Video: Zeke vs. Pollard - An interesting breakdown

[Runwildboys]

He was never a speed guy....alone. Yes....could threaten .....but he was always a smash em up guy first.
Not sure where you guys get this thin slim twitchy zeke from. Almost like you made it up, argue he isnt that, then claim him a loser. Weird.

Don't know where you get the idea that I called him a loser. Almost like you made it up. Weird...and he used to be faster than he is, but I never claimed or even hinted that it was his only or main asset.

 

[SteveTheCowboy]

Zeke vs Pollard an interesting breakdown....Jerry wants the guys that he's payed to play. Why, because Jerry wants to look like a genius. And Jerry has paid Zeke, so Jerry wants Zeke to play. It's going to be interesting this year, because Jerry asked Lamb to wear #88. Which means Jerry wants Lamb to be our new star WR. So if Jerry wants Zeke to be a star and Lamb to be a star, then that puts pressure on Moore to make both of those things happen. If Moore could actually learn how to feature a star WR, that would be great. But Moore also needs to learn how to lean on Pollard more. So it's actually what the fans want vs what Jerry wants, when it comes to Zeke and Pollard.

"What the fans want"?....what the entire freak

 

[SteveTheCowboy]

Don't know where you get the idea that I called him a loser. Almost like you made it up. Weird...and he used to be faster than he is, but I never claimed or even hinted that it was his only or main asset.

I did make it up. Some hyperbole. I admit it. You did not actually outright call him a loser.

 

[Runwildboys]

I did make it up. Some hyperbole. I admit it. You did not actually outright call him a loser.

I don't think he is, either. I think his play has backslid in comparison to what it once was, but I still think he's a good RB, excellent blocker, very good receiver, and seems like a good teammate.

 

[RonnieT24]

I don't think he is, either. I think his play has backslid in comparison to what it once was, but I still think he's a good RB, excellent blocker, very good receiver, and seems like a good teammate.

But it didn't backslide until he suffered the knee injury. Prior to that he was 2nd in the league in rushing (to Henry) and was averaging a full yard more per carry than Henry was. He was ballin.. Then the knee happened and that seemed to be all the excuse Moore needed to go full Air Raid. I'm not interested in any analysis of Zeke's performance last season that acts as if what we saw after injury is the "real Zeke" while everything that happened before should be discounted. Injuries happen.. they're part of the game.. and backs who run up the middle behind suspect lines get hurt more than most. Especially if when they're not fighting off 2-3 tacklers in the backfield they're being asked to throw their bodies in front of pass rushers.. some of whom will outweigh him by 100 pounds. I've given up on Moore ever figuring out how to call an effective run game.. I don't much care who the back is.. as long as the backside DE is getting left unblocked while we run delay handoffs up the middle the ground game is going to struggle. Yes Zeke and Pollard are good enough to occasionally make chicken soup out of .. well. you know.. but either our blocking schemes suck or the linemen do.. maybe both because defenders meeting our guys in the backfield at the moment they take the handoff is a recurring theme for us the last two years. If that doesn't get fixed you could alternate between Jim Brown, Walter Payton and Emmitt Smith and still not have a consistent running game.

 

[RonnieT24]

Zeke vs Pollard an interesting breakdown....Jerry wants the guys that he's payed to play. Why, because Jerry wants to look like a genius. And Jerry has paid Zeke, so Jerry wants Zeke to play. It's going to be interesting this year, because Jerry asked Lamb to wear #88. Which means Jerry wants Lamb to be our new star WR. So if Jerry wants Zeke to be a star and Lamb to be a star, then that puts pressure on Moore to make both of those things happen. If Moore could actually learn how to feature a star WR, that would be great. But Moore also needs to learn how to lean on Pollard more. So it's actually what the fans want vs what Jerry wants, when it comes to Zeke and Pollard.

You think Moore is trying to make Zeke a star giving him the ball 12-13 times a game?

