Zeke cannot do what Pollard does

[LACowboysFan1]

Thing is...fumbles were never a problem before.

Most people don't know that Eddie Georges first two Ohio State runs were fumbles.....near/at the endzone. So good runners do have ruts...so to speak.

I can't for the life of me figure out why zeke is fumbling. If I were a hater like Aria, Roy or starfan...I;d say "the fat got in the way" ...or "too much blunt".

Maybe it's like you said....he's changing the way he runs for more bling yards instead of just hammering?

(PS>..you didn't say that EXACTLY....but if zeke is swinging his free arm around...it;s changed)

Other runners have gotten to where they fumbled too much, and fixed the problem. Tiki Barber had 9, 8, 9 and 9 fumbles in his 4th thru 7th year, but even though his carries increased the next year he had only 5, and 1 & 3 his last two years. Adrian Peterson had 9 and 7 his 2nd and 3rd year, but dropped to 1 the next 2 years.

So it's certainly possible he'll get back to less fumbles. This is such a crazy year you can't really take anything that's happened or is happening and say it's going to be the same from here on...

 

[RonnieT24]

Thing is...fumbles were never a problem before.

Most people don't know that Eddie Georges first two Ohio State runs were fumbles.....near/at the endzone. So good runners do have ruts...so to speak.

I can't for the life of me figure out why zeke is fumbling. If I were a hater like Aria, Roy or starfan...I;d say "the fat got in the way" ...or "too much blunt".

Maybe it's like you said....he's changing the way he runs for more bling yards instead of just hammering?

(PS>..you didn't say that EXACTLY....but if zeke is swinging his free arm around...it;s changed)

The fumble on Thanksgiving was caused by a guy punching at the ball just as Zeke was trying to stretch for the first down. It happens.. I am far less concerned about that sort of fumble than I am the ones where he is just careless with the ball running in traffic.. Which we have not seen since the AZ game. I am more and more inclined to blamed Covid-19 after-effects for much of what is ailing Zeke this season. He is not himself. Despite all the criticism leveled his way early in the season he was 3rd in the league in yards averaging 4.4 ypc and was actually off to the best 5 game start of a season in his career. Then the heels came off. We know that loss of physical strength and endurance owing to the virus attacking lung tissue (aveoli?) are two of the more obvious after-effects of Covid.. More insidious is that we also know that people who have had it are reporting lingering brain fog months afterward. Zeke plays the most physically demanding position in the game.. His job is to run into people at high speed 30-40 times a game while absorbing easily twice that in hits. And that doesn't count hitting the carpeted concrete they call turf. If he is physically compromised there is no way he can do that job well. He may not be 100% physically until he has a full offseason to train and recover. The scary part is that depending on what Covid to him, he may never be 100% physically again..

 

[LACowboysFan1]

The fumble on Thanksgiving was caused by a guy punching at the ball just as Zeke was trying to stretch for the first down. It happens.. I am far less concerned about that sort of fumble than I am the ones where he is just careless with the ball running in traffic.. Which we have not seen since the AZ game. I am more and more inclined to blamed Covid-19 after-effects for much of what is ailing Zeke this season. He is not himself. Despite all the criticism leveled his way early in the season he was 3rd in the league in yards averaging 4.4 ypc and was actually off to the best 5 game start of a season in his career. Then the heels came off. We know that loss of physical strength and endurance owing to the virus attacking lung tissue (aveoli?) are two of the more obvious after-effects of Covid.. More insidious is that we also know that people who have had it are reporting lingering brain fog months afterward. Zeke plays the most physically demanding position in the game.. His job is to run into people at high speed 30-40 times a game while absorbing easily twice that in hits. And that doesn't count hitting the carpeted concrete they call turf. If he is physically compromised there is no way he can do that job well. He may not be 100% physically until he has a full offseason to train and recover. The scary part is that depending on what Covid to him, he may never be 100% physically again..

Also, it's difficult to recover from anything if you're playing every week. Get a "lingering" injury and it's usually the off season before you really get over it...

