The speed of Ezekial Elliott

LovinItAll said:
A point I've been trying to drive home for awhile, especially when people say Pollard is faster/quicker than Zeke. I'm a fan of both players, btw. Zeke at his current weight is very fast, but dude likes to run downhill and hit people. Those players get very tired of tackling him. Doesn't mean Zeke CAN'T run outside.

Note: Zeke has learned to preserve his body better at the end of runs near the sideline. I'm fine with that.

Now someone will jump in with 'but Pollard has more yards than Zeke this year', which is true, but the 'why' isn't because he's faster, quicker, or a better runner of the rock.

If we need to hand the ball off 25 times in a game to just one guy, we have only 1 player that can carry that load and get 100+ almost every time.

Go Cowboys!
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Zeke has enough speed, but...........he is not as explosive as he once was and only a blind man would fail to see that. Yes he is a great runner just a slower one now.
 
LACowboysFan1 said:
I mentioned that last year, that's not the way Zeke needs to run the ball, he needs to hit the hole full or near full speed and just go. Bell's line may have blocked a bit differently than Dallas' does so that Bell could "dance" before going forward, I don't know, haven't studied it.

But Zeke needs to run the way he runs best, not copying some other back who had success running a somewhat different way...
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I agree but not all of this is Zeke's fault. The Cowboys have undergone at least 4 line coach changes since he got here. Pollack, Columbo, Alexander, and now Philbin. Each one has brought a slightly different blocking scheme. Well Pollack and Columbo ran the same scheme but as most will recall the 2017 season was when they brought in Alexander for a few games but sent him packing midstream when the running game sputtered and promoted Columbo and went back to the old ways. But Zeke did try to adapt his running style to a more patient style because obviously he had been told by the coaches to slow down and let the blocking develop. Since Moore took over he also has had to take more and more shotgun handoffs than before which IMHO doesn't suit his style either. Pollard is better suited for those because he hasn't listened to the the "be more patient" noise from the coaches yet and he is quicker to accelerate than Zeke. To me the solution is go back to I formation or single back deep set and let Zeke do what he do.. I think we have been a better running team when we have done so but Moore doesn't want to do that so calling for it is peeing in the wind. Also it does not appear that the current line is capable of true power blocking anymore.. It it what it is.. The Combo worked to perfection Sunday.. It isn't going to work every Sunday.. Some games Zeke will go off, other games it will be Pollard.. Some games, like Tampa when the d-line is kicking our o-line's butt it will be neither. If people have a problem with that only Jesus can help them.
 
RaZon said:
Zeke has enough speed, but...........he is not as explosive as he once was and only a blind man would fail to see that. Yes he is a great runner just a slower one now.
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While I agree he's not as explosive I am not convinced it's a physical deterioration or just the change in running style that has resulted in what we see. People who keep using the "his ypc is steadily declining" argument based on two games this year need to stop. Zeke isn't going to finish this season under 4 yards a tote so every person making that argument needs to just quit it. He's also probably never going to approach 5 ypc again either because the Cowboys have him do all the dirty work between the tackles and use Pollard on the edges. As long as that continues to work I'm fine with it.. but don't change the guy's role in the offense and then get mad because his production changes with it. I guarantee that if the Cowboys go back to handing Zeke the ball 20 times a game he will go back to averaging close to 100 yards a game (or more) and will break off a big run every 3rd or 4th game when he has worn the defense down.. But he can't make the Cowboys play the game that suits him.. Neither can we.. All we can do is hope they can win playing this way.. We know they can playing the other way..
 
Fat Zeke was a metahuman. Now he is a JAG. At least he has his mom to stick up for him on twitter.
 
RonnieT24 said:
I agree but not all of this is Zeke's fault. The Cowboys have undergone at least 4 line coach changes since he got here. Pollack, Columbo, Alexander, and now Philbin. Each one has brought a slightly different blocking scheme. Well Pollack and Columbo ran the same scheme but as most will recall the 2017 season was when they brought in Alexander for a few games but sent him packing midstream when the running game sputtered and promoted Columbo and went back to the old ways. But Zeke did try to adapt his running style to a more patient style because obviously he had been told by the coaches to slow down and let the blocking develop. Since Moore took over he also has had to take more and more shotgun handoffs than before which IMHO doesn't suit his style either. Pollard is better suited for those because he hasn't listened to the the "be more patient" noise from the coaches yet and he is quicker to accelerate than Zeke. To me the solution is go back to I formation or single back deep set and let Zeke do what he do.. I think we have been a better running team when we have done so but Moore doesn't want to do that so calling for it is peeing in the wind. Also it does not appear that the current line is capable of true power blocking anymore.. It it what it is.. The Combo worked to perfection Sunday.. It isn't going to work every Sunday.. Some games Zeke will go off, other games it will be Pollard.. Some games, like Tampa when the d-line is kicking our o-line's butt it will be neither. If people have a problem with that only Jesus can help them.
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no one wants to hear that logic , makes sense and its fact..they want to say Zekes done and hasnt been good since 2016..

short memory's 2016/2018 zeke wins rushing title, we make playoffs none without zeke being featured..in fact zeke would have if not suspended won the rushing title in 2017 his YPG show this and when the last time a colleges RB came out and won 3 straight rushing crowns their frit 3 years..?? but 16 is his only good year really? then 19 hes plays well but had to adjust to Moores offense and 2020 well we know what happened there..so zekes declined huh? not as much as fans in here claim..

we sure look pretty throwing's for 400yards but 2019-21- TBD we have a losing record BTW but carry on..

