Zeke - playing him way too much!

[Hennessy_King]

Making Zeke a June first cut saves 10 mil on the salary cap.

Franchise tag number for RB’s is projected at 9.5 million. Just sayin.


You could make Zeke a post June cut.

Franchise pollard

Draft a RB in 3-4 round.

That way Zeke is gone. You have pollard and a rookie plus Malik Davis next year.

The year following you let pollard walk and know if your young RB is ready. If not… draft another.

This is what I would do. All day.

This upcoming draft has a lot of talented backs. Should be able to get a good one in the mid rounds.

Lets hope the franchise number stays low if they go that route

 

[RonnieT24]

This myth that Pollard can't run between the tackles needs to stop. Yeah, you aren't going to plow him into the middle of the line 15-17 times a game, but he's shown he can run between the tackles.

I don't think anyone has said he can't run between the tackles. He's just slithery and slippery enough that he can slip through tiny holes for positive yardage most of the time. He's certainly much better now than he was three years ago. I was really referring to the frequency with which you could theoretically do it and not beat him down to the point of losing the explosive plays. That doesn't show up over the course of one or two games but over the season it absolutely will. Some of those poorly blocked interior runs weren't getting any yards no matter who you were handing it to. But Zeke turns them into positive yards more often than not while Pollard gets trapped for losses at a higher rate than Zeke does. That's not "opinion" that's a documented fact. In a game like last night, where the offensive line had its hands full you have to make the defense defend the whole field. That includes between the tackles. We saw later in the game that some of the shorter runs started busting for a little longer ... All that was because of the inside runs taking a toll on the defensive front. That's not just Zeke though.. It's the 325 pound big uglies pounding on the defense too. It's playing the long game. And it works.. I was impressed that Moore stayed with it as well as he did last night.. That was really good to see.

 

[Xeven]

2022-2023 stats

Pollard 208 carries 1,084 yards 5.21 ypc 9 td's 43 catches 383 yards 8.9 ypc 3 td's

Zeke 243 carries 903 yards 3.7ypc 12 td's 18 catches 101 yards 5.6 ypc

Davis 38 carries 161 yards 4.2 ypc 1 td 6 catches 63 yards 10.5 ypc

Those were Dallas' top 3 running backs this season. Clearly, most can agree that Pollard has earned the #1 RB spot for Dallas and the first question is what will Dallas do in terms of re-signing or applying the franchise tag to Pollard to keep him in Dallas next season.

The next question, and the more difficult one, is what will Dallas do with Zeke going forward? While Zeke was the franchise his first 3 seasons, stats and the eye test show he is no longer what he used to be and has taken a back seat to Pollard this season. Zeke's 2023 cap hit figure is $16.7M with $11.8M worth of dead money remaining. If Dallas treats Zeke as a post-June 1st release, they will split his dead money between 2023 & 2024 resulting in $5.9M worth of dead money each season (a 2023 net savings of almost $11M and a 2024 net savings of $8.4M).

Given Jerry's penchant for emotional decisions at times, I fear they restructure Zeke so as to keep him for another few years. While Zeke has done much for Dallas, his time to go as come and allow Pollard to be the feature back he earned after this season. The question will be has Davis shown enough in his small sample size ti be a viable back-up running back and does Dallas look towards the draft or free agency to find a comparable back to partner with Pollard?

If we win a SB this year you keep Zeke a few more years if the money is right. You do not give up Pollard to keep Zeke though.

 

[diamonddelts]

If we win a SB this year you keep Zeke a few more years.

Nooooooooooooo

 

[EST_1986]

Is that specialist role worth still keeping him on the roster -even with a pay cut ?
.
- Admittedly i cannot get excited about Zeke running the ball anymore - unless its' at the goal line, where he is virtually unstoppable

- Even with draw-plays, and stretch runs, he is so slooow with getting it in-out of holes and run lanes. At the least, we get angry, dirty work
3-4 yard runs with no chance of him breaking it away for a long TD run.

