Dallas Cowboys Smart With Ezekiel Elliott

The Dallas Cowboys are trying to rebound from a disastrous 2015 campaign the saw quarterback Tony Romo and receiver Dez Bryant, among others, get hurt. Of course, the best way for the Cowboys to rebound is to stay healthy, especially at the quarterback position.

To do that, they need to keep Romo’s pitch count down, which is why they drafted running back Ezekiel Elliott in the first round. The team fully intends to run their way to the playoffs the way they ran themselves to the playoffs with a 12-4 record in 2014.

And the big hype train has been behind the Cowboys ever since they drafted Elliott. But the hype just turned into concern as Elliott injured his hamstring on Tuesday and didn’t finish practice. NFL Media Insider Ian Rapoport reported that the injury is a tweak and the Cowboys will take their time with Elliott.

Right now, there isn’t a timetable for Elliott’s return to the field a but the Cowboys are and should be very cautious with their big hope for the 2016 season. Elliott is just the dual-threat running back that can carry the load they’ve needed since DeMarco Murray left in 2015.

MLB Rolando McClain, and DEs Demarcus Lawrence and Randy Gregory will be out for a while. But LB Sean Lee is healthy and CB Orlando Scandrick is back from his injury. Plus S Byron Jones will make his jump to Year 2 so the defense will be better than the one they had in 2014.

So the ground-and-pound formula could work with a healthy Elliott but not without him.

Stay smart Cowboys!