The defense will be better with Zeke

[FuzzyLumpkins]

Like I said, who got drafted where doesn't change the truth. And it won't change what wins in the NFL.

I just hope we don't turn into the Detroit Lions of the 1990s, when their fans cared more about Barry Sanders' stats than they did about winning football games.

What people fail to argue is Zeke can help in the passing game. What separates him from the other backs in the draft is his ability in the passing game after all. All I hear is how he is going to rejuvenate our running game.

If he is going to be a difference maker it is going to be via the pass. Linehan did work with Marshall Faulk so the formations and plays are in the playbook.

 

[Idgit]

What people fail to argue is Zeke can help in the passing game. What separates him from the other backs in the draft is his ability in the passing game after all. All I hear is how he is going to rejuvenate our running game.

If he is going to be a difference maker it is going to be via the pass. Linehan did work with Marshall Faulk so the formations and plays are in the playbook.

I'd heard the Faulk comparisons, but good reference with the Linehan connection.

The three things I like most about EE are the no fumbles, the passing routes, and the no mistakes in pass protection. He's fun to watch as a runner, too, but that's secondary. He's got a shot to be that special player we're looking for.

 

[PBCCowboy]

Is it just me or did the Cowboys draft a blue chip defensive back in 2012 that made all kinds of difference?
Oh wait,they tried that already,did not work as desired.
Jalen Ramsey would only have had an impact if the other team made a mistake.How many picks did Jones had last year?
A donut.He played good,but was not a difference maker.Could have been if the team had scored more,but last year they were riddled with injuries,so he gets a reprieve.
With a dominant running game you dictate policy to other teams.That is what Zeke will do for you.
The 2014 formula was just that.Run the ball,wear out the opposing defense,build a lead,turn the other team one dimensional,blitz them.
12-4 was the end result.

 

[FuzzyLumpkins]

I'd heard the Faulk comparisons, but good reference with the Linehan connection.

The three things I like most about EE are the no fumbles, the passing routes, and the no mistakes in pass protection. He's fun to watch as a runner, too, but that's secondary. He's got a shot to be that special player we're looking for.

Linehan and Garrett have a great opportunity to repair their reputation with the fan base. If they take the Dunbar packages and expand on them then they are likely to be hailed as geniuses.

I've been wanting us to run our offense like that ever since Andy Reid and Sean Payton eviscerated Brady James most of the last decade.

 

[Hardline]

consider me laughing in your face that you are a scout. And laughing at your explanation that guys will do nothing more than make rosters and play in a year.

You really wouldnt be laughing in my face. you are a fraud that has never gotten anywhere close to a football field sideline. I played the game for 8 years and have forgotten more about football than you ever knew.

 

[Idgit]

Linehan and Garrett have a great opportunity to repair their reputation with the fan base. If they take the Dunbar packages and expand on them then they are likely to be hailed as geniuses.

I've been wanting us to run our offense like that ever since Andy Reid and Sean Payton eviscerated Brady James most of the last decade.

With this OL, and a guy who can legitimately run between the tackles as easily as split out wide, it really does make teams pick a poison. Bring in the DB, and we run, bring in the LB and he better be able to cover. Makes me wish we'd found that speed WR opposite Dez to take the top off the defense at the same time. Who knows, maybe Butler does that with Romo back in the lineup.

 

[PBCCowboy]

As I said, the 2014 season was an anomaly. They played over their heads. 2015 was a return to earth.

But if you want to believe the 2015 defense fell apart because they lacked the confidence in Darren McFadden and now will be re-invigorated by seeing Elliott at TB, have at it.

I reject that argument.
We lost our stud receiver in week 1.
We lost our starting QB in week 2.
I can make the argument that they were ill prepared to deal with such setbacks,but I would not say 4-12 is the norm.
That is short sighted and unsound.

 

[CWR]

What if I told you that time of possession stats between 2014 and 2015 weren't all that much different?

Initially that blew my mind. But when I sit back on it I can remember alot of long drives ending in field goals and no points.

Our offense didnt help the defense though. We didnt build leads and opposing teams were rarely put in bad positions. They didnt have to take many chances because our offense put very little pressure on anyone to keep pace. Its not that hard to make safe decisions and live to play another day when you know the opposing team isnt going to put up many points.

Im not apologizing for the defense though, they seemed to fall apart at the worst times.

 

[CWR]

What people fail to argue is Zeke can help in the passing game. What separates him from the other backs in the draft is his ability in the passing game after all. All I hear is how he is going to rejuvenate our running game.

If he is going to be a difference maker it is going to be via the pass. Linehan did work with Marshall Faulk so the formations and plays are in the playbook.

Yes I was listening to one of my many podcast today and they were saying Zeke ran better routes and looked better than any receiver in the draft. He will be a huge asset there and his blocking skills are a neccessity with old Romo.

 

[PBCCowboy]

Elite, how, are the cowboys running and read option offense....Ramsey is a press cover corner in the NFL

Like Claiborne was?
We don't know that.
The failure rate at that position is high.
This is an offense oriented league now.Too many rules have changed that favor of the offense.
Too many DBs have been selected early and they have done little.
You may be able to throw a name or two who have been good,but for the most part they have been busts.

 

[Rogerthat12]

I disagree.

I mean with Murray we got to 12 wins. Were there no Murray types in this draft?

And notice his short time frame. 3 years? That's all we care about from the extremely rare top 4 pick this team earns? Yuck.

Context matters! Jerry and company generally believe Romo has a 3-4 year window.

Dane is contextually speaking about said window and the immediate impact of drafting a RB with Zeke's skill set and how it will help the team overall.

