Will rookie wall halt Dallas Cowboys’ Ezekiel Elliott’s rookie rushing record pursuit?
BILL WILLIAMSON
All 22 Staff
If Ezekiel Elliott is going to hit the proverbial rookie wall he ought to be running into it any time now.
The Dallas Cowboys’ rookie tailback will be playing in his 12th NFL game on Thursday night at Minnesota, on the first day of December. Often, NFL rookies feel the rigors of the NFL schedule right about now, and if they start to fade, now is the time is it noticed.
When discussing whether Elliott had a chance to break his rookie NFL rushing record of 1,808 yards set in 1983 with the Los Angeles Rams, the Pro Football Hall of Fame running back Eric Dickerson told All22.com in October that Elliott needed to avoid it break his record. Dickerson said he hit the wall hard.
In games 4 through 11, Dickerson broke the 100-yard mark every game but one. Then he started to fade. He had 100-yard games in just two of this final five games of the season. The Rams played two playoff games that season and Dickerson had 99 yards in one and 15 yards in the other.
“You come in and you are used to playing 11-12 games in college and then you have to play 16 games,” Dickerson said then. “I hit that wall and kind of stuck there. I was worn out. I dropped from about 225 pounds to 212. I honestly was ready for the season to be over because I wasn’t used to it. By the next year, I knew what to expect and I was ready for it and I got 2,000 yards (an NFL record 2,105) that year. … I think all rookies had to deal with that. So (Elliott) will have to be ready for the stretch run. It gets really hard for the rookies.”
Elliott, the fourth-overall pick in the NFL draft, leads the league with 1,199 rushing yards and has carried the ball a league-high 243 times. His 4.9 per carry average is 5th in the league among rushers who have at least 130 carries. He has slightly fallen off pace for breaking Dickerson’s record. Elliott is on pace for 1,744 rushing yards, which is 64 yards off Dickerson’s mark. That, of course, is no big deal.
Elliott is averaging 109 yards a game. To break Dickerson’s record, he’d need to average 122 yards a game in the final five games of the season. Elliott has surpassed that amount four times this season, but he hasn’t done it since Week 4.
In fact, Elliott has just one 100-yard game in the last 5 games. But it’s not like Elliott is faltering. His lowest total in the four other games in the time period is 92 yards. So, he’s been impressively consistent. He doesn’t have bad games. After running for 51 and 83 yards in the first two games, Elliott’s lowest rushing total in a game is 92 yards.
Yet, Elliott would have to turn it up a notch down the stretch if he is going to challenge Dickerson. Wednesday, Dickerson offered this on Elliott’s pursuit: “He’s getting closer, but I still don’t think he is going to make it. But he’s been very impressive.”
The Cowboys’ final five games are against the Vikings, New York Giants, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Detroit Lions and Philadelphia Eagles. The Giants, who are 5th in the NFL against the run, are the only team of the five left on Dallas’ schedule that gives up less than 100 yards rushing a game (89.1). Tampa Bay is the worst at 115.8 yards allowed a game, which is 22nd in the league.
So, math and Elliott’s recent inability to break 100 yards show that he likely is facing high odds of breaking Dickerson’s 33-yard mark. Yet, Elliott is closing in on being second on the all-time rookie rushing list. Edgerrin James has the second-most rushing yards by a rookie; he had 1,553 yards rushing for the Indianapolis Colts in 1999.
There’s one thing for sure: The Cowboys don’t seem prepared to lessen Elliott’s work load down the stretch. Elliott is averaging 22 carries a game this season. Last week, Dallas owner Jerry Jones said the team will not scale back on Elliott’s carries. This week, he reiterated it on a radio show.
“The more we can give Ezekiel the ball the better,” Jones said on 105.3 The Fan’s K&C Masterpiece show [KRLD-FM]. “We’re winning with that. We’re winning by wearing them down on defense.”
Rookie wall be damned.
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BILL WILLIAMSON
All 22 Staff
If Ezekiel Elliott is going to hit the proverbial rookie wall he ought to be running into it any time now.
The Dallas Cowboys’ rookie tailback will be playing in his 12th NFL game on Thursday night at Minnesota, on the first day of December. Often, NFL rookies feel the rigors of the NFL schedule right about now, and if they start to fade, now is the time is it noticed.
When discussing whether Elliott had a chance to break his rookie NFL rushing record of 1,808 yards set in 1983 with the Los Angeles Rams, the Pro Football Hall of Fame running back Eric Dickerson told All22.com in October that Elliott needed to avoid it break his record. Dickerson said he hit the wall hard.
In games 4 through 11, Dickerson broke the 100-yard mark every game but one. Then he started to fade. He had 100-yard games in just two of this final five games of the season. The Rams played two playoff games that season and Dickerson had 99 yards in one and 15 yards in the other.
“You come in and you are used to playing 11-12 games in college and then you have to play 16 games,” Dickerson said then. “I hit that wall and kind of stuck there. I was worn out. I dropped from about 225 pounds to 212. I honestly was ready for the season to be over because I wasn’t used to it. By the next year, I knew what to expect and I was ready for it and I got 2,000 yards (an NFL record 2,105) that year. … I think all rookies had to deal with that. So (Elliott) will have to be ready for the stretch run. It gets really hard for the rookies.”
Elliott, the fourth-overall pick in the NFL draft, leads the league with 1,199 rushing yards and has carried the ball a league-high 243 times. His 4.9 per carry average is 5th in the league among rushers who have at least 130 carries. He has slightly fallen off pace for breaking Dickerson’s record. Elliott is on pace for 1,744 rushing yards, which is 64 yards off Dickerson’s mark. That, of course, is no big deal.
Elliott is averaging 109 yards a game. To break Dickerson’s record, he’d need to average 122 yards a game in the final five games of the season. Elliott has surpassed that amount four times this season, but he hasn’t done it since Week 4.
In fact, Elliott has just one 100-yard game in the last 5 games. But it’s not like Elliott is faltering. His lowest total in the four other games in the time period is 92 yards. So, he’s been impressively consistent. He doesn’t have bad games. After running for 51 and 83 yards in the first two games, Elliott’s lowest rushing total in a game is 92 yards.
Yet, Elliott would have to turn it up a notch down the stretch if he is going to challenge Dickerson. Wednesday, Dickerson offered this on Elliott’s pursuit: “He’s getting closer, but I still don’t think he is going to make it. But he’s been very impressive.”
The Cowboys’ final five games are against the Vikings, New York Giants, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Detroit Lions and Philadelphia Eagles. The Giants, who are 5th in the NFL against the run, are the only team of the five left on Dallas’ schedule that gives up less than 100 yards rushing a game (89.1). Tampa Bay is the worst at 115.8 yards allowed a game, which is 22nd in the league.
So, math and Elliott’s recent inability to break 100 yards show that he likely is facing high odds of breaking Dickerson’s 33-yard mark. Yet, Elliott is closing in on being second on the all-time rookie rushing list. Edgerrin James has the second-most rushing yards by a rookie; he had 1,553 yards rushing for the Indianapolis Colts in 1999.
There’s one thing for sure: The Cowboys don’t seem prepared to lessen Elliott’s work load down the stretch. Elliott is averaging 22 carries a game this season. Last week, Dallas owner Jerry Jones said the team will not scale back on Elliott’s carries. This week, he reiterated it on a radio show.
“The more we can give Ezekiel the ball the better,” Jones said on 105.3 The Fan’s K&C Masterpiece show [KRLD-FM]. “We’re winning with that. We’re winning by wearing them down on defense.”
Rookie wall be damned.
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