Now that Ezekiel Elliot is here...

[Doomsday]

he was our next franchise back. I said it myself. and the guy handing off was our next franchise qb.

 

[bbgun]

he'll probably grab #25 when Dunbar is banished. I like #26 myself.

 

[MrB]

Oh jeez. Pygmalion Effect - you put a loser number on the kid, he's gonna be a loser. Julius Jones was oft-injured and never even sniffed his potential and was usurped in the lineup by Marion Barber. Randle of course, more recent so we all know. It's about the message you're trying to send, not about what is "attainable."

You light a FIRE under his ass by putting 22 on him, you have him thinking "21, piece of cake" when you give him that loserass number.


Kid says he "thrives under pressure." So we give him, none.

Good point

 

[Doomsday]

Good point

I don't know that it makes a damn bit of difference though, he well might make that #21 as 'sacred' as 22 apparently is - you have a point. But I want to set the bar high, want to plant that positive seed. Shoot for the moon, you might make it into orbit. Shoot for the stars, and the moon is just the first stop.

But back to your point, Dallas never gives anyone 74, 12 or 8 - and all of those hall of famers' stat numbers, they're not only attainable - they've all been surpassed. Except for Super Bowl wins of course.

We either retire numbers or we don't. And we never have. Therefore I see no valid reason not to give this kid - the highest drafted back since Tony Dorsett - our greatest and most honored running back number. Matter of fact, I would have had a ceremony with Emmitt himself there, popping out of the background and surprise presenting this kid with that #22 jersey. Especially after Emmitt had tweeted that he thinks this kid is better than himself.

Would you say never give anyone #9, since Tony's records and stats might be considered unattainable?

 

[Scot]

I am not yet convinced they'll actually feature him, or even start him initially, Orrrrr actually give him dominant workload. This is Garrett we're talking. Loading up on runners fits in with "running back by committee" more than it does a "featured back."

That is my main fear. That Garrett will be Garrett and not use him properly. Not feature him, not give him the workload, basically negate the entire reason for taking him at 4


My hope is that they go back to the 2014 "protect Romo" run the ball script because of his dual injury last season and because he missed so many games

If we go back to the 2014 gameplay Elliott will have an outstanding year

If we stay with the RB by committee approach then we just wasted the number four overall pick!

 

[Bob Sacamano]

Anyone else think Alfred Morris is the guy who ultimately gets the axe?

 

[MrB]

I don't know that it makes a damn bit of difference though, he well might make that #21 as 'sacred' as 22 apparently is - you have a point. But I want to set the bar high, want to plant that positive seed. Shoot for the moon, you might make it into orbit. Shoot for the stars, and the moon is just the first stop.

But back to your point, Dallas never gives anyone 74, 12 or 8 - and all of those hall of famers' stat numbers, they're not only attainable - they've all been surpassed. Except for Super Bowl wins of course.

We either retire numbers or we don't. And we never have. Therefore I see no valid reason not to give this kid - the highest drafted back since Tony Dorsett - our greatest and most honored running back number. Matter of fact, I would have had a ceremony with Emmitt himself there, popping out of the background and surprise presenting this kid with that #22 jersey. Especially after Emmitt had tweeted that he thinks this kid is better than himself.

Would you say never give anyone #9, since Tony's records and stats might be considered unattainable?

Definitely not. Hell a kicker might have it the year after he retires. I just think 22 belongs right there with 8, 12, and 74. Also I just think bigger backs look better in with a number in the 30's and 34 always makes me think of Hershel in his prime here and Bo Jackson. Elliott is a power back, we're going to see him mow some guys over. It would look cooler with him doing it in 34 than 21 or even 22 in my opinion.

32 would be cool too

 

[Doomsday]

If we go back to the 2014 gameplay Elliott will have an outstanding year

Should have.

I just think 22 belongs right there with 8, 12, and 74. Also I just think bigger backs look better in with a number in the 30's and 34 always makes me think of Hershel in his prime here and Bo Jackson. Elliott is a power back, we're going to see him mow some guys over. It would look cooler with him doing it in 34 than 21 or even 22 in my opinion.

32 would be cool too

I'm not interested in what looks cool. But I would agree if you said 21 is NOT cool.

But you think a 30s number would be 'cooler' than 22? C'mon now. 22 is where cool lives in Dallas.

Elliott is a power back, we're going to see him mow some guys over.

He's got power, but really isn't what anyone would call a 'power back' IMO. He's not that limited. He's kind of a hybrid who is nifty and also powerful. As I have said before, I believe he is a rare commodity among RBs for at least the last decade or so - especially in his blitz pickup and LB/DE blocking skills. He appears to actually enjoy the protection role.

 

[NoShame]

Anyone else think Alfred Morris is the guy who ultimately gets the axe?

Yea, I do.

McFadden is safe as long as he's healthy.

And a friend of mine is a season ticket holding Redskin fan. When we signed Morris I asked him if Morris had any gas left in the tank... My friend didn't seem to think so. Not sure if he's saying that because Morris is now a Cowboy or because its actually true...