Only a poor interpretation of Dane would lead one to assume Zeke only has three productive years for the Cowboys, he was speaking to the Romo window as consistently repeated by the Cowboy FO.

A CB even of Ramsey's skill is not going to provide the same type of impact, besides he was not even the best pure corner in this draft, especially at #4.

Booker was coming off a meniscus and although he is a decent prospect, he is not even close to the level of Zeke. Zeke can pass block, catch out of the backfield, destroy people in space and break the game open at any time.

The Cowboys 2014 formula was definitely ball control while dominating TOP while scoring points. Not one or the other but both as TOP is meaningless for this offense if you are not actually scoring points!

The Cowboys dominated TOP in 2014, ranked number 1 and the games that they lost, they also lost TOP.

Zeke can not only carry the load but has the break away ability Murray never had and will offer greater production with respect to scoring actual touchdowns.

This does not mean the defense is intrinsically better to be sure but it certainly benefits the defense if the opposing offense is delegated to the bench most of the game.

Further, if Dallas is leading the game in point production, opposing offenses tend to get pass happy which certainly lends itself to turnovers.

I agree that this does nothing to improve the talent on defense, hopefully we drafted some players and signed Thorton in free agency for that purpose.

However, to say Zeke, with a healthy Romo and Dez Bryant will not have a substantial impact on the team overall is simply stupid given the facts.

 

[AdamJT13]

What are the stats on how well a good running game helps the passing game?

There is very little correlation. If there was much of a correlation, there wouldn't be such a dichotomy between the passing game's correlation to winning (roughly 80 percent) and the running game's correlation to winning (roughly 50 percent).

 

[The Quest for Six]

Like Claiborne was?
We don't know that.
The failure rate at that position is high.
This is an offense oriented league now.Too many rules have changed that favor of the offense.
Too many DBs have been selected early and they have done little.
You may be able to throw a name or two who have been good,but for the most part they have been busts.

maybe you can name those big time offenses that are winning Superbowls, because I see top rated defenses stuffing top rated offenses in Superbowls time and time again

 

[AdamJT13]

If you want to keep going on this feel free you're into week 3. lol

I have been posting about this for a lot longer than three weeks -- more like 17+ years. And it doesn't matter whether I post about it or not, it will still be true. It was true 30 years ago, it was true 20 years ago, it was true 10 years ago, it was true two years ago, it has been true every season for several decades, and it will continue to be true.

Whether I continue to post about it and whether you or anyone else can accept it doesn't change the truth one bit.

 

[zrinkill]

I have been posting about this for a lot longer than three weeks -- more like 17+ years. And it doesn't matter whether I post about it or not, it will still be true. It was true 30 years ago, it was true 20 years ago, it was true 10 years ago, it was true two years ago, it has been true every season for several decades, and it will continue to be true.

Whether I continue to post about it and whether you or anyone else can accept it doesn't change the truth one bit.

Nobody respects your opinion more than me.

But my only point is .......were we a better offense when Emmitt Smith was playing with Aikman and Irvin ....... or could any RB have taken his place?

Because I think Zeke has a chance to be great with Romo and Dez ...... I dont think the same about any of the other RB's on the roster.

 

[AdamJT13]

The Cowboys dominated TOP in 2014, ranked number 1 and the games that they lost, they also lost TOP.

We didn't rank No. 1 in time of possession that season (we were second), and your statement about the games we lost is false -- we lost to San Francisco and Green Bay despite having the advantage in time of possession. (We also beat the Rams and Giants despite losing the TOP battle.)

 

[KJJ]

I have been posting about this for a lot longer than three weeks -- more like 17+ years.

A complete waste of 17+ years. lol

 

[AdamJT13]

Nobody respects your opinion more than me.

But my only point is .......were we a better offense when Emmitt Smith was playing with Aikman and Irvin ....... or could any RB have taken his place?

Because I think Zeke has a chance to be great with Romo and Dez ...... I dont think the same about any of the other RB's on the roster.

When we had Emmitt, we almost always won games when we passed the ball better than our opponent, regardless of whether we ran it better than our opponent. And when we didn't pass it better than the opponent, we usually lost, regardless of how well we (or Emmitt) ran it. In fact, from 1992-95, we had a higher winning percentage when we ran the ball WORSE than our opponent (21-5, .808) than when we ran the ball BETTER than our opponent (38-11, .776). The team that passed better in our games from 1992-95 went 62-13 (.827). The team that ran better went 43-32 (.573). And we went 20-1 in the 21 games with our LOWEST rushing averages during those seasons. Clearly, our games were almost always decided by whether we passed better than our opponent, not whether we ran it better.

But don't confuse a general aspect of the game (rushing success) with a player or position. A running back contributes in the passing game, and a running back can convert on short-yardage situations, which is when rushing success matters the most. Emmitt excelled at pass blocking, catching passes and converting on short yardage, and that certainly helped us win games. As I said before we drafted him and have said since, if Elliott does those things, THOSE will be what can help us win, much more so than how many times he carries the ball or how many yards he gains.

 

[AdamJT13]

A complete waste of 17+ years.

Not really. The truth hasn't changed in those 17 years, and there will always be people who can't accept the truth. It doesn't bother me a bit.

 

[zrinkill]

A running back contributes in the passing game, and a running back can convert on short-yardage situations, which is when rushing success matters the most. Emmitt excelled at pass blocking, catching passes and converting on short yardage, and that certainly helped us win games.

And that what makes some of us ...... not all mind you ...... excited about this pick ....... Elliot was an all around back in college. Great at running, short yardage, catching passes, and pass Blocking.

Thats why I think he will make a huge difference in our offense and give a lot more rest to our Defense.