- I'm still split at keeping a pay cut Zeke on the roster vs drafting another sleeper in the mid- late rounds (ala Pollard like gem)
Or should we give a Malik Davis a shot at the backup role ?

if Zeke would take a payout to stay and were able to keep Pollard, I think that would be the best most. Push comes to shove im all for dumping Zeke to keep Pollard

 

[Tommy]

T

They misused him most of the night, he is too slow to run a bunch of misdirection runs, and he needs to be up the middle or quicker one-cut runs.

Lol…

These coaches just don’t know what they are doing! I’m sure you had us winning by much more but our coaches kept that from happening.

 

[quickccc]

- There is no question we should always be leading with Pollard.
Even if that's him coming off the bench (just as Kamari used to for Ingram in Saints-land)

- Cowboys know Pollard is the better back, the more explosive threat.
Teams game plan and much more geared to stop Pollard .. vs gearing up to stop lumbering Zeke.

 

[cowboys5xsbs]

Yikes

 

[jterrell]

I don't think anyone has said he can't run between the tackles. He's just slithery and slippery enough that he can slip through tiny holes for positive yardage most of the time. He's certainly much better now than he was three years ago. I was really referring to the frequency with which you could theoretically do it and not beat him down to the point of losing the explosive plays. That doesn't show up over the course of one or two games but over the season it absolutely will. Some of those poorly blocked interior runs weren't getting any yards no matter who you were handing it to. But Zeke turns them into positive yards more often than not while Pollard gets trapped for losses at a higher rate than Zeke does. That's not "opinion" that's a documented fact. In a game like last night, where the offensive line had its hands full you have to make the defense defend the whole field. That includes between the tackles. We saw later in the game that some of the shorter runs started busting for a little longer ... All that was because of the inside runs taking a toll on the defensive front. That's not just Zeke though.. It's the 325 pound big uglies pounding on the defense too. It's playing the long game. And it works.. I was impressed that Moore stayed with it as well as he did last night.. That was really good to see.

TP is special because of his explosion.
He's added so much to his bag over time and is playing so well right.
The key is to maintain that level and NOT be goofy.

Dallas almost certainly restructures (pay cut tied to extension and reduced cap hit) or releases Zeke.

TP is so good right now and Dallas needs his playmaking.
He's went from likely to stay on low cost deal, likely to leave on larger deal to now likely to be kept on Tag.

Dallas has to be smart here. You do not want to recreate the Zeke situation with TP.
Zeke is a far better player historically, but he has been beaten to a pulp.
You most definitely do not want to beat up TP and hand him a massive deal.
That combo would be almost guaranteed to fail.

 

[KJJ]

Zeke had 13 carries averaging only 2.1 per carry. Not good! He really started to fade as the season went on. He averaged under 4.0 per carry in his last five games.

 

[JohnsKey19]

Yikes

That's just bad. If the front office evaluates the RB position taking emotional ties and jersey sales out of the equation, I mean how do you bring Zeke back? The guy's had a very good 5-6 year run with Dallas but physically he's nowhere near the same and it's time to upgrade. It should not be that difficult to find a #2 RB who can be a reliable blocking/pass-catching threat.

 

[RonnieT24]

TP is special because of his explosion.
He's added so much to his bag over time and is playing so well right.
The key is to maintain that level and NOT be goofy.

Dallas almost certainly restructures (pay cut tied to extension and reduced cap hit) or releases Zeke.

TP is so good right now and Dallas needs his playmaking.
He's went from likely to stay on low cost deal, likely to leave on larger deal to now likely to be kept on Tag.

Dallas has to be smart here. You do not want to recreate the Zeke situation with TP.
Zeke is a far better player historically, but he has been beaten to a pulp.
You most definitely do not want to beat up TP and hand him a massive deal.
That combo would be almost guaranteed to fail.

Yeah after two straight years of Zeke getting off to a good start only to be derailed by getting hit on the knee we have to basically expect that he's not going to get get through a season without something happening at this point. That elevates the importance of keeping Pollard. I've said many times that the best solution is figuring out how to keep them both. However that looks is immaterial. Zeke starting, TP starting.. doesn't matter.. but I'm not beating the drum to get rid of good players.. which they both are. Their pay has to be adjusted to reflect their respective roles .. but I aint in that "you gotta get rid of ..." camp. Not while I'm winning 12 games a year and advancing in the playoffs. That's just crazy talk.

