Ezekiel Elliott tried really hard to stick to the party line laid out by his head coach. He made every effort to follow Mike McCarthy’s example and not divulge any insider information about what the 2020 Cowboys offense will look like when it’s unveiled Sunday night at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles.
After a preseason with no exhibition games, confidential training camp sessions, and a televised scrimmage that revealed nothing but standing around on the sidelines, no one outside the locker room really knows what to expect from Dak Prescott and Company.
But it didn’t stop the media from asking the running back for a preview during a Wednesday conference call.
“I don’t think that any changes that we’ve made are that big from what we were doing. Just like, little different playcalls,” Elliott said. “I think I’m ready. I’m pretty comfortable in the offense. It’s very similar to what we ran last year, so it’s not really anything that’s crazy-new or crazy-alarming, so it’s pretty much the same system I’ve been in the past four years.”
That may not be quite what Cowboys Nation wants to hear, given that Dallas reached the postseason in just two of those four years and have a disappointing 1-2 record in those playoff games to show for it.
So Elliott was asked instead to confirm the rumors that he’ll be more involved in the passing game under McCarthy.
“Yeah, I think I will be.”
That was it. That was the whole answer.
The no-nonsense McCarthy would have loved it.
The reporters assembled remotely waited for more, and then burst out in laughter when they realized it wasn’t coming. At least not willingly.
They pushed Elliott to elaborate.
“Just running routes from the backfield, running routes from slot, running from out wide,” Elliott said before flashing his signature grin. “That’s about how much I can give you.”
Elliott no doubt has the skills to hurt defenses as a receiver. But last season, he barely cracked the top 10 leaguewide when it came to pass receptions by a running back. And most of those catches came on garden-variety swings and screen dump-offs. His best season catching the ball came in 2018, when he had 77 grabs for 567 yards and three touchdowns.
In 2020, Elliott looks to surpass those stats by running more actual routes, but he’s still eyeing the big prize, too: a third league rushing title to go with the ones he earned in 2016 and 2018.
“Based off the whole mentality of the football team and that O-line we’ve got in front of us and all the weapons outside,” Elliott explained, “I think with my ability, I expect myself to be up there in the running for that rushing title.”
There are plenty of playmakers in Dallas looking for touches, as Elliott alluded to. One of them is in the same backfield. Tony Pollard impressed last season in his rookie campaign, despite totaling just 455 yards on the ground. While the Memphis product’s primary purpose may be to spell Elliott from time to time, fans were tantalized last season with the thought of seeing the pair on the field together.
The idea never truly took off under Jason Garrett’s watch. It just might in Kellen Moore’s first collaborative season with McCarthy.
“You saw a little bit of it last year,” Elliott admitted when asked about a scheme featuring both backs. “I would say just a bigger package, a bigger menu. Just more plays, like when you saw me and Tony together in there last year.”
Pollard came close to being the starter in Week 1 of 2019, after Elliott held out of training camp in a contract dispute. Zeke says his solo time in Cabo may have let him start last year fresher, but he feels more ready for action this time around.
“I definitely just feel in-tune. Like, I’ve been playing football for the past three weeks. Coming off the holdout, I jumped right into practice, the first day in pads, and then literally, three or four days later, we’re playing on Sunday. So just having those three weeks, it went by fast, but just having that and actually being in pads and seeing the run fits.”
It will all come together on Sunday night when Elliott, Pollard, Prescott, and the highly-anticipated receiving corps of Amari Cooper, Michael Gallup, and CeeDee Lamb finally take the field and unleash what looks to be- on paper, anyway- a legitimate offensive juggernaut.
“I think the sky’s the limit,” Elliott said plainly.
But the 25-year-old rusher was also quick to temper initial expectations about that potentially-explosive Dallas offense, one that’s still trying to jell as a unit after the abbreviated camp.
“The first game, you know it’s not going to be your best game,” Elliott admitted. “You know it’s going to be a little sloppy, especially this year with no preseason and kind of a late start to the training camp. It’s going to be messy. You know those first couple weeks, it’s not going to be perfect, but you’ve got to fight for a win.”
Just as McCarthy had told the team.
Elliott ended up sticking to the script after all.
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