Tag: Ezekiel Elliott

Rico Dowdle value now clear after Cowboys abandon RBBC approach

The Cowboys committee approach at RB has shown them what value Dowdle really brings. | From @ReidDHanson

For as maddening as it’s been stealing carries from Rico Dowdle in 2024, the side-by-side comparison of Ezekiel Elliott and Dowdle has given the Cowboys a nice picture of what each player adds to the running game.

Running backs are a difficult position to evaluate in the NFL. Average yards per carry, cumulative totals and yards after contact have been common ways to grade RB efficiency in the past but they can be dated and often misleading in nature. Expected points added (EPA) has properly valuated the impact of each run better than yards/carry could ever dream of, but much like the others it has a hard time differentiating between RB impact and offensive line ability.

As advanced stats pick up steam in mainstream sports analysis, fans have searched tirelessly to find something that shows the value of a running back beyond what is directly given to him by his offensive line. Many have recently latched onto success rate as great barometer of RB skill, but even that speaks to the team’s execution of the play and says nothing about the quality of the runner himself.

That’s where Elliott and the Cowboys early use of RB-by-committee comes into play.

Under Mike McCarthy, the Cowboys have been resistant to plug specific runners into specific roles. He will hand off drives and call running plays regardless of whether it’s Elliott or Dowdle in the backfield. To the unintended benefit of this analysis, he matches play calls and circumstances as evenly as can be hoped for. From this we compare yards/carry, yards after contact, elusive rating (PFF signature stat measuring value added by RB) and success rate between the two backs. Predictably, all factors point to Dowdle as the superior RB.

Running behind the same Cowboys offensive line, Dowdle is averaging 4.5 yards/carry, compared to Elliott who just averages 3.2. Dowdle produces an EPA average of 0.04 while Elliott produces -0.27. Dowdle scores a 50.7 elusive rating compared to Elliott who averages a team low 17.2. Dowdle averages 2.41 yards after contact while Elliott averages 2.25.

Dowdle is tackled for loss at a lower rate, he gains first downs at a higher rate, and his explosive run rate is roughly five times that of Elliott. In matters of success rate (SR) Dowdle sits at 48.2 percent while Elliott is light years behind at 31.5 percent. Again, this is all behind the same offensive line with average number of defenders in the box greater for Dowdle than Elliott.

It’s important to point out SR differs from site to site with Pro Football Reference following a generic 40/60/100 format while Sumer Sports bases theirs on actual EPA on the given play (Sumer Sports for the win). But in either method of calculating SR, Dowdle has proven to be one of the best RBs in the NFL, all behind this Cowboys offensive line.

A successful running game typically comes from a well-executed running scheme. Offensive lines have proven over the years they are often more instrumental in ground game success than the man running the ball. Such a sentiment has caused many to declare “running backs don’t matter” since many backups produce at or near the same level of output as the man they replace.

In Dallas that is clearly not the situation. Running backs matter in a very big way because virtually every metric points to Dowdle as the superior runner. The Cowboys running game goes from bottom tier when Elliott has been carrying the ball to top tier when Dowdle is carrying the ball.

For as frustrating as the committee approach has been in 2024 it’s given the team a good look at what Dowdle really adds to the formula. It hasn’t just made a case for Dowdle to be the top dog in 2024 but it’s a making a good argument to re-sign the 26-year-old RB for next year and beyond.

This past week Dowdle has been declared the RB1 for the Cowboys going forward. That’s a wide move because based on the comparison between Dallas’ top two rushers, RBs really do matter sometimes.

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Eagles overcome mental hurdle with 34-6 win vs. Cowboys, ending losing streak at AT&T Stadium

Eagles overcome a major mental hurdle with 34-6 win vs. Cowboys that ends losing streak at AT&T Stadium

The Eagles entered Sunday’s matchup against the Cowboys on a six-game losing streak at AT&T Stadium. Still, Nick Sirianni’s team blasted the lid off six years of disappointment and firmly established themselves as an NFC favorite.

