Zeke's Fumbles

[mattjames2010]

I don't think this is a problem yet, but he has 4 on the year and 2 came in the past 5 weeks. Today's fumble could have been a devastating one and we were lucky he got back on top of it.

With all of this winning, it's easy to overlook issues like this. But he's nearly equaling the amount of fumbles Murray had in 2014 (We've got lucky we only lost one) and I'd hate for this to become an issue come playoff time.

Having said this, even some of the best backs in NFL history had fumbling issues early on. Everyone from Smith to Peterson, so it's something that can be corrected. But the coaches will have to keep on him about it so it doesn't escalate like it did for Peterson from 2007 to 2008.

 

[Macnalty]

I don't think this is a problem yet, but he has 4 on the year and 2 came in the past 5 weeks. Today's fumble could have been a devastating one and we were lucky he got back on top of it.

With all of this winning, it's easy to overlook issues like this. But he's nearly equaling the amount of fumbles Murray had in 2014 (We've got lucky we only lost one) and I'd hate for this to become an issue come playoff time.

Having said this, even some of the best backs in NFL history had fumbling issues early on. Everyone from Smith to Peterson, so it's something that can be corrected. But the coaches will have to keep on him about it so it doesn't escalate like it did for Peterson from 2007 to 2008.

The viking are great at striping the ball so I give them some credit. It is beginning to be a issue if we see any in the next couple of games.

 

[Proximo]

I'd like to see some "fumbles per carry" stats to compare with other RB's. A little frame of reference is always nice.

I will say at this moment I do not think it's an issue and I don't think he had a history of fumbling in college.

 

[CashMan]

I don't think this is a problem yet, but he has 4 on the year and 2 came in the past 5 weeks. Today's fumble could have been a devastating one and we were lucky he got back on top of it.

With all of this winning, it's easy to overlook issues like this. But he's nearly equaling the amount of fumbles Murray had in 2014 (We've got lucky we only lost one) and I'd hate for this to become an issue come playoff time.

Having said this, even some of the best backs in NFL history had fumbling issues early on. Everyone from Smith to Peterson, so it's something that can be corrected. But the coaches will have to keep on him about it so it doesn't escalate like it did for Peterson from 2007 to 2008.

I think it can go 3 ways:


Leave him alone

Look at what happened to Julius Jones

Look at Tiki Barber

 

[haleyrules]

wth. Three tough games in 11 days can do that to any RB.It's no big deal. He is still driving ths offense.

 

[sbark]

Coaches seemed to smooth out the Dak to Zeke handoff. Past weeks the announcers have showed Dak giving it to Zeke high and loose several times---withuot incident, but potential for problems.

 

[mattjames2010]

wth. Three tough games in 11 days can do that to any RB.It's no big deal. He is still driving ths offense.

It's a big deal when he's "driving this offense" and one of his fumbles came before these last 3 games. It seems people only want to talk about fumbles when you lose them.

As I said, it's not the time to call it a problem yet, but it's something tossing up a red flag and should be addressed before it really is a problem.

 

[BotchedLobotomy]

I'm not looking for the ball to pop out every carry like I did with DM in 2014.

 

[jwooten15]

I'm not looking for the ball to pop out every carry like I did with DM in 2014.

That's how I feel, also. With Murray, I'd cringe (or curse) every time I saw him palming the football with just one hand while trying to accelerate or make a move.

It always seemed like it was just a matter of time until he fumbled it again.

Zeke learned a lot from that first Washington game and if you watch the way he has ran with the ball since then, you can tell he really emphasizes ball security.

I'm not worried about Zeke. Sure, I was pissed when he did fumble, but he will get it corrected.

 

[joseephuss]

Ezekiel Elliot(2016): 1 fumble every 72.8 touches
Demarco Murray(2014): 1 fumble every 89.8 touches

 

[Doomsday101]

I'm not overly concerned because I know Zeke will continue to work hard on his game and continue to look to improve as a player.

 

[Idgit]

He actually takes good care of the ball as far as I'm concerned. He's not like Murray, who used to drive me nuts with the way he'd fling it around like it was hot or something.

 

[MagicMan]

Lucky the call got overturned and gave it back to Zeke. Normally when that happens under a pile, the theft of the ball is not visible and is given to the person who has it at the end. Our HS coach would tell us to jump on the pile not so much to get the ball but to block the vision of the ref so we could steal the ball. That pigskin got squeezed so hard it smelled like bacon.

 

[Doomsday101]

He actually takes good care of the ball as far as I'm concerned. He's not like Murray, who used to drive me nuts with the way he'd fling it around like it was hot or something.

True, he only has 1 lost fumble on the season. since the Commanders game which even Zeke was upset about he has only put the ball on the ground twice and both recovered by the Cowboys including zeke recovering his own last night.

 

[Idgit]

True, he only has 1 lost fumble on the season. since the Commanders game which even Zeke was upset about he has only put the ball on the ground twice and both recovered by the Cowboys including zeke recovering his own last night.

Yeah. He covers it up, and he holds it high and tight. For the most part, he switches hands when he needs to. Early in the year I think he had a small issue with it because maybe he was thinking too much, but he's settled down and takes care of the ball. Sometimes dudes just get a helmet on it and it's going to come out. I think over the course of his career, though, he's going to be pretty good with it.

 

[Doomsday101]

Yeah. He covers it up, and he holds it high and tight. For the most part, he switches hands when he needs to. Early in the year I think he had a small issue with it because maybe he was thinking too much, but he's settled down and takes care of the ball. Sometimes dudes just get a helmet on it and it's going to come out. I think over the course of his career, though, he's going to be pretty good with it.

True, sometimes defense makes good plays. I just don't see an issue with Zeke and ball security.

 

[Boyzmamacita]

Ezekiel Elliot(2016): 1 fumble every 72.8 touches
Demarco Murray(2014): 1 fumble every 89.8 touches

This doesn't seem accurate. Just goes to show that perception and reality are two different things.

 

[JDSmith]

This doesn't seem accurate. Just goes to show that perception and reality are two different things.

For me the perception doesn't match because I can't even see the Cleveland fumble. I know what play it was supposed to happen on, per nfl play by play, but I can't see the fumble, and the announcers didn't even mention it. Maybe I can see the ball hit the ground and bounce back to Elliott, but that's taken me multiple viewings - and the announcer never breaks stride and keeps talking about how many catches Witten has had. If someone wasn't paying close attention they wouldn't even know that fumble ever happened, and because the sample size is so small taking out that one fumble changes the numbers dramatically - Zeke then goes from 1 fumble every 72.8 touches to 1 fumble every 97 touches. So my perception as that Zeke fumbled twice in the Washington game and then didn't fumble until Minnesota, but the reality is that he's got 33 percent more fumbles than that (I just can't see it).

The bigger issue that Murray had was that when he fumbled he typically lost the ball. When you lose the ball everyone remembers the fumble. And when you do that 4 games in a row, it leaves an impression.

 

[Echo9]

Maybe I'm reading it wrong, but it looks like Murray fumbled 7 times in 2014 (5 on runs, 2 on catches)
http://www.nfl.com/player/demarcomurray/2495207/careerstats

 

[StarOfGlory]

If he becomes a consistent 1500 yard 12 TD back for the next five years, a few fumbles will simply be a footnote to a great career. Not an issue at this time.