Spagnola: Trying to sort out this committee thing

The Committee: Frisco, Texas.

These days, that’s all we hear about. The Committee is the strategy, if necessary, rather than a decision,

for how the Cowboys will handle the running back situation in 2024. as of May 17, at the latest.However, what does that actually mean?

What is the committee’s size?

Who is a member of the committee?

Who is the committee’s head?

What are the responsibilities of each individual member?

a lot to process.

Here’s where we should begin. Here are the committee members as of right now,

ranked in no particular order, save perhaps NFL experience,

for when the Cowboys start their first of three OTA practice sessions next week.

Elliott Ezekiel.

Royce Offman.

Rico Dowdle.

Luepke Hunter.

Davis Malik.

Deuce Vaughn

Conner Snoop

Joel Peete.

Zeke, who turns 29 this summer, obviously leads with 107 starts during his NFL career, if career starts matter.

At nine, Freeman is next, but he has only had one since 2018. Who are the other six? In other words, a total of zero.

Yards, too? Well, the other six have a combined total of 605 yards rushing,

with 385 of them coming from Dowdle, behind Zeke (8,904) and Freeman (1,792), and 319 of those last year with the Rams.

Thus, Zeke, Rico, and Hunter would be the top three right now, in my opinion,

with Deuce and Malik maybe finding a spot later on. I’m not sure where the seventh-year veteran Freeman fits in.

However, as previously stated, the Cowboys won’t be certain of any of this until training camp begins,

and possibly not even then, until they take on the Rams, Raiders, and Chargers in their three preseason games.

And those in authority, such as head coach Mike McCarthy, talk in broad strokes about this “committee” approach.

Take this, Jeff Blasko, the coach of the Cowboys running backs:

To be really honest with you, it can vary every week. If there are three players in the stable,

it could be the case that one of them plays forty percent, forty percent, or twenty percent of the snaps.

“It’s something that’s going to change weekly based more on who we’re playing, what we’re doing offensively,

what we’re doing schematically, and who puts us in the best position to be successful.”

However, if the Cowboys continue in this direction,

The NFL will be following suit, substituting a multiple-back formation for the more conventional bell cow.

Take Kansas City, the Super Bowl champions. Isiah Pacheco, the lead back,

only carried the ball 205 times for 935 yards in the previous campaign.

If you recall, QB1 Patrick Mahomes (75-389) was next in line, and Clyde Edwards-Helaire (70-223) was

the previous first-round selection. And to think that Kansas City only had nine running

touchdowns during the regular season—seven of which belonged to Pacheco—while winning a Super Bowl and finishing 11-6.

How about Detroit, the upstart? On his second squad, fifth-year running back

David Montgomery led the Lions in rushing (219 for 1,015 and 13 touchdowns),

with rookie Jahmyr Gibbs (drafted in the first round) chipping in with 183-945-10.

According to Blasko, “it’s becoming more of a committee approach.”

Blasko provided scientific data to support his claims. According to his research, the NFL had 17 rushers

with at least 1,000 yards annually on average between 2000 and 2014. However, the 1,000-yard rusher average dropped to 11 from 2015 and 23.

Twelve rushers last year finished the now-17-game season with 1,000 yards; however,

the final four just missed the mark, by 15, 12, 8, and Tony Pollard of the Cowboys’ 5 yards (1,005). Most likely by a carry or three.

In actuality, just four other backs in the 1,000-yard category gained more than 1,049 yards in the passing game.

Regarding Zeke, as you may remember, the Cowboys re-signed Elliott for a drastically

reduced one-year contract with $2 million guaranteed and the chance to earn an additional

$1 million in incentives this offseason, doing what they ought to have done last offseason.

Heck, with the Patriots last season, that’s all Zeke earned.

And he should do it if only because he can run the ball inside the 10-yard line.

Since Zeke gained 8,262 yards and scored 68 rushing touchdowns with another

12 receiving over his seven seasons in Dallas, Blasko’s statement about him is not surprising to any of us.

Blasko remarked, “He’s a can of kickass in that department.”

The Cowboys last year really needed a 10-yard line for kickoffs.

The squad gained 90 yards overall on 55 of these runs in 2023, or an average of just 1.63 yards per carry.

Additionally, the Cowboys averaged 1.8 yards per carry, or 43 for 79 yards, on rushes from goal-to-go situations.

Dallas scored 12 of its touchdowns on the ground while rushing from a distance of no more than ten yards.

The fact that kicker Brandon Aubrey made nine of his nine field goal attempts

between 20 and 29 yards may be more instructive than the Cowboys’ incapacity in

short-yardage situations close to the goal line. This means that the team plays far too frequently

left points on the field from no farther out than the 11-yard line.

“There were times last year when a bigger bashing type would have helped us out,” stated Blasko.

Zeke will definitely play a part in the formation of the aforementioned committee.

Bring him into the game within the 10-yard line. Given what is known about his career,

51 of the 71 rushing touchdowns he scored were from a distance of little more than 10 yards.

39 of those 51 were from a distance of no more than two yards.

Give some Zeke to me. Not every person can smell dirt.

That is not to say Elliott must carry the ball 200 times or more in 2024. Understand it.

As stated by Blasko, “We want to maximize his strength but not burn him out.”

Alright, excellent. At least one member of the committee is certain to have a defined role.

Who is the second member, though? If the Cowboys, including the fullback,

do actually retain four players on their 53-man roster, Who is the third player, and is this a rotating member?

There are many things to sort out. Nothing is predetermined.

And, for crying out loud, what if injuries make committee members cranky,

maybe even compromising membership? Fortunately, May is still early.

But the Cowboys have decided to go down this road. Once more,

for the time being. Let’s see. But keep in mind that there was a committee of two in 2022—Zeke

with 231 carries and Pollard with 193—the last year Zeke was in office.

Is there a back more capable of carrying a load than Zeke? Who knows?

This previous year in New England, there wasn’t.

Dowdle’s season-ending 89 is a career high. Davis only possesses 38, all from 2022.

The season high for Freeman Is 132, but that was with Denver in 2019. He had 77 with the Rams last season.

Brian Schottenheimer, the offensive coordinator, stated that “we’re very

comfortable and confident, it’s going to work out for us.”

As Schotty went on, “It’s not cookie cutter” when it comes to clearly defined long-term roles.

Roles TBD. To put it another way, don’t say that guy only does this and this guy only does that.

Okay, but let’s face it—we think we have at least one confirmed committee member and one clearly defined job.

the guy next to the goal line, the “can of kick-ass”.

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