Zeke Questions Critics Football IQ in Regards to Week 1 Performace

[DandyDon52]

I really wish MM would take over play calling at least in the red zone.

he cant lol coach jerry made kellen offensive head coach , so mike has no control over what is done on offense.

 

[Cmac]

Okay that's a fair challenge so I was forced to go back and look at it..

Here are the snaps in the red zone..

2nd quarter 6:52 3rd and 3 at the 13 yard line.. we break the huddle empty backfield 5 wide . Dak waves Zeke to join him at 15 seconds left on the play clock. 4 wide incomplete pass.
2nd quarter 5:00 1st and 10 at the 12 yard line . slot left, Zeke in the backfield 4 wide Dak scrambles for 7.
2nd quarter 4:25 2nd and 3 at the 5 yard line. Zeke in the backfield.. 4 wide bad snap.. Dak throws TD.
2nd quarter 3:36 2nd and 6 at the 17 .. slot right 4 wide. incomplete pass
2nd quarter 3:26 3rd and 6 at the 17.. 5 wide empty backfield incomplete pass
3rd quarter 12:00 1st and 10 at the 18 .. 2 backs in the backfield.. swing pass to Pollard
3rd quarter 11:27 2nd and 4 at the 12 .. one back 4 wide back shoulder to Coop for first down
3rd quarter 11:07 1st and goal at the 8 .. one back 4 wide QB draw for 3
3rd quarter 10:51 2nd and goal at the 5 .. one back 4 wide swing pass to Zeke
3rd quarter 10:20 3rd and goal at the 2 .. one back slot right TE unbalance left failed option pitch..

That's 10 snaps in the red zone and basically one run with Zeke.. an option pitch.. Only one run heavy formation which we threw out of.. Every other one had at least 4 wide ... These offensive alignments clearly indicate no desire to run down close whatsoever..

My problem with these formations is they declare right off the bat "we're passing." We tell the defense immediately that they can pretty much ignore the run and come after our QB.. If Zeke had been stopped for losses repeatedly I could see this approach.. but the option pitch play was the ONLY running play that lost yardage all game.

But RonieT24.....we got a guru and HC in waiting? I'm befuddled by all the claims on Zeke, all the time. We need You in the Film Room with KMoore.

 

[Cmac]

Zeke led all RBs that faced more guys in the block, Game 1.....look it up. So, shouldn't some of our formations disguise the D too? I think we're a pass-happy offense that is going to get us in trouble and we seem to be a finesse team that tries to withstand punches in the mouth, instead of slinging some back, IMO. 3 & outs, and FG attempts are going to place our D in more trouble.....and we know what kind of D we have. We ain't KC that can score in bunches.

 

[Cmac]

But RonieT24.....we got a guru and HC in waiting? I'm befuddled by all the claims on Zeke, all the time. We need You in the Film Room with KMoore.

RonnieT24....are we playing checkers but there's chess pieces on the board?

 

[jaythecowboy]

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.

The Cowboys weren't losing because they were passing the ball. They were passing the ball because they were losing. They would be "balanced" early in the game even though the run wasn't working well enough to justify the carries. Then the Cowboys fall behind and have to pass.

 

[MountaineerCowboy]

Belichick went 7-9 last year.

Next.....

What a weird, bad, and just flat out terrible counter.

 

[charron]

Power running vs finesse. When the OL no longer dominates Zeke's running is going to suffer. Maybe changing blocking schemes sometimes may help. Maybe try running more out of 3 receiver sets. But what is clear is lining up in a power run look does them no favors, it actually favors the defense.

 

[USArmyVet]

The Cowboys weren't losing because they were passing the ball. They were passing the ball because they were losing. They would be "balanced" early in the game even though the run wasn't working well enough to justify the carries. Then the Cowboys fall behind and have to pass.

Career pass attempts by half for Dak:

1st half: 1,205
2nd half: 1,131

So he has thrown more earlier in the game and has 1,231 pass attempts when leading or tied in a game whereas he has 1,117 pass attempts when trailing......so sort of debunks your statement.

 

[RonnieT24]

Power running vs finesse. When the OL no longer dominates Zeke's running is going to suffer. Maybe changing blocking schemes sometimes may help. Maybe try running more out of 3 receiver sets. But what is clear is lining up in a power run look does them no favors, it actually favors the defense.

How would we know? I don't remember the last time we lined up in power run formation.. Unless we count the one time we had Zeke at fullback and Pollard at tailback and ran straight ahead on 3rd and short. The one thing we came into the game certain we could NOT do. The blocking was horrible.. the defense collapsed on the middle.. Zeke got the first down anyway.. As for favoring the defense? You think lineup with 5 blockers against 7 front line defenders favors the offense?

