We had a run game with Zeke

[Coogiguy03]

There are no holes. Earl Campbell would be a 3.9 ypc on this team. I will say Zeke could turn 2 yard runs into 4 yard runs better than Pollard but he's got nothing left.

Hence why he was cut because he wasn't good

 

[CATCH17]

Ah, yes, those “dirty yards.”

That’s code for an ineffective RB. Sorta like an unathletic pocket passer is described by default as a “cerebral” QB.

Pretty much..

Zeke was awful. Like really bad.


Now the line sucks and for whatever reason some people can’t figure that one out.

 

[CalPolyTechnique]

Pollard is tied for 12th in the league for “big runs” (20+ yard runs).

Guess how many Zeke has?

ANSWER:
Tied with Cooper Rush at 119th with zero.

 

[ConstantReboot]

Oh.. were going to gamble with Pollard. A player that had a bad break and surgery. Zeke got those dirty yards in short and goal situations. Either kept Zeke or draft a back instead of a tight end. This organization makes brain fart decision at times. Hope they learned a lesson and draft a back next season.

We need an entirely new Oline. They can't block worth a lick. I'm all in for focusing on nothing but Oline in the next draft.

 

[RonnieT24]

Pollard is tied for 12th in the league for “big runs” (20+ yard runs).

Guess how many Zeke has?

ANSWER:
Tied with Cooper Rush at 119th with zero.

Kinda sucks that New England's #2 running back has the same number of touchdowns (5) as the Cowboys starter.. on a LOT fewer touches.. Let's you know how bad our running back room is huh..

 

[CT Dal Fan]

The thing is Zeke would still have a role here as a short yardage and goal line back. But he viewed himself in an unrealistic light and thought he could get a lead role somewhere.

He's cooked at this point, but I still wish the third leading rusher in Cowboys history could have finished his career here, even in a limited role.

 

[CalPolyTechnique]

Kinda sucks that New England's #2 running back has the same number of touchdowns (5) as the Cowboys starter.. on a LOT fewer touches.. Let's you know how bad our running back room is huh..

It’s okay Ronald, you can still wear your CVS Zeke jersey proudly.just use some iron on adhesive to fix the numbers.

 

[RonnieT24]

The thing is Zeke would still have a role here as a short yardage and goal line back. But he viewed himself in an unrealistic light and thought he could get a lead role somewhere.

He's cooked at this point, but I still wish the third leading rusher in Cowboys history could have finished his career here, even in a limited role.

I think his agent was more to blame for that than anyone else. The agent doesn't get any new money if the contract just gets re-worked. However he still gets a cut of whatever deal he can get the player on the market. I know they probably hoped for more but the 3+3 (3 mil up front with 3 mil in incentives) deal they got with New England was probably the best they could do. With Stevenson going down Zeke is probably pretty likely to hit the incentives and collect the second half of that contract.

And the #1 and #2 leading rushers in franchise history finished up elsewhere so why not Zeke too?

 

[CT Dal Fan]

I think his agent was more to blame for that than anyone else. The agent doesn't get any new money if the contract just gets re-worked. However he still gets a cut of whatever deal he can get the player on the market. I know they probably hoped for more but the 3+3 (3 mil up front with 3 mil in incentives) deal they got with New England was probably the best they could do. With Stevenson going down Zeke is probably pretty likely to hit the incentives and collect the second half of that contract.

And the #1 and #2 leading rushers in franchise history finished up elsewhere so why not Zeke too?

I was too young to remember Tony Dorsett the Bronco, but Emmitt the Cardinal looked just wrong and always will.....

 

[Beaker42]

We need new OL. Even the best RBs need a crease. Most running plays are jailbreaks with 2-4 defenders in the backfield.

I think Biadasz needs to be upgraded and that’ll help the run game.

 

[HungryLion]

The issue is simple. It's simply untrue. Done as a dominant back? Sure.. Done as a guy able to play in the NFL and help a team win games? Not by a long shot. Behind some of the worst run blocking I have ever seen these last four weeks he's at least given them positive yardage 95% of the time. Zeke is just one of those backs who is really hard to stop for a loss owing to his strength. I stand behind my assertion that a lot of the red zone issues this team has had this season would be solved by having Zeke on the roster. With him we probably beat Miami and probably beat Philly the first time around. It's okay to say this team misses the guy and what he brought. The Cowboys have not replaced his 800+ yards and 12 touchdowns. Not even close. And they sure as hell have not replaced his toughness. I will say though that to his credit Pollard has been much improved in blitz pickup this year.. though Dak being strong as a bull has bailed out his whiffs on more than one occasion.

What is that skill set worth? A few million dollars a year? Max. Tough when the player doesn’t play special teams.

