It’s been a weirdly awesome week here at Inside The Star. I mean, for crying out loud, I wrote about pants yesterday.
Weird seems to be the deal these days. Kids are running around playing Pokemon Go, and running back unit rankings are considering the Cowboys 10th in the NFL.
My fellow Staff Writer Sean Martin wrote a little diddy up discussing how FOX’s Cameron DaSilva ranked the NFL’s Rushing Attacks entering 2016. This was an evaluation of just that, the “rushing attacks” which considered the overall talent of the offense and mobility of the quarterback.
//insidethestar.com/cowboys-headlines/fox-ranks-nfl-rushing-attacks-places-dallas-out-of-top-5/
On Tuesday, Mike Renner of Pro Football Focus dropped a similar set of rankings. This is an evaluation of “Running Back Units (RBU)” so it’s only ballcarriers. The Cowboys were ranked not 1st, not 2nd, not 3rd, not 4th, hey LeBron, not 5th, but 10th! TENTH!
| PFF RBU Rankings | Team |
| 1 | Pittsburgh Steelers |
| 2 | Tampa Bay Buccaneers |
| 3 | Kansas City Chiefs |
| 4 | Carolina Panthers |
| 5 | Minnesota Vikings |
| 6 | Los Angeles Rams |
| 7 | Jacksonville Jaguars |
| 8 | Buffalo Bills |
| 9 | Houston Texans |
| 10 | Dallas Cowboys |
This is real. I’m not making it up.
I’ve done my fair share of studying when it comes to running backs in the NFL. My Price Per Yard Series is pretty indicative of that.
Let’s say I hadn’t, though. Let’s say that I was a baby duckling just learning about this great game of football. EVEN THEN I WOULD KNOW THAT THE COWBOYS RUNNING BACK UNIT IS BETTER THAN THE BUCCANEERS, PANTHERS, RAMS, JAGUARS, AND TEXANS!
We are talking about “Running Back Units” here so I’m willing to concede that Pittsburgh, Kansas City, Buffalo, and Minnesota probably have us beat. They’re all deep in a special way, although I would argue Pittsburgh isn’t at times, after all DeAngelo Williams and I are pals, today just isn’t that day.
It is absurd to suggest that those five RBUs are better than the Cowboys.
Let’s define the Cowboys RBU for a second. You’ve got Zeke, Alfred Morris, and Lance Dunbar/Darius Jackson. Fair? Fair!
Four months ago I proved how Alfred Morris alone is better than Doug Martin, the Panthers have a shaky Jonathan Stewart starting and nothing else that impresses, Los Angeles is thin past Gurley, the Jaguars have who… TJ Yeldon? And Chris Ivory? The person who had less yards than Darren McFadden – who I’m not counting as part of the Cowboys RBU EVEN THOUGH HE WAS THE 4TH LEADING RUSHER IN THE NFL LAST SEASON – in 2015? That’s better? Seriously?
The Houston Texans have Lamar Miller, cool. Then they have Alfred Blue, who is a significantly lower-level Alfred than the other one in the state of Texas. Oh and they have Tyler Ervin who is an unproven Lance Dunbar.
The Dallas Cowboys are, at the very worst, the fifth best Running Back Unit in the NFL.
Let’s prove it in 2016. Hurry up, football.
Where do you think the Dallas Cowboys Running Back Unit ranks across the NFL? Let us know! Comment below, Email me at RJ@RJOchoashow.com, or Tweet to me at @rjochoa!
I haven't heard anyone who would vehemently disagree with the Cowboys Offensive line being #1 though. Carolina is the only one in the same ballpark for both units, coming in at 6 for OL and 4 for RB (and the only positive comment was based on RB pass blocking?) . With all the investment and expectation put into the running game, the Cowboys will be a disappointment to be anything less than the 2nd best rushing attack, which I think unreasonable to choose a rookie to put in a place with such expectations. Should we really depend on a rookie to have 1500 yards and be so responsible for the QB's health? Because anything less than that (which would basically be a top 5 rookie RB season ever) would be a let down for the position he has been placed.