Coach Jason Garrett likes being coy. How else can you describe a coach who suggests he isn't sure if Ezekiel Elliott, who's six-game NFL suspension ended Monday, will start Sunday against the Seattle Seahawks because he wants to see the running back practice first?
Garrett also claims he doesn't know exactly what Elliott's role will be in the offense.
"He looks mentally into it and engaged," Garrett said Wednesday morning. "If he seems like his normal self and is handling work from a conditioning standpoint we'll take it day-by-day."
Whatever.
Does he think he's fooling Seattle?
We all know Elliott will return to the epicenter of the Cowboys' offense Sunday for two reasons: He's their best offense player and Todd Gurley of the Los Angeles Rams rushed for 152 yards against Seattle last week.
We're talking about a player, who had at least 80 yards in all but one of the Cowboys' first eight games and found his rhythm in the last five games before his suspension. In his last four games, Elliott gained 506 yards on 115 carries and scored five touchdowns. He went over 100 yards three times, including a career-high 150 yards on 33 carries in a win at Washington.
Prescott had no interest in being coy. He was giddy at Elliott's return. Perhaps that's why he was a lot more forthcoming than Garrett when discussing his expectations for Elliott in the offense.
"He'll just make the offense that much better and that much more powerful, which makes it hard to scheme and play us," Prescott said. "You can load the box if you want. If you want to lighten the box and let him go, we'll go that way too.
"It wasn't too pretty early on, but we figured it out and got it going offensively. Obviously, at 3-3 our record could've been better, but you saw it: We tried to run the same offense in the game like Zeke was on the team and he wasn't. It was different. The aggressiveness, the tempo, the demeanor, I guess, wasn't the same, but we figured out what works best for us."
This is really all you need to know: In eight games with Elliott, the Cowboys averaged 28.3 points and 370 yards. In six games without him, they averaged 18.4 points and 294 yards.
Elliott's thrilled to be back, judging by what his teammates had to say after practice about his energy on the practice field and the emotional boost he's provided since his return. After all, the Cowboys need a miracle to make the playoffs.
They must beat Seattle and Philadelphia, then have Detroit lose once and either New Orleans, Atlanta or Carolina lose each of their last two games.
"His presence alone gives us energy," Prescott said. "His personality and the way he goes about his day and he definitely brings excitement to practice.
"He's in great shape. Every run he's taking them all 20 yards past the line of scrimmage and finishing them. He's done the right things for six weeks. He's probably never let his team down or being in this position or this situation this experience has really lit something inside of him and you'll see it."
That may be true, but Elliott had no interest in discussing it. He met briefly with the media at his locker, thanking the fans and the organization for its support.
"It's behind me. I'm just trying to start a new page, a new chapter," he said. "I'm going to thank this Cowboys organization for being behind me. Thank my family, my team and my friends for just supporting me through that time and especially the Cowboys fans who have stuck by me through this tough time and haven't lost faith in me."
He answered six more questions before stopping the interview, apparently frustrated that he continued to get questions about how he spent the previous six weeks.
"I'm ready to talk about the Seattle Seahawks," he said. "I'm ready to talk about the Dallas Cowboys. I'm not speaking on that anymore."
In doing so, he missed an opportunity to direct the narrative about his return to the Cowboys.
