:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/65115197/1163951519.jpg.0.jpg)
There were a lot of good things that happened for the Dallas Cowboys on Saturday, so many that a few slipped through in the midst of all the fun. This is a good problem to have.
It’s true that there was plenty of praise to go around, and that wasn’t exactly the case during the team’s first two preseason games.
After Dallas took on San Francisco and the Los Angeles Rams it was more difficult to find what plenty of people did well. The obvious star from those performances, especially the one in Honolulu, was rookie running back Tony Pollard. What Pollard is doing is obviously heightened by Ezekiel Elliott’s holdout but it doesn’t take away from the fact that he’s been playing very well so far.
Pollard didn’t get into the endzone but he did have a couple of big plays against Houston. The Tony Pollard fan club continues to gain members by the minute and one of the newest is NFL analyst (and former Dallas Cowboy) Brian Baldinger.
Baldy does such a great job at breaking down various things across the league on his Twitter account. It’s not the easiest job to analyze film and explain it in a way that’s easy for everyone to understand but he does just that. On Sunday evening he lent his hand to Tony Pollard’s cause and needless to say it will get you excited.
.@dallascowboys @Tp__5 makes me want more. He keeps getting better limited touches. Wondering what the #Cowboys really think b/c his teammates sure seem excited about what he can do. #BaldysBreakdowns pic.twitter.com/3sPtaJuCM7
— Brian Baldinger (@BaldyNFL) August 26, 2019
All of the things that people are excited about with Pollard are mentioned in this two-minute video. Baldinger touches on Pollard’s patience but he does such a great job of showing just how the rookie utilizes it.
There’s no question that Ezekiel Elliott is a superior player to Pollard, but it’s possible that the Cowboys have two running backs that can be of serious offensive use on their roster. Things like Pollard avoiding the scrum on 3rd and 1 are often missed in the moment and later forgotten, it’s not until afterwards that you can truly appreciate Pollard’s patience and ability to get outside in order to move the chains.
If and when Elliott returns this is undoubtedly his backfield; however, it’s definitely interesting to wonder what Pollard would look like with 20 or so carries in an actual NFL game.
The Cowboys have clearly found something in Tony Pollard. What a good problem to have.