The Ezekiel Elliott Factor - The Film

[Sydla]

Cowboys 2016 Season:The Ezekiel Elliot Factor Pt 1 - The Numbers

First off, I should say that I was on record before the draft as wanting Jalen Ramsey over Ezekiel Elliott. I have entrenched myself firmly in the "anyone can run behind this line" camp as well as in the"give me Paul Perkins in the 4th over Elliott in the 1st" camp. But there is a groundswell of opinion among Cowboys fans that Elliott at pick number four is a waste of value and that those who claim Elliott will restore Dallas to the glory of 2014's running game are simply basing their beliefs on hope and moonshine.

...

In 2014, the Cowboys had 170 such attempts averaging 4.64 yards per carry. The 2015 Cowboys had 134 such attempts for 4.77 yards per carry. But before we grant victory to those who claim the pick was a waste, we should examine more closely. Darren McFadden carried 72 of those running plays for a meager 4.01 yards per attempt. Furthermore, if you examine the whole team after Joseph Randle(who only played six games) it becomes downright ugly: 73 rushes for 4.08 yards per carry, while McFadden had 54 of those for 3.9 yards per carry.

By comparison, Murray had 143 of Dallas's 170 first down/first half carries for 4.72 yards per carry. Murray made his stable of running backs better, McFadden made his worse. Please note that I am not trying to take away from the job McFadden did, and I am certainly not suggesting the Cowboys should have signed Murray, but there is a clear drop off in running performance that would affect the entire team. Alfred Morris, by the way, had 75 first down/first half rushes and averaged 3.32 yards per carry. Granted that was with Washington, but there's no reason to believe he's a savior here either.

Part 1:
http://www.bloggingtheboys.com/2016...e-numbers?_ga=1.90014354.824703841.1446514190

Cowboys 2016 Season: The Ezekiel Elliott Factor Pt 2 - The Film

After watching multiple runs of Elliott, however, I began to notice something. He has amazing vision. Yes, he has excellent speed. Yes, he has decent burst, (but again, we'll come back to that). But Elliott hit hole after hole with devastating timing and at full speed. I began to realize he was understanding the game at a level we rarely see from a running back.

Part 2:
http://www.bloggingtheboys.com/2016...ason-the-ezekiel-elliott-factor-pt-2-the-film

You can't compare 2014 with Romo and Dez to 2015 without Romo and Dez. The author casually mentions it, says he can't really account for it and then blows past it to reach conclusions.

 

[HellCrowe]

You can't compare 2014 with Romo and Dez to 2015 without Romo and Dez. The author casually mentions it, says he can't really account for it and then blows past it to reach conclusions.

Take what you want from the article. Still shows stat guys what they want as well as film for the need to see to believe guys. Everyone either likes or dislikes the pick. How can you not be excited though? Even a smidgen after reading this?

 

[SilverStarCowboy]

Extraordinary, his floor is one of the highest you've seen. We need clips of all his blocks where he excels as well.

 

[BrAinPaiNt]

I don't see it that way. Common sense would suggest to me that the chances of Tony being healthy the entire season are not a guarantee. Same can be said, to a lessor extent, where Dez is concerned. That is going to impact what this offense does, and by definition, how much of an effect Elliott has on this Offense IMO.

Common Sense tells me that even if Tony and Dez goes down...Zeke would still out perform the numbers that the RBs put up in dallas last year and especially in TDs.

But don't mind me today...I am bored as heck and having fun.

 

[ABQCOWBOY]

Common Sense tells me that even if Tony and Dez goes down...Zeke would still out perform the numbers that the RBs put up in dallas last year and especially in TDs.

But don't mind me today...I am bored as heck and having fun.

If we are only talking about the numbers the RBs put up and not that actual success of the offense and team, that's possible but what would be the point? The reasoning behind the pick is to improve us but if that doesn't happen, then that's going to be a problem.

A lot depends, IMO, on the health of Tony and Dez. JMO

 

[Scandri100]

The scary thing is I looked backed at Murray's highlights and Ezekiel looks 10x better than him.

 

[HellCrowe]

The scary thing is I looked backed at Murray's highlights and Ezekiel looks 10x better than him.

Easy to say since he is the future but I like where you're going with that. Lol. Our offense will be hard to reckon with and we get extra help to keep Romo up right.

 

[agorr101]

If we are only talking about the numbers the RBs put up and not that actual success of the offense and team, that's possible but what would be the point? The reasoning behind the pick is to improve us but if that doesn't happen, then that's going to be a problem.

