Getty Cowboys RB Ezekiel Elliott
To borrow a phrase from the man who signs his checks, Dallas Cowboys offensive coordinator Kellen Moore is not interested in circumcising any mosquitoes.
Relative to his pass-happy approach in Dallas’ Week 1 loss to Tampa Bay, Moore explained that “yards are yards” whether they come by air or by ground — and “I really don’t care” so long as the game plan suits the opponent.
“We threw ball that traveled a foot to [running back] Tony [Pollard] that went for eight yards, but it was a pass,” Moore said Monday, per David Helman of the official team website. “Yards are yards, whether they’re run or pass. I think we get a little bit hung up on the categories that they go into. We want to attack people in a balanced way. Now, that may be utilizing all our different personnel we’ve talked about, making sure all those guys get touches and spread defenses horizontally so we can attack them. We want to have diversity in our approach. But if it’s a lot of runs, a lot of passes, I don’t really care.”
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Moore Addresses Zeke, Dak
Cowboys star running back Ezekiel Elliott was anything but amid Thursday’s season-opener — he was a non-factor, finishing with 33 scoreless yards across 11 carries. Rather than run into the teeth of Tampa Bay’s elite defense, Moore opted to attack the reigning Super Bowl champs through the air, dialing up 58 pass attempts for quarterback Dak Prescott in his return from ankle and shoulder injuries.
“We can bang our head against the wall if we want. …We felt very comfortable with the game plan,” Moore said Monday, via Michael Gehlken of the Dallas Morning News.
Prescott finished with 403 passing yards, three touchdowns, and one interception on 42 completions. Interestingly, given he compound-fractured and dislocated his right ankle just 11 months ago, the franchise cornerstone also carried the ball four times for 13 yards.
“We’re just picking and choosing our spots. We’re not going to be the Baltimore Ravens,” Moore said, per The Athletic.
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Prescott Bemoans Red Zone Struggles
Underscoring the Cowboys’ 31-29 loss to the Bucs was the high-powered club’s inability to hit pay dirt inside the 20. Dallas converted only one of four red-zone trips into touchdowns, its failures enhanced by kicker Greg Zuerlein’s 31-yard field-goal shank — a three-point swing in a two-point result.
“We’ve got to be better at it,” Prescott said after the game, via The Athletic. “We can’t settle for field goals. We got to score touchdowns, especially with the talent we have. Whether it’s running or throwing, we’ve got to find a way. We’ve got to create some scheme, a little bit more scheme and we’ll go out there and execute better as well. We left some plays out there.”
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