Philadelphia overcame another slow start, and two early Jalen Hurts turnovers to dominate Dallas, 34-6 on the road, just days before a Thursday night showdown against Washington for first place in the NFC East.

Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts was 14-20 passing for 202 yards (10.1 avg), two touchdowns, and one interception with a 115.0 rating. Hurts also rushed seven times for 56 yards, scoring two more rushing touchdowns and moving his career total to 52.

With Cooper Rush at quarterback, Dallas 3-14 on third downs, and Vic Fangio’s ever-improving unit held the Cowboys to 146 yards of offense, 2.6 yards per play, and 1.5 yards per pass.

A.J. Brown posted another 100-yard game, logging five catches for 109 yards (21.8 avg) and making massive catch after huge catch.   On defense, linebacker Zack Baun posted seven tackles and one tackle for loss. In comparison, C.J. Gardner-Johnson posted seven tackles, one pass defended, and helped create a huge Ezekiel Elliott fumble.

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Is Ezekiel Elliott playing today? Cowboys RB room controversy 2 weeks in row

A look at the Cowboys RB situation heading into Week 9 of the 2024 season. | From @KDDrummondNFL

With the run game struggling, Dallas looked to promote veteran free agent and practice squad member Dalvin Cook last week. A four-time Pro Bowler, Cook was signed at the end of the offseason and naturally had a ramp-up period to get in shape. During that time, concrete evidence was formed that the Cowboys running game was a disaster, worse than the year prior thanks to obvious blocking issues and questions about the quality of the backs who were on the roster.

Cook’s elevation brought the question of who would sit in Week 8, fellow veteran Ezekiel Elliott or youngster Deuce Vaughn. The answer turned out to be starter Rico Dowdle, who it was reported got sick the day of the game but was spotted in good spirits, signing autographs and generally acting like a not-sick person would. That created a storm of conspiracy theory talk, and instead of moving on, Dallas has chosen to ramp things up a notch by leaving Ezekiel Elliott home for the Week 9 trip to Atlanta.

On Saturday the club informed Elliott he was going to be made inactive for the game against the Falcons. Apparently that led to an elevated disagreement between he and the coaching staff to the point the club disciplined him by not allowing him to travel with the team.

Fans should remember, Elliott was brought back to the club after a year in New England under the umbrella of being great for team chemistry.

The Dallas Cowboys may not be a rudderless ship, but they certainly seems to be having trouble negotiating the rough waters of the 2024 season. What metaphor or analogy fits the circumstances best is still to be decided, but things certainly haven’t been handled with the calm and smooth manner one would associate with an organized organization. The running back situation of the last two weeks certainly supports the negative associations.

Report: Ezekiel Elliott’s reaction to being inactive led Cowboys to leave him in Dallas

From @ToddBrock24f7: Elliott will be a healthy scratch for the first time. He apparently did not react well to the news and will not travel to Atlanta.

“Zeke Who?”

More like: Zeke… Hoo boy.

The Cowboys’ rushing attack has been utterly toothless thus far in 2024, and now not even Ezekiel Elliott will get fed in Week 9 when the team visits the Falcons hoping to get back to .500 ball.

The team website confirms that the ninth-year veteran will not travel to Atlanta with the team. He’ll be inactive for “disciplinary reasons,” according to a report first filed by ESPN’s Todd Archer.

David Moore of the Dallas Morning News reports that Elliott was told he’d be inactive and that, ostensibly based on Elliott’s reaction to the news, “a mutual decision was then made that he not accompany the team to Atlanta.”

It will mark the two-time rushing champ’s first healthy scratch in a game that’s not a “meaningless” season finale.

The 3-4 Cowboys currently rank dead last in the NFL in rushing yards and yards per carry. Elliott, in particular, has struggled in his return to Dallas after spending 2023 as a New England Patriot. The former fourth-overall pick is averaging fewer than seven rushing attempts and just 21.3 rushing yards per game, both career-worst numbers (by far) for the three-time Pro Bowler.

The Cowboys have been unable to make a planned running back by committee work through seven games this season. After signing Dalvin Cook prior to Week 1, the team left him inactive until last Sunday’s matchup with the 49ers. Once he finally took the field, Cook gained 12 yards on six carries in his Dallas debut.

