DMN: In Ezekiel Elliott the Cowboys trust; can Dallas join 33-minute club

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In Ezekiel Elliott the Cowboys trust; can Dallas join 33-minute club to protect a defense gutted by suspensions?
By Rick Gosselin

OXNARD, Calif. -- In Ezekiel the Cowboys trust.

They have no choice.

Failing to find a pass rusher to their liking with the fourth overall pick of the 2016 draft, the Cowboys decided that if they couldn't help their defense, then they must protect their defense. So they drafted Ezekiel Elliott, the best running back in the draft.

The logic is simple, the script familiar. Run the ball, wind the clock and keep an overmatched defense off the field. That's what the Cowboys did in 2014 with DeMarco Murray, who ran the ball more than Tony Romo threw it. Murray won an NFL rushing title, and the Cowboys captured the East with a 12-4 record, reaching the NFC semifinals in the playoffs.

The Cowboys controlled the clock for more than 32 minutes each week that season to protect a defense that finished 19th in the NFL and lacked any Pro Bowlers. But on paper, the 2016 defense is even worse than the 2014 defense.

The Cowboys ranked last in the NFL with 11 takeaways and 25th in sacks with 31 in 2015. That defense has since been gutted by NFL suspensions of three key players in the front seven -- the two top pass rushers (ends Randy Gregory and DeMarcus Lawrence) and the top run defender (middle linebacker Rolando McClain).

So 32 minutes of ball control may not be enough in 2016. The Cowboys will likely need to push into the 33-minute stratosphere. Possible with this offensive line? Yes. Probable? Hardly. There have been 80 teams that have reached the Super Bowl in the last 40 years. Only four of them controlled the clock for 33-plus minutes on offense. One was very close to the heart of Jerry Jones.

The 1992 Cowboys gave Emmitt Smith enough handoffs to control the ball for 33 minutes, 57 seconds per game. He won the NFL rushing title with 1,713 yards, and the Cowboys won 16 of their 19 games that season. The defense was asked to play just 26:03 each week, and fresh legs produced the NFL's top-ranked unit. The Cowboys collected 44 takeaways and 31 sacks. There were no Pro Bowlers on defense that season, but there was a Hall of Fame pass rusher in Charles Haley.

The 1985 Bears were the kings of ball control. Hall of Famer Walter Payton rushed for 1,551 yards to help keep Chicago on offense for 34:33 each week on the way to a 15-1 record and the franchise's lone Super Bowl championship.

But the Bears were not trying to protect a defense. In fact, they were empowering it. Even though Buddy Ryan's boys played just 25:27 each week, they collected 64 sacks and forced 54 turnovers. Like the 1992 Cowboys, the 1985 Bears led the NFL in defense. But that unit lined up three Hall of Famers: Mike Singletary, Richard Dent and Dan Hampton.

The 1983 Washington Redskins turned Hall of Famer John Riggins loose. He rushed for 1,347 yards, and the Redskins became the first NFL team to score 500 points in a season. They controlled the ball for 33:44 per game on the way to a 14-2 record and an NFC championship. The Redskins were upset by the Raiders in the Super Bowl, however.

Asked to play just 26:16 a game, the Washington defense made the most of its opportunities with 51 sacks and 61 takeaways that season. The Redskins also lined up a Hall of Famer on defense in cornerback Darrell Green.

The fourth and final member of the 33-minute club was the 1998 Atlanta Falcons, who also lost in the Super Bowl. Jamal Anderson rushed for 1,846 yards, and the Falcons went 14-2 on the way to that NFC title, controlling the clock for 33:10 per game. Atlanta finished in the top 10 on defense with three Pro Bowlers (linebacker Jessie Tuggle and defensive backs Ray Buchanan and Eugene Robinson) collecting 38 sacks and forcing 44 turnovers.

I don't see the potential for 60 sacks or 50 takeaways from the 2016 Dallas defense. I don't see any future Hall of Famers. The only defender on the defensive depth chart who has ever been to a Pro Bowl is linebacker Sean Lee -- and he's been there just once, as an injury replacement. Defense will not be to the 2016 Cowboys what it was to the 1992 Cowboys or 1998 Falcons, much less the 1985 Bears or 1983 Redskins. So it needs protection.

Elliott rushed for 1,800 yards each of his last two seasons at Ohio State. He needs to chase that mark and an NFL rushing title in 2016 for the Cowboys to have any chance of getting where they'd like to go. If you can't rush the passer, you'd better be able to rush the football.
 
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With this offensive like, stable of runners, and Dez/Beasley/Witten there is zero excuse not to be able to move the ball at will.

Probably gonna be a lot of shootouts because of this defense. But we have the players to dominate TOP and score 27+ ppg
 

dbair1967

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480+ pts for the season is definitely doable if the key guys stay healthy. Hell we might top 500 for the first time.

If they can do that and consistently keep the ball 33-36 mins a week, there's a really good chance we can win the division again like 2014.
 
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480+ pts for the season is definitely doable if the key guys stay healthy. Hell we might top 500 for the first time.

If they can do that and consistently keep the ball 33-36 mins a week, there's a really good chance we can win the division again like 2014.

Don't set yourself up like that. When has shit ever worked out for this team? There will be no division title. There won't even be a .500 record. The defense is just too shitty for that.
 

dbair1967

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Don't set yourself up like that. When has shit ever worked out for this team? There will be no division title. There won't even be a .500 record. The defense is just too shitty for that.

Can I at least be a homer until the regular season starts? It's all I got man.
 

theoneandonly

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The 27 minute defense club will give it up like a teenage girl on prom night.
 

Bob Sacamano

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Kind of sad that Sean Lee is getting to be overrated by Cowboy fans. He pales in comparison to a guy like Keuchley.
 

dbair1967

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Kind of sad that Sean Lee is getting to be overrated by Cowboy fans. He pales in comparison to a guy like Keuchley.

Only a true homo would say such a thing.

Lee deserves the criticism for struggling with injuries (I guess) but when he is on the field he is a superb player.

LK is a great player and arguably the top guy at his position today, but when he is healthy Lee is definitely not far behind.
 
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