What’s wrong with Ezekiel Elliott?
The man who was supposed to save the Dallas Cowboys has 134 yards, a 3.3 per-carry average and a pair of touchdowns and fumbles through two games. In other words, a far cry from the guy who ran for consecutive 1,800-yard seasons at Ohio State.
NFL captured one of his fumbles:
FUMBLEEEEEEEE.@J_No24 rips @ezekielelliott. #HTTR #DALvsWAS https://t.co/P67QesiVIy
— NFL (@NFL) September 18, 2016
The start has been so disappointing, in fact, even Skip Bayless got in on the action:
I am sick and tired of negative first-down plays by Ezekiel Elliott.
— Skip Bayless (@RealSkipBayless) September 18, 2016
In all seriousness, though, it looks like Elliott has had a harder time adapting to the NFL than most would have predicted.
Bryan Broaddus of the Dallas Star provided his thoughts on the situation:
I’ve seen him play better in college. He doesn’t look as explosive. His conditioning doesn’t look right. https://t.co/b4vnUGNQhT
— Bryan Broaddus (@BryanBroaddus) September 21, 2016
@KatieDugger1989 Kinda living life too much…
— Bryan Broaddus (@BryanBroaddus) September 21, 2016
Does Elliott look worse than in college?
Maybe now, but it is hard to imagine it will stay this way for long. Running back has one of the easier transitions to the pro game, but that doesn’t mean it will go down in flawless fashion.
In the coming weeks, expect to hear plenty of criticism aimed at Elliott. Which, by the way, is what happens when any player gets taken highly by the Cowboys.
Just remember, Emmitt Smith didn’t blow folks away at first, either.