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Predicting The Future Is Tricky Business
By Lisa Ann
I thought Zeke Elliott would be a bust
So here we are, face to face, somewhat. It is time for me to come clean about my preseason rankings, one in particular. Ezekiel Elliott. Yes, if you recall I had predicted a bust season for the Dallas Cowboys Rookie Running Back. I have taken these first eight weeks to really think about my choices, not all, but that one choice in particular for sure.Here is what I have come up with including a little back-story. I was born and raised a Dallas Cowboys Fan; it’s in my blood. For those of you living life according to the star, maybe you will understand what I was thinking. Maybe it was reverse psychology on my part, maybe while writing my bust predictions for Ezekiel Elliott, in the back of my mind were thoughts of hopes and dreams that he could run those doubts right out of my mind this season on the field. I mean if I was going to be wrong, wouldn’t it be the best-case scenario that it would be a good thing for myself as a Dallas Cowboys fan. If there was ever a time I absolutely ecstatic to have been wrong, this is it.
This August, on the opening day for the homecoming of the Los Angeles Rams at the Coliseum in Los Angeles, the very first game was the preseason match up between the Dallas Cowboys & the Los Angeles Rams. My two best friends, also Cowboys Fans and I decided we needed to check out this young talent and see what we could predict the season would look like for our team. Here comes Dak Prescott. As soon as he walked on the field, I pulled up his stats on my phone for my friends and we started this “Dak” conversation. We liked what we saw, we imagined what it would be like for our team to have a young, healthy, vibrant quarterback that we didn’t have to squirm each time he took a hit like our starter Tony Romo. We all have loved and adored Tony Romo for many seasons, but that fear and anxiety of his injury risk has made being a fan simply not as fun. By the end of that game, we loved Dak Prescott and as we were leaving the Coliseum, we had hope for the future of the Dallas Cowboys. What we didn’t know that day was the how quickly that future would actually be a reality.
Flash forward to the present, the day after the Sunday night match up between the Philadelphia Eagles and the Dallas Cowboys. The Rookie on Rookie QB match up between Dak Prescott and Carson Wentz. As soon as the first play of action started on the field, it was impossible for me not to feel the intensity. What a game, what a win, what a record. This young talent has become so exciting to watch it is hard to tell who is having more fun, the players or the fans. The happiness is overwhelming, as we have all been standing by, waiting a pretty long time to feel this feeling. Last night we saw the return of Dez Bryant and I watched anxiously wondering if Dak would be able to make it happen for Dez. There were some failed attempts, till magic happened in a very Dez like style, jumping and reaching, completing an awesome catch in the end zone. My emotions were had to contain. I couldn’t tell if I wanted to jump up and down or cry tears of pure happiness. The Cowboys went from being down 23 to 10 to bringing back the magic and showing their tenacity as America’s Team to ending an intense run in over time with a beautiful 5 yard pass from Dak Prescott to Jason Whitten in the end zone and that was all she wrote. Last night the Dallas Cowboys came together as a team, a winning team utilizing a combination of rookie and veteran players.
I have never been happier to be wrong about something. Ezekiel Elliott has proven to me, I was wrong, he is not a bust. He has also shown Cowboys Fans everywhere that he can run through the pack, hurdle over players and carry the rock racking up monster yards each game. As for myself and all of my friends who are also Dallas Cowboys fans, it is almost impossible to wrap our heads around the record of 6-1. The combination of a rookie QB, Rookie RB and some true legends in the backfield, we have something really special here.
So, in closing, I am willing to admit my mistake, especially my very off preseason prediction of Ezekiel Elliott being a bust this season. That was a bad decision, a personal failure, however you want to label my horrible preseason prediction. I am taking the reverse phycology stance that I mentioned earlier, so as sorry as I am for being so totally wrong , I couldn’t be happier about the end result! Go Cowboys!