ES most years had under 4.5 YPC and was considered slow with not much long burst and explosiveness and needed the ball 25+ to get his yards..FACTS
 
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Too early to tell, but so far it seems the Cowboys have gone to the "Mr. Inside and Mr. Outside" running approach. Zeke, being the bigger and better inside runner, is getting the call when they need a 2-3 yarder, or just to "keep the defense honest" by running him inside. Whereas Pollard gets mostly the end around runs and the off tackle runs, which of course means more space to use his quickness, good call at least for that to Moore.

But Zeke can still get outside, the last game his one longer run was outside, albeit to the short side of the field, imho he needs more outside opportunities when the defense is expecting him to run inside...
 
RonnieT24 said:
While I agree he's not as explosive I am not convinced it's a physical deterioration or just the change in running style that has resulted in what we see. People who keep using the "his ypc is steadily declining" argument based on two games this year need to stop. Zeke isn't going to finish this season under 4 yards a tote so every person making that argument needs to just quit it. He's also probably never going to approach 5 ypc again either because the Cowboys have him do all the dirty work between the tackles and use Pollard on the edges. As long as that continues to work I'm fine with it.. but don't change the guy's role in the offense and then get mad because his production changes with it. I guarantee that if the Cowboys go back to handing Zeke the ball 20 times a game he will go back to averaging close to 100 yards a game (or more) and will break off a big run every 3rd or 4th game when he has worn the defense down.. But he can't make the Cowboys play the game that suits him.. Neither can we.. All we can do is hope they can win playing this way.. We know they can playing the other way..
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I think we see Zeke do his thing then here comes Pollard and DAMN...what a dramatic difference in zoom.

Zeke is a great RB and will always be all we need, just saying he isn't as speedy as he once was, but that's ok he doesn't have to be.
 
Zeke has withstood lots of wear and tear during his years here. It only stands to reason that it will serve him well to be shown moderate treatment from now on. His carries will likely be somewhat more limited, while Tony Pollard sees more carries than he ever has thus far. Paired together, they should help to lead our running attack to great success in 2021. I like what I'm seeing for now and in the future, as well.
 
JoeKing said:
I haven't. I can't explain why you were wrong about that the previous two years but this year this is what I'm saying and I believe I'm right.
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I was just going by statistics. Not opinion.
 
JoeKing said:
I haven't. I can't explain why you were wrong about that the previous two years but this year this is what I'm saying and I believe I'm right.
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last year...Let's see....um...caught the C. A sheet show at o-line, and a cluster freak at o-line.
This yea...two games....A specific game plan for run-stopping super champion Tampa and perfect combo platter rune game against chargers.

But zeke numbers falling. What a BUM!

:facepalm:good lord:facepalm:
 
Cowboy Lover said:
"Lies, damn lies, and then there are statistics".
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I think 2020 needs to be omitted from any statistical analysis for a myriad of reasons.. The injuries to the line, the injuries to Zeke in addition to the impact of his having gone through Covid just before the start of camp, the loss of the starting QB.. I'm throwing it out.. period. The last time the line, Zeke and Dak were all mostly healthy Zeke ran for 1350 yards and 4.5 a clip. I choose to use that as my expectation for Zeke rather than the abortion that 2020 was. But we won't know which one is closer to reality for another 10-12 weeks anyway.
 
Moore’s offense is not a good fit with Zeke.

I still want to see more of Zeke and TP on the field together.
 
Bullflop said:
Zeke has withstood lots of wear and tear during his years here. It only stands to reason that it will serve him well to be shown moderate treatment from now on. His carries will likely be somewhat more limited, while Tony Pollard sees more carries than he ever has thus far. Paired together, they should help to lead our running attack to great success in 2021. I like what I'm seeing for now and in the future, as well.
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the only thing i still ponder with Pollard being more utilized in the offense is .... why did it take this damn long for us to finally take advantage of his skill set ? He's been here 3 years now.

And enjoy while we can ... once his contract expires, how will we keep him away from other NFL teams come FA period ?
With all the hype and Pollard mania on the rise, some NFL team is gonna be interested in signing him to be their Kamara ?
 
NotForLong said:
giphy.webp
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Can the new, slimmed down Zeke still make those up and over hurdle jumps over would be defenders now ..?

Dude had burst and agility comin' out of Ohio State. .. and now ? :rolleyes:
 
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