Ezekiel Elliott Injury: Cowboys’ poor management of All-Pro’s knee disease is worrying and dangerous

There is a rather large drum Dallas Cowboys have been active all season, and that is the fact they are playing the “long game” when it comes to how they manage player injuries. That leads to taking a deliberate and cautious approach when it comes to the return of players like the two-time Pro Bowl-winning quarterback. Dak Prescott and All-Pro starter Tyron Smith and DeMarcus Lawrence, among others (eg: Neville Gallimore, Michael Gallup), but it appears Ezekiel Elliott standing behind another percussion instrument – trombone.

That said, it’s about time someone blows the whistle for their uneven approach here. It’s clear to anyone with a working retina that Elliott – who has been shown to be not only super durable but also has a very high pain threshold – is facing an issue of knee overshooting. before the match. Is it something that could potentially end the season? No, but it is greatly aggravated by both refusing to rest him for at least one game and an attacking play plan that continues to rely on him as if there was nothing physically wrong. .

During Week 13, win against the Saints on Thursday night, Elliott is often seen limping after games and grimacing when out of bounds on at least one serve. He ended up with 13 carries (six times more than a very healthy one Tony Pollard) for just 45 yards, and continued to fight through the lowest production period of his career.

Before his knee injury, his explosive ability was on full display with 95, 143 and 110 yard runs respectively in Weeks 3 to 5, but bad wheels robbed away his agility and speed. However, it has been largely ignored by the Cowboys when it comes to game prep, with owner Jerry Jones avoiding any speculation about possibly letting Elliott rest against Saints and instead said that the two-time runner-up champion would see a “serious load” at the Caesars Superdome.

No, that’s not confusing at all (insert sarcasm here).

To his infinite credibility, Elliott is acknowledging his struggles with everything but his injury – with the constant competitive spirit of a player who cannot understand how it is to make excuses for lack of production, even when there is a difference between reason and reason, as was the case with him .

“The Saints have a good front,” Elliott said after the victory in New Orleans. “They move a lot. They have a lot of good people up front. So it’s a bit difficult.

“…We’ve made the plays that we need to make, and all we can do is celebrate this win and come back and figure out how we can get better. .”

It is true that the Cowboys’ offensive line struggled very violently against their Saints defensive opponents, which affected Pollard for most of the game. It wasn’t until Pollard crossed the 58-yard touchdown late in the third quarter that the Cowboys’ rushing attack gained any traction and, in terms of angle, the home run gave Pollard 71 yards above seven serves, meaning he only has 13 yards of charge in his other six serves (2.17 yards each).

It’s certainly been an evening to forget for the Cowboys running back, but unless they want to potentially ruin their long run in 2021, it’s time to downsize Elliott or give him a complete break whole. A small goodbye would help, but how much or how little remains to be determined, and it doesn’t change the fact that Elliott shouldn’t have played in New Orleans.

Three things are true here:

1. Elliott doesn’t want to miss the game.

2. The team shouldn’t have let him make that decision, rather they let Prescott monitor his calf strain.

3. Elliott is looking forward to more rest days.

“It would be nice to rest,” he admitted on Thursday.

I bet it will.

That halftime should come before now, and whether he approves it or not, because if the Cowboys want to make any sort of potential in the knockouts, they’re going to need a healthy Elliott for good. The maximum of an offense is currently troubled. motivated by his parallels with Pollard. As they turned the page to their first battle in 2021 with Washington football team, the Cowboys will have a better idea a week from now about Elliott’s condition, or if they should [finally] agree to rely heavily on Pollard with a combination of rerun fallbacks Corey Clement, consider both Sewo Olonilua and Rico Dowdle is on season-ending injury reserve.

However, hearing Jones was still playing the wrong instrument involved his star’s run back less than 24 hours after watching him try to work his muscles through the injury that wouldn’t allow – save Telling Fan 105.3FM on Monday that Elliott is ready – – doesn’t evoke a lot of faith in the ability of the entire team to make the right decisions there, as he has done with many of the aforementioned players.

“I enjoy my position,” says Jones. “His coaches, the people closest to his health, his medical situation, they think he’s really good to go. And, so, I don’t see after 10 days. rest here.”

Jones wants Elliott to pass because, unlike the others, he believes driving the problem is the right medicine for Elliott. In other words, if you’re bleeding from a stab wound but can keep walking without making it worse, it’s better to take some time to stitch it up. .

“You know, a lot of times, if you can get through the games, if you can keep going, that’s better for you than sitting out,” he said, adding to his overall embarrassment. situation. “You really, if you have a problem, it improves if you can get out and not injure it further. He certainly didn’t get hurt any more last night. So I’m really looking forward to it. Looking forward to a Zeke as strong and dynamic as we move into the final part of this season.”

Ultimately, this will all be water under the bridge as recently as December 12th, or we’ll discuss how that bridge can go deeper underwater – with no logical explanation for why. why is it allowed to do so.