Tony Pollard was never the Problem

[CATCH17]

I don’t know why evaluating running backs is so hard for our fans lol.

Take the Star covered glasses off and realize that Zeke is finished. He won’t be in the league much longer. Explosion will take priority over short yardage ability every day of the week and twice on Sunday.

A lot of Cowboys fans view the NFL with a 90s mindset.

 

[SteveTheCowboy]

Zeke just couldn't hit that hole that was there anymore, his burst was gone....

So Zeke had holes?


Really.

Well okay then.


Same line and scheme Pollard has/had. He couldn't hit these GIANT hole you say we have had either until just a week or so.


Come on dude. Please....

 

[SteveTheCowboy]

A lot of Cowboys fans view the NFL with a 90s mindset.

And....so what? You think the game has changed so dramatically since then?

It hasn't changed that much. You smear the gear with the ball. You run the ball down their throats. You make HUGE passing plays.

Just exactly like we did in the 90's.

 

[noshame]

Tony Pollard looked fast, strong, and elusive today.
It really helps when the O line gives him good blocking too. Pollard has never been the problem this year!

It's no coincidence that Dak stretching the field and the running game is beginning to open up.

 

[CATCH17]

And....so what? You think the game has changed so dramatically since then?

It hasn't changed that much. You smear the gear with the ball. You run the ball down their throats. You make HUGE passing plays.

Just exactly like we did in the 90's.

Of course it has.

Heck Tom Brady talks about how much it’s changed since the middle of his career to the end.

I don’t think some of you understand how big of a deal the rule changes and salary cap are to how the game is played.

 

[CATCH17]

It's no coincidence that Dak stretching the field and the running game is beginning to open up.

I still think we need more Turpin. Hes such a threat.


When you got a line that can block and you put a guy like Cooks or Turpin in the slot and tell them to run to the other side of the field as fast as you can on a deep cross it’s almost impossible to defend.

 

[CalPolyTechnique]

So Zeke had holes?


Really.

Well okay then.


Same line and scheme Pollard has/had. He couldn't hit these GIANT hole you say we have had either until just a week or so.


Come on dude. Please....

Luuuulz, this guy still thinks Zeke is elite.

 

[DuncanIso]

Tony Pollard showed his speed, quickness, agility, and strength today. He has not been the issue.

If Pollard gets good blocking he will have a VERY strong rest of the season.

Fans thinking he is not a legitimate starting running back are clueless!

The ProBowl OL isn’t the problem.

He’s lost a step or three. Because of the freak injury.

No way they pay him another 10 million next season.

All of his stats are down. A lot.

He’s UFA in March.

He’s taking a pay cut or he’s signing elsewhere.

 

[Fmart322]

When Rico started to play more Pollard got better.
That's the key to the Cowboys running game.

 

[RonnieT24]

What dude? RB’s hardly get drafted in round 1 lol most starters are late round picks. If you really think teams draft RB high then I’m not going to discuss further as that’s so far from the truth it’s not even close lol.

Sorry bro but you're absolutely wrong here.

Let's look at the starting RBs around the league

ATL - Robinson 1st rounder
AZ - Connor 3rd rounder (#105)
Baltimore - Dobbins 2nd rounder (#55)
Buffalo - Cook 2nd rounder (#67)
Carolina - Hubbard 4th rounder (#126)
Chicago - Forman 3rd rounder (#89)
Cincy - Mixon 2nd rounder (#48)
Cleveland - Chubb 2nd rounder (#35)
Dallas - Pollard 4th rounder (#128)
Detroit - Gibbs 1st rounder
Denver - Williams 2nd rounder (#35)
Green Bay - Jones 5th rounder (#182)
Houston - Pearce 4th rounder (#107)
Indy - Taylor 1st rounder
JAX - Etienne 1st rounder
KC - Pacheco 7th rounder (#251)
LA Chargers - Ekeler UDFA
LA Rams - Freeman 3rd rounder (#71)
LV - Jacobs 1st rounder
Miami - Mostert UDFA
Minny - Mattison 3rd rounder (#102)
NYJ - Hall 2nd rounder
NYG - Barkley 1st rounder
NE Pats - Stevenson 4th rounder (#120)
NO Saints - Kamara 3rd ronder (#67)
Philthy - Swift 2nd rounder (#35)
Pitt - Harris 1st rounder
SFO - CMac 1st rounder
Seattle - Walker 2nd rounder (#41)
Titans - Henry 2nd round (#45)
Tampa - White 3rd rounder (#91)
Wash - Robinson 3rd rounder (#98)


By my count that 8 drafted in the 1st round, 7 in the 2nd round and 8 in the 3rd round. I also come up with 22 of the 32 starters drafted in the first 100 picks. In summary your statement that most starters are drafted in the late rounds is complete bunk. You owe my friend KSK an apology.

 

[8FOR!3]

Yup, the problem was going into the season w/ a spell back as a starter. Still a problem.

Agreed but we showed with him and Dowdle you can make it work when they're playing well.

The past couple of weeks he's looked a little quicker. I think people underestimate how long it takes to really come back from that kind of injury. Think he may be regaining some explosiveness.

 

[RonnieT24]

Agreed but we showed with him and Dowdle you can make it work when they're playing well.

The past couple of weeks he's looked a little quicker. I think people underestimate how long it takes to really come back from that kind of injury. Think he may be regaining some explosiveness.

People who have never been world class athletes can never fully appreciate the amount of work and dedication to reach the level these guys spend their entire lives trying to reach. So many of us think that the guy should return to being the same player the day the stitches get taken out. It's silly. Even if the injury is 100% healed it takes months and sometimes years for the strength, flexibility and explosion to return to anywhere near what it was pre-injury. But people always act surprised about it.