 

[LACowboysFan1]

The fumble on Thanksgiving was caused by a guy punching at the ball just as Zeke was trying to stretch for the first down.

I watched the play several times, he just dropped it, nobody punched at the ball that I could see. But like you said, it happens. But giving up 3 pts in a game where you get beat by 25 because you fumbled didn't cause the loss.

He does need to fix that, though...

 

[G2]

The fumble on Thanksgiving was caused by a guy punching at the ball just as Zeke was trying to stretch for the first down. It happens.. I am far less concerned about that sort of fumble than I am the ones where he is just careless with the ball running in traffic.. Which we have not seen since the AZ game. I am more and more inclined to blamed Covid-19 after-effects for much of what is ailing Zeke this season. He is not himself. Despite all the criticism leveled his way early in the season he was 3rd in the league in yards averaging 4.4 ypc and was actually off to the best 5 game start of a season in his career. Then the heels came off. We know that loss of physical strength and endurance owing to the virus attacking lung tissue (aveoli?) are two of the more obvious after-effects of Covid.. More insidious is that we also know that people who have had it are reporting lingering brain fog months afterward. Zeke plays the most physically demanding position in the game.. His job is to run into people at high speed 30-40 times a game while absorbing easily twice that in hits. And that doesn't count hitting the carpeted concrete they call turf. If he is physically compromised there is no way he can do that job well. He may not be 100% physically until he has a full offseason to train and recover. The scary part is that depending on what Covid to him, he may never be 100% physically again..

Maybe, maybe, we score a TD on that drive Elliott fumbled. Maybe. It resulted in a FG, so that fumble wasn't what got us blown out.

 

[blueblood70]

Other runners have gotten to where they fumbled too much, and fixed the problem. Tiki Barber had 9, 8, 9 and 9 fumbles in his 4th thru 7th year, but even though his carries increased the next year he had only 5, and 1 & 3 his last two years. Adrian Peterson had 9 and 7 his 2nd and 3rd year, but dropped to 1 the next 2 years.

So it's certainly possible he'll get back to less fumbles. This is such a crazy year you can't really take anything that's happened or is happening and say it's going to be the same from here on...

dont you bring up big names and common sense into this most of this zone say zeke was mistake pick, mistake contract , and that hes just jag they want gone.. comparing him to felix jones even and not allowing for any discussion that zekes fumbles while need to be worked on to correct, his actual play on the field has valid reasons called NO OL, NO QB threat, OC the last 18months going to a pas oriented game plan and defense has us playing from behind every game...

so really this is zeke issue?! No its not that was Rhetorical, you give zeke most of his starting line and at least a consistent line for more then ONE WEEK, and OC that has balance to the game and schemes run plays like i saw back when Callahan was the play caller(yes not just how he called plays, the type of plays, but attention to blocking schemes that varied) and see this being done for Henry, cook, and chubb etc their OC seemed to stick with the run game and finds way even if its under 4YOC to keep calling plays and finally they break a few big ones..

I saw Henrys biggest ruins last week were out of a pass formation the defense actually pass blitzed , the Oc fooled the defense and huge holes open for Henry/..when the last time zeke didnt get his 6 yes SIX vanilla go run straight ahead in obvious run formations type calls..

Moores weak in the run game , he hasn't figured out how to be as creative in that area as he is in all other areas of the pass game etc..this isnt all on zeke, most is not outside of the fumbles..

 

[LACowboysFan1]

Maybe, maybe, we score a TD on that drive Elliott fumbled. Maybe. It resulted in a FG, so that fumble wasn't what got us blown out.

Cowboys got the ball on the freaking FOUR yard line after Smith's int and couldn't score a td.

"Maybe" is stretching it, I'd say more like doubtful....

 

[blueblood70]

Cowboys got the ball on the freaking FOUR yard line after Smith's int and couldn't score a td.

