DMN: How Ezekiel Elliott's play vs. Bears reminded me of Emmitt Smith

Machota: The way Zeke was running, it just reminded me a lot of the Ohio State Zeke I saw, the one that, you know, he had a lot of swagger to him. The only thing that's really been missing that we haven't seen from Zeke yet is that big run, you know? I think his big one [Sunday night] was 21, which was nice, but I really feel like the thing that's gonna separate him from DeMarco Murray is that really big, like, 40-, 50-yard touchdown run that Murray really didn't bring, and I think that's about to happen. I think he almost wants it too much and is probably, like, pushing a little bit after he starts breaking to the outside, but other than that, running game was totally on point. But even with that being said, Dak Prescott was the player of the game.

George: With Elliott, though, Jon, I'll tell you: He reminded me [Sunday night], the workload -- he had 30 carries for 140 yards -- that reminded me a lot of DeMarco Murray in 2014, how the Cowboys really rode him. They had several games where he had 25-plus carries, but, you know, another guy he reminded me of tonight was Emmitt Smith.

When Elliott hit the second level [Sunday night], he kind of glided a little bit, got in the second level and then made that hard cut back to, kind of against the grain, and it reminded me so much of Emmitt, when he had those nine- or 10-yard runs that he would rack up. It looked a lot like Emmitt in that sense. I just think that Elliott showed a lot of promise.

Elliot is that rare to see "air of danger" back akin to the Dorsetts, Walkers and Smiths of the world. Everyone watching, everyone in the stadium, all of the teammates and also the opponents and their coaches, know he can break it to the house on any given touch. It's just something we all know inside that he can do, even if he hasn't done so as yet. This makes him exciting for we as fans to watch and cheer on, and makes defenders and their coaches and coordinators sweat.

This "air of danger" guy makes them cheat up safeties - leaving you with guaranteed one-on-one coverage all day and no zones, slows the pass rush (because draw plays are deadly), and makes the play-action work really well with such a credible game breaking threat.

He reminds you of Emmitt because he is nifty and never takes a real solid hit. He reminds you of Dorsett because of his speed and quickness, and he reminds you of Walker because of his speed, power and strength.

Add to that his understanding of protection assignments and willingness to sell out to make a block, and you have the quintessential three-down back.

Emmitt was money, havent gotten that vibe from Zeke yet.

theoneandonly said:

Emmitt was money, havent gotten that vibe from Zeke yet.

Keep reading...

Emmitt wasn't money his rookie year either. Lots of people forget he struggled early with the pro game. Another thing he has in common with Zeke though, you could see improvement week to week.

Not seeing it.

if he breaks one and gets caught from behind, I'll be very alarmed

Doomsday said:

Elliot is that rare to see "air of danger" back akin to the Dorsetts, Walkers and Smiths of the world. Everyone watching, everyone in the stadium, all of the teammates and also the opponents and their coaches, know he can break it to the house on any given touch. It's just something we all know inside that he can do, even if he hasn't done so as yet. This makes him exciting for we as fans to watch and cheer on, and makes defenders and their coaches and coordinators sweat.

This "air of danger" guy makes them cheat up safeties - leaving you with guaranteed one-on-one coverage all day and no zones, slows the pass rush (because draw plays are deadly), and makes the play-action work really well with such a credible game breaking threat.

He reminds you of Emmitt because he is nifty and never takes a real solid hit. He reminds you of Dorsett because of his speed and quickness, and he reminds you of Walker because of his speed, power and strength.

Add to that his understanding of protection assignments and willingness to sell out to make a block, and you have the quintessential three-down back.

Keep reading...

Are you saying that Zeke is helping the Cowboys defense? Because he kind of did last night.

ZeroClub said:

Are you saying that Zeke is helping the Cowboys defense? Because he kind of did last night.

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Protecting the football helps the defense. Keeping them off the field helps.

ThoughtExperiment said:

Not seeing it.

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TE, don't hold your breath waiting by the phone for those NFL teams to call with scouting offers anytime soon

I don't care what team you're playing, but if you can get around the corner on a somewhat consistent basis in the NFL; you are the man. (He only did it twice last night, but got around the Bear's front 7 both times)

Collingsworth nailed it. In the very beginning during week 1, Zeke was pressing it with his carries; but on Sunday you started to see him show some patience and let his blocks start to develop for him. If he continues on that track and the Oline gets their shit together, he's going to put on a show this year.

dbair1967 said:

TE, don't hold your breath waiting by the phone for those NFL teams to call with scouting offers anytime soon

Keep reading...

I'll buy the Murray reminder but Emmitt? No way.

ThoughtExperiment said:

I'll buy the Murray reminder but Emmitt? No way.

Keep reading...

Emmitt didn't exactly look like Emmitt from day one either though amigo.

Most people forget Emmitt had a TOTAL of just 104 yds in his first four games combined. He had his first 100 yd game against Tampa in week 5. He would have just two other 100 yd games that yr (both later in season during that 4 game win streak). He had 7 games with no more than 48 yds rushing. His season high that yr was that memorable Turkey Day win over Washington, with 132 yds.

Its fair to say that Dallas team wasn't overly talented although they did put together that 4 game win streak late in the yr and nearly made the playoffs (and I think they would have had Aikman not went down early in the next to last game of season vs Philly)

We can only hope that Zeke will approach Emmitt's longevity.

Zeke is looking very good, though. Looking forward to seeing him catch a few more balls too. He's really good with the ball in space.

ZeroClub said:

We can only hope that Zeke will approach Emmitt's longevety

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Yep by far availability is the best ability.

bbgun said:

the thing that's gonna separate him from DeMarco Murray is that really big, like, 40-, 50-yard touchdown run that Murray really didn't bring,

Keep reading...

I recall Murray breaking lots of long runs, he just seemed to run out of gas or get caught from behind and not get as much from the long runs it seemed like he could have gotten

Doomsday said:

Yep by far availability is the best ability.

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Brandon Carr says hello

dbair1967 said:

Emmitt didn't exactly look like Emmitt from day one either though amigo.

Most people forget Emmitt had a TOTAL of just 104 yds in his first four games combined. He had his first 100 yd game against Tampa in week 5. He would have just two other 100 yd games that yr (both later in season during that 4 game win streak). He had 7 games with no more than 48 yds rushing. His season high that yr was that memorable Turkey Day win over Washington, with 132 yds.

Its fair to say that Dallas team wasn't overly talented although they did put together that 4 game win streak late in the yr and nearly made the playoffs (and I think they would have had Aikman not went down early in the next to last game of season vs Philly)

Keep reading...

OJ is another HOF back that got off to a slow start.

Doomsday said:

Emmitt wasn't money his rookie year either. Lots of people forget he struggled early with the pro game. Another thing he has in common with Zeke though, you could see improvement week to week.

Keep reading...

He was offensive rookie of the year. He had over 1100 yards from scrimmage, and scored 11 TDs. That isn't exactly weak sauce, and they didn't feature Emmitt right away either.

And to the thread in general, can we stop anointing people the next AP or ES, or predictions of breaking records for players who haven't shown it or earned it yet? Talk about needing to tap the breaks.