Without Zeke we’re a 8-8 team at best

[America's Cowboy]

If we're an 8-8 team without Zeke, that says a lot about the QB.

Cowboys have won a majority of their games (4-3) with Dak whenever Zeke has not played.

You were saying?

 

[America's Cowboy]

wait...don't dak lovers make the same case when they say best rookie ever because he went 13-3? and best first three years record ever..... I don't get it.

btw, this is not far from the truth...... when zeke had 100 total yards this year, dallas went 9-1, when he had less than 100 yards we went 2-6..... zeke's performance has a huge impact on this team.

last year even with all the drama around zeke, 6-4 with him. 3-3 without him and struggled to single digit scoring in 3 games.

for this team to succeed, either zeke or some other competent RB, like Bell....

How many 3rd & 1s or 4th & 1s did Zeke fail to convert for 1st downs, thus killing drives and leaving points on the field during those losses?

Answer: a whole bunch

He's no Emmitt Smith. Emmitt would jump over the pile to convert those 1 yards needed for 1st downs, just like Walter Payton used to do. Zeke doesn't even attempt to jump over the pile. Feet glued to the floor. Unbelievable.

You were saying about the Almighty Zeke?

 

[SackMaster]

I don't know why everyone wants all the blame or all the glory to go to a single player / position group.

In MY opinion, and I'm sure not everyone will agree:

• Without Dak, this is likely a 4 to 6 win team
  • Look at the 4-12 team Dallas had in 2015 with what, like 4 other QBs not named Romo, wining a single game in 14 tries?

• Without Zeke, this is likely a 7 to 9 win team
  • Without Zeke in the lineup, the team is 4-3, so maybe the get a lucky bounce here, or a bad call there but hovering around .500

• Without LVE and/or Smith, this is likely a 5 win team
  • Just remember how our D would crumble when Sean Lee was out vs how they held up last year

That's what make football such a TEAM game.

You can have an Aaron Rodgers and still go 6-10.
You can have a Drew Brees and still go 7-9.
You can have one of the most physically gifted passers in NFL history and never win a Super Bowl, ala Dan Marino.
You can be arguably the greatest running back in NFL history and play in only 6 playoff games in 10 seasons, ala Barry Sanders.
You CAN lose your franchise QB for the season and STILL win a Super Bowl by beating arguably the GOAT QB in NFL history, in the process.

So while a single guy, or group of guys, can help a team take the next step, they cannot do it by themselves. It takes players AND coaches. It take skill AND luck.

I have no hate or contentment towards Zeke, and if I had my way, he would be a Cowboy for a long time. But he is not THE piece Dallas needs to win. He is A piece, that if combined with others, can help the Cowboys win. Same with Tank. Same with Dak. Just like it was the same for Romo, Witten and Ware.

But the unfortunate side is, not everyone will/can get paid by the same team. Chances are, we will lose one of the "Core Guys", so hopefully the Front Office can find a suitable replacement in a proper amount of time.

Again, JMHO.

 

[OmerV]

How many 3rd & 1s or 4th & 1s did Zeke fail to convert for 1st downs, thus killing drives and leaving points on the field during those losses?

Answer: a whole bunch

He's no Emmitt Smith. Emmitt would jump over the pile to convert those 1 yards needed for 1st downs, just like Walter Payton used to do. Zeke doesn't even attempt to jump over the pile. Feet glued to the floor. Unbelievable.

You were saying about the Almighty Zeke?

I don't recall Emmitt frequently jumping over piles of people in the style of Walter Payton. If he had, why would there be a need to mention Payton to remind Cowboy fans what it looks like?

In any case, while I agree Emmitt was the better RB, pile jumping is not the end all, be all requirement for a top end RB, nor does being somewhat short of the all time leading rusher in NFL history somehow mean a RB isn't great.

 

[blumayne38]

Agree. Zeke is a big part of why other defenses respect our offense. Without #21 on the field its take the short curls and quick slants away and let dak beat you downfield. Which normally dosent happen
unless the coverage is completely busted by the opposing defense.

 

[kskboys]

I don't know why everyone wants all the blame or all the glory to go to a single player / position group.

In MY opinion, and I'm sure not everyone will agree:

• Without Dak, this is likely a 4 to 6 win team
  • Look at the 4-12 team Dallas had in 2015 with what, like 4 other QBs not named Romo, wining a single game in 14 tries?

