• Fri. Mar 29th, 2024

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. – Late Tuesday night, the NFL decided to uphold Ezekiel Elliot‘s six game suspension. The suspension was for a violation of the personal conduct policy, stemming from evidence suggesting physical abuse from Elliot on his ex-girlfriend. Elliot is accused of physically harming Tiffany Thompson, at least three times in July 2016.

The suspension will be enforced after the Dallas Cowboys‘ Week 1 match-up, against the New York Giants. Elliot is eligible for Week 1 due to the timing of his appeals. Sources have mentioned that Elliot will seek to the federal court, to further appeal his suspension.

However, what does this mean for the Giants? The game plan should remain the same, being that New York is one of the few teams to be able to somewhat contain Elliot. In their first match-up (Elliot’s 1st NFL start) the Giants held Elliot to just 51 yards on 20 carries (1 TD). For the second contest, Elliot rushed for 107 yards on 24 carries but was held out of the end-zone.

Elliot is known for his breakaway speed and elusive moves that break for long, demoralizing runs. Against New York, Elliot hasn’t had a run longer than 15 yards. The Giant defense as a whole, has to bring that same exceptional level of tackling that limits yardage.

(Photo Credit: Tom Pennington/Getty Images) The Giants have had success gang tackling Elliot.
(Photo Credit: Tom Pennington/Getty Images) The Giants have had success gang tackling Elliot.

New York will need a strong push from their defensive front, and support from the second and third level of defense to contain Ellliot. Look for Jason Pierre-Paul and Landon Collins to have a direct impact on Elliot’s yardage. Collins had 6 tackles in both games against the Cowboys last season, and has looked “lights out” in preseason. Pierre-Paul is key to leading the Giant defense straight into the backfield.

Week 1 should be a win for New York, but they must:

  1. Get into the Dallas backfield to disrupt the running game.
  2. All levels of the Giant defense, have to meet Elliot at the line of scrimmage and cut down the open field distance that makes Elliot dangerous.
  3. MUST FINISH TACKLES – broken tackles lead to highlight reels, and can add up quickly to ensure a loss for your team.

Barry Holmes is a Senior Writer for PureSportsNY.com. Follow him on Twitter @BHO732

(Featured Photo Image: Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images)

 

By Barry Holmes

Graduate of Millersville University, with a BS in Communications focused in Broadcast. Senior Writer & Social Media Manager for PureSportsNY.

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