Hope is beginning to dwindle for the Dallas Cowboys running backs. With only one touchdown against the Browns and none against the Saints, is there anything that can fix this room?
Continued Concerns at Cowboys Running Back – Can It Be Repaired?
A One-Dimensional Run Game
Currently, the Cowboys have three RBs on the roster and Dalvin Cook on the practice squad. Ezekiel Elliott, Rico Dowdle, and Deuce Vaughn have all had some time rotated onto the field. Here’s the problem.
Elliott and Dowdle are copies of one another. They are very similar in their run style, which is to run head-on and push themselves to carry the ball further. However, these runs haven’t worked.
More and more, defenses know exactly what to expect out of this run scheme and are clamping down. It’s leading to the less than 4.0 yards per carry stat that both guys currently have. Vaughn provides a different approach, but the Cowboys haven’t been setting him up for success.
They’ve placed him in the exact same formations as Elliott and Dowdle, but he isn’t a back like them. He’s nimble, small, and shifty. His pro is getting lost in a crowded huddle of guys and breaking away. Yet the Cowboys continue to place him in the same set up as their other backs, leading to an apparent less production.
Things in Dallas need to change and quickly.
Cowboys Running Backs Working with the O-Line
The Cowboys are a passing team, but they haven’t taken the time to develop any of their players to be exceptional downfield. Guys like Jalen Tolbert have the potential, but that doesn’t mean anything until they are actually used that way.
Because there hasn’t been any development, fixing the run game is imperative. And that starts with the offensive line. If the Cowboys learned anything from Alvin Kamara and the Saints, it should be how an offensive line should look when there’s a run play.
Instead of simply covering their regular blocks, the Cowboys need to work on creating holes for the running backs. The middle is stuffed. There’s no room to run, and the backs keep getting swallowed for trying. While they develop the middle, the RBs can hit the sidelines from tosses to keep the running game alive.
Often, when the Cowboys went to the side and had a decent block, they found better yardage. Even putting in an extra guy, like Hunter Luepke for example, or disguising a block with a wide receiver, would be great for gaining yards on that edge.
There’s also Dalvin Cook sitting on the practice squad.
Cowboys Running Back Dalvin Cook Could Come Off the Practice Squad
If the Cowboys are adamant about keeping their current run schemes, another option could be to add Dalvin Cook to the roster from the practice squad. Cook is shifty like Vaughn but even faster, with a better football IQ due to his time in the league and a larger size to make him harder to tackle.
The upcoming game against the Ravens could give a different outlook in a short period of time. Using what they have in Cook before looking outside the organization could be critical.
Giving Up on the Run Game Before Regrouping
The biggest fear is that the Cowboys will quit on their run offense before giving everything a shot. There was an era where firing the ball down the field used to work. But the Cowboys are predictable now.
Everyone knows the ball is going to CeeDee Lamb and they’ve double-teamed him, leading to easy turnovers. What matters now is adapting. We’ve seen the problems, now the Cowboys have to fix them.
Before it’s too late.
Main Image: Tim Heitman – USA Today Sports