• Without Zeke, this is likely a 7 to 9 win team
  • Without Zeke in the lineup, the team is 4-3, so maybe the get a lucky bounce here, or a bad call there but hovering around .500

• Without LVE and/or Smith, this is likely a 5 win team
  • Just remember how our D would crumble when Sean Lee was out vs how they held up last year

That's what make football such a TEAM game.

You can have an Aaron Rodgers and still go 6-10.
You can have a Drew Brees and still go 7-9.
You can have one of the most physically gifted passers in NFL history and never win a Super Bowl, ala Dan Marino.
You can be arguably the greatest running back in NFL history and play in only 6 playoff games in 10 seasons, ala Barry Sanders.
You CAN lose your franchise QB for the season and STILL win a Super Bowl by beating arguably the GOAT QB in NFL history, in the process.

So while a single guy, or group of guys, can help a team take the next step, they cannot do it by themselves. It takes players AND coaches. It take skill AND luck.

I have no hate or contentment towards Zeke, and if I had my way, he would be a Cowboy for a long time. But he is not THE piece Dallas needs to win. He is A piece, that if combined with others, can help the Cowboys win. Same with Tank. Same with Dak. Just like it was the same for Romo, Witten and Ware.

But the unfortunate side is, not everyone will/can get paid by the same team. Chances are, we will lose one of the "Core Guys", so hopefully the Front Office can find a suitable replacement in a proper amount of time.

Again, JMHO.

Now this is one well written, must read piece!!!!!!!!

You need pieces to win a super bowl, and EZ is a very nice piece that would help tremendously.

 

[blumayne38]

Zeke jumps over people becauae no one really wants a piece of him in the open field

 

[America's Cowboy]

I don't recall Emmitt frequently jumping over piles of people in the style of Walter Payton. If he had, why would there be a need to mention Payton to remind Cowboy fans what it looks like?

In any case, while I agree Emmitt was the better RB, pile jumping is not the end all, be all requirement for a top end RB, nor does being somewhat short of the all time leading rusher in NFL history somehow mean a RB isn't great.

The point is when either needing 1 yard for a 1st down or trying to score at the goal line, many times Emmitt and Walter would jump over the pile. Zeke has flat out refused to jump the pile. If he is so great, why has he refused to jump the piles for 1 yard, yet he has no problem leaping over would be tacklers 1-on-1 in the open field?

Here is an example: Cowboys needed 1 yard to convert the 1st down and keep the drive alive on this 4th & 1 attempt late in the playoff game at the Rams. There were 2 openings where Zeke could have leaped over to convert what should have been an easy 1st down, especially from a RB as talented as Zeke. So, why didn't he jump? Instead, he ran with his head down right into the incoming tacklers. Unbelievable. Yet, he's supposed to get paid like he's great?

 

[mattjames2010]

By your standard not a single player on the team can help us win in the playoffs because they all were part of the rams loss, and many were part of the loss against GB 2 years ago. Your viewpoint is neither realistic or fair. One player, by himself, is not supposed to carry the team, and this talk about a "savior" is just fan drivel. In addition, a lotof players were part of the team's first shutout in years, and in the loss against the Rams, but everyone that didn't play well in those games is not suddenly eliminated from the list of important players that can help the team win in the future. The reality is Zeke is a huge part of what even gives the Cowboys a chance, and the fact he didn't play well against the Rams doesn't change that.

Maybe you want to look at the context of the thread, genius? I don't think "one player" will win us a game - which is why I'm in favor of trading away Zeke to get extra picks and building our defense. I have also pointed out, in other threads, that we need a DT and that was part of the reason we lost against the Rams.

I'm not the one claiming Zeke won us or lost us games - my position is, he isn't much of a reason for anything. He's an RB, they don't have a history of winning you much of anything.

Maybe don't drink so early in the day before responding to me.

 

[ColoradoCowboy]

I love me some Zeke, but as some fool once said "He left a lot of meat on the bone." LOL

Also, it says a LOT about how good Zeke is that we just EXPECT more than 100+ yards per game for his career and 2 out of 3 rushing titles.

 

[millennial_legend]

He's an RB, he isn't winning us crap. He was part of our first shut out since 2003, and the almighty Zeke was part of the game in 2017 that sent us home packing when he was supposed to come back and be our savior. He also had a whopping 2.4 YPC against the Rams.