Possible we're catching Morris at the wrong point in his career tho. Redskins let him walk with no problem, thats usually pretty telling.

 

[NoShame]

...and all of you guys have discussed ad nauseam the merits of taking him at 4 overall, or lack thereof; what would he need to do to justify the selection?

Does he need to come out of the gate better than Adrian Peterson?

Average 1,300-1400 yards the length of his rookie deal?

What are your expectations of him now?

Not only get the yards and TDs but help have the same affect Murray did on the team in 2014. From both an offensive and defensive standpoint.

 

[cmd34]

I think that Elliott is much more likely to take one to the house than Murray was. Which should not sound like a bad thing at all, but Murray's 4 yards, 7 yards, 4 yards, etc. approach is why we limited the defense being on the field.

I will take Elliott's long TD runs and hope that the defense can get in the way of opposing offenses and get an occasional stop. This defense still terrifies me.

 

[Midswat]

Yea, I do.

McFadden is safe as long as he's healthy.

And a friend of mine is a season ticket holding Redskin fan. When we signed Morris I asked him if Morris had any gas left in the tank... My friend didn't seem to think so. Not sure if he's saying that because Morris is now a Cowboy or because its actually true...

Possible we're catching Morris at the wrong point in his career tho. Redskins let him walk with no problem, thats usually pretty telling.

I think Morris really excelled under that read/react offense. He's had declining numbers every year since.

I like that he's low risk decent reward player though. I'd rather keep him over Dunbar.

Elliott, McFadden, and Morris. That'd be who I keep.


Also would've preferred Elliott get a number in the thirties. 21 sucks and giving him 22 would've been shitty. I barely like Emmitt anymore but I just hate that idea.

 

[ZeroClub]

Zeke said himself he didn't expect to start. Might have just been being humble though. Your guarantee applies for most all teams, this is Dallas and Garrett. We have nothing to assure us that suddenly our "braintrust" woke up to what happened in 2014 and is now looking to duplicate it with Zeke.

Just, don't be too surprised if we see RBBC and basically the same crap offensively we've always had, 2014 excepted.

He'll start. It could be Week 1 or it could be Week 6, but he'll become the starter.

If Garrett wants to avoid overworking the rookie by giving McFadden and Morris some snaps, I don't think that's a bad thing, especially as the Elliott gets acclimated to the playbook and the speed of the game. You could call that RBBC like it's a bad thing, but I don't think it is a bad thing. They've got a huge investment in Elliott. No need to be wreckless with him.

As for jeresy numbers, something in the 40's would have been cool. Give him the chance to establish his own jersey number legacy. 41, 43, 47 ... he could own one of those numbers by the time he's done.

 

[MrB]

Ideally I'd like to see Morris have a strong camp and pre season and play so well that he ends up getting closer to 15 carries a game (with Elliott getting 15-20) and both Zeke and Morris dominating on the ground. If that happens Romo would be likely to actually play the whole season, and might have one of the best years of his career.

 

[dbair1967]

Stats that matter: ESPN had a post draft review show on tonight, Elliott had more yds after initial contact than any RB in Power 5 conferences each of last two years.

More stats that matter. He comes up big in big games. Last two years:

2015
At Michigan- 30 carries, 214 yds, 2 tds
v Notre Dame in Fiesta Bowl- 27 carries, 149 yds, 4 tds, 1 receptions for 20 more yards

2014
v Wisconsin Big 10 Champ- 20 carries, 220 yds, 2 tds
v Alabama College Playoff Game - 20 carries, 230 yds, 2 tds
v Oregon National Champ Game- 36 carries, 246 yds, 4 tds

M O N E Y

 

[MrB]

One thing I wasn't aware of Elliott I heard today, he can run the whole route tree. I knew he's a good receiver but I wasn't aware he new the whole route tree. I'd bet that we have receivers that don't even know the whole route tree.

 

[Doomsday]

One thing I wasn't aware of Elliott I heard today, he can run the whole route tree. I knew he's a good receiver but I wasn't aware he new the whole route tree. I'd bet that we have receivers that don't even know the whole route tree.

Knows all the assignments, protection calls and audibles. Knows where everyone is supposed to be and where he's supposed to be and what to do. Makes very few mistakes, and also hardly ever fumbles or drops a pass. Then there's his blocking - rare to see a RB who seems to enjoy it like he does. He gets in his man's grill and keeps him from being a factor, almost every time.

He is the first true 3-down back to come out of college in years, maybe even decades. Only question is us - will we actually USE him to his potential? Or just make him a cog in a rotation?

 

[Midswat]

21 looks like shit. Absolute shit.

 

[MrB]

He's also big enough to take the pounding. But I do agree about the coaching. I'm not 100% confident that they will use him right.

 

[MrB]

21 looks like shit. Absolute shit.

Dunbar needs to be let go so that Zeke can wear 25 (or he could just give it to him).