Zeke's agents to determine after Combine whether he will take a pay cut

[RS12]

Maybe they could win 12 games a year.

Or advance past the wild card round.

 

[RonnieT24]

Not cherry picking anything. Zeke has faded down the stretch the last two years. 2021 was heavily due to injury, and who knows this year.

But the point is, he’s playing at a below average level going into, and during, the playoffs.

And the culprit is probably the 6 yr, 1800 carry mark that dooms so many RBs in the NFL.

Improving from that isn’t hard. Only saying goodbye is.

You don't recall his missing two games after taking the helmet on the knee against Detroit? Or his playing with the brace on when he came back.. same as after he hurt the same knee in 2021? Still the fact that injuries have knocked him off track from what were shaping up to be pretty good seasons two years in a row cannot be ignored. It's the nature of the game that running backs have a short shelf life. Running backs who don't avoid contact have an even short shelf life than average. It is what it is and nothing any of us says is going to change any of it. Zeke can't carry the load for a full season anymore.

So the question becomes what to do with him now. We all know neither the Cowboys nor anyone else is going to pay 11 million dollars for a part time back. Which is one of the hilarious things about the cry to pay Pollard.. He is also a part time back. My ideal solution will always be to just flip their roles. Feature Pollard more, let Zeke be the change up ... Work the salaries out such that they make sense. Both guys are good football players.. I am never in a rush to get rid of good football players. I am not in the camp that believes you can just plug any Tom Dick and Harry in and get the same results. I would also be interested to see if an offense that relies less on shotgun run and focuses on getting him downhill might not elevate Zeke's production. But if he's gone he's gone.. I would thank him for his service, wish him well, and scream like hell for whoever they replace him with.

 

[rambo2]

Or advance past the wild card round.

Which they very well could do next year to go along with their 3rd 12 win season in a row.

 

[RS12]

Which they very well could do next year to go along with their 3rd 12 win season in a row.

So what is the name on the 12 win participation trophy? Got two of em now for the participation trophy case. Yeeaaa

 

[CWR]

Lol they are living in a dream world if they think he can be released and get a big contract elsewhere.

 

[Whyjerry]

Pay cut? 11 million cap savings possible. He must be cut.

 

[SteveTheCowboy]

Not cherry picking anything. Zeke has faded down the stretch the last two years. 2021 was heavily due to injury, and who knows this year.

But the point is, he’s playing at a below average level going into, and during, the playoffs.

And the culprit is probably the 6 yr, 1800 carry mark that dooms so many RBs in the NFL.

Improving from that isn’t hard. Only saying goodbye is.

I agree...he has digressed. And you made a blanket statement to make him look as bad as possible. I don't approve of that dishonesty.

I again ask you...what was Tony's last five game stretch? A couple decent ones and a couple piss poor ones. Is that ALL on Tony Pollard? Of course not.

I could "cherry pick" a couple games that makes tony average 2.5 yards per carry. Come on....surely you see you made him look as bad as you possibly could by slicing and dicing stats.

Right?

Yes.

 

[fairviewfarmer]

Zeke gone! His agents don't have the say on whether he stays here or not.

 

[clff15701]

You don't recall his missing two games after taking the helmet on the knee against Detroit? Or his playing with the brace on when he came back.. same as after he hurt the same knee in 2021? Still the fact that injuries have knocked him off track from what were shaping up to be pretty good seasons two years in a row cannot be ignored. It's the nature of the game that running backs have a short shelf life. Running backs who don't avoid contact have an even short shelf life than average. It is what it is and nothing any of us says is going to change any of it. Zeke can't carry the load for a full season anymore.

So the question becomes what to do with him now. We all know neither the Cowboys nor anyone else is going to pay 11 million dollars for a part time back. Which is one of the hilarious things about the cry to pay Pollard.. He is also a part time back. My ideal solution will always be to just flip their roles. Feature Pollard more, let Zeke be the change up ... Work the salaries out such that they make sense. Both guys are good football players.. I am never in a rush to get rid of good football players. I am not in the camp that believes you can just plug any Tom Dick and Harry in and get the same results. I would also be interested to see if an offense that relies less on shotgun run and focuses on getting him downhill might not elevate Zeke's production. But if he's gone he's gone.. I would thank him for his service, wish him well, and scream like hell for whoever they replace him with.

Season? Zeke can’t carry the load for one game.

 

[Teague31]

Hilarious that they think have any leverage. They have zero

 

[zeke21]

Shame that Zeke has fallen away so quickly.. his start was so bright and easy for short memoried fans to forget how much he achieved. However even Zeke's biggests fans can see the decline, no way he is worth the contract he is on and I'm not sure that even a restructure is a good idea.

Having said that.. with Pollard carrying injury and a new OC coming in.. maybe if the deal is right then you give him another go and see whether he can get a 2nd wind. Even this season our best football was when Rush was playing and Zeke and Pollard went nuts. It should also be noted that both Zeke and Pollard looked pretty bad the last month of football.. so maybe it was more about other factors. Don't know.

