News: Should the Cowboys Seriously Consider Moving on From Ezekiel Elliott?

[big dog cowboy]

Should the Dallas Cowboys Seriously Consider Moving on From Ezekiel Elliott?
by Rick Thomas on December 8, 2020

The Dallas Cowboys are experiencing one of the worst seasons in franchise history. Through 11 games, they hold a dismal 3-8 record, with virtually no postseason hopes. Pundits are eager to assign blame, pointing fingers at everyone from owner Jerry Jones to coach Mike McCarthy. A significant number of commentators have also highlighted Ezekiel Elliott’s poor year.

Some analysts have even suggested that it’s time for the Cowboys to move on from their star running back. Let’s look at Elliott’s NFL career, his poor performance this year, and whether Dallas needs to consider letting him go.

Dallas selected Elliott with the fourth overall pick of the 2016 NFL Draft. At the time, he was considered among the best running back prospects of the last decade. Not only was he fast and strong, but he also had a preternatural gift for pulling down passes — and blocking opponents. Those high expectations proved totally justified during Elliott’s rookie year.

That season, he made 322 rushing attempts for 1,631 total yards (best in the NFL), with 15 touchdowns and 95 first downs. He compiled a whopping 108.7 rushing yards per game, while also catching 32 passes for 363 passing yards. His dominant season earned Elliott both Pro Bowl and First-team All-Pro selections.

Elliott’s second season was marred by a six-game personal conduct violation. He bounced back in years three and four, racking up 1,434 and 1,457 rushing yards, respectively. The 2018 season also saw Elliott catch a career-high 77 passes, for 567 yards and an 81.1% catch percentage. Elliott earned his second and third Pro Bowl selections in those years, while once again leading the NFL in rushing yards in 2018.

Elliott‘s numbers this season have gone down significantly from his prior years. Through 11 games he has totaled just 707 rushing yards. He’s rushing for just 64.3 yards per game, down over 20 yards from his performance just last season. Meanwhile, he’s making just two less rushing attempts per game — not enough to account for such a big drop-off in performance.

Elliott’s yards per touch stat is also at a career-low at just 4.4 yards per touch, meaning he’s not making up for his lost rushing efficiency when it comes to receiving. That fact is borne out by Elliott’s 72.2% catch percentage, which is down significantly from his numbers in both 2018 and 2019. Meanwhile, Elliott has already fumbled the ball six times, which matches his career-worst total.

Read the rest of the story:

https://www.sportscasting.com/shoul...n-from-ezekiel-elliott/?ref=NEWSandRUMORS.com

 

[RonnieT24]

LMAO.. "he is running behind would be practice squad guys with bums at QB.." What's wrong with him? Anything for click bait I guess.

 

[EST_1986]

Quickly.

 

[Whyjerry]

Never give a RB a second contract. In the modern NFL what backs have been productive at 29/30 years old? AP and Gore?That’s it. RBs is not a position championship teams build around anymore. There is a reason for it. The typical window for a great back is 4 years. Jerry was beyond stupid to give Zeke that deal. Layer in Zeke’s character issues and it is even worse.

 

[CWR]

Unless Zeke can find second gear hes not the same threat he was before. I appreciate Zeke, but I'd be lying to myself if I didn't believe we could find similar production at a fraction of the cost.

 

[GMO415]

Give him one more season and then don't let the door hit ya where the good Lord split ya.

 

[aria]

Here comes the parade of excuses for the Ewok. Why don’t you supporters just say “if he has a top 5-10 O line then he will be ok, just like any other RB in the league would be”?

At first it was JG’s fault he wasn’t used correctly even though he never would have had those rushing titles if it weren’t for JG. Then MM was going to save the day and finally use him like he “should” be used and now MM is the excuse. Then when some of us were preaching that his success post 2016 was mainly due to play calling and the O line, his supporters said the O line was over rated even though the stats said otherwise but NOW the O line is a valid excuse (although it wasn’t for every other RB in the league the past 4 years).

Another classic excuse was that the suspension was so distracting (even though he was out partying while being investigated and assaulted a DJ after the suspension).

Then it was he had to carry Dak.

