Why are the Cowboys treating Ezekiel Elliott like a literal workhorse?
Green Bay's opponents deserve credit for what they did on Sunday, too. While rookie sensation Dak Prescott did throw his first interception, the steady Cowboys starter produced another effective performance in a 30-16 victory. Fellow rookie Ezekiel Elliott starred alongside Prescott, and what he did was even more impressive. The Packers had been incredible against the run this season, holding their opponents to 1.99 yards per carry through their first four games, the best rushing average for a defense through its first four games since the 1970 AFL-NFL merger.
Elliott promptly gashed the Packers for 157 yards on 28 carries. The Packers seemed a step slow throughout the game, with Dallas enjoying success with just about every one of its rushing concepts, thanks to its dominant offensive line and Elliott's combination of patience and quickness. As much as we often talk about Dallas' line when giving Elliott credit, he also has had runs like this one, in which the rookie back makes one defender miss in the backfield and leaps over a second defender diving at his knees before dragging two Packers for several yards to pick up a first down. Elliott gets help from his line, but it would be disingenuous to say he's a product of that line.
DeMarco Murray in Murray's breakout season of 2014, giving the injury-prone back carries late in games with the Cowboys up by two scores. Using the "six-minute offense" as our guide, Murray had 13 carries that year inside the final six minutes with Dallas up by 10 points or more.
There's a huge difference between Murray and Elliott, of course, and it should inform Garrett's decisions. Murray was a back in the final year of his contract who the Cowboys were unlikely to re-sign given their cap situation. It made sense to ride him, even if the playoff-bound Cowboys were likely better off limiting his touches in an attempt to save Murray for the postseason.
Elliott is a rookie who is six games into a four-year deal (with a fifth-year option). If the Cowboys get lucky, they'll still have another 1,100 carries or so from Elliott over the remaining 58 games on that contract, plus whatever he might do in the postseason. The Cowboys have to treat Elliott like a valuable asset and use him in situations in which he matters most as opposed to just running him out for meaningless carries in spots in which Dallas' win expectancy is already close to 100 percent. The Cowboys have a perfectly capable veteran backup in Alfred Morris who can handle those reps -- he got all of three carries on Sunday. I'm skeptical that the rookie wall exists, but the Cowboys need to be smart about preserving Elliott to keep him fresh as the season goes along.
Green Bay's opponents deserve credit for what they did on Sunday, too. While rookie sensation Dak Prescott did throw his first interception, the steady Cowboys starter produced another effective performance in a 30-16 victory. Fellow rookie Ezekiel Elliott starred alongside Prescott, and what he did was even more impressive. The Packers had been incredible against the run this season, holding their opponents to 1.99 yards per carry through their first four games, the best rushing average for a defense through its first four games since the 1970 AFL-NFL merger.
Elliott promptly gashed the Packers for 157 yards on 28 carries. The Packers seemed a step slow throughout the game, with Dallas enjoying success with just about every one of its rushing concepts, thanks to its dominant offensive line and Elliott's combination of patience and quickness. As much as we often talk about Dallas' line when giving Elliott credit, he also has had runs like this one, in which the rookie back makes one defender miss in the backfield and leaps over a second defender diving at his knees before dragging two Packers for several yards to pick up a first down. Elliott gets help from his line, but it would be disingenuous to say he's a product of that line.
DeMarco Murray in Murray's breakout season of 2014, giving the injury-prone back carries late in games with the Cowboys up by two scores. Using the "six-minute offense" as our guide, Murray had 13 carries that year inside the final six minutes with Dallas up by 10 points or more.
There's a huge difference between Murray and Elliott, of course, and it should inform Garrett's decisions. Murray was a back in the final year of his contract who the Cowboys were unlikely to re-sign given their cap situation. It made sense to ride him, even if the playoff-bound Cowboys were likely better off limiting his touches in an attempt to save Murray for the postseason.
Elliott is a rookie who is six games into a four-year deal (with a fifth-year option). If the Cowboys get lucky, they'll still have another 1,100 carries or so from Elliott over the remaining 58 games on that contract, plus whatever he might do in the postseason. The Cowboys have to treat Elliott like a valuable asset and use him in situations in which he matters most as opposed to just running him out for meaningless carries in spots in which Dallas' win expectancy is already close to 100 percent. The Cowboys have a perfectly capable veteran backup in Alfred Morris who can handle those reps -- he got all of three carries on Sunday. I'm skeptical that the rookie wall exists, but the Cowboys need to be smart about preserving Elliott to keep him fresh as the season goes along.
