Pollard the Juice Man & Zeke shot man

It's a great 1-2 punch... Kudos to Kellen Moore for sticking with it all game long.. Good of him to notice that pass blocking was not exactly going swell today... but 5 ypc on the ground you can work with. The only complaint I have is that twice in the red zone he went pass happy when the running game was killin it. He just can't help himself. That one after the blocked punt where we threw it on first down then Zeke ran it for 5 or 6 then we threw it again on 3rd was particularly galling. A TD there probably causes them to panic completely.. Holding us to a FG was a clear win for their D. And frankly gave the Rams life they hadn't earned.

agree.

the ground game will win us a lot of games.
 
Not for nothin but I watched Tony Pollard's postgame interview with the Cowboys.com guys. I had never really seen him in street clothes or at least never paid attention but now that I have I see why the Cowboys don't want to run him inside too much. Dude is built like a wide receiver. He's very slender up top. He must a have a huge caboose and thighs to weigh the 210-215 that they list him at. I now suspect that they list him at the higher number just to make him feel better. It also explains why he just doesn't seem to bring much in the way of pass blocking. To be effective pass blocking you have to have the upper body strength to meet the pass rusher. He did run his arse off on his carries yesterday.. Even between the tackles he has shown he will hit it up in there and drive those legs .. I just still don't think he is built for full time duty. Credit to the Cowboys for not asking him to.
 
if…

But he’s gonna be gone after the season.

he’s UFA.

he has a lot of speed.

but he will never be Zeke.

You’re right, he’s 10x the runner Zeke is.

What’s your boy Jaylon Smith up to [buh, thOze tAcklez Tho!!!]?
 
How is 20 carries a game wearing out. RBs are used to this workload. Hes also much bigger than he was a few years ago.

He is not getting enough touches
He’s getting plenty. Needs to work on pass protection too, we’re fortunate Rush held on to the ball on that blown pickup.
 
How is 20 carries a game wearing out. RBs are used to this workload. Hes also much bigger than he was a few years ago.

He is not getting enough touches
Well, it's not just football, but most sports limit players nowadays.

Baseball and their pitch counts. Basketball and their sitting stars that are healthy. It is what it is.

As far as Pollard not getting enough touches, I somewhat agree. But when he misses blocking assignments that get the QB crushed, he's lucky to even see the field.

JMHO
 
I'm just glad to see Zeke finally have another game with 20+ carries. Hopefully he'll break one soon. He came close again today.

Zeke is not breaking anything. He doesn't look slow, he is slow. Even without defenses crowding the line of scrimmage Zeke won't get more than 5 yards inside. He was fed so much he lost his acceleration.
 
If Pollard could improve his pass blocking at all, Zeke would be the bench man

There are 4 phases to a running back:

  1. Protecting the football
  2. Protecting the QB
  3. Running the football
  4. Catching the football
Pollard is more effective than Zeke in 3/4 but if he can't protect the QB he won't be the starter.
 
But does zeke make pollard better.

he pounds those defenders and make them flinch in first half. By the time he has worn the defense down, pollard comes in and his quickness throws off defenders.

pollard came in early in the Washington game and was not very effective.
 

He's (zeke) more reliable.
Key blocks doesn't flair and spark excitement as a wow splash home run TD, but such great responsibility is still so vitally placed on blitz blocking for your QB.

Cannot have a RB over-exposed to so many plays where he is so confused as to where to line up and blown blocking assignments.
And contrary to what some posters think here, TP has had more than just one blown assignment.

That's probably why you have to pick your spots and snaps and plays with Pollard.
That's why at this point - he's more of a spot player and change of pace type.
And terrific in that capacity.

Only other problem with Pollard ?
- Once he does get in the game, defenses will overcommit to stop him early, because
1) they know he's only a ball carrier, his blocking sux
2) they don't fear him in the pass game, he's still a non factor as a receiver
 
There are 4 phases to a running back:

  1. Protecting the football
  2. Protecting the QB
  3. Running the football
  4. Catching the football
Pollard is more effective than Zeke in 3/4 but if he can't protect the QB he won't be the starter.

- Protecting the football - Zeke
- Protecting the QB - Zeke
- Running the football - Pollard
- Catching the football - N/A

-They qualified the Cincy big splash to Pollard as a catch instead of a rushing play, go figure, but otherwise can you recall when was the last time
we saw Pollard make a huge play vs pass ?

- Kellen simply does not a clue of how to scheme and design Pollard in the pass game.
We're horrible with RB screens
 
Zeke is not breaking anything. He doesn't look slow, he is slow. Even without defenses crowding the line of scrimmage Zeke won't get more than 5 yards inside. He was fed so much he lost his acceleration.

Ok then.
 
- Protecting the football - Zeke
- Protecting the QB - Zeke
- Running the football - Pollard
- Catching the football - N/A

-They qualified the Cincy big splash to Pollard as a catch instead of a rushing play, go figure, but otherwise can you recall when was the last time
we saw Pollard make a huge play vs pass ?

- Kellen simply does not a clue of how to scheme and design Pollard in the pass game.
We're horrible with RB screens

THIS
 
- Protecting the football - Zeke
- Protecting the QB - Zeke
- Running the football - Pollard
- Catching the football - N/A

-They qualified the Cincy big splash to Pollard as a catch instead of a rushing play, go figure, but otherwise can you recall when was the last time
we saw Pollard make a huge play vs pass ?

- Kellen simply does not a clue of how to scheme and design Pollard in the pass game.
We're horrible with RB screens
Look, Zeke’s better at protecting the football? Since when?
 

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