Then it was his contract negotiations were “stressful” and he didn’t participate in training camp (because hanging out at the beach in Cabo while he voluntarism decided to skip training camp while his teammates are working hard is stressful)

Then it was COVID (even though he was getting “low key faded” aka getting high and drunk while “recovering”)

It literally never ends with the excuses for this chump. Sometime soon I may actually start a thread and list every common excuse I’ve heard for this guy, I bet I easily come up with 20. I don’t think there’s another NFL player that has brought so much upon himself but gets so much slack by his fan base and owner. No wonder we suck.

 

[DuncanIso]

Never give a RB a second contract. In the modern NFL what backs have been productive at 29/30 years old? AP and Gore?That’s it. RBs is not a position championship teams build around anymore. There is a reason for it. The typical window for a great back is 4 years. Jerry was beyond stupid to give Zeke that deal. Layer in Zeke’s character issues and it is even worse.

Ask Emmitt about that...

 

[jterrell]

You can argue he should have been traded as he held out.
You can argue he should not have been extended.
MUCH harder to argue we should pay 24.5M in dead cap fees to cut him now.
It is far cheaper to flip restructure his cap hit down and ride out the 2 years of overpay.

Zeke's cap hit next year can be about 6M.

OR you cut him, go find another RB(who can run, block, and catch) and eat 24.5M???
This isn't hard.
You extend him and eat his cap cost when the cap recovers from COVID in 2022 or 2023.

 

[CowboyRoy]

Should the Dallas Cowboys Seriously Consider Moving on From Ezekiel Elliott?
by Rick Thomas on December 8, 2020

The Dallas Cowboys are experiencing one of the worst seasons in franchise history. Through 11 games, they hold a dismal 3-8 record, with virtually no postseason hopes. Pundits are eager to assign blame, pointing fingers at everyone from owner Jerry Jones to coach Mike McCarthy. A significant number of commentators have also highlighted Ezekiel Elliott’s poor year.

Some analysts have even suggested that it’s time for the Cowboys to move on from their star running back. Let’s look at Elliott’s NFL career, his poor performance this year, and whether Dallas needs to consider letting him go.

Dallas selected Elliott with the fourth overall pick of the 2016 NFL Draft. At the time, he was considered among the best running back prospects of the last decade. Not only was he fast and strong, but he also had a preternatural gift for pulling down passes — and blocking opponents. Those high expectations proved totally justified during Elliott’s rookie year.

That season, he made 322 rushing attempts for 1,631 total yards (best in the NFL), with 15 touchdowns and 95 first downs. He compiled a whopping 108.7 rushing yards per game, while also catching 32 passes for 363 passing yards. His dominant season earned Elliott both Pro Bowl and First-team All-Pro selections.

Elliott’s second season was marred by a six-game personal conduct violation. He bounced back in years three and four, racking up 1,434 and 1,457 rushing yards, respectively. The 2018 season also saw Elliott catch a career-high 77 passes, for 567 yards and an 81.1% catch percentage. Elliott earned his second and third Pro Bowl selections in those years, while once again leading the NFL in rushing yards in 2018.

Elliott‘s numbers this season have gone down significantly from his prior years. Through 11 games he has totaled just 707 rushing yards. He’s rushing for just 64.3 yards per game, down over 20 yards from his performance just last season. Meanwhile, he’s making just two less rushing attempts per game — not enough to account for such a big drop-off in performance.

Elliott’s yards per touch stat is also at a career-low at just 4.4 yards per touch, meaning he’s not making up for his lost rushing efficiency when it comes to receiving. That fact is borne out by Elliott’s 72.2% catch percentage, which is down significantly from his numbers in both 2018 and 2019. Meanwhile, Elliott has already fumbled the ball six times, which matches his career-worst total.

Read the rest of the story:

https://www.sportscasting.com/shoul...n-from-ezekiel-elliott/?ref=NEWSandRUMORS.com

Zeke gives very few if any advantages for this team. And he definitely isnt worth 15 million per year. He isnt even a good leader.

I will go as far as to say that based on his salary, his off field antics, lack of leadership, and the FO and coaching staffs pressure to use him as much as possible hurts this offense, Zeke actually hurts this team and offense.