"Maybe" is stretching it, I'd say more like doubtful....

the game went south when the first series B2B plays we lost the tackles another pair gone and Martin is key..this was going to be a challenge with that DL anyway but as you saw in MN if we have a decent consistent OL plays Zeke and pollard can eat and that sets up Dalton for not being tackling dummy..the game literally started turning right at that moment..the fumble and INt hurt, the bad play calls risky bonehead calls hurt, it added up to 4point game becoming blowout..

theres no way for team to function with all the injuries'..

I believe the coaching staff and to degree the players are pressings and doing things because they feel risk and stretching for every inch is necessary to cover up the injuries' to even compete. I doubt they do this in a normal year at least not to this extent..Desperate times lead to desperate measures type of thinking..

 

[LACowboysFan1]

Desperate times lead to desperate measures type of thinking..

Like trying a fake punt on your own 24 yard line.

I get it, certainly you expect doing that will surprise the other team, I like aggressive play calling in general, but that was beyond stupid...

 

[SteveTheCowboy]

The fumble on Thanksgiving was caused by a guy punching at the ball just as Zeke was trying to stretch for the first down. It happens.. I am far less concerned about that sort of fumble than I am the ones where he is just careless with the ball running in traffic.. Which we have not seen since the AZ game. I am more and more inclined to blamed Covid-19 after-effects for much of what is ailing Zeke this season. He is not himself. Despite all the criticism leveled his way early in the season he was 3rd in the league in yards averaging 4.4 ypc and was actually off to the best 5 game start of a season in his career. Then the heels came off. We know that loss of physical strength and endurance owing to the virus attacking lung tissue (aveoli?) are two of the more obvious after-effects of Covid.. More insidious is that we also know that people who have had it are reporting lingering brain fog months afterward. Zeke plays the most physically demanding position in the game.. His job is to run into people at high speed 30-40 times a game while absorbing easily twice that in hits. And that doesn't count hitting the carpeted concrete they call turf. If he is physically compromised there is no way he can do that job well. He may not be 100% physically until he has a full offseason to train and recover. The scary part is that depending on what Covid to him, he may never be 100% physically again..

I hear ya brother. I do believe there are some legit reasons (they can call them excuses if it makes em feel better). Unlike some "fans" I don't ditch at the first (or second) sign of adversity. Imma still root for him..and everyone that wears The Star.

 

[SteveTheCowboy]

dont you bring up big names and common sense into this most of this zone say zeke was mistake pick, mistake contract , and that hes just jag they want gone.. comparing him to felix jones even and not allowing for any discussion that zekes fumbles while need to be worked on to correct, his actual play on the field has valid reasons called NO OL, NO QB threat, OC the last 18months going to a pas oriented game plan and defense has us playing from behind every game...

so really this is zeke issue?! No its not that was Rhetorical, you give zeke most of his starting line and at least a consistent line for more then ONE WEEK, and OC that has balance to the game and schemes run plays like i saw back when Callahan was the play caller(yes not just how he called plays, the type of plays, but attention to blocking schemes that varied) and see this being done for Henry, cook, and chubb etc their OC seemed to stick with the run game and finds way even if its under 4YOC to keep calling plays and finally they break a few big ones..

I saw Henrys biggest ruins last week were out of a pass formation the defense actually pass blitzed , the Oc fooled the defense and huge holes open for Henry/..when the last time zeke didnt get his 6 yes SIX vanilla go run straight ahead in obvious run formations type calls..

Moores weak in the run game , he hasn't figured out how to be as creative in that area as he is in all other areas of the pass game etc..this isnt all on zeke, most is not outside of the fumbles..

I swear KM makes zeke run into the teeth every single time. And with a bad o-line? "come on, man!"

