JJT: Cowboys rookie Ezekiel Elliott awaits better days

Cotton

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Cowboys rookie Ezekiel Elliott awaits better days
10:57 AM CT
Jean-Jacques Taylor
ESPN Staff Writer

ARLINGTON, Texas - When it was finally over - the debacle of a debut, the interviews and the quest to find his first touchdown ball - Ezekiel Elliott moved about the Dallas Cowboys’ locker room scouring his teammates’ lockers for extra game programs since his picture adorned the cover.

It was the most room he had to move all day.

Elliott, the fourth player taken in the draft, managed just 51 yards on 20 carries in his NFL debut. He scored a touchdown but did not have a run longer than 8 yards. Eleven carries gained 2 yards or less against a New York Giants’ defense that signed 350-pound defensive tackle Damon Harrison to a five-year, $46 million contract in the offseason and teamed him with 320-pound defensive tackle Johnathan Hankins to make it difficult for opponents to run the ball.

They did their job, turning Elliott’s much-anticipated debut into the most frustrating of outings.

“I think I was average, you know. Average,” Elliott said. “That’s not why I was brought here, to be average, so we’ve got a lot of work to get done. A lot to work on.”

As you would expect, there’s a typical overreaction to Elliott’s first game. Some question the intelligence of the Cowboys taking a running back so high, during an era when running backs aren’t valued because most teams use a committee of two or three. There’s already chatter on sports talk radio about why backup Alfred Morris, who gained 35 yards on seven carries, didn’t get more playing time, and some folks are already referring to Elliott as a bust on social media.

Ridiculous.

Some of the best running backs in franchise history had debuts they’d rather forget. Emmitt Smith had 2 yards on two carries but finished his career as the NFL’s all-time leading rusher with 18,355 yards. Tony Dorsett, who has the Cowboys' single-season rookie rushing record with 1,007 yards, had 11 yards on four carries in his first game.

DeMarco Murray, who established the single-season franchise record with 1,845 yards in 2014, had two carries for no yards in his debut. Herschel Walker (10 carries for 64 yards) in 1986 and Calvin Hill (18 carries for 70 yards) in 1971 were the only runners who had a more productive debut than Elliott.

This is a time for perspective not panic.

If you watched the game then you know Elliott didn’t have many holes. The Giants attacked the line of scrimmage, and guards Zack Martin and La'el Collins and center Travis Frederick each struggled at various times. The Giants’ defensive ends, Olivier Vernon and Jason Pierre-Paul, are good against the run, making it difficult to attack the perimeter.

The Cowboys rushed for 101 yards on 30 carries, a 3.4 average. That’s not nearly enough production for a team that prides itself on being a physical running team.

“We have to be very critical of ourselves,” Martin said. “We have to run the ball better.”

On the rare occasion the Cowboys' line did create a running lane, Morris was in the game. He had runs of 7, 9 and 13 yards among his seven carries. Occasionally, experience trumps talent. In the last five years, Morris has carried the ball 1,092 times --140 times in 10 games against the Giants -- while Elliott carried the ball seven times in the preseason after a tight hamstring kept him out of the first two preseason games.

“I’m used to running against the New York Giants. I know their scheme and what they're doing,” Morris said. “I was just able to find holes. I was able to get a little more rhythm than Zeke was able to get. It’s going to come for him. Every time you’re out there, you want a home run, but that’s not going to happen all the time. You can’t get discouraged. “

Until he has a big game, Elliott will remain burdened by his own expectations far more than the expectations of others. On his touchdown run, Elliott showed why the Cowboys drafted him.

He started left, read the middle linebacker and cut back right, accelerated through a hole and dove into the end zone. Vision. Patience. Quickness, Speed. Desire. All in one five-second burst.

“I was hoping to have a better day for sure,” Elliott said. “The type of guy I am, the type of competitor I am, I’m a little bit disappointed. But you’ve got to start somewhere.”

As he left the locker room, a gray Cowboys’ sweatshirt had replaced his pregame suit. His game jersey and the four programs he collected were stuffed into his overnight bag and the missing touchdown ball was safely tucked away in the equipment room.

Then, wearing his league-issued Bose headphones and flip flops, Elliott left his debut behind.
 

VA Cowboy

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I'm not too worried about Zeke, but right now Morris should be the starter.
 

BipolarFuk

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:lol Morris the starter? Then Teh Jer will be ridiculed for taking a RB with a top 5 pick and he's not even good enough to start. Not happening even though Zeke looks like the second coming of Trent Richardson.
 

Joe Fan

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:lol Morris the starter? Then Teh Jer will be ridiculed for taking a RB with a top 5 pick and he's not even good enough to start. Not happening even though Zeke looks like the second coming of Trent Richardson.
I agree that it's not going to happen. Just saying for all the players who looked like shit yesterday he was at the top for biggest disappointment.
 

ravidubey

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Morris needed more carries, but at the same time he had much bigger holes to run through.
 

Texas Ace

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Morris needed more carries, but at the same time he had much bigger holes to run through.
That also had something to do with him running out of more conventional sets.
 

mcnuttz

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That also had something to do with him running out of more conventional sets.
And he's been out there most of the pre-season working with the offense.

There's no good reason Zeke should be starting. He should have to prove himself with minimal carries for a few games.
 

Texas Ace

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And he's been out there most of the pre-season working with the offense.

There's no good reason Zeke should be starting. He should have to prove himself with minimal carries for a few games.
Agreed.

I'm part of the crowd that believes Morris should start, but that's not gonna happen because they've already anointed Elliot.
 

L.T. Fan

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Morris needed more carries, but at the same time he had much bigger holes to run through.
Morris waited for the hole to open. Elliot ran to a designated area whether there was a, hole or not.
 

dallen

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And he's been out there most of the pre-season working with the offense.

There's no good reason Zeke should be starting. He should have to prove himself with minimal carries for a few games.
And not "proving" himself in a symbolic sense. Right now everything we've seen in preseason and the first game says Morris gives us a better chance to win right now. You'd think with our starting QB out it might be a good time to focus on that
 

mcnuttz

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And not "proving" himself in a symbolic sense. Right now everything we've seen in preseason and the first game says Morris gives us a better chance to win right now. You'd think with our starting QB out it might be a good time to focus on that
We play to win ball games, but at the same time it's a process. The sun has been here for 5 billion years, so it's out of my hands.
 

L.T. Fan

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We play to win ball games, but at the same time it's a process. The sun has been here for 5 billion years, so it's out of my hands.
Tell him to buy some shades and then process that.
 

shane

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That also had something to do with him running out of more conventional sets.
Yeah, the play calling was so abysmal that it's hard to blame Zeke for sucking. Best offensive line in the league and the unseasoned rookie QB throws 45 times and you do like half your runs out of the shotgun? So stupid.
 
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