Moore, who was the Cowboys’ offensive coordinator in 2011, had a few notable moments during his three seasons in that role, though he didn’t have a single game with more than 300 yards of total offense. In his two seasons as the Cowboys’ offensive coordinator, Dallas never had a top-10 offense in total yards.
After making the switch from former Cowboys OC Scott Linehan, new OC Kellen Moore is already making a strong impression on the media and his new team. With the first full season under his belt, the Cowboys’ offense has been performing well, and Moore is opening eyes. “I think we’ve been a lot more efficient,” Moore said of his offense. “Our execution has been better, we’ve been more productive, and we’ve been able to score a lot more points. The numbers are kind of scary, honestly. I think we’re averaging 25 points a game. Against (the Jaguars) we had 31, 30. That’s pretty good.”
Going into the 2017 NFL season, the Dallas Cowboys have one of the most highly-paid offensive coaching staffs in the league—and that doesn’t include the head coach. The Cowboys spent $22 million on offensive coordinator “Cowboy” Kellen Moore during the offseason, and there’s a good chance that number will rise in the near future.
Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliott with quarterback Dak Prescott (Getty).
The Dallas Cowboys are hoping — nay, planning — to control the NFL’s top-ranked offense in 2021, thanks to Ezekiel Elliott.
Kellen Moore, the offensive coordinator, made that expectation plain in private at the start of training camp. On Wednesday, the team’s $90 million running back reiterated that sentiment publicly.
“Coach Kellen stated our No. 1 objective this year is to be the No. 1 offense in our first meeting,” Elliott told reporters after practice, according to the official Cowboys website.
Before quarterback Dak Prescott suffered a season-ending ankle injury in October, Dallas stood atop most statistical categories, including total offense and passing yards, to open the 2020 season. In the same categories, the club finished the year placed 14th and ninth.
Prescott’s absence was a major factor in the decline. However, Elliott bears some of the responsibility, as he had career lows in running yards (979), yards per carry (4.0), yards per game (65.3), and attempts per game (16.3). With just six running touchdowns, he matched for a personal low.
Elliott, who admitted to being out of shape, lost approximately 10 pounds this offseason and is now leaner, faster, and healthier. And eager to follow Moore’s lead.
“I’m in a great mood. I’m in good shape. He told ESPN’s Todd Archer on Wednesday, “I feel like I’m in excellent condition.” “I enjoy where my quickness and speed are. I like how at ease I am in the offensive. So I believe I’m ready to leave.”
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Is There a Chemistry (Non-)Problem?
The Cowboys are poised to light up NFL scoreboards this autumn, according to anybody with a functional brain stem. Elliott is only one gear in a system that also includes Prescott and his interchangeable trio of great wide receivers: Amari Cooper, CeeDee Lamb, and Michael Gallup.
Prognosticators, on the other hand, are concerned about the current condition of the collective. Prescott hasn’t completely practiced since July 28 due to a throwing shoulder injury. Cooper was placed on the Physically Unable to Perform list for a portion of camp after undergoing offseason ankle surgery.
The starting offense is unlikely to play together again until the regular-season opener against Tampa Bay on Sept. 9 — the first time since Prescott’s complex broken ankle.
According to Pro Football Talk, Elliott remarked, “We haven’t played together in a while.” “We have a lot of experienced components and people who have played a lot of football,” he says. So it’s unfortunate that we won’t be able to train together right now, but we’ll resume when he returns. It’s great to see him throwing in practice again, easing himself back into drills.”
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Moore Expects a ‘Fun’ Offense
Some think the Cowboys’ wunderkind play-caller is in a difficult situation, since he is in charge of pacifying the aforementioned weapons on a game-by-game (or perhaps snap-by-snap) basis. Moore, on the other hand, is relishing the task.
He told USA TODAY last week, “It’s a pleasant job.” “We have a lot of players in whom we have a lot of confidence. So it’s just a question of looking at this item through a little broader lens. This is going to be a long season. Everyone wants to be a part of it in February. So we’ll need all of these people at different points in different games. I don’t give a damn. We may have to pass the ball to Zeke [Elliott] 40 times throughout a game. It doesn’t matter to me if we have to toss it 50 times. It makes no difference to me. Every game will offer a unique set of difficulties and possibilities. We’ll be able to put all of these people to good use. And there will be various chances for Blake [Jarwin] and Dalton [Schultz] during the season—a tight end opportunity or a matchup—and we may need to spread it out a little bit more and use these guys. We’ll be able to make use of anything. It’ll be a lot of fun.”
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@KelbermanNFL is Zack Kelberman’s Twitter handle.
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