 

[CalPolyTechnique]

The fumble on Thanksgiving was caused by a guy punching at the ball just as Zeke was trying to stretch for the first down. It happens.. I am far less concerned about that sort of fumble than I am the ones where he is just careless with the ball running in traffic.. Which we have not seen since the AZ game. I am more and more inclined to blamed Covid-19 after-effects for much of what is ailing Zeke this season. He is not himself. Despite all the criticism leveled his way early in the season he was 3rd in the league in yards averaging 4.4 ypc and was actually off to the best 5 game start of a season in his career. Then the heels came off. We know that loss of physical strength and endurance owing to the virus attacking lung tissue (aveoli?) are two of the more obvious after-effects of Covid.. More insidious is that we also know that people who have had it are reporting lingering brain fog months afterward. Zeke plays the most physically demanding position in the game.. His job is to run into people at high speed 30-40 times a game while absorbing easily twice that in hits. And that doesn't count hitting the carpeted concrete they call turf. If he is physically compromised there is no way he can do that job well. He may not be 100% physically until he has a full offseason to train and recover. The scary part is that depending on what Covid to him, he may never be 100% physically again..

Dude, nobody makes up more crap on a per post basis than you.

Lol, Zeke had .the ball punched-out now?

Yeah, no he didn’t

 

[aria]

Other runners have gotten to where they fumbled too much, and fixed the problem. Tiki Barber had 9, 8, 9 and 9 fumbles in his 4th thru 7th year, but even though his carries increased the next year he had only 5, and 1 & 3 his last two years. Adrian Peterson had 9 and 7 his 2nd and 3rd year, but dropped to 1 the next 2 years.

So it's certainly possible he'll get back to less fumbles. This is such a crazy year you can't really take anything that's happened or is happening and say it's going to be the same from here on...

But he was one fumble away from leading the league just a couple years ago, what’s the excuse for that year?

 

[RonnieT24]

I watched the play several times, he just dropped it, nobody punched at the ball that I could see. But like you said, it happens. But giving up 3 pts in a game where you get beat by 25 because you fumbled didn't cause the loss.

He does need to fix that, though...

Nah.. the dude came by and punched it .. I will get a screenshot if I can find it.. You can't see it on the play but when they show the closeup replay you can.

 

[LACowboysFan1]

But he was one fumble away from leading the league just a couple years ago, what’s the excuse for that year?

No excuse needed. If you're looking for the perfect back, ain't gonna find him. You judge a player by his totality, not just one stat.

You do realize he had a grand total of 6 fumbles that year, right? Big whoopee deal. Emmitt had 4 or more fumbles in a season 8 times, also had years where he had 1 or 2, so it varies, even among great backs.

IF he continues on this pace, it's a problem, of course. But it doesn't mean he can't fix it. He did it before, the year after the year you noted, he had only 3 all year despite having 301 carries, only 3 less than 2018.

We'll see what happens in the future...

 

[LACowboysFan1]

Nah.. the dude came by and punched it .. I will get a screenshot if I can find it.. You can't see it on the play but when they show the closeup replay you can.

I watched all I could find in full screen, doesn't show it, but if there's photographic or video evidence I will stand corrected...

 

[SlammedZero]

Zeke leaves a lot of meat on the bone.

 

[RonnieT24]

Dude, nobody makes up more crap on a per post basis than you.

Lol, Zeke had .the ball punched-out now?

Yeah, no he didn’t

Seriously dude? Are you so dead set on being right that you're willing to deny what you see with your own eyes. Watch #94 as he comes in .. go frame by frame and you can easily see his fist reach in and punch the ball. Hard to see in real time but when you go super slo mo you see it. Even if you don't see the punch you see how the ball flies backwards as Zeke goes down. Are you the mind that Zeke just threw the ball 5 feet backwards too? Maybe you know something about gravity that I don't?

 

[RonnieT24]

I watched all I could find in full screen, doesn't show it, but if there's photographic or video evidence I will stand corrected...

Got a little work to do but I will post the frame by frames in a few and you can judge for yourself.

 

[kskboys]

Nah.. the dude came by and punched it .. I will get a screenshot if I can find it.. You can't see it on the play but when they show the closeup replay you can.

Holy Larry, Ron, I took it for granted he just dropped it. However, after watching closely several times, it's actually very clear that #94 reaches down and punches the ball out. You have to look carefully, but once you see it, it's obvious. This was from the vid that Cal provided, BTW. In one of the replays, you can actually see it very clearly.