LaDainian Tomlinson believes Ezekiel Elliott’s fumbling woes will pass quickly
Ezekiel Elliott hasn’t been known as a fumbler … until this season.
The Dallas Cowboys running back has lost four fumbles — the most by any running back in the NFL going into Week 8. But Hall of Fame running back and NFL Network analyst LaDainian Tomlinson believes the fumbling issues will be a short-term problem for Elliott.
“Zeke has never been a guy to fumble the football in all his years in college and in the NFL,” Tomlinson said. “That has not been his problem. When it starts to happen, you start thinking about it too much.
“I think this is something that is going to pass quickly because I believe he has the right mindset. He’s going to get it fixed.”
Elliott had a two-fumble night in a losing effort against Arizona two weeks ago, blaming himself for the loss and vowed to improve his ball security.
Elliott didn’t fumble in the Cowboys’ road loss against the Washington Football Team last week and hopes to keep that trend going against the Eagles on Sunday night. But this is a guy who has yet to put together consecutive games without a fumble this season.
Elliott had two fumbles (one lost) against Atlanta in Week 2, one lost fumble against Cleveland in Week 4 and two lost fumbles against Arizona in Week 6.
Tomlinson feels Elliott must improve his technique, particularly with opposing defenses coming after the ball even more these days.
“From a fundamental standpoint, I’ve noticed he starts to swing the ball sometimes,” Tomlinson said. “These guys are too good not to have the ball pressed up against your body. When you start swinging and don’t know where the defenders are coming from, fumbles happen because the ball is not very tight.
“And once you start fumbling and put that on film, now the defense is going for it. They’re trying to punch it out, they’re ripping for it, so it makes it even harder. But, like I said, he’s going to get it fixed. It’s just a little mental and going back to fundamentals.”
