’s excuse?

i have no idea. extremely frustrating

 

[CATCH17]

Yes Pollard is doing well but he wouldn’t last the whole season as the lead bell cow back

my guess is he leaves next year and all of you will see that

This applies to nearly every back who isn’t on a rookie deal.

Zeke playing is great and all but it’s made the team worse. He might as well not be playing.

 

[Proof]

I would take 3 RBs averaging 5 yards a carry rather than 1 getting 4 ypc. This assumption we need one RB to consistently be able to run 20-30 times per game is eye rolling to me. I will take 3 giving me 10 carries each if we are more efficient at it.

everyone would. obviously. the idea isn’t that playing limited snaps = more success, it’s that playing limited snaps behind a guy grinding things out = success (in theory)

 

[CATCH17]

He's a scatback with a bit of pop to him, not built to handle more than 10-15 touches a game.

There is a lot of guys who are built like him who are very good backs.

He’s bigger than Jamaal Charles, Chris Johnson, and Christian McCaffrey.

Cowboys fans are just used to a certain style of runner but there are a ton of guys like Pollard who have had success in this league.

He can catch like a wideout, run at a high level inside and outside the tackles, and he’s average at worst as a blocker.

 

[Aviano90]

everyone would. obviously. the idea isn’t that playing limited snaps = more success, it’s that playing limited snaps behind a guy grinding things out = success (in theory)

In 1990s, I would agree. Are “bell cows” winning SBs still? I would have to look but I can’t recall the last bell cow to win off the top of my head.

 

[Hardline]

quenton nelson is a bad man

He was my favorite player coming out of that draft. I really wanted to pair him up with Zack Martin.

 

[CATCH17]

But, But , if Tony’s in there Dak gets killed cause he can’t block

Another overblown narrative

Very.. Especially when teams aren’t blitzing.

 

[visionary]

This applies to nearly every back who isn’t on a rookie deal.

Zeke playing is great and all but it’s made the team worse. He might as well not be playing.

 

[CATCH17]

The only thing I agree with from this book you just wrote is the cowboys need to run more and zeke getting goal line carries. I think you don’t give pollard enough credit in terms of his abilities in short yardage and between the tackles but I’ve watched you defend zeke for awhile now

I played and I get the whole heart discussion but I also know how important winning is and putting your best players out there to get the job done

no ones talking benching zeke but the ration of carries needs to he slighted more towards the more productive back which is pollard

Exactly…


Also, Pollard is a 6’0 210-215 pound back. He’s a good size RB.

Does he finish runs like Zeke? No… But he’s still elite when it comes to Yards After Contact. He’s not some easy guy to bring down.

These are narratives people had when he was drafted that just aren’t true today.

Pollard needs 70% of the work.

 

[xwalker]

Some don't understand that. Maybe they are not old enough to remember Troy Hambrick, who averaged 5.1 per carry Emmitt's last year here, was given the lead role and averaged 3.5.

Maybe Pollard would fare better, but there are a lot of things that come with being the lead back that make it tougher. Not being as fresh, being on the field in short-yardage situations, wear and tear (injury). The role he plays here might be the best fit for him. Maybe it's not, but it's really hard to say without seeing him being that lead back.

Pollard would be good as a starter if used similar to Karma (Saints) or Aaron Jones (GB).
- Kamara never has more had than 200 rushing attempts per season.
- Aaron Jones is has never had more than 236 rushing attempts in a season and is normally below 200.

Pair Pollard up with a hammer like AJ Dillon is paired with Aaron Jones in GB.

With the Cowboys it's the opposite. The starter is the battering ram and Pollard is the big play RB.