Zeke Questions Critics Football IQ in Regards to Week 1 Performace

[USArmyVet]

My point is the OC job is to game plan for the opponent and they did just that a Tampa defense that gave up an avg of 22 point a game last season and was a top run defensive team the Cowboys were smart enough to attack them at their weakness and in doing so put up 29 points in the game. I agree need to do better in redzone but what is insane is trying to attack a defense at their strength. Tampa went into the game with top priority of stopping the run and Dallas was smart enough not to just bang our heads against that wall. LA Chargers are different and I expect the game plan as well will be different.

We will see but seems the last few seasons the running game has become inconsequential and it's become an air show.

 

[MountaineerCowboy]

It was 1 game, really? Cowboys have seldom used Zeke as a blocker but this past game they did. People making an issue of not running last game vs a top run defense without Martin in the lineup. I think some are just looking for anything they complain about. Fact is the offense was productive last week and now with Chargers next I do expect Zeke to see the ball quite a bit in the run game as LA Chargers run defense is not near as stout as that of Tampa. People make way too much over 1 game and act like well that is the norm for this season, BS it was the game plan Dallas put in place vs Tampa and they will put in a plan vs LA this week that will be different.

"It's just 1 game" as if this is not a continuation of what we saw out of Zeke last year......

 

[MountaineerCowboy]

Prescott was learning how to read a defect back then. This is it the same team. Prescott runs the show

We know,

The Win/loss record shows.

 

[Whirlwin]

Well, with the dramatic increase in Dak's attempts how has team success gone? The point is when the team was run focused the defense was off the field more and as such played better but now the passing game puts the defense on the field more and they are being exposed. Dallas, much like during Aikman's era, focused on the run which led to wins but JJ & Co. has this team being the air show which may put up stats but isn't putting up wins.

By the way, it was an intelligent well thought out argument. I just don’t agree with it. And that shouldn’t be an issue

 

[Whirlwin]

Belichick would have never paid Zeke all that money when a RB is not worth it.

I agree with that in the first place. But my message still stands. These are football players not prima donna one dimensional players.

 

[Doomsday101]

"It's just 1 game" as if this is not a continuation of what we saw out of Zeke last year......

No it is not a continuation of last season. Last season Dallas played with a makeshift OL every part of offense was screwed add to that a defense that struggled to keep opponents from scoring, I guess we could be down 2 or 3 scores late in the game and just keep trying run just so people could say well we ran the ball. Is Dallas going to run Zeke 30 plus times a game? No but I seriously doubt they will just use him as a blocker Dallas put in a game plan and most games plans vary from game to game based on the opponent weakness and strength. Fact is Zeke is showing the maturity I want to see, he had a chance to throw Jarwin under the bus yet did not do it. He could have complained he did not get the ball in the running game but did not do it. He did what was being asked of him and did it damn well as several times I saw Zeke step up and deliver a big block to save Dak from getting sacked, that is what I want from ball players to go out and do what is being asked of them to the best of their ability. As for what he gets paid I don't give a damn in the middle of the season what I care about is players doing what is asked of them by the team.

 

[Whirlwin]

Really? So TOP is anon-factor for how a defense plays? I beg to differ but at the end of the day Dallas is Dallas as they haven't changed in 25 years.

I know what you’re saying. These guys do get worn down. But they get worn down either way. Just say it’s just because of the running game. It’s not correct. In fact I think it’s harder to get the pass rush going

 

[Whirlwin]

No it is not a continuation of last season. Last season Dallas played with a makeshift OL every part of offense was screwed add to that a defense that struggled to keep opponents from scoring, I guess we could be down 2 or 3 scores late in the game and just keep trying run just so people could say well we ran the ball. Is Dallas going to run Zeke 30 plus times a game? No but I seriously doubt they will just use him as a blocker Dallas put in a game plan and most games plans vary from game to game based on the opponent weakness and strength. Fact is Zeke is showing the maturity I want to see, he had a chance to throw Jarwin under the bus yet did not do it. He could have complained he did not get the ball in the running game but did not do it. He did what was being asked of him and did it damn well as several times I saw Zeke step up and deliver a big block to save Dak from getting sacked, that is what I want from ball players to go out and do what is being asked of them to the best of their ability. As for what he gets paid I don't give a damn in the middle of the season what I care about is players doing what is asked of them by the team.

That’s the only issue I had with his post. Is contributing it to paycheck.

 

[Whirlwin]

Really? So TOP is anon-factor for how a defense plays? I beg to differ but at the end of the day Dallas is Dallas as they haven't changed in 25 years.

Well let’s hope it changes the season we have a lot of rookies out there

 

[Doomsday101]

That’s the only issue I had with his post. Is contributing it to paycheck.

For me business in the NFL sucks, in my view all get paid more than they deserve but having said that once the season rolls around all I care about is what takes place on the field. I don't expect game plans put in place based on who is getting paid what, I expect a game plan put in place to give us the best chance of winning. In the case of Tampa the team had Zeke stay in to pick up the blitz and in doing so we are able to hang in the game, never trailing more than a single possession in the game that allowed them the chance to win in the end.

 

[USArmyVet]

I know what you’re saying. These guys do get worn down. But they get worn down either way. Just say it’s just because of the running game. It’s not correct. In fact I think it’s harder to get the pass rush going

I was saying that with the Dallas offense focusing more on rushing the ball the TOP is such that the defense is on the field less (traditionally) but with the focus on the passing game the TOP is such that the Dallas defense tends to be on the field more....and given their already weakened status that is not a good thing.

