Can Alfred and McFadden step up?

            

           Talent trumps all! Since the beginning of time talented people have always benefited for preferential treatment. We can go back to little sports, where the best player was the one that got to play all the time. The player that was viewed as the star could do no wrong in the coach’s eyes. In a way I understand because as a coach, college university, or professional organization, you want the best players on your team. Sometimes that means overlooking the baggage that player may carry with them. Zeke Elliot is the true definition of a talented player and he has benefited greatly from being talented at what he does. It appears that his baggage has caught up with him.

            I’m not going to address the specifics of the domestic violence case that Zeke was a part of. I’m not the type of person to come out and defend any man that wants to put his hand on a woman. On the same token, I will not condemn a man that has been wrongly accused.  However, the whole domestic incident plays out, it has finally caught up with Zeke and the Cowboys.

            Elliot is expected to serve a six-game suspension in 2017. Make no mistake this is a huge blow to the Dallas Cowboys. Anybody that has read my blogs knows that I’m a diehard Cowboys fan. I can’t dismiss this as something the Cowboys can just “get through”. Zeke was part of the dynamic duo that lead the Cowboys to the best record in football in 2016. He was the leading rusher in the entire NFL. Zeke allows the Cowboys to have a dominate run game because he is a special talent. We all know how great the Cowboys offensive line is, but with Zeke running behind them the run game is unstoppable. Now the Cowboys have to turn to some veteran players to weather this storm.

            Darren McFadden is the projected starter while Zeke is suspended. I can think of worst starting running backs. McFadden has had a shaky injury history his entire career. He was once an extremely talented running back that many thought would be the next Ladaiain Tomlinson. Injuries derailed those thoughts very quickly. In the one season that he was the Cowboys starting running back (before Zeke) he rushed for 1089 yards, at 4.6 a clip. That is a very good season by any standards. The offense struggled that year because the quarterback situation was a complete circus. His performance may have been better with a better quarterback in the lineup. That was two years ago. McFadden missed most of the 2016 because he cracked his elbow in an accident involving his phone. Also consider he is two years older and will be 30 years old in 2017. I can’t see trusting McFadden to carry the load in Zeke’s absences.

            Alfred Morris is another running back that hit it big is first 3 seasons in the NFL. Morris hit the scene with 1600 rushing yards in his rookie season. He would rush for over 1000 yards in each of his first three seasons. The thing with Morris’s success is you have to wonder how much of it; was individual talent or scheme. He played with Robert Griffin III in Washington those first three season. Both of them benefited from Mike and Kyle Shannohan’s running scheme. Kyle even worked in some read option to take advantage of Griffin’s ability to run. Morris just never really stood out as a great back. He doesn’t possess great speed, size, or strength. His average per carry and yards rushed per game has dropped in every season. He isn’t the home run threat that Zeke is but he is a solid running back. Can both of them replace Zeke’s contribution to the offense?

            That’s a tough question to answer because Zeke was drafted after McFadden’s 1000 yard season and Morris signing in free agency. If those guys were good enough to get the job done then the Cowboys wouldn’t had to draft Zeke. My answer would be, they have to be. Alone neither one of them is good enough to carry this Cowboys run game. Together they should help each other.

            McFadden’s biggest concern is his age and heath. When healthy is a very productive running back. Alfred Morris will help shoulder some of the carries to take the pressure off McFadden. The idea is to limit McFadden’s snaps and hope that he can remain upright long enough to get Zeke back. With McFadden being the projected starter the Cowboys will only need small contributions from Morris. He has shown to be effective in short spurts. Morris will give the Cowboys a downhill, one cut element, but he lacks explosion. McFadden had the explosion (last time we saw him) but can’t stand up to the pounding that a full time running back has to endure. It may seem like I’m talking in circles but It’s all so hard to put in words. These two will have to step up and provide the production of Zeke. Zeke’s suspension has also put a ton of pressure on the Cowboys passing game.

            For all you Dak Prescott naysayers, you are about to get what you’ve been asking for. Many of you want to see how Dak can “carry a team.” You want to see how he handles being in Romo’s shoes and is relied upon to win games. Dak is going to have to step up and he is going to have to help this team in the rushing game as well as in the passing game.

            Emphasis on Dak doesn’t mean that he has to go out in those 6 games and throw 30 passes. It doesn’t meant that he has to throw for 300 yards with a 65% completion percentage. It does mean that he has to cover the slack left be Zeke. Dak has the athletic ability to get outside the pocket and pick up chunk yards on scrambles. Defenses will be playing him a lot different and he will have to rely on his athletic ability anyway. With Zeke gone, he is going to be responsible for moving to chains by hook or by crook. If he has the run to scramble for 7 yards, he should do that rather than look for a wide receiver down the field. He won’t have the run game as a safety net while Zeke is out. Dak is going to have to make quick decision and make the defense respect the run even with Zeke missing in action.

            I’m excited to see how Dak handles this situation. He showed me, in that playoff game against the Packers that he can carry a team. Last year he didn’t have to carry the team because he had the run game to rely on. The Cowboys still have the best offensive line in football so whoever the running back is will be a factor. We need to see our future quarterback go out there and hold down the fort while the Cowboys are a man down. All this may be a moot point if the defense can somehow be a top 10 defense!