With Ezekiel Elliott's suspension reinstated, the big question heading into Sunday's tilt against the Kansas City Chiefs is how the Dallas Cowboys will replace their best backfield weapon.
Not everyone views those questions as legitimate.
"These questions, I chuckle at them, but at the same time it's very insulting because we're pros," Alfred Morris said, via the team's official website. "Nothing changes at all for me, other than all these cameras in my face."
Morris appears in line to take the bulk of the carries in Zeke's stead, and NFL Network's Jane Slater reported Thursday that Morris will start Sunday's game in Dallas. With offensive lineman Zach Marin insisting the team plans to run the same sort of plays, that workload has the potential to skyrocket.
Morris hasn't earned more than four carries in any game this season. In two years with the Cowboys, the 28-year-old has one game with double-digit carries (a blowout versus Cleveland in Week 9 last season). Morris, however, earned more than 200 attempts in each of his first four seasons with the Washington Redskins.
"It's no pressure. I mean, I've done this before," he said. "I came out as a rookie and I've done this before. I've done it my first few years -- over 1,000 yards. I was productive."
The Cowboys appear to be a prime candidate to use a committee to replace Elliott's production. Morris is expected to share totes with Darren McFadden, who has not played a snap this season, and Rod Smith. Slater adds Smith is ahead of McFadden on the team's Zeke-less depth chart. Smith, an undrafted free agent, is the wild card in the scenario after displaying burst and speed in space in minimal carries this season.
However Dallas divvies up the workload, Morris is confident the ground game won't suffer sans Elliott.
"A lot of people are thinking that the running game is going to falter because Zeke's not here, but that's not the case," Morris said. "Will we miss him, yeah. But at the same time, the train goes on. We're going to do our job. We're going to show up every day and work hard."
