FRISCO, Texas – Don't misunderstand him, Ezekiel Elliott still wants those rushing attempts and the yards.
"I'm definitely hungry," Elliott said Wednesday, playing off the 'Feed Zeke' mantra that we've been seen over the years.
The 11 carries and two pass receptions is certainly not numbers that will satisfy the sixth-year running back.
But he also knows that numbers can be misleading, especially when asked if he felt fresh after only getting those 13 in Week 1 at Tampa, where his 33 rushing yards was tied for third-lowest in his career.
"Maybe a little (fresher), but I had a lot of blitz pick-ups, so I still did a lot of banging in there," Elliott said, referring to the amount of pass blocks he did against the Bucs in the pocket.
In fact, Zeke is getting a few kudos from not only his teammates and coaches, but media members who witnessed the amount of collisions that occurred in front of Dak Prescott.
When asked if he felt that part of his game was underrated, Zeke dismissed the notion, mentioning that people that understand the game can see his value to the offense.
"If you know football, if you're in this building, you can tell someone had a solid game without having the best statistics," Zeke said. "If you don't understand that, you should probably study a little more."
Elliott added that blocking, especially against blitzing linebackers and safeties, is a pride thing.
"Every play I'm given a job. My job is to do my job to the best of its ability," Zeke said. "I take a lot of pride to being well-rounded. Blitz pickup is big for a running back. You have to have keep that quarterback safe and untouched."
And that's especially the case when the quarterback throws the ball nearly 60 times.
If that happens again, Zeke said he'll be ready for it. But he certainly wouldn't mind a few less blocks this Sunday in Los Angeles, which should signal a few more carries.
