Dallas Cowboys: Dak Prescott can’t do everything with Ezekiel Elliott out

Coaches

You also have to look to the coaches. It is impossible to know exactly how they can adjust, but the Celtics’ identity is being threatened without Elliott. Everything they want to do is predicated on establishing the running game. We know that will be a lot more difficult to get going now, and it is on the coaches to figure out how to adjust the way the talent is used, to make sure they are still functioning on offense at a high enough level.

There is also the issue of distraction. This saga with Elliott has been hanging over everyone’s head for a while now, and it is hard to tell how everyone will react now that Elliott is actually sidelined. There are a lot of ways this can have a negative impact. The Cowboys could see more players descending into hero ball, thinking they need to be the one to make up for everything.

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Players could also get demoralized, and feel as though they will never be able to make this up. Elliot is crucial to everything the Cowboys want to do on offense, and the way the offense functions directly impacts how fresh the defense is. There is plenty of talent for this team to survive this suspension, but it will be the most difficult task of Jason Garrett’s career attempting to figure out how to make all these pieces work on such short notice, with a crucial and difficult stretch up on the schedule.