But I think there is a only a slim chance we see Zeke as a Cowboy again.

 

[Malhavoc]

They should cut him tomorrow. Zeke is beyond done.

 

[DuncanIso]

They should cut him tomorrow. Zeke is beyond done.

#ZekeHate

 

[DuncanIso]

Shame that Zeke has fallen away so quickly.. his start was so bright and easy for short memoried fans to forget how much he achieved. However even Zeke's biggests fans can see the decline, no way he is worth the contract he is on and I'm not sure that even a restructure is a good idea.

Having said that.. with Pollard carrying injury and a new OC coming in.. maybe if the deal is right then you give him another go and see whether he can get a 2nd wind. Even this season our best football was when Rush was playing and Zeke and Pollard went nuts. It should also be noted that both Zeke and Pollard looked pretty bad the last month of football.. so maybe it was more about other factors. Don't know.

But I think there is a only a slim chance we see Zeke as a Cowboy again.

He scored 12 TDs.

 

[MikeT22]

It doesn't take the combine to know this is a very deep RB class or that Zeke has been on the decline for a couple of years and will be entering his 8th season. Perfect time to cut bait and take a RB on day 2 or so.

 

[Cowboys5217]

Hilarious that they think have any leverage. They have zero

They do. It's the "We Like Our Guys" leverage. They know Jones can be suckered into more foolish money because of it.

 

[Nova]

You don't recall his missing two games after taking the helmet on the knee against Detroit? Or his playing with the brace on when he came back.. same as after he hurt the same knee in 2021? Still the fact that injuries have knocked him off track from what were shaping up to be pretty good seasons two years in a row cannot be ignored. It's the nature of the game that running backs have a short shelf life. Running backs who don't avoid contact have an even short shelf life than average. It is what it is and nothing any of us says is going to change any of it. Zeke can't carry the load for a full season anymore.

So the question becomes what to do with him now. We all know neither the Cowboys nor anyone else is going to pay 11 million dollars for a part time back. Which is one of the hilarious things about the cry to pay Pollard.. He is also a part time back. My ideal solution will always be to just flip their roles. Feature Pollard more, let Zeke be the change up ... Work the salaries out such that they make sense. Both guys are good football players.. I am never in a rush to get rid of good football players. I am not in the camp that believes you can just plug any Tom Dick and Harry in and get the same results. I would also be interested to see if an offense that relies less on shotgun run and focuses on getting him downhill might not elevate Zeke's production. But if he's gone he's gone.. I would thank him for his service, wish him well, and scream like hell for whoever they replace him with.

I remember it. I’m more in the camp that the drop off wasn’t as dramatic after he hurt his knee in 22 than it was in 21, is all.

 

[RonnieT24]

I remember it. I’m more in the camp that the drop off wasn’t as dramatic after he hurt his knee in 22 than it was in 21, is all.

Okay I get your point. But truth be told I think taking the two weeks off (which should have been more like 4-6) was the difference between the two seasons. When he came back from the time off he was pretty good but as long as he was in that brace he was never going to be what we needed him to be. I said in 2021 that by playing through that injury he may have been doing irreparable damage to the knee that he would never come back from. But he and the coaching staff and training staff made the call that he should keep playing. I didn't agree with it at the time but nobody asked me. The fact that he came out of the gate playing pretty well this season was a pleasant surprise but those ankle (knee) bitin DBs in Detroit got him and another good season kinda went down the drain from there.

In the final analysis we don't get a vote on which of our favorite players stays or goes. I appreciate the good soldier that Zeke was for this organization and I put no blame on him because the Cowboys paid him like a top back and then made the conscious decision not to use him like one. They shifted into this much more shotgun heavy offense with way more delay handoffs than downhill running plays and then some folks wonder why Zeke is not as productive anymore. Full disclosure I'm an old running back and I much prefer to watch a strong running attack than a high flying passing attack any day. So frankly I have mostly hated what we've been running out there these last three seasons. Not because it's not fun and exciting and all.. it's just not the kind of football I enjoy watching and it's not the kind of football that makes deep playoff runs for the most part. I remember doing some research a couple of years back and finding that something like 90% of Super Bowl participants over the previous 20 years had a top 10 rushing attack and every Super Bowl featured at least one team with a top 10 rushing attack. Not necessarily a top 10 running back.. but a top 10 running GAME. The rules continue to make it easier and easier to move the ball through the air so those numbers may be shifting..

But then again the Eagles and 49ers sure do make running the ball look pretty damn important. I know KC won the whole thing with like the 20th ranked rushing attack this year but we know they are an outlier and we know why. I also think that with teams trying to trot out all these skinny little pass rushers more and more the running game saw a bit of a resurgence overall this year and I hope that trend continues.

 

[Asklesko]

In a legitimate franchise, the play does not get to determine his own worth on the field.

 

[FVSTONE]

If he stands his ground then he's gone, but if he can be had for a team discount then signing Zek may be the way to go.