Nick Harris: Cowboys’ lack of identity in the run game needs a hard look in the mirror

All offseason, the rhetoric given by the Dallas Cowboys front office and coaching staff in regards to the running back room was that it would be a “by committee” effort with Ezekiel Elliott, Rico Dowdle and Deuce Vaughn.

Through two games, we’ve certainly seen that approach, with little success.

The veteran Elliott has carried the ball 16 times for 56 yards, Dowdle has rushed the ball 15 times for 56 yards and Vaughn has seen five carries go for 15 yards. In all, the 3.25 yards per attempt from the trio of backs hasn’t inspired confidence that the running game can help facilitate the offense.

Head coach Mike McCarthy’s decision to divide the reps among three backs has been intentional.

“That’s something that Coach McCarthy wants,” Dowdle said. “He wants a fresh back in at all times. As long as we can go out there and produce, there’s no problem with it.”

But therein lies the problem; the Cowboys offense hasn’t produced. With the only creativity seen in the running game stemming from personnel changes — getting KaVontae Turpin, CeeDee Lamb and Brandin Cooks involved on six jet sweeps in two games — instead of creating bigger running lanes for the trio of backs, the lack of identity has been stark.

It’s something that even the locker room is trying to find two games into the season.

“I wouldn’t say, right now, I really wouldn’t have an answer for that question,” Dowdle said when asked if there was an identity for the room. “We haven’t had a lot of at-bats at the plate…It’s September. We have a lot of football to play. I think as the season goes along, we’ll define what our identity is more.”

That certainly will come, good or bad. Whether it’s practice squad member Dalvin Cook getting called up to the majors for his respective at-bats or making an outside move, the current landscape of the running back room may need a change sooner rather than later.

Dowdle did mention that more touches would help create more of an identity. While an argument could be made for it still being early in the season, if the Cowboys want to have “an honest assessment” of themselves — something that is needed following Sunday’s 44-19 loss to New Orleans according to offensive guard Tyler Smith — then a pinpointing of the glaring issue needs to be made.

“Well, actually if you look at the whole picture, there’s a lot of things that concern me,” owner and general manager Jerry Jones said when directly asked about the concerns in the running game. “This was not representative of a winning team for the Dallas Cowboys.”

Well, when the whole picture is viewed, it’s hard to miss the main subject — even if it is just two games into the season.