Will Zeke have a bounce back year?

[blueblood70]

I’m curious about your Emmitt Smith comparison. Emmitt had a YPC greater than 4 in 9 of his first 11 seasons, and his peak years were also his highest YPC years. So I don’t know where you’re getting this “half his career at 4 or below” stuff. You think he was a special player his last few seasons, when his YPC did dip below 4? I would argue he wasn’t special after 1995, with the exception of durability (which certainly has value).

Zeke is similar. He was an excellent rusher in 2019: not a lot of big plays, but he had a very high rate of successful runs. He’s durable and powerful. He provides very little in the passing game (but he is a good pass blocker) and he isn’t going to give you any explosive plays. But he’s a very solid rusher, and I expect him to be that for maybe two more seasons before the decline really takes its toll. I don’t think they should have re-signed him, because I don’t think the skills he has make him worth that kind of money, but he’s not a liability on the field yet.

go pull u the numbers it facts...he only had one season over 5ypc and many another 4 at around 4.5 most were in fact 4.4, 4 , a few under 4 ...

im saying zekes worst year still is on par for other volume backs, i went back to like at other great backs in the same mold all the same thing..they all need volume carries to get there bigger yard output but their YPC remains average. Its why they are 3 down bell cow backs not change of pace water bugs , that huge difference in back types and trying to compare zeke to Cmac or Kamara is like comparing Barry with ES..its not the same thing..

both are successful i their own ways if USED properly and right now our OC and Dak and this pass happy offense is leaving zeke in bad spot..

ive done my research its not from memory..2 in the first 5 years what year is zeke in?3 in the first 7 years? also you somehow thinking all those 4.1 and 4.2 etc are that much difference as they are hoverig around 4..thats my point..get over it Zekes worst year is in line with many of ES years., period case closed..

he played on team made up of HOF players and better coaching..thats the difference..

right keep the hate up it doesnt fly here bro..btw ES held out twice was also the highest paid RB in the league..only reason zeke thats hate don here is they dont like him as person..period the dude is great RB period..

3.9
4.3
4.6
5.3
4.0
4.7
3.7
4.1
4.2
4.2
4.1
3.9
3.8
2.8
3.5

total 4.2 CAREER YPC average pretty average if you are a Zoner tearing apart players Smith was Jag i cant imagine what they would have said after ES holds pout for a better rookie deal that gets 3.9 YOC his rookie year then holds out again and ahs all those average years by Zone standards LMAO think about this if Zeke had not been wrongfully suspended he would have started his career with 3 straight rushing crowns, that out him in rare air for NFL backs...


so mr poo poo on my posts ES sad little 3.9 as rookie LMAO

EE won rushing title and doubles that output so why did ES continue to get better , its called an OL made up of HOF and a HOF QB , coach and defenders.. that great team and dont get it twisted pout EE on that team and he has similar career..hes that good .

.is he the same person, NO, their personalities and yes maybe their drive is different but as an athlete id say Zeke is better..so he could easily do that with ours 90s teams just lie i feel Romo could have easily been as successful as Aikman had he played with smith and that entire team and coaches..


the truth and facts are easy to see why he looked bad last year and really our offensive identity and philosophy started changing in 2019 with KM fully taking over the offense..this isnt zekes fault it coincided with his new deal..

 

[john van brocklin]

He’s been just average the last two years playing on a similar level to Melvin Gordon.

He better, or he will be bounced off the roster!

 

[JD_KaPow]

go pull u the numbers it facts...he only had one season over 5ypc and many another 4 at around 4.5 most were in fact 4.4, 4 , a few under 4 ...

im saying zekes worst year still is on par for other volume backs, i went back to like at other great backs in the same mold all the same thing..they all need volume carries to get there bigger yard output but their YPC remains average. Its why they are 3 down bell cow backs not change of pace water bugs , that huge difference in back types and trying to compare zeke to Cmac or Kamara is like comparing Barry with ES..its not the same thing..

both are successful i their own ways if USED properly and right now our OC and Dak and this pass happy offense is leaving zeke in bad spot..

ive done my research its not from memory..2 in the first 5 years what year is zeke in?3 in the first 7 years? also you somehow thinking all those 4.1 and 4.2 etc are that much difference as they are hoverig around 4..thats my point..get over it Zekes worst year is in line with many of ES years., period case closed..

he played on team made up of HOF players and better coaching..thats the difference..

right keep the hate up it doesnt fly here bro..btw ES held out twice was also the highest paid RB in the league..only reason zeke thats hate don here is they dont like him as person..period the dude is great RB period..

