{"id":15070,"date":"2024-10-20T03:40:21","date_gmt":"2024-10-20T03:40:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportnews.drinkfood.info\/?p=15070"},"modified":"2024-10-20T03:40:21","modified_gmt":"2024-10-20T03:40:21","slug":"%f0%9d%97%95%f0%9d%97%a5%f0%9d%97%98%f0%9d%97%94%f0%9d%97%9e%f0%9d%97%9c%f0%9d%97%a1%f0%9d%97%9a-cowboys-make-tough-move-with-ezekiel-elliott","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportnews.drinkfood.info\/?p=15070","title":{"rendered":"\ud835\uddd5\ud835\udde5\ud835\uddd8\ud835\uddd4\ud835\uddde\ud835\udddc\ud835\udde1\ud835\uddda: Cowboys make tough move with Ezekiel Elliott"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"CowboysGetty<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Cowboys RB Ezekiel Elliott<\/p>\n

We\u2019ve heard plenty about just what has gone wrong with the\u00a0Cowboys\u00a0running game this season, as the team sits in last place in rushing yards per game (77.0) and can\u2019t seem to figure out which members of the team\u2019s so-called \u201ccommittee\u201d of running backs should be on the field and when.<\/p>\n

In the end, it\u2019s not really the fault of former star\u00a0Ezekiel Elliott\u00a0that the Cowboys have gotten here. The team passed on chances to pick up a running back in the NFL draft last April, and failed to sign an effective replacement for\u00a0Tony Pollard, when they easily could have made a push to add Derrick Henry.<\/p>\n

Or\u00a0Saquon Barkley.<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

Or\u00a0Josh Jacobs.<\/p>\n

All three are in the Top 5 in rushing here in 2024, and could have been signed by Dallas if the Cowboys had been more aggressive in free agency and creative in creating cap space. Instead, the Cowboys thought it would be a good idea to dust off Elliott\u2014a player they let go a year earlier, figuring at the time that he had exhausted his NFL usefulness.<\/p>\n

Now, Elliott is splitting carries with\u00a0R<\/a>ico Dowdle\u00a0and averaging a career-low 3.0 yards per attempt. It would be ideal if he could be more productive, but the fact is, the Cowboys were delusional in thinking Elliott could still be a No. 1 back in the NFL. That\u2019s they\u2019re fault, not Elliott\u2019s.<\/p>\n

Cowboys Need to Make a Tough Choice<\/strong><\/h2>\n

But the Cowboys still have 11 games to get through, and finding a way to improve the running game is a must for the rest of the way. Minimizing Elliott, perhaps by bringing up Dalvin Cook from the practice squad, is one possible solution, as\u00a0Calvin Watkins of the Dallas Morning News\u00a0indicated in an article titled, \u201cFive areas the Cowboys could realistically improve to make a run at NFC East title.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bringing up Cook means Elliott really has no place on the roster. It might be harsh, considering Elliott\u2019s status as a beloved teammate and how brilliant he was early in his career in Dallas, but that likely means Elliott would be cut.<\/p>\n

Wrote Watkins: \u201cThe Cowboys\u2019 offseason moves \u2014 not drafting a running back,\u00a0signing Ezekiel Elliott in free agency\u00a0and starting two rookies in the offensive line \u2014 have hampered the running game. The Cowboys are starting Rico Dowdle with Elliott as a backup.<\/p>\n

\u201cOne thing the Cowboys could do is\u00a0elevate Dalvin Cook from the practice squad\u00a0and make Elliott either inactive on gamedays or release him. Dowdle\u2019s ability to return kicks, if necessary, allows him to remain on the gameday roster.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ezekiel Elliott on a 4-Year Decline<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Cutting Elliott would be cold, but the Cowboys have left themselves few options in the running game, and it is clear that Elliott is just not effective anymore. As Watkins points out, part of the blame should go to the offensive line, but Dowdle is averaging 4.2 yards per carry running behind the same line.<\/p>\n

That indicates that Elliott just does not have much traction in the league anymore. This is not exactly a severe drop-off in his performance, as his yards per attempt numbers have been\u00a0steadily dropping for years\u2014from 4.2 in 2021, to 3.8 in 2022, 3.5 in New England in 2023 and now to 3.0.<\/p>\n

The\u00a0grades at Pro Football Focus\u00a0probably spell it out most clearly. Elliott, who was the league\u2019s leading rusher in the first two seasons of his career, has warranted a grade of 51.1, with is 53rd\u00a0among the NFL\u2019s 67 running backs.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Getty   Cowboys RB Ezekiel Elliott We\u2019ve heard plenty about just what has gone wrong with the\u00a0Cowboys\u00a0running game this season, as the team sits in last place… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":15073,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-15070","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nfl"],"yoast_head":"\n\ud835\uddd5\ud835\udde5\ud835\uddd8\ud835\uddd4\ud835\uddde\ud835\udddc\ud835\udde1\ud835\uddda: Cowboys make tough move with Ezekiel Elliott - Sport News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/sportnews.drinkfood.info\/?p=15070\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"\ud835\uddd5\ud835\udde5\ud835\uddd8\ud835\uddd4\ud835\uddde\ud835\udddc\ud835\udde1\ud835\uddda: Cowboys make tough move with Ezekiel Elliott - 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