 

[Runwildboys]

But it didn't backslide until he suffered the knee injury. Prior to that he was 2nd in the league in rushing (to Henry) and was averaging a full yard more per carry than Henry was. He was ballin.. Then the knee happened and that seemed to be all the excuse Moore needed to go full Air Raid. I'm not interested in any analysis of Zeke's performance last season that acts as if what we saw after injury is the "real Zeke" while everything that happened before should be discounted. Injuries happen.. they're part of the game.. and backs who run up the middle behind suspect lines get hurt more than most. Especially if when they're not fighting off 2-3 tacklers in the backfield they're being asked to throw their bodies in front of pass rushers.. some of whom will outweigh him by 100 pounds. I've given up on Moore ever figuring out how to call an effective run game.. I don't much care who the back is.. as long as the backside DE is getting left unblocked while we run delay handoffs up the middle the ground game is going to struggle. Yes Zeke and Pollard are good enough to occasionally make chicken soup out of .. well. you know.. but either our blocking schemes suck or the linemen do.. maybe both because defenders meeting our guys in the backfield at the moment they take the handoff is a recurring theme for us the last two years. If that doesn't get fixed you could alternate between Jim Brown, Walter Payton and Emmitt Smith and still not have a consistent running game.

I agree, but regardless of the reason, the fact is that he's not, or at least, hasn't been the same player he was. I'm not bashing him, just facing reality. The beginning of last season (?), he looked great, making cuts, running hard, then seemed to fade out. I'd like nothing better than to see him back to his old self (on the field) and I think the O-line, while possibly suffering a bit in pass protection, is going to improve in the running game. Just a feeling.

 

[RonnieT24]

I agree, but regardless of the reason, the fact is that he's not, or at least, hasn't been the same player he was. I'm not bashing him, just facing reality. The beginning of last season (?), he looked great, making cuts, running hard, then seemed to fade out. I'd like nothing better than to see him back to his old self (on the field) and I think the O-line, while possibly suffering a bit in pass protection, is going to improve in the running game. Just a feeling.

No he did not "seem to fade out.." He tore a ligament in his knee. It was not bad enough to sit (though I think he should have) but it was bad enough to lock up on him during games and severely limit his explosiveness, lateral agility and top end speed. Pssst.. injuries to the wheels really slow running backs down. Is this concept foreign to people? In the old days it was called "trick knee" because it would be fine for an undetermined amount of time then just flare up on you. My biggest fear is that playing 13 games on it doomed him to suffering from that affliction for the rest of his career. They never did reveal how severe the tear was.. below a certain percentage you can generally count on a full recovery though there will be scar tissue there for the rest of your life which will enable you to tell when the weather is about to change. Since Zeke apparently routinely hit 22+ mph on the GPS tracker during OTAs that would tell me he at least has regained most if not all of his top end speed. That bodes well for this season. But I still don't believe for one second that Moore is going to be scheming up plays to create big play opportunities for the backs with any regularity. Any big plays we get will be because the backs did something spectacular.

 

[Oz-of-Cowboy-Country]

"What the fans want"?....what the entire freak

Fans want Pollard to get more touches. But Jerry wants Zeke to be the catalyst of his offense.

 

[Oz-of-Cowboy-Country]

You think Moore is trying to make Zeke a star giving him the ball 12-13 times a game?

No I think Jerry wants vindication for drafting and re-signing Zeke. So Zeke is being pushed on Moore. When the run game isn't working with Zeke, Moore abandons the run. Any other OC will put Pollard in and see if he can get things going with Pollard.

It's like having two vehicles. If your primary vehicle isn't running right, then you go to your secondary vehicle. Only Moore doesn't go to that secondary vehicle...which is Pollard.

 

[RonnieT24]

No I think Jerry wants vindication for drafting and re-signing Zeke. So Zeke is being pushed on Moore. When the run game isn't working with Zeke, Moore abandons the run. Any other OC will put Pollard in and see if he can get things going with Pollard.

It's like having two vehicles. If your primary vehicle isn't running right, then you go to your secondary vehicle. Only Moore doesn't go to that secondary vehicle...which is Pollard.