3.9
4.3
4.6
5.3
4.0
4.7
3.7
4.1
4.2
4.2
4.1
3.9
3.8
2.8
3.5

total 4.2 CAREER YPC average pretty average if you are a Zoner tearing apart players Smith was Jag i cant imagine what they would have said after ES holds pout for a better rookie deal that gets 3.9 YOC his rookie year then holds out again and ahs all those average years by Zone standards LMAO think about this if Zeke had not been wrongfully suspended he would have started his career with 3 straight rushing crowns, that out him in rare air for NFL backs...


so mr poo poo on my posts ES sad little 3.9 as rookie LMAO

EE won rushing title and doubles that output so why did ES continue to get better , its called an OL made up of HOF and a HOF QB , coach and defenders.. that great team and dont get it twisted pout EE on that team and he has similar career..hes that good .

.is he the same person, NO, their personalities and yes maybe their drive is different but as an athlete id say Zeke is better..so he could easily do that with ours 90s teams just lie i feel Romo could have easily been as successful as Aikman had he played with smith and that entire team and coaches..


the truth and facts are easy to see why he looked bad last year and really our offensive identity and philosophy started changing in 2019 with KM fully taking over the offense..this isnt zekes fault it coincided with his new deal..

I find it impossible to determine what you're trying to say here. The numbers you posted match what I said identically (because I of course looked them up) and show that what you originally said was incorrect.

I can't tell if you're trying to argue that Emmitt was still great after age 27 or not. He wasn't. He still had his greatest strength--durability--and he was a fine starting RB, but he wasn't the special player he was early in his career. I don't think that's a very controversial statement.

There are certain similarities between Zeke and Emmitt: they're both powerful and durable runners without the high-end speed/burst that leads to long runs, they both block well, and they both provide little as receivers. My biggest concern about Zeke is the total lack of burst: he's had one run over 35 yards in the last 4 seasons combined. Emmitt only had one season without a 35-yard run in his first 12 years in the league, and he had 6 35+-yard runs in 1994-1995 (Football Reference doesn't have searchable play data earlier than that, but I'm guessing there were a lot more in the '91-'93 seasons).

Unless the big plays start showing up or Zeke suddenly turns into a monster in the passing game, there's a ceiling on just how good he can be...and that ceiling is well below a level that would justify his contract.

 

[blueblood70]

I find it impossible to determine what you're trying to say here. The numbers you posted match what I said identically (because I of course looked them up) and show that what you originally said was incorrect.

I can't tell if you're trying to argue that Emmitt was still great after age 27 or not. He wasn't. He still had his greatest strength--durability--and he was a fine starting RB, but he wasn't the special player he was early in his career. I don't think that's a very controversial statement.

There are certain similarities between Zeke and Emmitt: they're both powerful and durable runners without the high-end speed/burst that leads to long runs, they both block well, and they both provide little as receivers. My biggest concern about Zeke is the total lack of burst: he's had one run over 35 yards in the last 4 seasons combined. Emmitt only had one season without a 35-yard run in his first 12 years in the league, and he had 6 35+-yard runs in 1994-1995 (Football Reference doesn't have searchable play data earlier than that, but I'm guessing there were a lot more in the '91-'93 seasons).

with a HOF OL, coach, defense and a team who was Run first..

