Archer: Going over and through defenders, Ezekiel Elliott can get it done

Cotton

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Going over and through defenders, Ezekiel Elliott can get it done
8:30 AM CT
Todd Archer
ESPN Staff Writer

FRISCO, Texas -- On the eighth play of overtime, Ezekiel Elliott saw Philadelphia Eagles safety Malcolm Jenkins in front of him. He could have tried to shift left or right but the Dallas Cowboys’ rookie running back went right at Jenkins.

Elliott finished his 12-yard run by bowling over Jenkins.

"I wouldn’t say I look for [contact]. During the game, there has to be a moment where you have to set the tone,” Elliott said. “You have to let them know that you're a physical player. When you let those defensive backs know that you're a physical player, they don't really want to tackle. That’s it. That’s why you see me get a hurdle every game. Those guys don't want to tackle me when I get to the second level.”

How DeMarco Murray finished runs in 2014 played a big part in his franchise-record 1,845 yards, which also led the league.

How Elliott is finishing runs is a big reason why he leads the NFL in rushing and the Cowboys have the top-ranked running offense.

Against the Cincinnati Bengals, Elliott took the first carry of the second half 60 yards for a touchdown. Against the Green Bay Packers, he hunted-and-pecked his way through the defense until he broke free for a 29-yard gain.

Elliott showed in his lone preseason game this summer against the Seattle Seahawks that he would not back down. He introduced himself to Seahawks safety Kam Chancellor with some hard-charging runs. He showed then he would not back down.

“He certainly finishes runs differently at different times,” coach Jason Garrett said. “I think we’ve all seen that. We saw it the other night where he runs a guy over, he hurdles a guy, he tries to make a guy miss. I think from my experience, the best runners are able to do that. He has a really good feel for running the football, both through the line of scrimmage and then once he gets to the second and third levels of the defense. He’s a good football player and a big part of what he does well is finish. It’s a good thing for our football team to see a runner finishing north and south over and over and over again.”

While Elliott has shown power, he has shown speed too. He also has shown the ability to hurdle tacklers, mostly defensive backs.

“In a lot of ways, he’s a hard guy to tackle,” Garrett said. “But there’s no question he’s a physical runner. And I think over time that makes an impression on the defense.”
 

Genghis Khan

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I'm still worried about injuries with that running style but so far he looks very sturdy.
 

hstour

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I'm still worried about injuries with that running style but so far he looks very sturdy.
Injuries are something to be expected. While Morris isn't Zeke, he is an acceptable backup.

Depth is something that 2015 triggered.
 

22cowboysfan22

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I'm still worried about injuries with that running style but so far he looks very sturdy.
Zeke seems to be an extremely durable guy. I don't recall him ever missing a game at OSU and so far it looks like he dishes out more punishment that he takes. I do worry about his long-term longevity, but that's to be expected with any NFL RB nowadays. I think he can give a solid 8 years or so of elite RB play without missing too much time. I would expect to see him fall off around age 30.
 
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