TOP by year for Dallas

2016: 31:23
2017: 30:12
2018: 30:35
2019: 29:32
2020: 28:21

 

[RonnieT24]

Depending on the opponent. It will Flip flop. This is all non-issue

I agree.. I don't think this level of imbalance will become the norm. It was a one game anomaly based on the opponent IMHO. And Zeke is 100% correct. People who watched that game and came away thinking HE was the one to blame for the loss have extremely low football IQ. If he wasn't protecting his QB our season would already be over because Dak would have gotten hurt. And anybody citing that "we should use his money to get another offensive lineman" hasn't been paying attention. There simply is not enough athletic 300 pound men to go around. Most teams don't have 3 good linemen and we act as if we are entitled to 5 or 6. Even if the cap was double what it is you would not be able to field a line of 5 great linemen so folks need to just stop with that nonsense. Why do people think our backups who stink for us keep getting big deals from other teams even though they stink up the joint when asked to start here?

 

[88sAndHeartbreak]

While only 1 game into the 2021 season, this goes more toward the offensive approach since 2016 and the win-loss outcome.

When you look at Zeke's rushing attempts vs. Dak's passing attempts, you will see a pattern emerge:

2016: Dallas was 13-3 (Zeke had 322 rushes vs. Dak's 459 attempts)

2017: Dallas went 9-7 (Zeke had 242 rushes vs. Dak's 490 attempts) (Zeke suspended 6 games that year)

2018: Dallas went 10-6 (Zeke had 304 rushes vs. Dak's 526 attempts)

2019: Dallas went 8-8 (Zeke had 301 rushes vs. Dak's 596 attempts)

2020: Dallas went 6-10 (Zeke had 244 rushes vs. Dak's 222 attempts) (Dak missed 11 games due to injury)

2021: Dallas is 0-1 (Zeke had 11 rushes vs. Dak's 58 attempts)


The point is when the offense was focused on Zeke running the ball Dallas had more team success whereas when the offense focused on the passing game, the team success wasn't there. While some will point to the defense as the issue, the defense played well enough from 2016-2019 with 2020 being the outlier.

I agree but just because the game plan was changed for this game, doesn't mean that is the plan going forward.

Trying to run against the #1 rushing defense over and over is not a good game plan. Can't keep running into a brick wall, eventually you gonna have to go around or over it.

 

[MountaineerCowboy]

No it is not a continuation of last season. Last season Dallas played with a makeshift OL every part of offense was screwed add to that a defense that struggled to keep opponents from scoring, I guess we could be down 2 or 3 scores late in the game and just keep trying run just so people could say well we ran the ball. Is Dallas going to run Zeke 30 plus times a game? No but I seriously doubt they will just use him as a blocker Dallas put in a game plan and most games plans vary from game to game based on the opponent weakness and strength. Fact is Zeke is showing the maturity I want to see, he had a chance to throw Jarwin under the bus yet did not do it. He could have complained he did not get the ball in the running game but did not do it. He did what was being asked of him and did it damn well as several times I saw Zeke step up and deliver a big block to save Dak from getting sacked, that is what I want from ball players to go out and do what is being asked of them to the best of their ability. As for what he gets paid I don't give a damn in the middle of the season what I care about is players doing what is asked of them by the team.

I care about winning football games. I don't care how the players preform as long as we win the game. Zeke can have 0 carries and just block all day for all I care as long as success comes with it.

Just win, baby.

Whatever we're doing, these "game plans", are not working. When you score 1 TD in 4 trips to the Red Zone. It's not working. I'm not going to defend that, ever. I'm not in the merely competing business. Because just competing gets you sent home early.

 

[phildadon86]

"It's just 1 game" as if this is not a continuation of what we saw out of Zeke last year......

I dont know about that. There was one run where he got the edge and looked a lot faster than last season. He even high stepped lol. I just think the game plan was set in a way where we werent going to see a lot of rushes to begin with. Zeke last season couldnt have gotten that edge.

 

[McKDaddy]

Cowboys have seldom used Zeke as a blocker but this past game they did

I'm not sure why you say this. Zeke has always been very involved in blocking. Basically all he did last year with the line issues.

 

[Chuck 54]

Really? So TOP is anon-factor for how a defense plays? I beg to differ but at the end of the day Dallas is Dallas as they haven't changed in 25 years.

We just dominated time of possession vs TB. We still lost. The defense crumbled at crunch time.

 

[Doomsday101]

I care about winning football games. I don't care how the players preform as long as we win the game. Zeke can have 0 carries and just block all day for all I care as long as success comes with it.

Just win, baby.

Whatever we're doing, these "game plans", are not working. When you score 1 TD in 4 trips to the Red Zone. It's not working. I'm not going to defend that, ever. I'm not in the merely competing business. Because just competing gets you sent home early.

Redzone does have to do better yet we still scored 29 points vs a top defense so lets not act as if the offense was sputtering or that the points we got were garbage points. No doubt cleaning up in the redzone is very important.

 

[Doomsday101]

I'm not sure why you say this. Zeke has always been very involved in blocking. Basically all he did last year with the line issues.

Not to the extent he was in the past game, where he had 11 carries on the game.

 

[USArmyVet]

I agree but just because the game plan was changed for this game, doesn't mean that is the plan going forward.

Trying to run against the #1 rushing defense over and over is not a good game plan. Can't keep running into a brick wall, eventually you gonna have to go around.

None of us know what will happen going forward but can only go based on the past and what the past shows us is that from 2016-2019 Dak's pass attempts have increased from 459 to 596 (based on Dak's 5 games in 2020 he was on pace for over 650 pass attempts) which represents a near 30% increase in attempts (it would be over 40% if factoring the 2020 on pace attempts) from Dak's 2016 season.

While of course the o-line and defense saw changes, what we can surmise is that passing more is not leading to more wins but less.