Zeke didn’t want to take a paycut to stay in Dallas. He chose to go elsewhere.

Case closed.

 

[Loso86]

Oh.. were going to gamble with Pollard. A player that had a bad break and surgery. Zeke got those dirty yards in short and goal situations. Either kept Zeke or draft a back instead of a tight end. This organization makes brain fart decision at times. Hope they learned a lesson and draft a back next season.

Facts

 

[GimmeTheBall!]

Oh.. were going to gamble with Pollard. A player that had a bad break and surgery. Zeke got those dirty yards in short and goal situations. Either kept Zeke or draft a back instead of a tight end. This organization makes brain fart decision at times. Hope they learned a lesson and draft a back next season.

Yes, let's send Pollard and a 2nd round pick to get Sequel back.

 

[RonnieT24]

What is that skill set worth? A few million dollars a year? Max. Tough when the player doesn’t play special teams.

Zeke didn’t want to take a paycut to stay in Dallas. He chose to go elsewhere.

Case closed.

I was fine with the Cowboys choosing to move on from Zeke.. What I was not fine with was their not replacing his contributions and fans not appreciating same. I will go to my grave believing this team has a couple more wins if they have Zeke to convert those short yardage and goal line opportunities. As for his worth? He's costing the Cowboys 6 million against the cap this year anyway.. They could have kept him and gotten 500-600 yards and 8-10 TDs out of him for that.

But everything must change and time marches on. The Cowboys felt they needed to get Zeke out of the way so Tony Pollard could emerge as an all pro.

Oops..

P.S. I don't buy the "doesn't play special teams" angle. Zeke's not that kind of player. A guy willing to strap on a knee brace and play with a torn ligament in his knee would do whatever was asked of him and do it willingly. I think any characterization of Zeke as some entitled diva is simply off base. Nothing I've ever seen from him says that.

 

[HungryLion]

I was fine with the Cowboys choosing to move on from Zeke.. What I was not fine with was their not replacing his contributions and fans not appreciating same. I will go to my grave believing this team has a couple more wins if they have Zeke to convert those short yardage and goal line opportunities. As for his worth? He's costing the Cowboys 6 million against the cap this year anyway.. They could have kept him and gotten 500-600 yards and 8-10 TDs out of him for that.

But everything must change and time marches on. The Cowboys felt they needed to get Zeke out of the way so Tony Pollard could emerge as an all pro.

Oops..

P.S. I don't buy the "doesn't play special teams" angle. Zeke's not that kind of player. A guy willing to strap on a knee brace and play with a torn ligament in his knee would do whatever was asked of him and do it willingly. I think any characterization of Zeke as some entitled diva is simply off base. Nothing I've ever seen from him says that.

I agree I wanted them to do more with the RB room. I personally expected them to draft a RB much higher than they did. Hopefully they do so this year and bring some young explosive legs onto the team.

The Zeke thing. They just couldn’t justify keeping his contract around unless he agreed to the pay cut. They just could not keep that contract anymore.

 

[Chasing6]

Oh.. were going to gamble with Pollard. A player that had a bad break and surgery. Zeke got those dirty yards in short and goal situations. Either kept Zeke or draft a back instead of a tight end. This organization makes brain fart decision at times. Hope they learned a lesson and draft a back next season.

Free agency for RB's is cheap. Draft OLineman early.

 

[SteveTheCowboy]

Hard to pay Zeke and a franchise tag for a few yards here and there. The position should be overhauled in the offseason.

A few yards here and there is how you can win a 'ship.


You are hung up on the paycheck. How's that working for us.?

 

[HungryLion]

Oh.. were going to gamble with Pollard. A player that had a bad break and surgery. Zeke got those dirty yards in short and goal situations. Either kept Zeke or draft a back instead of a tight end. This organization makes brain fart decision at times. Hope they learned a lesson and draft a back next season.

If you look back on the last few seasons. Our run game nosedived the second half of each season.

We did not have a consistent and reliable run game with Zeke. Couldn’t justify his contract.

 

[KJJ]

Zeke softened up the defense and moved the chains in short yardage situations. He kept Pollard fresh and scored 12 TDs. All our RBs combined this season have scored only 8 TDs.

 

[SteveTheCowboy]

I agree I wanted them to do more with the RB room. I personally expected them to draft a RB much higher than they did. Hopefully they do so this year and bring some young explosive legs onto the team.

The Zeke thing. They just couldn’t justify keeping his contract around unless he agreed to the pay cut. They just could not keep that contract anymore.

And here we are with no run game. What is the cost of THAT?

I happen to think it's our o Line. For years zeke helped to hide it while also suffering from it.

Are you sure he did not agree to a pay cut? Seems like he did with another team.