Ezekiel Elliott’s holdout is serious business

The NFL offseason has seen a few roster moves, and contract holdouts. One former member of the Ohio State Buckeyes, wide receiver Michael Thomas, got a big payday with the New Orleans Saints. While one member of the national title team of 2015 got their money, another is still trying to get his.

Dallas Cowboy running back Ezekiel Elliott hasn’t reported to training camp, and according to Josina Anderson, Zeke’s holdout could drag into the regular season—but both Zeke and Jerry Jones are trying to avoid that.

Around the NFC East, teams are preparing their squads—with some having success at filling the RB vacuum that could be left by Elliott in the division.

The Washington Redskins have Derrius Guice, who, according to HogsHaven, is getting back to normal. Here’s a snippet of what they had to say about Guice (and the RBs) in training camp:

Derrius Guice is back. He is playing like a running back who is not scared of contact, or like a back who has recently recovered from a torn-ACL...Lastly, do not be surprised if Samaje Perine gives you mixed emotions during pre-season games. Samaje has played well during his time on the field, he is seeing the field clearly, no fumbles, and has had a few goal-line runs showing his effectiveness as a big-body back.

But one thing is for certain in the NFC East: Everyone is keeping an eye on how the Elliott situation plays out.

Alexis Chassen at Bleeding Green Nation, the SB Nation site for the Philadelphia Eagles, noted the star power on the Cowboys, and the need to pay them.

Not only do they have to figure out ways to pay both Dak Prescott and Amari Cooper, but they need to account for Elliott’s off-field risk and on-field production in their offer.

With the Eagles being a top contender in the East, the Cowboys will need all the help they can get to clinch the division and/or reach the postseason. Elliott was the leading rusher in the league last season, and the loss of him for any substantial amount of time could be a serious blow if nobody else on the depth chart steps up.

Chris Pflum of Big Blue View, the SB Nation site for the New York Giants, had short-term insights on the Zeke holdout:

In the immediate future, if Elliott’s holdout stretches into the regular season it could radically change the dynamics of the Giants’ opening game. Elliott is commonly seen as the engine that powers the Cowboys’ offense, which seemingly gives him leverage in a prolonged stand-off. If he is not on the field week one, and the Dallas offense struggles, that could be an ideal opportunity for the Giants to get off to a fast start in 2019.

From a long term perspective, the effect of Elliott missing regular season snaps could have an enormous impact on the leverage a RB has. If the Cowboys flounder, then Zeke (and other important RBs) can name their price. If the Cowboys can manage, and even make the playoffs, then the stock value of rushers will drop.

Either way, Elliott is going to make money—whether he’s on the Cowboys or not—but the future is cloudy for everyone else that doesn’t have a big-money contract signed.

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A change in regularly scheduled programming

The OSU football season is still a few weeks away from commencing. For those regular season games, the teams and dates are Sharpied in. Only for a handful of games are the times still to be determined.

One thing that is changing is Ryan Day’s weekly coaches press conference. Urban Meyer held his meeting with the press on Monday, but Day is moving his one day to the right, according to Marcus Hartman of the Dayton Daily News.

For Land-Grant Holy Land visitors, that means the press conference recaps will be coming out immediately after the presser is completed on Tuesdays, and the ‘Things Learned’ post breaking down the questions and answers will come on Wednesday.

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It’s never too early (or late) to talk about bowl records. This holds especially true if your team and conference are the ones winning bowl games.

And friends, as a representative of an Ohio State blog, let’s talk about the Big Ten’s record in New Year’s Six contests. The Big Ten Network fired off a quick overview of the stats in a tweet Monday afternoon, but let’s take a little bit deeper of a dive.

So far, the Big Ten is 9-6 in the big bowl games. For the conference, Ohio State is the leader in the clubhouse with five of the nine wins. The Buckeyes won the Sugar Bowl Semifinal and National Championship Game in 2015, the Fiesta Bowl in 2016, Cotton Bowl in 2017, and Rose Bowl in 2019. Only one of the six losses for the B1G has come from the Buckeyes, with the lone loss being in the Fiesta Bowl Semifinal (2016) against Clemson.

The gap between Ohio State and second is wide. Wisconsin is second with a 2-0 record in NY6 games, and between the Buckeyes and Badgers, they are the only schools with more than two wins.

Michigan State and Penn State are each 1-1, with the Spartans being the only B1G team outside OSU to make it to the College Football Playoff.

Michigan and Iowa have made appearances, but haven’t won yet. The Wolverines got obliterated in the Peach Bowl this past season, and lost to Florida State in the 2016 Orange Bowl. The Hawkeyes lone appearance was in the 2016 Rose Bowl, where Stanford’s Christian McCaffrey ran them over.

While the Big Ten flex the best NY6 winning percentage, they don’t lead in most appearances. The SEC has gotten seven teams in the NY6 (compared to the B1G’s six), and have made more appearances in the CFP.

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Missed the last episode of Outside the Shoe?

Our latest edition of the Outside the Shoe, which focused on the OSU rowing team, dropped last Friday. If you have some time (roughly nine minutes), you can listen to the pod as Meredith Hein and I review and preview the squad.

To listen to the podcast, click here. Additionally, if you want to download and subscribe to Outside the Shoe, you can click on the embed below.

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Stick to Sports

• Toni Morrison, a nobel laureate from Lorain, Ohio, dies at 88.
• Columbus Fiery Foods Festival is this weekend. Tickets are $30, and the event will take place at the Columbus Commons from 2-10 p.m.
• For the foodies: In the Yelp app, restaurant phone numbers are being swapped with Grubhub-affiliated ones.
• Apple Card begins roll out phase.
• ‘Venom 2’ has their director in Andy Serkis. Notable works from Serkis include Gollum (Lord of the Rings), and directing Mowgli: Legend of the Jungle.
• On this day in history: (2012) The Curiosity rover touches down on Mars.