You care about a playoff appearance, I care about trophies. Zeke isn't getting us those.

even if we won that game we would have missed the playoffs at 10-6, because Atlanta won out and they had the h2h tiebreaker at 10-6

 

[mattjames2010]

even if we won that game we would have missed the playoffs at 10-6, because Atlanta won out and they had the h2h tiebreaker at 10-6

Yeah, that doesn't change the fact that it was a win game for us and that was the mentality the team went in with. We lost, and frankly, it was an embarrassing loss.

 

[Redball Express]

I think the dependency on a world class RB is stagnating the Cowboys offense and making them easier to defend.

It was Linehan and Garrett's design.

Remember earlier in the year Linehan was throwing too much and we went 3-5.?

Then Garrett insisted feed Zeke and we went 7-1?

Just how is that too much.?

A more balenced attack is always desired, but..

being physical is what we are.

 

[OmerV]

Maybe you want to look at the context of the thread, genius? I don't think "one player" will win us a game - which is why I'm in favor of trading away Zeke to get extra picks and building our defense. I have also pointed out, in other threads, that we need a DT and that was part of the reason we lost against the Rams.

I'm not the one claiming Zeke won us or lost us games - my position is, he isn't much of a reason for anything. He's an RB, they don't have a history of winning you much of anything.

Maybe don't drink so early in the day before responding to me.

So, you admit your own argument putting down Zeke and his contributions for not singlehandedly winning games is bogus and doesn't actually diminish his importance to the team …

Sure, you could trade him to get more picks to put toward the defense, but what would that do to an offense already struggling to score points? Taking away one of the primary weapons from the offense would seem to exacerbate that issue.

In the end, the fact that one player cant win singlehandedly doesn't mean there isn't a need to have top end talent. We could trade away all star players to get more picks if we chose, but that doesn't guarantee getting top end talent out of the draft picks. It may just mean we have the biggest collection of average to above average talent around, but not enough top talent to win.

 

[CF74]

Just for reference, the Rams have beaten us twice with Zeke on the field, the first time we put up 30 pts and still lost the game..

I like Zeke but out of all the blue chip players we have, losing Zeke has proven to be the least detrimental to our wins and losses...

 

[MWH1967]

Right, one guy managed to win all those games. Not like it was a team effort or anything.

It's in the Middle of those two arguments. Yes its a collective group, however Zeke gives you 6 plays a game that makes a swing difference.

 

[DallasDW00ds0n]

Same can be said with Rush or White starting at qb instead of Dak.

I agree, but at least the scale is smaller. Replacing Dak with equivalent talent is easier than Zeke, who is a top 10 talent in football.

Does the Dak club ever take a thread off? Seems exhausting

 

[MWH1967]

How many 3rd & 1s or 4th & 1s did Zeke fail to convert for 1st downs, thus killing drives and leaving points on the field during those losses?

Answer: a whole bunch

He's no Emmitt Smith. Emmitt would jump over the pile to convert those 1 yards needed for 1st downs, just like Walter Payton used to do. Zeke doesn't even attempt to jump over the pile. Feet glued to the floor. Unbelievable.

You were saying about the Almighty Zeke?

Emmitt also had Larry Allen the unmovable force. That helps a tad. hell, he made train noises at Folks and there was nothing they could do about it.

 

[glimmerman]

The point is when either needing 1 yard for a 1st down or trying to score at the goal line, many times Emmitt and Walter would jump over the pile. Zeke has flat out refused to jump the pile. If he is so great, why has he refused to jump the piles for 1 yard, yet he has no problem leaping over would be tacklers 1-on-1 in the open field?

Here is an example: Cowboys needed 1 yard to convert the 1st down and keep the drive alive on this 4th & 1 attempt late in the playoff game at the Rams. There were 2 openings where Zeke could have leaped over to convert what should have been an easy 1st down, especially from a RB as talented as Zeke. So, why didn't he jump? Instead, he ran with his head down right into the incoming tacklers. Unbelievable. Yet, he's supposed to get paid like he's great?

Dak could have kept the ball and went around Tyron’s side and picked it up. Predictable right up the gut play instead.

 

[nightrain]

It was Linehan and Garrett's design.

Remember earlier in the year Linehan was throwing too much and we went 3-5.?

Then Garrett insisted feed Zeke and we went 7-1?

Just how is that too much.?

A more balenced attack is always desired, but..

being physical is what we are.

Too much of the offense's production revolves around one player. Whether that is by design or talent, it's still a flaw. It's about balance of talent across the roster, not play selection.