Rico Dowdle, the team’s leading rusher, was a late inactive due to what the team called an illness; Deuce Vaughn was active but did not play.

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Cook was elevated once again for Sunday’s game in Atlanta. Dowdle has not been listed on any of the week’s practice reports and carries no gameday designation.

No Cowboys ball carrier has had a run longer than 13 yards this season.

Whether the Cowboys win or lose on Sunday, Elliott’s benching, his apparent reaction to that development, and the fallout from that move will be a major storyline moving forward at The Star, just the latest chapter in a season that has turned dramatic for all the wrong reasons.

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Cowboys rule out Zeke Elliott vs Falcons, elevate former Pro Bowl RB

Cowboys rule out RB Ezekiel Elliott vs Falcons, elevate former Pro Bowl running back from practice squad

The Dallas Cowboys are dealing with numerous injuries entering Sunday’s matchup against the Atlanta Falcons. Defensive end Micah Parsons has been ruled out while cornerback Trevon Diggs and guard Zacku Martin were listed as questionable on the team’s final Week 9 injury report.

On Saturday, the Cowboys ruled out another key player, but this time, it wasn’t due to injury. According to a report from ESPN’s Todd Archer, running back Ezekiel Elliott will be a healthy scratch against the Falcons for disciplinary reasons.

The Cowboys elevated running back Dalvin Cook from the practice squad to help carry the load. The four-time Pro Bowler made his 2024 season debut in last week’s loss to the San Francisco 49ers, rushing for 12 yards on six carries.

Cook, 29, has rushed for 6,219 yards and 47 touchdowns since being drafted in the second round by the Minnesota Vikings in 2017. Look for Cowboys running back Rico Dowdle to share the load with Cook in Week 9.

The Falcons listed guard Chris Lindstrom and linebacker Troy Andersen as questionable for Sunday’s matchup in Atlanta. If Lindstrom is out, the team will look to reserve Kyle Hinton as a replacement.

Check out the Falcons’ updated 53-man roster, depth chart and injury report entering Sunday’s game at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.

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Will Ezekiel Elliott play in Week Nine? Update on Cowboys running back

Ezekiel Elliott won’t be with the Cowboys in Atlanta

The Dallas Cowboys have had all sorts of issues in 2024. The running game is one of them. They are making Dalvin Cook active for Sunday’s game with the Atlanta Falcons. What does that mean for Ezekiel Elliott?

What is Elliott’s status for Week Nine?

Todd Archer of ESPN reported Saturday that Elliott will not be with Dallas for its game on Sunday in Atlanta.

What is the Cowboys’ depth chart at RB?

Rico Dowdle is listed as the top back for Dallas. Behind him are Cook and Deuce Vaughn. Elliott was considered the second-stringer.

Cowboys desperately need return of explosive ingredient to fix their offense

It’s a total team effort to add explosive plays to the Cowboys running game. | From @ReidDHanson

The Cowboys have no shortage of problems in 2024. From their 24th ranked offense to their 30th ranked defense, their troubles on the offensive line to the catastrophe that is their DL. From their lame duck coaching staff to their problematically talkative owner, they have problems on all corners of this hexagon of doom.

The running game in particular has been an issue in Dallas. Not only has the offensive line struggled to execute blocks and lead runners to the second level, but the runners themselves have been unable gain access to the open field in 2024.

While the Cowboys’ passing game is trying it’s damnedest to carry the offense and create big plays, the running game isn’t remotely carrying its weight. In fact, based on the standardized measurement of 15+ yards, the running game has yet to chart a single explosive play in 2024.

Even when adjusting for play type, which charts an explosive pass as anything 20 yards or greater and an explosive run as anything 10 yards or greater, things don’t look much better.

Outside of scrambles and runs with CeeDee Lamb, the only Dallas rushers with explosive plays between 10-15 yards this season are Deuce Vaughn and Rico Dowdle. Vaughn hasn’t been active since September so unless someone is added at the trade deadline, the onus falls completely on Dowdle.

