Cowboys appear ready to go with ground and pound formula

Jul 11, 2016

Fortunately, the Cowboys added their best "defender" on offense: Ezekiel Elliott.

That may sound like a confusing statement, but it's not. Elliott is going to help Dallas' defense greatly with his ability to keep it off the field. Much like DeMarco Murray did in 2014, Elliott is going to carry the load, take pressure off of quarterback Tony Romo, and allow the defense to get plenty of rest throughout games.

"He's definitely a three-tool player that can just play on every single down," safety Barry Church said on Sirius XM NFL Radio. "And it helps out the defense a lot. It takes up our play downs by a lot. That also happened in 2014 when we had DeMarco Murray. He was punishing defenses and we were three-and-out here, three-and-out there, and we were fresh in the fourth quarter. That's how we won all of our games, by getting takeaways in the fourth quarter, but that was because we were fresh."

Fantasy Impact:

Church added in the piece the Cowboys could return to their 2014 form of grounding and pounding, and with an aging Romo at QB, the strategy makes sense. Couple that with a very good O-line, and it's easy to see why Elliot ranks fourth on our RB list coming into this season. With Darren McFadden's injury, he's on pace to get RB1 touches.

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Raiders RB Alexander Mattison set to return Week 15, Sincere McCormick still starting

Levi Edwards

0 minutes ago

Antonio Pierce stated that Sincere McCormick will remain the team’s starting running back even with Alexander Mattison nearing a return this week.

“He deserves it. … He has run his tail off.”

Related Players: Ameer Abdullah

Fantasy Impact:

At 2-11, the Raiders would be silly to not see what they have in McCormick, with 31-year-old Abdullah and Mattison, who is on a one-year contract, only there to give the former UDFA a breather. Consider McCormick a volume-based RB3.

Giants QB Drew Lock in walking boot, Tommy DeVito set to start Week 15

Adam Schefter

1 hour ago

Giants HC Brian Daboll told reporters that QB Drew Lock is in a walking boot due to a heel injury and Tommy DeVito now is expected to start Sunday vs. the Ravens.

Fantasy Impact:

The Ravens path to an overall D/ST1 finish on the week becomes a little clearer. DeVito can safely be kept on benches in SuperFlex leagues on a week with zero byes.

Bills WR Keon Coleman, TE Dalton Kincaid return to practice ahead of Week 15

Ian Rapoport

2 hours ago

Good news on the way for Buffalo: Bills WR Keon Coleman (wrist) and TE Dalton Kincaid (knee) are expected to practice fully today. A positive step forward in advance of the showdown with the Lions.

Fantasy Impact:

It's probably still best to start other options over Kincaid, as he takes on a Lions defense that ranks 4th in TE aFPA, but there could be a ton of points here, so if you're in a bind he makes sense as a top-15ish option.

As for Coleman, he's more in the boom/bust WR4 range as Shakir should continue standing atop the target share.