The Ezekiel Elliott Factor - The Film

[StylisticS]

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.

debateable as it concerns when Elliott would have been drafted.: I think he's better than Gordon and he went in the 1st round.

 

[DFWJC]

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.

This draft was light in the top 5-8 or so, but after that it was fine.
I think Elliott would have gone in the mid 1st round. He had Gurley had almost identical pre-draft prospect grades

 

[HellCrowe]

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.

Lol no choice? Can't hold the jock of Gurley.lol

Alright I'll give you that Gurley has one season in the NFL and did well. I wanted Gurley last year but his running style can keep him on that trend of getting hurt through his career. He relsihes contact and while he (like MBIII) will show up on espn smashing faces, and get everyone hyped like Dwight Howard dunking over someonene, Gurley had to learn to not take uneccesary hits. Compare his college tape to the nfl, he learned quick to avoid contact if it can be avoided. He also had questions about his blocking and receiving skills coming out of college.

So when you say Zeke would've been a 2nd rounder it just sounds uneccesary and have a bitter aura to it. Rams are calling for fans though.

 

[khiladi]

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

Murray had Romo... DMac didn't..

 

[khiladi]

I don't watch college much, but from what little I saw on tape, Zeke can cut like a gazelle and moves in-between the holes fluidly, meaning great vision. He looks patient as well.

Murray did have patience, but the other two..

 

[HellCrowe]

Murray had Romo... DMac didn't..

Valid point. Let's go into the season like we did last year though. Randle Murray Dunbar. I guarantee the impact is in a whole different ball game with Zeke on the head with Dmac and Alfred morris right behind. On top of that scheme fit was the issue with Dmac and you would count on another year where you replace Randle with a 4th round pick? Why not get the top rated and call it a day. He was a top 5 pick on many boards for a reason. That's what we did and who we have and our Offense is already better because of it.

 

[khiladi]

Valid point. Let's go into the season like we did last year though. Randle Murray Dunbar. I guarantee the impact is in a whole different ball game with Zeke on the head with Dmac and Alfred morris right behind. On top of that scheme fit was the issue with Dmac and you would count on another year where you replace Randle with a 4th round pick? Why not get the top rated and call it a day. He was a top 5 pick on many boards for a reason. That's what we did and who we have and our Offense is already better because of it.

Agree..

I'm not knocking the pick. I'm actually excited about it, the more I see of Zeke.

My point was more a comparison between DMac and Murray, as if there was much difference. Teams were just stacking the line in 2015, because of no threat in the passing game.

 

[AsthmaField]

I don't know if I have seen a back in while run as balanced as he does. That balance is what will let him push and then cut upfield with extreme quickness, vision and burst without falling all over himself like McFadden does. I think at the end of the day, that is what really excited them about the pick. It's not just that he is a complete back, but a complete back with a running style that is supremely suited to what they want to run.

What I love most about Elliott as a prospect is his run instincts. That is something that I feel like a RB either has or doesn't have. Emmitt had it in spades and so does Elliott, but not many do to their extent. Watch the video I'm posting and at 52 seconds in notice how low Ezekiel gets when he is changing directions. He lowers his mass, plants and cuts to his left and then immediately lowers, plants and cuts back to his right. It is a thing of beauty.

Really, you can see examples of it throughout the whole video. He just has fantastic run instincts and vision. It isn't something that is taught really but rather something that backs who have it just feel.

Add in his super competitive nature along with all of the other intangible and tangible traits he possesses and IMO, it is easy to see why he was valued so highly by NFL teams.

Note: You might want to turn sound off because of the music... but the video is top notch.

 

[Scandri100]

Gurley reminds me of prime Chris Johnson with power.

 

[wileedog]

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

You left out:
- the secondary still has Church, Wilcox, Mo and Carr starting in it.

 

[JBS]

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.

I've watched a ton of his film...zeke isn't as fast as I expected...doesn't mean he's slow..just not a burner...dude is an anvil though...he runs THROUGH guys

 

[stilltheguru88]

I dont understand how a real fan could think Murray was a 4.38 guy. Smh

 

[VirusX]

I've watched a ton of his film...zeke isn't as fast as I expected...doesn't mean he's slow..just not a burner...dude is an anvil though...he runs THROUGH guys

Yea, he is no Chris Johnson in terms of speed but he has amazing lateral quickness and bottom end of elite speed. Not to mention the most important attribute. Vision.

 

[Scandri100]

I've watched a ton of his film...zeke isn't as fast as I expected...doesn't mean he's slow..just not a burner...dude is an anvil though...he runs THROUGH guys

He dosen't run over anyone at least from what
I've seen of his highlights.

 

[QT]

Emmitt never had breakaway speed and that turned out ok....

 

[JBS]

He dosen't run over anyone at least from what
I've seen of his highlights.

You haven't been watching

 

[AsthmaField]

He dosen't run over anyone at least from what
I've seen of his highlights.

He does, you just must not have watched it. Elliott will bludgeon defenders when there is no more room to run.

Powerful guy.

 

[Scandri100]

Watched his highlights and they seem pedestrian compared to other running backs taken in the first round of recent years.

 

[HellCrowe]

Watched his highlights and they seem pedestrian compared to other running backs taken in the first round of recent years.

You may want to turn the music down on those highlights and watch real game if you have the patience. Just beause he's not running over everyone in sight but is able to seemingly run through the right whole and not get caught sure seems pedestrian

 

[Scandri100]

I think we should of went with Hargreaves who I think was the only top 10 player left after Bosa was taken off the board.