 

[parchy]

Zeke was a three-year superstar who is now in his fourth year of continual deterioration and decline into mediocrity. Paying him what we're paying him in 2023 seems ludicrous. He's still slippery around the LOS and can wiggle through for 4-5 yards when it's there, but look at his 2016-2018 numbers vs. 2019-now. He had 14 runs of 20+ in 2016. He's had 15 in the last five seasons combined. He has no juice in his legs and hasn't for a very long time. You have to prioritize Pollard and take some more cap friendly options to Zeke for 2023 and beyond. If he's unwilling to play ball, you have to look at other options, because anything that imperils our ability to sign and feature Pollard is not worth it.

 

[TheMarathonContinues]

Making Zeke a June first cut saves 10 mil on the salary cap.

Franchise tag number for RB’s is projected at 9.5 million. Just sayin.


You could make Zeke a post June cut.

Franchise pollard

Draft a RB in 3-4 round.

That way Zeke is gone. You have pollard and a rookie plus Malik Davis next year.

The year following you let pollard walk and know if your young RB is ready. If not… draft another.

This is what I would do. All day.

This upcoming draft has a lot of talented backs. Should be able to get a good one in the mid rounds.

If they cut Zeke just to use that money to re-sign Schultz or sign a Anthony Barr....I mean is it even worth it?

 

[TheMarathonContinues]

I guess but when you watch the two play, it's pretty clear one is just the better TB right now. The better TB should get the bulk of the carries IMO.

If they want to play them both at the same time, great. As Ronnie mentioned, Zeke had a couple key blocks. But right now, Pollard is just the better player with the ball in his hands. Wouldn't one want the ball as much as possible in the hands of their best playmakers?

Pollard is a different back but you are right. For sure they are completely different and levels of talent right now. I think Zeke is still beneficial as a blocker. Sure you don't want a 16 million dollar a year blocker but this is what we have. I trust Zeke in short yardage gains and protecting Dak over Pollard. Doesn't mean don't give him touches because he should get more than Zeke but Zeke still has a role.

 

[RonnieT24]

Pollard is a different back but you are right. For sure they are completely different and levels of talent right now. I think Zeke is still beneficial as a blocker. Sure you don't want a 16 million dollar a year blocker but this is what we have. I trust Zeke in short yardage gains and protecting Dak over Pollard. Doesn't mean don't give him touches because he should get more than Zeke but Zeke still has a role.

I kinda hope they just flip flop their roles next year and let Pollard start and bring Zeke in off the bench. I admit to being more than a little intrigued at the prospect of a fresh Zeke being unleashed on defenses 12-15 times a game.. I suspect his splash play percentage would go up considerably in that scenario.. and Pollard's would go down.. leading to the same stupid debate in reverse in the next couple of years. I still come down firmly in the camp of use the both.. feed the hot hand.. give no attention to people whining about one guy playing over the other.. Do what's best for the team and let's go win this thing.

 

[parchy]

If they cut Zeke just to use that money to re-sign Schultz or sign a Anthony Barr....I mean is it even worth it?

Maybe. Depends what they do with the hole next to Pollard - if they reinvest in a talented mid-round RB with actual pop in his legs while removing the anchor of that Zeke contract, I wouldn't be opposed to it. Zeke's cap hit needs to be spread out, that I do know.

 

[dlobell]

They just need to go with the hot hand instead of worrying about who’s “turn” it is

 

[Coogiguy03]

Personally I think I’d cut Zeke and sign pollard but to do that you’d have to extend Dak now to create enough cap space
I’m fine with what Zeke brings this year
Pollard had more touches but pretty much even and Zeke is very dependable in short yardage
But pollard is a playmaker and keeping both isn’t possible. Given the choice of keeping one I keep pollard.

Pretty sure he can get a bigger deal in free agency than we can afford

 

[Coogiguy03]

They just need to go with the hot hand instead of worrying about who’s “turn” it is

Or how much money is invested