Based on the names floating around the rumor mill, it’s doubtful anyone available at the trade deadline is going to be the answer. This issue will likely require an internal solution, and it will need to be a total team effort.

The Cowboys have the pieces on the offensive line to be a good run blocking squad. Even with two-thirds being rookies, the talent and pedigree are there to have more success than what’s currently happening in Dallas.

Motion at the snap is something that’s been discussed incessantly this season, but it’s for good reason. Motion at the snap typically works. It changes the angles of blocks, changes run fits for defenders, and spreads defenses horizontally. It won’t work all the time, but it should be no surprise many of the best rushing teams in the NFL use motion at the snap on a regular basis.

Better success downfield in the passing game would also help the running game with explosive plays. If Dak Prescott can draw more defenders into coverage the Cowboys running backs could see lighter boxes and better opportunities for explosives. But the passing offense has been uncharacteristically inefficient, ranking just 23rd in EPA/ drop back.

Without a new receiver on the field, it’s hard to see that changing much on its own.

More spread formations may help achieve the same goal of spreading the defense without the need for downfield success. More WR-rich personnel groups or splitting the tight end group out wide may pull players out of the box. Dowdle is averaging 6.7 defenders in the box and Elliott 6.29. Neither number is particularly high but if certain alignments and formations can bring that number down further, the Cowboys coaching staff owes it them.

The Cowboys have to find a way to solve their explosive play problem on offense and it will likely be a total team effort.

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Where are Cowboys leaders that will save the 2024 season? Do they exist?

The Dallas Cowboys are at a crossroads. Sitting with a record of 3-3, the idea the season is already a lost cause shouldn’t be realistic. Yet based on the club’s performances in their three home games to date, there’s a ton of ingredients missing …

The Dallas Cowboys are at a crossroads. Sitting with a record of 3-3, the idea the season is already a lost cause shouldn’t be realistic. Yet based on the club’s performances in their three home games to date, there’s a ton of ingredients missing from a team that has the requisite star power to be championship contenders.

Despite never dipping into free agency in a realistic way, the Cowboys have assembled some of the best talent in the NFL. The roster might be top heavy, but that top is certainly on par with what other teams can boast. Dallas has a myriad of All-Pro and Pro Bowl players, all deserving of their accolades, yet they’re being blown out on a regular basis. Why? The question might come down to leadership.

Teams with lame duck coaches, like the Cowboys have in Mike McCarthy, are not destined for doom. The Cowboys themselves thrived under a lame-duck Jason Garrett in 2014, tying for the NFL’s best record that season. They also floundered the next time they entered the fray with a coach at the crossroads, in 2019 again with Garrett. And now with McCarthy and his entire staff on the final year’s of their deals, the situation has arisen yet again.

And thus far, it does not look like the team has the necessary leadership in the locker room to overcome their current difficulties.

NFL seasons are funny things. History is littered with both underachievers and overachievers, and the common denominator is often whether or not the team is putting in the work necessary to maximize the talents of all 70 players on the roster and practice squad. Is the work being done in between games enough to elicit top performances on Sundays?

So far the answer has been a resounding no when it comes to the 3-3 Cowboys.

There’s plenty of blame to go around.

It starts at the top of the organization, where Jerry Jones’ all-in decree early in the offseason certainly soured his roster, who were looking for their organization to show confidence by investing in filling weaknesses with proven NFL talent.

It continues to the coaching staff, who Jones gambled would go above and beyond in order to convince him they deserved to stay in what he considers the coup de grace of NFL franchises. Instead, they returned with lackluster offensive and defensive schemes and a failure to inspire top performances from the roster.

And it ends with said roster. A team watched the organization spend the entire summer allowing contract disputes with their top three stars, not give a vote of confidence to the coaching staff, and then internalized that lack of belief and are giving out some of their worst on-field performances in some time.

Dak Prescott’s completion percentage is six points lower than 2023 and has thrown for the lowest amount of TDs through six games since his rookie season. The passing offense is in disarray and the team hasn’t scored over 20 points in three weeks.

