Ezekiel Elliott’s absence gave the Dallas Cowboys time to adapt

One positive from Ezekiel Elliot’s extended holdout is it has given the Dallas Cowboys plenty of time to reshape their offense without him.

Ezekiel Elliott has been gone for quite a while. Heck, since this is the first year in Kellen Moore’s offensive coordinator career, Zeke’s been gone for pretty much the entirety.

While it’s understandable Zeke wants to cash in while his value is the greatest, he accidentally provided the Dallas Cowboys plenty of time to adapt their attack without him. That’s great for Dallas. Maybe not so great for Zeke.

Ezekiel Elliott has been absent the entire preseason and as such, Kellen Moore has yet to oversee a unit with the player many people see “the most important” (BTW: Those people would be wrong). Given Zeke’s time away, Moore would be remiss if he didn’t prepare for life without Zeke.

perhaps this absence is prompting a shift in offensive philosophy that would otherwise take an eternity to install under normal circumstances.

And considering Moore’s the greenest offensive coordinator in the league, devoid of ego, and starving to succeed, you can bet he has a contiguously plan that doesn’t involve a Zeke-centric attack.

It’s Dink Kearney that broached this topic a few days ago. He said the Dallas Cowboys have done a disservice by building their offense around Zeke and Zeke alone.

Why on earth would you tailor an attack based on such a volatile man with uncertain status who plays the running back position? Those are good questions we don’t have an answer for. And if I was seeking answers to questions, I’d ask why any team would use a top-10 pick on position like running back in the first place. It’s like drafting a kicker in the top-100. It’s crazy.

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But perhaps this absence is prompting a shift in offensive philosophy that would otherwise take an eternity to install under normal circumstances. Look, no one is expecting a fundamental change in offense while the lame duck head coach Jason Garrett is still running the show.

But sans Elliott, Moore has likely been given considerably more leeway to change things on offense. As I discussed a couple days ago, Zeke is far too good of a player to just plug and play someone else into his role.

Even if Zeke comes back in the next few days, it’s likely the Dallas Cowboys offense has morphed, in some regard, into something a little more points-friendly that doesn’t solely rely on ground-and-pound and manageable third downs (because “manageable” third downs rarely exist).

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Ezekiel Elliott might have done himself a disservice by being away all preseason. Kellen Moore and the Dallas Cowboys offense have been given a chance to adapt without him, and it’s likely they’ll notice a less RB-reliant offense is better off – no matter how talented that RB is.

• Published on 08/26/2019 at 12:30 PM
• Last updated at 08/26/2019 at 11:12 AM