'The Bell Cow': Cowboys' Tony Pollard Answers Critics' No. 1 Question

Many question marks surrounded Dallas Cowboys running back Tony Pollard and his ability to carry a heavy workload with Ezekiel Elliott no longer with the team, but those questions have been answered.

The Dallas Cowboys' decision to let Ezekiel Elliott go and thrust Tony Pollard into the No. 1 running back role was met with some criticism. Zeke was the brutal runner, while Pollard was the lightning bolt, which created a fine tandem. ... "Dine and Dash,'' we called them here at CowboysSI.com.

In his career, though, Pollard has only had more than 15 carries on three occasions (all last year), so naturally, the question was whether he could handle an increased workload with Elliott no longer with the team.

Offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer believes that Pollard has put all those questions to bed.

"We knew it was going to be a real physical game," Schottenheimer said after Week 2's 30-10 win over the Jets. "I think it shows what Tony can be ... I think it proves that here's a guy that we've all asked, 'Can he be a bell cow? There's no question he can be a bell cow. He ran hard, 32 (touches) ... 

"Do we want to do that every week? Depends on the game. I think he answered the question, 'Can I do that? Yeah, I can."

Pollard of Cowboys

With head coach Mike McCarthy now calling the plays, a big emphasis has been placed on situational football. As the Cowboys defense has been doing its thing, that has meant that McCarthy's offense has "played within itself'' in its two games this season.

Part of that is owning the clock, and we saw that by the 44 rushing attempts (25 were Pollard's) as Dallas controlled the time of possession stat (42:15 to 17:45) in the 30-10 win over the New York Jets.

If Pollard wasn't the bell cow back that Schottenheimer and McCarthy thought him to be, we would have in theory seen him wilting under the physical toll late in the game. But that didn't happen as Pollard carried the ball 15 times in the second half and only had three negative plays.

"Whatever they throw at me, I can handle," Pollard said during training camp. "I'm ready to go. I'll make the most of it. ... If they call it, I'ma haul it.''

Through two games Pollard has 39 carries for 142 yards and two touchdowns while also catching nine passes for 49 yards. 

Pollard has had 48 touches already this season. He wants to "haul it,'' and McCarthy and Schottenheimer seem just fine stacking his plate with offensive touches.

"Feed Zeke" was the popular slogan since 2016, but now the Cowboys are feeding Pollard and he's gobbling up anything the offense is giving him. As far as those bell cow questions, they have well and truly been answered.