Four straight victories and the Dallas Cowboys have already tied their win total from 2015. Nobody would have guessed that this Cowboys team would have been 4-1 through five games without Tony Romo this season. Even the most optimistic Cowboy fans like me thought that getting through the Romo injury with a winning record would be very unlikely. But due to the play of two rookies, Cowboy fans across the nation are dreaming of playoff glory.
Now in the weeks to come I will be diving into and talking about the Dak Prescott and Tony Romo quarterback controversy, but in the meantime I think that it is appropriate to talk about “Zeke the Freak” coming out of the backfield for the Dallas Cowboys.
Ezekiel Elliott came out of Ohio State as a dominant runner, many had him highly rated, but with the devaluing of Running backs as of late, people thought that drafting him in the top five was a stretch. I remember sitting on my couch on draft night hoping and praying that we would take a chance on him. Now, Jalen Ramsey I thought would have been the smart choice, the logical choice to plug into a struggling defensive unit. But Jerry did what he does best, he took the flashy player, the one that people immediately questioned. NO ONE is questioning that now. The Cowboys selected Elliott with the fourth overall pick in the draft and the rest is history.
Ezekiel Elliott looks like a seasoned back in the last four weeks, dominating defensive fronts with his explosive play out of the backfield. He looks patient, picks his opening, and shoots out like a cannon. Elliott has not only dominated in the games he has played in, but statistically he is the best in the league. Through five games he has 546 yards, 5 touchdowns, and is averaging 5 yards per carry. A running back’s dream stat line, Elliott has set a Cowboys record for most yards through five games for a rookie.
People have to be annoyed by his “eating” gesture every time he pulls off a big run (which is quite often honestly). But I am LOVING it, Elliott is hungry and he is EATING opposing defenses up. He is a freak athlete with explosive speed and punishing power. His play has been reminding me of my favorite player of all time, Emmitt Smith. Now it is way too early to compare the two because Smith is in a league of his own, but with this offensive line, and with a back like Elliott (who might actually be more physically talented than Smith) I am dreaming of the 90’s again.
With this season being tagged as the “Season to believe”, nothing is more exciting than seeing this kind of talent on the offensive side of the ball. Elliott is the best player we have drafted in years, and I am so excited to see the player he turns into. If he is doing this in his rookie season, what is he going to do in five years? Or ten? Teams will not be able to stack the box like teams have on Todd Gurley in his second year because of the play of Prescott, Romo, and Dez Bryant. So the future for Zeke looks very bright. It is a good day to be a Cowboys fan, I never thought this season would turn out like this, or that Elliott would be this good. But the way things have developed, we might eventually be thinking of him as the MVP of the league, not just Offensive Rookie of the Year.
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