12:55 p.m. – The Cowboys finished the 2021 season with the NFL’s No. 1-ranked offense, so it’s hard to say they had a down year in that department.
But production did drop down the stretch, including the playoff loss to San Francisco. So a popular question this offseason is: could the Cowboys have featured backup running back Tony Pollard more, particularly with starter Ezekiel Elliott playing through a knee injury throughout the season?
“I don’t have any issues with how we approached the season last year,” head coach Mike McCarthy said Tuesday from the NFL Combine. ” … As far as, ‘Did we use this guy enough or that guy enough,’ I think it’s convenient criticism, frankly. I think if you look at our numbers, our numbers of productivity were top in the league in a lot of categories. Now, how can we do that again? But I’m not as interested in being the No. 1 ranked offense in the National Football League. We need to be the No. 1 complementary offense, and I think we accomplished that clearly in my second year as opposed to the first year.”
Pollard did have a career-high 130 carries (compared to Elliott’s 237) and averaged 5.5 yards per rush, fifth best in the league and second best among running backs. He set career highs in rushing yards (719), catches (39) and receiving yards (337).
“Tony is a multi-positional player, so we’ve just got to keep spreading him out, and I think we have a tremendous, tremendous attack with both him and Zeke,” McCarthy said.
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