Trade Zeke

[matt79511]

Marion Barber, Felix Jones, and Tashard Choice have as many playoff wins for the Cowboys this century as Zeke and Murray do respectively.

Zeke is a great player no doubt, but to say that people can overstate how transformative he’s been for this team is putting it mildly, in my opinion. This team has averaged like 21.5 PPG over the last two years. They can afford to do some things differently.

[CAPJ]

1 hour ago, matt79511 said:

Marion Barber, Felix Jones, and Tashard Choice have as many playoff wins for the Cowboys this century as Zeke and Murray do respectively.

Zeke is a great player no doubt, but to say that people can overstate how transformative he’s been for this team is putting it mildly, in my opinion. This team has averaged like 21.5 PPG over the last two years. They can afford to do some things differently.

Replace Zeke with an average running back during that same period.

Do you think the team has more success, less success or stay the same?

Do you think we score more points, less points or stay the same?

 

[matt79511]

46 minutes ago, CAPJ said:

Replace Zeke with an average running back during that same period.

Do you think the team has more success, less success or stay the same?

Do you think we score more points, less points or stay the same?

 

Surely less, with the same playcalling. But variety is the spice of life. Having anything other than an RB that they invested their highest draft pick in 25 years to acquire would basically force them to approach offense more creatively.

[CAPJ]

54 minutes ago, matt79511 said:

Surely less, with the same playcalling. But variety is the spice of life. Having anything other than an RB that they invested their highest draft pick in 25 years to acquire would basically force them to approach offense more creatively.

You do know who our coaches are right?

The only time they know how to be creative is when they out coach themselves and you know pass the ball on 1st and goal from the 3 yard line.

[Matts4313]

5 minutes ago, CAPJ said:

You do know who our coaches are right?

The only time they know how to be creative is when they out coach themselves and you know pass the ball on 1st and goal from the 3 yard line.

I do remember when our HC called plays. He wasnt reliant on the run at all. 

[Rtnldave]

4 hours ago, Matts4313 said:

1. I am not saying that I want to trade Zeke. I am saying that it is a viable strategy if we can get a good return on him. 

2. I would greatly hope that our OL will improve with better coaching and health. If not, we are effed as we have spent a lot of valuable resources on them. That alone will make QB and RB play dramatically easier.

3. Our QB has already proven when the OL/WR arent trash-tier he can win a lot of ball games. Over 90% win rate when his AY/A is 6+. If trading Zeke meant improving the talent around Dak (or defensively) than it should be done. Right now we have a high potential run game, high potential OL and mediocre/old/unproven/injury prone pass catchers. Lets see how the coaching staff does to prop up our passing game. 

54% of the time. Barely better than a coin flip. 

If the return was like:

A 1st, 3rd and a decent RB (Ajayi, Anderson, Murray) on the cheap, then I would say it's worth a look.

But I would have to know the plan moving forward, ie:

1. With 2 firsts who are you targeting, packaging to move up, and they would have to be immediate impact players.

2. Are you looking to trade some picks for already proven guys?

3. Are you going offense, defense, QB?

I mean, we are giving up a franchise player.

They would have to have a Jimmy Johnson type plan in mind to assemble a contender, because if they don't, we be screwed.

[Jeezla]

Hopefully you guys extend him. There's a lot of good/great RB's coming out next year, and I don't want you to have them on (relatively) cheap rookie deals for 4 years. 

I think you'd get a 2nd round pick for him if you did trade him.

Edited July 24, 2019 by Jeezla

[5x10]

Unreal that people think this is a good idea 

[5x10]

On 7/22/2019 at 2:28 PM, eagles suck said:

Remember it was the miss block by Zeke who ended Romo's career. Don't blame this on rb by commitee

Zeke made the block

romo freaked out and bailed early 

[SweetFancyMoses]

7 hours ago, 5x10 said:

Zeke made the block

romo freaked out and bailed early 

Loved Romo, but it was apropos that instead of just throwing the ball away in a meaningless preseason game, he tried to make a play and got hurt. 

[matt79511]

14 hours ago, Matts4313 said:

I do remember when our HC called plays. He wasnt reliant on the run at all. 

I feel like having the safety blankets of the best OL, best RB, and for a while, the best kicker in the league (or at least conference) kind of lulled Garrett into more conservative tendencies overall. Those factors and some truly unfathomable losses in the 8-8 years with Romo.