Zack Martin is a shell of himself after admitting to contemplating retirement last season, for the first time ever he’s not among the best linemen in the league and he’s unable to lead a young offensive line to any semblance of continuity.

Ezekiel Elliott was brought back to be a locker room leader despite diminshing rushing performances each of the last four years, but that doesn’t seem to have had any tangible impact.

CeeDee Lamb couldn’t lead the young wideouts over the offseason because Jones refused to pay him market value until mid-August, and he’s certainly not played the role of a leader with his in-season pouting, bad body language and inconsistent route-running.

On defense, Micah Parsons chose to make his contract a thing, sitting out the spring despite having two years left, and is suffering the worst of his four-year career seasons thus far.

Linebacker Eric Kendricks was brought in to teach Mike Zimmer’s defense and seems to have had a positive impact on the youth in that group, but as has been said many times on these pages, linebackers don’t matter unless the defensive line is a strength. The Cowboys interior DL is abhorrent.

In the secondary, Zimmer’s difficult-to-learn scheme has led to down years from virtually everyone, with veterans Trevon Diggs and Malik Hooker unable to inspire confidence as they struggle in their own rights.

It’s all led to a lackluster season where it’s difficult to even identify a top 30 ranking at this point.

Where are the leaders of this Dallas Cowboys’ season and will they step up and get things in order over the bye week?

Rushing attacks of Lions, Cowboys have been night and day contrasts

A look inside the running games of each team and the impact they’re having on the offenses in general. | From @KDDrummondNFL

Our Q&A series with the Lions Wire’s managing editor Jeff Risdon continues with a focus on the two team’s run games.

Cowboys Wire: David Montgomery and Jahmyr Gibbs have two completely different body types, but they talk about being interchangeable and that keeping defenses in a state of confusion. How does that work?

Lions Wire: The interchangeability is more theoretical than in practice, although it tends to lean more toward folks who think Montgomery can only run between the tackles. He’s proven to be an excellent receiver and off-tackle runner, too. Gibbs doesn’t run with the inside power but his ability to read blocks and accelerate through cuts off them makes him work between the tackles.

We’re still waiting for them to be used together. They do tend to get away from Montgomery for long periods of games, too.

Read: Behind Enemy Lines: Linebackers and Ben Johnson

Lions Wire: The Dallas run offense ranks near the bottom. Is there much hope for that improving anytime soon?

Cowboys Wire: There was a glimmer of hope with Rico Dowdle busting out for a whopping 87 yards on Sunday night. He added another 20+ on receptions and a tuddy, but the Cowboys haven’t had a 100-yard runner in the last 19 games. Mike Solari’s blocking scheme hasn’t taken well with the talent over the last year plus (as I unfortunately predicted) and now integrating two rookies hasn’t helped. Things didn’t get better until rookie Tyler Guyton was injured and Tyler Smith kicked out to LT, but it looks like they will return to the original configuration this week.

Lions Wire: Even without a run game, Dak Prescott and the passing offense continue to thrive. How well are they playing this year?

Cowboys Wire: Prior to a couple picks against the Steelers last week, Prescott was playing heroically, and even with those mistakes (and a fumble), he still leveled up and led the game-winning drive against the vaunted Pittsburgh defense. Brandin Cooks was struggling and we finally found out he had a balky knee that has now landed him on IR. CeeDee Lamb is always the truth, and now there’s hope after his 87-yard performance and GW catch that Jalen Tolbert is ready to step into the No. 2 role. Jake Fergsuon at TE is pretty special as well… not Sam LaPorta special, but still special.

 

Jerry Jones gives eyebrow-raising take on Ezekiel Elliott’s role with Cowboys: ‘We’re saving him’

From @ToddBrock24f7: The Cowboys owner downplayed a report that Elliott was “dumbfounded” by his reduced workload and offered a mystifying explanation.

The man at the top of the Cowboys organization claims there is a master plan regarding the team’s running backs in 2024. This, despite a committee approach that has yielded just 410 rushing yards through five games, a total that ranks them 31st out of the league’s 32 teams.