Unless the big plays start showing up or Zeke suddenly turns into a monster in the passing game, there's a ceiling on just how good he can be...and that ceiling is well below a level that would justify his contract.

his first ***** year was 3.9 zekes was over 5..now what i just said over both their first 5 years its all right there ES had as many 4 or under YPC for the year as Zeke has,.. now go troll someone else i can go back as i have to 4 other great Volume backs and its all the same..they need carries to be effective to the masses they dont get a ton of big chunk yards and do it the way a bell cow has always done give them carried and they will give you 1300 plus but at low averge..now move on you were wrong not correct ..zekes had 5 years and only his first time at 4 ES had TWO! so stop trolling Zeke over last year because as bad as you think it is remember the NFL all time leading rusher had two of the averages. This si about averages because ES also did not hit home runs was not big wiggle water bug back..the apple's to oranges comps to try and troll zeke are shameful hes still very effective when he has some blocking and a team not horrible on defense and at QB..

this is my point why was ES not great year one after long a hold out before getting what he wanted on rookie deal then outs up shameful 3.9 wow oh wait he got better as they built that OL and had Daryl fn Johnston aka the moose opening up holes..

so last ear zeke had nothing and still got 4YPC and nearly 1k in 15 games..

dang man you are thick..

 

[TwentyOne]

He’s been just average the last two years playing on a similar level to Melvin Gordon.

And he will be just like Melvin. Average back.

 

[charron]

He had one solid season. And that was his rookie year. Everything else has been some kind a disastrous turmoil

We define disaster differently

 

[plasticman]

Zeke will have the type of season he wanted in 2020.

However:

When the only offensive starter to play all 16 games is Connor Williams...

When you ended the previous season with 3 Pro Bowl O-linemen and your halfway through the current season with 0 Pro Bowl offensive linemen...

When you lose both your starting tackles and a backup tackle before the 3rd game of the season...

When your O-line starters include an undrafted rookie, an undrafted 2nd year player, and a rookie 4th round draft pick...

When you lose your starting TE after one game and then your franchise QB after 5....

When your starting QB is a rookie 7th round draft pick or a third year 6th round pick starting his very first game...

When your number of carries equals the season in which you were suspended for six games...

When your team's season points margin after every quarter is a negative number...

.....it's probably going to be difficult to form a running game.

I don't expect the same events as in 2020, so I don't expect the same Ezekiel Elliott as in 2020. In his previous non-suspended seasons, Zeke has averaged 1474 yards, 11 TD's with an average Yards Per Carry of 4.8.

I don't expect a bounce back season because there really isn't anything he needs to bounce back from. The 2020 season was so fractured that it shouldn't be used as a fair evaluation for anybody on that team. I expect the high level of performance he has given us under usual circumstances.

 

[Havic]

Zeke's success depends on the health of the O-Line.

 

[JBond]

are you clueless??

when had MG been top 4 back in the league??, Zeke in fact in 2019 was ranked 4TH IN THE LEGUE 30 YARDS SHORT OF 3RD WHERE CMac finished...

you call that average? no 100 backs finishing top 5 is not average..

last year he ranked 12th sure bad year but forOBVIOUS Reasons.. so zekes worst year hes MG..ok lmao who cares

get tiresome reading clueless fans have zero idea of how team concepts work..

Zzeke had ONE BAD Year, HAPPENS TO COINCIDE WITH A HISTORICALLY BAD DEFENSE, USING a 3RD STRING OL, 4 QBS, HE RECOVERED FROM COVID AND HAD SOME INUJRIES HE TRIED PLAYING THROUGH..

those down on him because of his 4.0YPG dont watch football and for sure do NOT have recollection of backs like zeke aka volume bell cow 3 down backs ie Emmitt and others all share one thing, keep feeding them they will come through but many and im talking some of the biggest names backs in history had many years with their YPC averages at 4 or even under , Smith had HALF his career years at 4 or under..odd this is zekes worst season and yet if circumstances would have been viable for RB especially volume back he would have got his carries and got his typical 1300+ yards and a nice TD count..

fact is when you play from behind to point where the run game has to be ignored, when you have bad OL, a non threatening QB and other factors the run game gets dismissed

Furthermore Zeke started to become overlooked and underutilized in 2019 when KM decoded to cage the identity from Zekes team to daks team and became pass happy , add to it his run schemes are terrible, he used far too many delayed draws, obvious run plays so vanilla they were truly mean for a FB not a bell cow volume RB

more facts , Zeke led the league in 2019 in frost half productivity ie YPOC and yet Moore abandoned the run in the second half's, he had games last year where you could see old zeke at time's..

it was one down year with obvious reasons for the lack of productivity..so yes he should bounce back but even if its 2019 zeke thats very productive..maybe we get more but the way KM uses him is not conducive to zekes ability's..not zekes fault.