[BigD88]

Matts has been dropping knowledge bombs this whole thread.

Nobody is saying that Zeke isn't (very) good.  But it is just not smart to fork over $15million per year into a running back.  If you're arguing that, after all we've invested in this OL, we need to also pay a top-flight RB to have a successful running game; A:  You're wrong, and B:  Then what the hell are we paying -- and drafting them highly --  for?  As was already pointed out, Darren McFadden was a top 5 NFL rusher behind them in 10 games.  Darren McFadden.  On a team that never held a lead and had Kellen Moore and Matt Cassel at quarterback. 

Nobody would argue that McFadden is as good as Zeke or even in the same stratosphere, but it's absolutely not worth it to drop $15mm per year for the variance between the two.  That money is so much better spent on an upper-echelon defensive talent at a position with a longer shelf-life, and somebody without constant off-field spats that ends up firmly in the commissioner's crosshairs.

We have to pay a top-flight WR, a franchise QB, a shutdown CB who fits perfectly into our defensive philosophy, a borderline All-Pro LB.  To prioritize any one of those behind a runningback with off-field risks when you've already made heavy investments in the offensive line is utterly asinine.

Edited July 24, 2019 by BigD88

[Rtnldave]

1 hour ago, BigD88 said:

Matts has been dropping knowledge bombs this whole thread.

Nobody is saying that Zeke isn't (very) good.  But it is just not smart to fork over $15million per year into a running back.  If you're arguing that, after all we've invested in this OL, we need to also pay a top-flight RB to have a successful running game; A:  You're wrong, and B:  Then what the hell are we paying -- and drafting them highly --  for?  As was already pointed out, Darren McFadden was a top 5 NFL rusher behind them in 10 games.  Darren McFadden.  On a team that never held a lead and had Kellen Moore and Matt Cassel at quarterback. 

Nobody would argue that McFadden is as good as Zeke or even in the same stratosphere, but it's absolutely not worth it to drop $15mm per year for the variance between the two.  That money is so much better spent on an upper-echelon defensive talent at a position with a longer shelf-life, and somebody without constant off-field spats that ends up firmly in the commissioner's crosshairs.

We have to pay a top-flight WR, a franchise QB, a shutdown CB who fits perfectly into our defensive philosophy, a borderline All-Pro LB.  To prioritize any one of those behind a runningback with off-field risks when you've already made heavy investments in the offensive line is utterly asinine.

Shutdown CB????? Where? LOL!!!! 

And as far as handing Zeke that money, fine, here would be my conditions if I was signing off on it:

1. Any more off field issues involving the law, a trip to Goodell, a courtroom etc, deal is off. You get nothing!

2. It must be incentive laden. So many yards a year, so many TD's a year, etc. If he is expecting to get paid what he wants based on his previous production, then he is basing his argument for the right to that amount of money on the idea that this production will continue. Seems fair on both sides.

3. If serious injury occurs, he gets a percentage, TBD. 

If these conditions are agreed upon, then sign away without fear of off field issues, drop off in production or injury concerns. 

[resilient part 2]

I suppose it won't happen, but just like for Dak, I suggested if there was a way to give a huge contract based on incentives and production but less in guarantees. This way Zeke kills, he gets paid, Zeke does OK he gets paid less. 

[Matts4313]

2 hours ago, Rtnldave said:

Shutdown CB????? Where? LOL!!!! 

And as far as handing Zeke that money, fine, here would be my conditions if I was signing off on it:

1. Any more off field issues involving the law, a trip to Goodell, a courtroom etc, deal is off. You get nothing!

2. It must be incentive laden. So many yards a year, so many TD's a year, etc. If he is expecting to get paid what he wants based on his previous production, then he is basing his argument for the right to that amount of money on the idea that this production will continue. Seems fair on both sides.

3. If serious injury occurs, he gets a percentage, TBD. 

If these conditions are agreed upon, then sign away without fear of off field issues, drop off in production or injury concerns. 

 

1 hour ago, resilient part 2 said:

I suppose it won't happen, but just like for Dak, I suggested if there was a way to give a huge contract based on incentives and production but less in guarantees. This way Zeke kills, he gets paid, Zeke does OK he gets paid less. 

These type of contracts dont exist in the NFL (with very rare exception).