A Thursday post on X from longtime Cowboys beat writer Clarence Hill Jr. stated that two-time rushing champ Ezekiel Elliott “confirmed he has talked to the coaches about his role and remains dumbfounded by his lack of opportunities at least as red zone back.”

Owner Jerry Jones not only took issue with the notion that there is any misunderstanding inside The Star, he offered an explanation for Elliott’s reduced role that many found positively mystifying.

“That’s an exaggeration. ‘Dumbfounded’ is an exaggeration,” Jones told 105.3 The Fan on Friday. “It’s a bad description of how he feels about things. He’s very much aware of the part of the running game that he’s involved with. More importantly- and I can’t emphasize this enough- we’re saving him. And we should be.”

Elliott has logged just 30 carries this season but hasn’t had double-digit rushing attempts since his 10 in the season opener. He has totaled just 98 yards on the ground and one touchdown. He’s been on the field for just over 30% of the Cowboys’ offensive snaps in 2024, seeing as few as 10 snaps in the Week 4 win over the Giants.

But the idea that Elliott is causing friction inside the locker room or with coaches over his downgraded role is one that the three-time Pro Bowler is quick to shoot down himself.

“It is definitely a little different, but I mean just to keep my head down, continue to work. Hopefully my opportunity comes,” Elliott said, per the team website. “Just kind of letting it play itself out. Honestly, I’ve been focused on being a good teammate. I’ve been focusing on continuing to help lead this team. Not really so much making it about me, just making it about this football team, to win football games.”

The Cowboys are coming off their best team rushing performance in Week 5’s win over Pittsburgh, a game in which depth back Rico Dowdle enjoyed career highs in rushing attempts (20) and yards (87).

Dowdle has looked like the more explosive back for the Dallas offense, but Jones admitted that the club is leery of putting too many eggs into the basket of a fifth-year veteran who has appeared in 41 games total.

“Rico is an outstanding running back,” Jones explained. “He’s always had the challenge- mainly, I guess, because of his size in doing the blocking and protecting the quarterback. But his big problem has been what? He’s had troubles with injury over his career. And so it’d be madness to just rely on him for the duration of the season and into the playoffs.”

Of course, one can easily question the wisdom of making postseason personnel decisions a full three months ahead of time. At 3-2, the Cowboys have a long way to go, and their 3.5-yard-per-carry average will likely need to improve for them to even make the tournament.

And that is why so many are questioning the apparent workload split. Elliott is- if Jones is to be believed- being held in reserve despite being brought back to town to ostensibly be the bulldozing short-yardage specialist. And four-time Pro Bowler Dalvin Cook remains on the practice squad, still waiting to see the field in a Cowboys uniform. Yet it was Dowdle (with his 606 career rushing yards) who was given a critical goal-line carry at the end of Week 5’s game… and fumbled.

It’s not a knock on Dowdle, really, but it does pose the question: what, exactly, are the Cowboys “saving” anything or anyone for?

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“Ezekiel is there. He will be there because we want to protect him during this particular time as much as anything. And then, of course, you’ve got a player like Dalvin Cook out there in the wings that is going to be very material as we go forward,” Jones added.

“They’re there for everybody to see. It’s no secret, and we’re going to use them. I keep my fingers crossed every time I see Rico grab that ball. He’s a violent runner, he’s an outstanding runner, and we wouldn’t even be having a running back conversation if he’d been able to stay healthy the last two or three years.”

Jones maintains there is no timeline on Cook’s debut, nor is there a set snap count currently for Elliott. To hear him tell it, both players are basically insurance policies for Dowdle, though he promises both will be deployed at some point.

So for now, the Cowboys’ running back committee will apparently look to keep on keeping on.

“I think the biggest thing is we got the attempts [for the group],” said Elliott. “I think it is tough early in the game when you run the football, because the defenses, they’re not tired, They’re fresh and all geared up. But once you get that second half and you start getting those attempts, you start to see that D-line wear down. … I think the biggest thing is to continue to try to get those attempts.”

Whoever’s getting them.

It’s all part, supposedly, of a master plan.

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