 

[Blackspider214]

Offensive line makes a running back, not the other way round....

Ehhhh, a good RB still needs to see the holes. You can block all you want, but without vision and knowing where to go in a split second, it won't mean much. Really good RBs will maximize the holes and won't leave as many yards on the field as a lesser RB.

And ask Nate Newton. He says Emmitt made that OL look better than they were, too. It works both ways. This argument always comes up when discussing Emmitt. That he was just a product of that OL. When that wasn't the case at all. He was very good at Florida, too.

 

[Captain43Crash]

He'll be even better if he can share more carries with Rico "He wore a diamond" Dowdell.
Pollard needs a tag-team to be most effective.

Agree!

 

[Captain43Crash]

He had decent blocking earlier this year. He still not the same back from the last 2 years. Rather that's because of injury idk

He had crappy blocking early in the year. Constantly getting hit at or near the LOS.

 

[Captain43Crash]

Didmt say he didn't look good last night, I'm saying that was the only game this year where looked good so im.mot getting excited

What do you think? His quickness, speed, and agility are going to disappear?

 

[Captain43Crash]

Yeah he looks good with 13 carries when he was asked to do 18 carries all the way back to last year he did not play well no one saying he sucks but he's not living up to $10 million... I mean so far this year he's only got 4 touchdowns as well I mean everybody said last year Oh my God if zeke didn't take all those short runs into the end zone away from Pollard he would have more touchdowns and we're finding out that that's not the case we're pretty bad running inside the five... So all we're saying is if you're gonna have a back that needs less than 15 carries a game to stay in his wheelhouse so he can be somewhat explosive then he is not your number one or a true number one he is a leader of a running back by committee and doesn't deserve $10 million.... Deonte foreman makes $3,000,000 and could have done all this same stuff that Pollard did,,,

A lot of idiot fans were saying Pollard was the issue with the running game. I called BS! I was saying the blocking was the issue with the running game.

 

[Captain43Crash]

Yes it had something to do with the line but it also has more to do with the play calls and utilizing Rico down or more doing the Thunder and lightning thing Tony Pollard is not a true number one he's better as the number two or splitting carries with a guy like Rico. It's been proven out he finished last season 3.8 yards per carry no touchdowns no explosive plays and two injuries over five games to finish the season this start to this season wasn't much different than the end of last season... The difference is the way they call the place for Rico and they now have TP coming in a bit fresher.

But I can promise you this Tony Pollard is just a regular running back he's not special in any way I like him but I'm not keeping him next year and we're going to have to go in the draft and reboot maybe bring in one veteran if necessary for depth// I'm going to go get another guy in the third round maybe the 4th best available running back 3-5 rounds.

Tony Pollard is not producing like a $10 million player you wanna get all over Elliott and I'm just talking about you I'm talking about the zone what are you doing for me lately after you got your big money and he looks like a regular running back not a $10 million running back did you see Sanders miles Sanders how much does he make running behind that this poor line and Carolina? 6mil?? I would take him over Pollard I mean I like Pollard but for 10 million versus 6 I'm taking Sanders... That's the real market it may be smarter for the Cowboys in hindsight I realize we're looking at it in hindsight because we saw the market drop after Pollard signed his tag is they had offered him a two year $12 million deal but not 10 million for this year we're not getting our money's worth...

Turnabouts fair play we wanted to mock Elliot for him making too much money for his production well here we are...

Tony Pollard had the most yards per carry last year of any back in the NFL, but he is just average? Okay. You and 1% of fans believe that.

 

[Captain43Crash]

Wow that would be nice except for the hypocrisy runs deep in here lots of people were calling Ezekiel Elliott wasp running behind the same offensive line getting the same exact stats... And we were thinking it must be because of the money that they think that most running backs could do this without making the money now Tony's in the crosshairs because he's making $10 million and this is not what $10 million should get you I've already listed some backs deonte foreman is making 3 million DeAndre swift making 1.7 million there are running backs out there that could do what Tony's doing for a lot less that's what we're saying he lost that special burst big runs long plays for$10 million I want those things back if he has to be used less to do so he shouldn't be making so much money a true running back by committee team built using two to three backs don't pay one guy $10 million that kinda messes the whole design up of what you would do when you start splitting carries up like that...

I don't have a problem getting rid of Elliot but when Tony can't handle elliott's duties without falling off a Cliff in stats but then now you wanna blame the offensive line with the offensive line And injuries were a problem with Elliot same thing but everyone was calling him washed and that he was overpaid needed to be cut they were due saying dumb things like he was fat and lazy and didn't care anymore well is that what we're saying about Tony??

We just have to be honest and be fair if we're gonna talk about Elliot that way then we're gonna talk about Tony the same way when he's giving more than 13 carries a game in multiple games and it's used as a blocker and as a decoy when they're using him too much it isn't just the amount of carries it's the amount of snaps you're on the field he loses a lot of his luster just looks like an average running back.... You don't pay $10 million for average...

Last year Tony was way more explosive than Zek and it wasn’t even close!

 

[Captain43Crash]

So Zeke had holes?


Really.

Well okay then.


Same line and scheme Pollard has/had. He couldn't hit these GIANT hole you say we have had either until just a week or so.


Come on dude. Please....

Come on dude!

Everyone knows Zeke was great in his day, but in 2022 he was a shell of his old self. Pollard was much better in 2022. Take off your Rose Colored Zek glasses!