The New York Giants' defense really made a name for itself last year, and they will have to be just as stout against the run as they are against the Cowboys' air attack this coming week, as it has been announced that Ezekiel Elliot will indeed be eligible to play the season opener, in spite of his six game suspension having been upheld.
As Elliott sat in for his hearing in a Sherman, TX courtroom on Tuesday, September 5, it was understood that any imminent suspension would be pushed back to Week 2 when Dallas plays Denver, if no decision was made by 4:00 pm. As many expected, no decision had been made on whether or not to take the second-year RB out of commission as punishment for an alleged incident of domestic abuse in 2016, by that deadline. League arbitrator Harold Henderson would indeed reject Elliott's appeal and eventually rule in favor of upholding the suspension, but due to the timing of his decision, it will not impede upon Dallas' plan to incorporate Elliott into the run scheme come Sunday.
After receiving word of Henderson's ruling, Elliott's attorneys blasted a league by telling ESPN: "The evidence that Mr. Elliott and his team presented on appeal clearly demonstrated that Mr. Elliott was the victim of a conspiracy orchestrated by the National Football League and its officers to keep exonerating evidence from the decision-makers, including the advisors and Roger Goodell." Elliott's legal team and the NFL Players Association have taken the league's front office to court over its appeals process, charging that at least one investigator tapped to report back on evidence provided in the case, weighed in favor of dropping the suspension, but wasn't included in the suspension report.
The Cowboys lost to the Giants twice last year, with New York containing Dallas' run game by limiting Elliott to one touchdown on 51 yards rushing. In their second meeting, Elliott ran for 107 yards on 24 carries but did not score.
Source: nydailynews.com