We can actually get better production, bigger plays, and a much more diverse skill set out of a RB by committee. And it will be 1/3 of the price.

When you look at the type of high octane, big play, passing offense that we now have in Dallas with Dak, a plodding RB like Zeke is the completely WRONG type of RB you need in this offense. And to make it that much worse, this team is better off with Dak on short yardage and GL situations. The need for a power back is somewhat diminished.

 

[JoeKing]

The Cowboys should consider moving, PERIOD! They are quickly wearing out their welcome in Dallas.

 

[Bullflop]

I'd understand if we decided to go either way, although, I think the Dallas FO might choose to give Zeke another year. We'll see. To be totally honest, I do believe he could be replaced but whether it helped our cause or not is anyone's guess. I expect he'll be here another year but no more.

 

[LACowboysFan1]

Unless Zeke can find second gear hes not the same threat he was before. I appreciate Zeke, but I'd be lying to myself if I didn't believe we could find similar production at a fraction of the cost.

Seems I recall the same thing was said about McFadden over Murray, but then Murray had 1,845 yards McFadden followed that with 1,089 yards. Similar production at a lower price?
Hardly.

That's always been the case at Dallas, the back up gets lots of love - until he is the starter and doesn't do great, then HIS backup gets lots of love.

Never ends...

 

[DuncanIso]

Unless Zeke can find second gear hes not the same threat he was before. I appreciate Zeke, but I'd be lying to myself if I didn't believe we could find similar production at a fraction of the cost.

then why haven't we before?

TonyD
Emmitt
Zeke

And a bunch of wanna be RB's in between.

 

[LACowboysFan1]

Give him one more season and then don't let the door hit ya where the good Lord split ya.

If he doesn't return to form, I agree, though it'd still cost the Cowboys a lot of money.

If he does return to form, would you still kick him off the team? Be honest now...

 

[CWR]

then why haven't we before?

TonyD
Emmitt
Zeke

And a bunch of wanna be RB's in between.

Zeke couldn't hold Emmitts jock strap at this point. Its not even a comparison anymore.

 

[CowboyRoy]

Here comes the parade of excuses for the Ewok. Why don’t you supporters just say “if he has a top 5-10 O line then he will be ok, just like any other RB in the league would be”?

At first it was JG’s fault he wasn’t used correctly even though he never would have had those rushing titles if it weren’t for JG. Then MM was going to save the day and finally use him like he “should” be used and now MM is the excuse. Then when some of us were preaching that his success post 2016 was mainly due to play calling and the O line, his supporters said the O line was over rated even though the stats said otherwise but NOW the O line is a valid excuse (although it wasn’t for every other RB in the league the past 4 years).

Another classic excuse was that the suspension was so distracting (even though he was out partying while being investigated and assaulted a DJ after the suspension).

Then it was he had to carry Dak.

Then it was his contract negotiations were “stressful” and he didn’t participate in training camp (because hanging out at the beach in Cabo while he voluntarism decided to skip training camp while his teammates are working hard is stressful)

Then it was COVID (even though he was getting “low key faded” aka getting high and drunk while “recovering”)

It literally never ends with the excuses for this chump. Sometime soon I may actually start a thread and list every common excuse I’ve heard for this guy, I bet I easily come up with 20. I don’t think there’s another NFL player that has brought so much upon himself but gets so much slack by his fan base and owner. No wonder we suck.

The trolls excuses never cease. The Oline is now an excuse for Zeke, but was never an excuse for Dak.

If you recall, it was Dak's fault all the sacks. Wasnt the line.

 

[CWR]

If he doesn't return to form, I agree, though it'd still cost the Cowboys a lot of money.

If he does return to form, would you still kick him off the team? Be honest now...

No way. He was special. He isn't anymore, but he is young and maybe he can be again. If he becomes the threat he once was again, Id happily welcome him back.

 

[Einstein]

Same guys that say you should never give a RB a 2nd contract will tell you they'd take Alvin Kamara in a heartbeat (guy is on his second contract)...

 

[MyFairLady]

Jerry says don't worry gang. We were just unlucky. Everyone is gonna come back next year and take it way more seriously. Next year is our year to shine. At least thats what Jerry says.