A lot depends, IMO, on the health of Tony and Dez. JMO

If Tony Romo is injured, it's highly unlikely the team makes the playoffs regardless of who they picked at 4.

 

[HellCrowe]

If Tony Romo is injured, it's highly unlikely the team makes the playoffs regardless of who they picked at 4.

I'm liking our chances better of that not happening now.

 

[VirusX]

Murray isn't 4.38 on the football field

Time will tell how football fast Zeke is in the nfl

Based on all of the games I've watched. The dude is just as fast in pads as he is without. I am willing to bet he still runs 4.4 - 4.5 in full pads.

The good thing abou Zeke is he doesnt always go full speed. He is deceptive in the fact that he has that extra gear that can make you take a bag angle.

 

[btcutter]

Easy to get excited with this kid. But I am trying to temper my expectations. Emmitt didn't break 1000 yds in his rookie season. Nate said it best..... It'll take a few games for Zeke to adjust to the OL and OL to him.

 

[ABQCOWBOY]

If Tony Romo is injured, it's highly unlikely the team makes the playoffs regardless of who they picked at 4.

That may or may not be true, however, the point was that there is no proof of the earlier statements. If you would like me to say the same about another player, I am happy to do that.

 

[DFWJC]

He has one of the highest wonderlic scores for a RB.

I think he has THE highest at RB

 

[Sydla]

Take what you want from the article. Still shows stat guys what they want as well as film for the need to see to believe guys. Everyone either likes or dislikes the pick. How can you not be excited though? Even a smidgen after reading this?

But the stats still were accumulated in a season with Romo and Dez and a season without Romo and Dez. So it's an incomplete, at best, or inaccurate, at worst, comparison.

As I have said, I think Elliott is a very fine player and will do very well here. But I also believe there were a handful of TBs in this class that would do well here as well with this OL and as such, we didn't need to pay a premium for a TB.

 

[dfense]

Only thing that worries me is his speed..Demarco murray ran a 4.38 compared to Ezekiel's 4.47

It's funny, despite his 4.3 speed, DeMarco didn't have a 50+ run in 2014.

 

[Scandri100]

But the stats still were accumulated in a season with Romo and Dez and a season without Romo and Dez. So it's an incomplete, at best, or inaccurate, at worst, comparison.

As I have said, I think Elliott is a very fine player and will do very well here. But I also believe there were a handful of TBs in this class that would do well here as well with this OL and as such, we didn't need to pay a premium for a TB.

Elliott is nowhere near the talent of a Todd Gurley, we had no choice but to take him since he was the most valuable player at #4 in this horrible draft class...Elliott would of been a high second rounder in any other draft.

 

[btcutter]

It's funny, despite his 4.3 speed, DeMarco didn't have a 50+ run in 2014.

He tends to trip himself in wide open fields.

 

[Scandri100]

I still think he's a better player than Demarco Murray and will excel with this o-line.

 

[DFWJC]

It's funny, despite his 4.3 speed, DeMarco didn't have a 50+ run in 2014.

Pretty sure Murray was more like a 4.55 guy by the time we got to 2014

anyway, in his youth his official time was 4.41...though I did see some carry him at 4.37--which is pretty darn fast

 

[HellCrowe]

But the stats still were accumulated in a season with Romo and Dez and a season without Romo and Dez. So it's an incomplete, at best, or inaccurate, at worst, comparison.

As I have said, I think Elliott is a very fine player and will do very well here. But I also believe there were a handful of TBs in this class that would do well here as well with this OL and as such, we didn't need to pay a premium for a TB.

The best we can do is compare seasons as not every season is the same. You can go from 11-5 to 4-12 from one season to another due to just health alone. However, you talk about impact and safe pick and sheme wise, what Zeke provides for this team out weigh alot of the cons many bring up. We should do a compare and contrast diagram or ven diagram. When people say Zeke checks all of the boxes, he does.

Checked list
- fast
- quick
- smart
- can block
- an extra blocker for Romo
- fits our scheme
- keeps the offense in longer and the defense fresher
- size for the position
- ran and put up numbers with the best defenses in college
- motivated
- highly liked
- will be a favorite and sell jerseys
- very minimal background red flag
- healthy
- run style promotes longevity compared to a RB like Murray
- good upbringing

I can keep going

Compared to
- not worth the #4 pick because he is a RB because we have to wait for that outcome.

Like I mentioned, I can't wait for the season to start and for everyone to get behind the pick and beat to the drum of Zeke Elliott. Lol