FRISCO, Texas –Of all things, just when the 6-2 Kansas City Chiefs are coming to town, just when the 4-3 Cowboys finally put together back-to-back wins and seem to be gaining some traction, running back Ezekiel Elliott's suspension is back in effect, as of Wednesday, and likely causing him to miss Sunday's game at AT&T Stadium.
The NFL informed the Cowboys of this first thing Wednesday after Zeke's legal team was unable to receive emergency relief from the 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals, and in all likelihood, unless something happens to expedite the request with the court scheduled to be closed on Thursday and Friday, the NFLPA lawyers will not hear anything from the court until Tuesday at the earliest.
So in the consistent words of Jason Garrett, well, "let's go, let's play," and so comes the next round of Mick Shots.
- Snake Eyes: Was wondering why Judge Katherine Polk Failla was assigned Zeke's request for a preliminary injunction from the District Court of Southern New York, especially since her stand-in while she was away, Paul Crotty, issued a two-week injunction until Judge Failla returned to work. Well, am told it's basically the luck – or in this case lack thereof – of the draw on these assignments. Cases are randomly distributed by a computer so nothing funny takes place.
- Raw Deal: Just ended up with the wrong judge. Think about this. Judge Amos Mazzant in the Eastern District of Texas ruled in favor of an injunction, sensing something was "inherently unfair" in Zeke's arbitration hearing with the NFL. Then one of the three judges on the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans dissented, Judge James Graves, basically saying he was skeptical of the appeal process fairness. And then Crotty himself saying the court should not base its decision solely on the Brady precedent. Yet why did Judge Failla blow the NFLPA out of the water on three main fronts, maintaining the courts should not interfere with an agreed-upon process in a Collectively Bargained Agreement. After reading her 24-page document on the decision, sure read as if she had made her decision to deny the injunction request before even hearing the arguments.
- Up Next: The next step if the motion for an injunction in the 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals is denied, the NFLPA can ask the court for an en banc ruling, meaning the entire panel of judges will weigh in on the decision. If that's denied there, well, can you say Supreme Court? Seriously? Doing whatever they can do to prevent Zeke from missing all of those games while waiting for the lawsuit filed on his behalf against the NFL is heard, and that probably will not take place until the Spring of 2018.
- Tell Me Why: Have been wondering why so many folks, media included, have this notion that Dak Prescott will have to do more – passing and running – to compensate for the loss of Elliott. He should have been doing as much as he can already. Look, this suspension didn't just sneak up on the Cowboys. They have planned for this by keeping Darren McFadden, Alfred Morris and Rod Smith on the roster all this time, and the Cowboys obviously must think, even though none of those guys are Zeke, they can win with those guys over six games.