He is decent power back. He has no speed and apparently has lost his wiggle. His big play ability is gone and the numbers prove it. Look at +20 yard plays.

 

[Bullflop]

As long as the OL is considerably better than last year and Zeke is actually in his top shape as reported, he should fare much better. The OL has been injured and limited enough for the last few years than what was acceptable. Hopefully, their health has improved as much as it appears to. Their depth should also be of better quality than in the recent past. It does seem somewhat encouraging.

 

[blueblood70]

Zeke's success depends on the health of the O-Line.

as do most backs, QBs, Tes and well the trenches are where it begins and ends..our LBs looked worse due to weak middle of the DL..chit rolls downhill as they say and ef4ct the team when the trenches are weak..

 

[blueblood70]

As long as the OL is considerably better than last year and Zeke is actually in his top shape as reported, he should fare much better. The OL has been injured and limited enough for the last few years than what was acceptable. Hopefully, their health has improved as much as it appears to. Their depth should also be of better quality than in the recent past. It does seem somewhat encouraging.

i truly get tired about "Zeke out of shape and fat" not once been proven accept come pod bad angles in some picts..

if you all ever played organized football maybe you dont understand,

IN HS i played Football, ran track ie long distance and cross country, was in peak physicals shape, wall summer we would play real tackle pick up games etc etc ..never fat never pout of shape, yet when spring workouts and two days started i felt completely out of shape and that why we are there to get in TRUE Football shape..theres no substitute for padded live action going full out in 3-4 hour practices, TC, an PS games and still a game 1-2 it took time to be fully ready for 100% of the snaps you could take..
thats reality's

those around here picking on zeke only because he allegedly taps out and looks slow or takes time to look good have zero understanding of football especially pro football. These guy's are always in shape they just like any normal player take time to round into full on football shape..

zeke still to this day from 2016 -present still touched ball more then anyone stays into block more then any other back, and goes out on pass plays, his overall offensive snap % is tops in the league..

Most teams use a 2-3 back system and coaches sub put payers, zeke plays so much he coaches tell him to tap out when he needs a breather and he still in more then anyone..hes being signaled out over most not liking Zeke the person , zekes personality amnd now zekes money..

i say to them get life because narratives around here are mostly so far off for most coaches and player they are simply hyperbole, rhetoric and straight opinion vs facts..

his worst year last year was 4YPC , well ES had two of those a 3.9 his rookie year and 4 his first 5 years and more than you can imagine or remember see my post above..zekes volume back and gets better with more carries and of course needs carries to get yard just liem ES.. when KM came in in 2019 he changed the identity of this offense from run tom pass and his run game schemes are questionable at best add in playing from behind do much the run game becomes disjointed, theres no consistency, add in last season OL issue and no threat at qb, well theres your answer for zekes issues..

look hes not 2016 zeke i get it neither is the OL or the defense..we were 13-3 beat a lot of good teams played great , really any payer compared to 2016 who happens to still be here, well they are not the same players..

 

[Shane612]

He's fat so he will bounce but he's not likely to do any better than the past few years unless he gets more help from the O-line. I just hope he stops losing the ball.

 

[Floatyworm]

I just hope the fumbling is done.

Once a fumbler...always a fumbler. He will be a target of the strip for the rest of his career. He's been labeled.

 

[Whirlwin]

We define disaster differently

Suspensions. Turnovers. Turnovers are a disaster. So I guess You’re right. Not as important to some people

 

[Flamma]

I didn't read through this whole thread, but I hope he does. No one can do anything about him getting older, but I don't put all of the blame on him for the past two years. Everyone's not born Barry Sanders, RBs need the offensive line to do their job, and the need the situation to be effective. Having a beat up OL and or being down by 20 points early on is not doing any RB favors. Zeke is a downhill RB. If they keep giving him the ball out of shotgun like they did in 2019 what do you expect?

