Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
RB Elliott searching to regain 2016 form
TEMPE, Ariz. — The Arizona Cardinals finally get to play a home game.
Following two exhibition road games and two more away from home to start the regular season, the Cardinals are back in Arizona tonight against Dallas.
That means a lot of Cowboys fans in the seats at University of Phoenix Stadium. It’s always that way when the Cowboys come to town. Arizona season ticket holders see a way to make back most or all of their investment by selling tickets to the game for Dallas fans.
So when Dallas (1-1) meets Arizona (1-1), it will be a mixed gathering cheering on both teams as the Cowboys look to bounce back from one of their worst losses in years, 42-17 at Denver, and overcome running back Ezekiel Elliott’s perceived loafing after teammate Dak Prescott threw two interceptions.
“There were a lot of things in that ballgame that needed to be addressed and that was one of them,” Dallas Coach Jason Garrett said. “Oftentimes a player can be frustrated by something and it doesn’t necessarily show who he is. One of the reasons we drafted Zeke Elliott is because he’s one of the great competitors we’ve ever been around. …
“You’re honest. You’re very clear with what the expectations are and you learn for them and move forward.”
Elliott, who averaged more than 100 yards rushing per game in 2016 and ran for 104 yards in this year’s opener against the New York Giants, managed 8 yards in 9 carries against the Broncos.
“If you look at those runs, we never really gave Zeke much of a chance with our execution to ever get it going,” tight end Jason Witten said.
Plus, Elliott still has that possible NFL suspension hanging over him, blocked by a court ruling.
Arizona Coach Bruce Arians was asked if Denver offered a blueprint of how to control the Cowboys.
“Well, if I could have Von Miller, I’d be happy. He’s special,” Arians said. “We’ve got a pretty good one, so yeah. It’s a copycat league, but you can’t change what you do. They have some unique stuff that they run that you have to be very aware for. Hopefully our matchups are pretty solid.”
The Cardinals had all kinds of trouble on offense but got it going in the nick of time to score 10 late points to forced overtime against Indianapolis before finally winning 16-13.
Witten leads the NFL with 17 catches and has moved into fourth place on the career list with 1,106 receptions. That means this tonight’s game will feature Nos. 3 and 4 on the all-time list.
Larry Fitzgerald is third with 1,134 grabs. Both have a ways to go for the second spot, and it’s a tight end: Tony Gonzalez with 1,325 catches.
Witten and Fitzgerald also are good friends.
“Someone I’ve admired the way he’s done it, both on and off the field,” Witten said. “Larry’s somebody, he goes about it the right way.”
Fitzgerald feels the same way about the big Dallas tight end.
“First thing I think about Jason is his character, what he stands for. He’s just such a special man,” Fitzgerald said. “I think any young person in this league would look to him as somebody you want to model your career after, personally as well as professionally.”