 

[phildadon86]

How would we know? I don't remember the last time we lined up in power run formation.. Unless we count the one time we had Zeke at fullback and Pollard at tailback and ran straight ahead on 3rd and short. The one thing we came into the game certain we could NOT do. The blocking was horrible.. the defense collapsed on the middle.. Zeke got the first down anyway.. As for favoring the defense? You think lineup with 5 blockers against 7 front line defenders favors the offense?

I think he meant it tips your hand. I cant tell you how many times I saw the jumbo formation when Garrett was around and how angry I would get every time

 

[coult44]

https://www.star-telegram.com/sports/nfl/dallas-cowboys/article254268093.html

If you put any blame on Zeke for not running the ball last week, you are not smart enough to be part of the big boy group of this site. Just go on to over to the Ranch (does that site still exist). You can’t be that special can you?

 

[kskboys]

Y'all are so lame sometimes.

Zeke did not get the ball enough. Many's the time when Emmit averaged 2-3 YPC in the first half, but we kept giving him the ball.

Zeke is a volume RB.

 

[Tussinman]

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

It's funny how opposite Bellicheck/Krafts reaction would of been. This is what they would of said when questioned

Patriots: "No we don't do holdouts with 2 years left on the deal. Our team does not have a history of that, there will be no talks of new contract at this time next question".

Stephen Jones that same off-season when asked about a new deal and possible holdout (real quotes mind you): "zeke is our boy for life" "we already have the money allocated for him" "Gurley is the starting point of negotiations".


What a joke

 

[MountaineerCowboy]

It's funny how opposite Bellicheck/Krafts reaction would of been. This is what they would of said when questioned

Patriots: "No we don't do holdouts with 2 years left on the deal. Our team does not have a history of that, there will be no talks of new contract at this time next question".

Stephen Jones that same off-season when asked about a new deal and possible holdout (real quotes mind you): "zeke is our boy for life" "we already have the money allocated for him" "Gurley is the starting point of negotiations".


What a joke

Remember when the Pats traded Jaime Collins off to the Browns when he started going around saying he was going to be one of the highest paid LBers in the NFL?

That' what a winning culture and winning organization does. Jerry and co buckle to any demands and then become too attached to let go.

 

[Coogiguy03]

While there is truth to his having to do a lot of blitz pick-ups, much like Dallas didn't pay DLaw over $100M to be a run defender Zeke wasn't paid $90M to be a fullback.

LOOOOOOOL TOO FUNNY!!! Tank especially doesn't have enough impact on the game for me. Look at the DT last night from Washington, HE HAD AN AFFECT on the game from what I saw before I went to sleep lol

 

[USArmyVet]

Remember when the Pats traded Jaime Collins off to the Browns when he started going around saying he was going to be one of the highest paid LBers in the NFL?

That' what a winning culture and winning organization does. Jerry and co buckle to any demands and then become too attached to let go.

Collins was traded for a 2017 3rd rounder which NE later traded to NO for WR Cooks who NE later traded (along with a 4th round pick) to the Rams for a 2018 1st and 6th round draft pick.

NE may or may not hit on draft picks but they do not commit big money for players based on past performance.

 

[MountaineerCowboy]

Collins was traded for a 2017 3rd rounder which NE later traded to NO for WR Cooks who NE later traded (along with a 4th round pick) to the Rams for a 2018 1st and 6th round draft pick.

NE may or may not hit on draft picks but they do not commit big money for players based on past performance.

They do things the right way. Every organization should look at them as the model of how to do things. The Cowboys should be looked at as the complete opposite.

 

[LovinItAll]

What a weird, bad, and just flat out terrible counter.

Within it's context, it absolutely was not.

 

[RonnieT24]

They do things the right way. Every organization should look at them as the model of how to do things. The Cowboys should be looked at as the complete opposite.

I think we will learn a lot about the Patriots over the next several years without Brady as their ace in the hole. Brady's ability to make throws, to make adjustments at the line, to control and orchestrate the game was a huge advantage for them. Both on offense and on defense. Then him having the filthy rich wife enabling him to take lesser salaries enabled them to do good things cap wise. They have lost a lot when they lost that guy. Time will tell if they hit on another one just like him in Jones.. odds are certainly against it.

 

[LovinItAll]

They do things the right way. Every organization should look at them as the model of how to do things. The Cowboys should be looked at as the complete opposite.

Again, the 'right way' was worth 7-9 last year and a week #1 loss to the Dolphins after scoring a measly 16 points. If you put any stock in power rankings, they're significantly worse than the Cowboys.

Belichick was a losing coach without Brady. We'll see how he does without him now.