 

[SteveTheCowboy]

Oh for Pete's sake. WTH? You need to take a chill pill ! That response of yours is the very definition of going off half cocked. You call me a hater (what a tired-azz phrase) yet you are really hating . . . on me . . . for one ***** thing you didn't agree with. Pure hate attacking my intelligence and calling me names . . . over what????? Personal attacks make you feel better about yourself? OK. My hate is obvious? What's obvious is nothing is obvious to you!

I like the hell outta Elliott. Like I did Smith, MBIII, Walker, Dorsett, Newhouse, Hill, and even flaky Duane Thomas . . . all the way to Garrison and Perkins when I first became a fan. The first part of my post was simply MY honest opinion(like or not the character assassination of me was out of line by you). I like him because I'm a helluva Cowboy fan. I don't criticize "my" team's players lightly and never from a standpoint of disliking the player but their performance. It is fair game ALWAYS!

The "fat" comment was tongue-in-cheek in reference to so many comments over the years saying such. Sheeesh ! A little reading comprehension goes a loooong way! Talk about clueless!!!!

Not let's engage the tool comment . . . whose the tool? It's jacked up responses like yours where people don't agree with something and go full out balz to the wall on people like me that make this board much less fun and why over the year I've participated less and less. So uptight . . . it's a freaking message board, dayum! I've never attacked a single comment on this message board (until this one) and there's been plenty I didn't agree with. Shame we can't be brother and sister fans but have to attack each other over almost NOTHING ! You'd prolly be at home out in my pasture with my donkeys!

To be fair...you got what you wanted. The "he's fat" .."joke". Hook line AND sinker.

 

[SteveTheCowboy]

I didn't read through this whole thread, but I hope he does. No one can do anything about him getting older, but I don't put all of the blame on him for the past two years. Everyone's not born Barry Sanders, RBs need the offensive line to do their job, and the need the situation to be effective. Having a beat up OL and or being down by 20 points early on is not doing any RB favors. Zeke is a downhill RB. If they keep giving him the ball out of shotgun like they did in 2019 what do you expect?

Barry Sanders was thinking about QUITTING right about this time. That 0line was not as bad as peopel say....Barry just didn't like bashing through the hole.

I have to agree with you and some others....Offensive play calling has not favored his style. So many other things that the other guys he's being compared to didn't have to deal with.

Some idiots say "he needs everything perfect to be average". Really? So an OC that couldn't make the team as a QB? A fired HC? His alter ego Dak horribly injured, Andy injured. 3rd and 4th stringers on the O-line. Contracted Covid.

You mean zeke needs things better than THAT to be average? Noooo way.

 

[Point-of-the-Star]

To be fair...you got what you wanted. The "he's fat" .."joke". Hook line AND sinker.

The violence of the strike was unsuspecting. Granted I was using planer boards pretty deep in very rich waters over the wreck of the SS ZEKE'SMAH MAN. I highly recommend the HATE lure enhancer!




yeah, I really do fish !

 

[Ranched]

And he will be already is just like Melvin. Average back.

FIFY. Dallas better hold on to Pollard.

I didn't read through this whole thread, but I hope he does. No one can do anything about him getting older, but I don't put all of the blame on him for the past two years. Everyone's not born Barry Sanders, RBs need the offensive line to do their job, and the need the situation to be effective. Having a beat up OL and or being down by 20 points early on is not doing any RB favors. Zeke is a downhill RB. If they keep giving him the ball out of shotgun like they did in 2019 what do you expect?

Zeke is only 25. Has nothing to do w/getting older. Elliott is paid a lot of money to do his job & to do it well. Thus far, he hasn't held to his end of the deal as of late. (yes he did have 2 rushing titles, DID)

Since being drafted he led the NFL in carries as a rookie (322) & did so again in 2018 (304). Since then, his carries dipped to 244. Many fumbles, less yardage per run. If this is due to a O-line, then why does Pollard have no problems & passed Zeke in yards per carry? Pollard is tied w/Derrick Henry for the best yards after contact average in the league (4.0) & tied w/Nick Chubb for the best broken tackle rate (0.25). That said, Pollard is the Dallas Cowboys most underrated player.

IF Zeke continues his downward spiral, he'll be gone in 2022. After the 2022 term, Dallas could release him & save $8.3 million. A number that goes up to $10 million following the 2023 campaign, per Over the Cap.