My contention is that Moore doesn't want to go with either.. He wants to leave them both in the garage and take the Kawasaki Ninja to work. If Jerry really wanted "vindication" for anything with Zeke he'd fire Moore and bring in a run oriented coach. Even at 80 he can't be so senile that he can't see that Moore has no interest nor patience in the running game. If you look at the two over the past two seasons, you will notice that typically when the "run game isn't working with Zeke" it hasn't worked much better with Pollard. There aren't a ton of games out there where Pollard averaged 5 ypc while Zeke averaged 3. In the first 5 games of last season Pollard averaged more ypc in 2 games and Zeke averaged more in 2 games.. The Giants game, which I believe was the one where Zeke's leg started acting up, Zeke was 5.24 and Pollard was 5.36. In the Pats game it was 4.1 for both.. In the Minny game it was 3.13 for Zeke.. 3.7 for Pollard. Against Denver it was 5.1 for Zeke and 2.75 for Pollard. ATL was 2.93 and 3.82. And again.... Zeke was playing on one leg from the middle of the Giants game on..

None of which even touches on the fact that Pollard has gotten to face the defenses after Zeke has pounded on them some.. as well as getting a few jet sweeps where he gets ignored by the defense (which is chasing the fact to Zeke) until he's 10 yards downfield. Inexplicable, after about the New England game the jet sweep to Pollard completely disappeared from the playbook.. Further evidence that Moore has no interest in the running game actually working.

 

[BAT]

Great video and analysis even though he talked about Zeke's PCL injury, he didn't give enough emphasis on how much that injury affected Zeke!
Probably because the reason Zeke wasn't what he used to be is irrelevant to his breakdown. Aside from the injury, he's been regressing as he ages, which is understandable for a workhorse. The problem with giving him more carries is that it's been giving the offense fewer first downs, which is counterproductive to the goal. Sure, he may get more yardage as the game progresses, but by that time, the score is so lopsided they need to score quickly.

Hopefully, Zeke bounces back this season, for the whole season, and we get the thunder and lightning we need on the field.

 

[JoeKing]

Watch the video and see.

No thanks, I've been witness to how both perform. I don't need an edited video to tell me what's what or how to think.

 

[Runwildboys]

No thanks, I've been witness to how both perform. I don't need an edited video to tell me what's what or how to think.

Maybe not, but if you're going to give sarcastic comments about what the analyst in the video points out, you should probably know what he actually points out, rather than making assumptions.

 

[SteveTheCowboy]

Fans want Pollard to get more touches. But Jerry wants Zeke to be the catalyst of his offense.

What the fans want may not be the best way to run a team.
I happen to agree with you.....moore has mismanaged zeke, tony, and the entire run game. Im not convinced its all at the direct orders of jerry. I guess i dont blame you for being mad he doesnt do your bidding.

 

[SteveTheCowboy]

Maybe not, but if you're going to give sarcastic comments about what the analyst in the video points out, you should probably know what he actually points out, rather than making assumptions.

Coincidentally, the news this morning showed a study that people read a headline or a paragraph.and consider themselves an expert on the subject, case closed.
Then this pops up.
People....sheesh.

 

[JoeKing]

Maybe not, but if you're going to give sarcastic comments about what the analyst in the video points out, you should probably know what he actually points out, rather than making assumptions.

My being spot on about that article without reading it should tell you how useless it was.

 

[Runwildboys]

My being spot on about that article without reading it should tell you how useless it was.

And what were you spot on about? You made the assumption that he didn't mention pass protection. You were wrong about that.

You also alluded to the premise that he was "pitting them against each other", which he wasn't.

You weren't "spot on" about anything.

 

[JoeKing]

And what were you spot on about? You made the assumption that he didn't mention pass protection. You were wrong about that.

You also alluded to the premise that he was "pitting them against each other", which he wasn't.

You weren't "spot on" about anything.

Okay, my brother, I was wrong. Not the first time. I hope this makes you feel better.

 

[Typhus]

If this has already been posted, and I just missed it, feel free to delete.

I never believed it was Zeke vs Pollard, it's a symbiotic relationship.