Are we setting Dak Prescott up for a mighty fall?

[dallasdave]

So by the process of deduction, Risen is Golden Corral?

Risen is the real GM of the Cowboys

 

[Trouty]

Risen is the real GM of the Cowboys

Morning, Dave!!!

 

[CouchCoach]

Jake Plummer
Josh Freeman
Marc Bulger
Byron Leftwich
Vince Young
Nick Foles
RG3
Ryan Tannehill
30 more just like them

A lot of what's being written about Dak Prescott and Carson Wentz have been written about rookies before. They come in, show some veteran poise, win a few games, make some youthful plays, and next thing you know, the fan base is bubbling over and building golden statues.

Too often, too much is expected too soon. Natural growing pains aren't tolerated because it's forgotten how young they are and how much of this game still doesn't register in their minds. The pro game adapts to you and makes you do things you've never done before....or else.

We've seen the fall before. Frustration grows and these young guns become defensive, secluded, aloof, and bitter. It's an all-too-common theme with promising NFL quarterbacks.

We're watching Andrew Luck slowly unravel in Indianapolis. Bortles, Winston, and Mariotta are starting to fray at the seams, too. Bridgewater is still woefully raw. Derek Carr is the only young QB who's holding steady. I believe Matt Stafford would be far better today if he didn't have to start so soon. Same for Alex Smith.

We've been bickering back and forth around here for days over this trumped-up QB controversy. But the absolute best thing that could happen for OUR young quarterback is to watch and learn the game for a while without the pitfalls of failure and expectation raining down upon him.

The best quarterbacks in the NFL sat and watched a while....Brady, Rodgers, Brees, and Romo. It's true, Roethlisberger and Wilson did well as rookies, but that was because they had devastating defenses and tremendous running games to carry the lion's share of the load. Dak has one of those parts, which is good, but not the other.

The best policy is to bring this guy along at a human pace. Don't kill his spirit with challenges he's not yet ready for if it's avoidable. Don't throw him to the wolves if you don't have to. Far bigger animals await him than the lowly teams he's faced so far.

I don't want Prescott charged with trying to lead a team to the playoffs this season. I want him to be fully prepared to do that in 2018 and well beyond. That's the prize we want from him, not the here and now.

He's good. We've been blessed. Now, let's take care of this good fortune and invest it wisely.

The one thing that Dak said in an interview leads me to believe he should carry a clipboard for at least this season. When asked if he should be the starter he replied "I'll let management decide that". Not really want I want to hear from QB1's under study and certainly not a team first reply. He has a very valuable opportunity here and he's said most of the right things but do not send the message to the team that you think you should be the starter.

He thinks he's seen the NFL, he hasn't. Did you catch the Niners last night? How about the Bears, Giants and Skins? He has played well and better than I anticipated but he needs to run the full offensive play book, including deep balls, against the better defenses to truly learn the job as a QB1. That said, he's got all it takes to become a QB with stats like Aikman.

What is unusual about Dak's college career is that in 2014 he became a legit Heisman candidate in 2015 based on the success of his team. Then the team falters and his stock falls and he falls to the 4th round. But consider this about that college career. Here's 2 sets of stats to compare.

Passing Rushing

Cmp Att Pct Yds Y/A TD Int Rtg Att Yds Avg TD

244 396 61.6 3,449 8.7 27 11 151.7 210 986 4.7 14

316 477 66.2 3,793 8.0 29 5 151.0 160 588 3.7 10

Now, pick the 2014 and 2015 seasons and reasons he was dropped from a potential 1st to 4th rounder. Hint, the bottom one is 2015, the assumed regressive year. I supported that theory based on the same reason that many did, the team's record. The team was worse so therefore the QB must be, isn't that the rule? But once I looked up his stats, that told a different story. He actually became a better passer than runner in 2015 on a worse team missing some OL. He upped his completion % to 66%, yards, TD's and cut his picks in half......from that Heisman tout year.

There is a hell of lot more to the young man than meets the eye but that doesn't mean he's ready for the better teams and DCs just yet. No way Rodgers has that first full year as starter without the luxury of watching and learning. And Alex Smith was just about ruined because he didn't get that luxury.

We've really got something special here, a real diamond but he's still a little rough and needs polishing and he can learn from one of the best defense reading QBs in the game and acquire the mental ammo needed to be QB1 and face any NFL DC. There's nothing as humbling to a QB as DCs given the time to really study a QB. Parcells warned us about Romo because he had seen Belichick dissect a QB on film. They're so good at identifying weaknesses and exploiting them.

Physically, Dak is ready and more ready that Romo when healthy but the game for the QB isn't just played between the sideline but between the ears and the youngster still has some things to learn and if Romo can stay healthy, time enough to learn.

Good stuff, erod, right on point.





[/QUOTE]

 

[Super_Kazuya]

Jake Plummer was inaccurate from the beginning.
Josh Freeman has never stopped turning the ball over.
While Marc Bulger had a sophomore slump he still managed 2 pro bowls and a passer rating over 90 his first 5 years. He did tank with his team at age 30.
Byron Leftwich never cracked a 90 passer rating until his 6th year in the league.
Vince Young was never a good passer. He was a 'winner.'
Nick Foles was good his second year starting 10 games for that gimmick offense. He has never been good before or since.
RG3 was good in that gimmick offense and then got hurt and could not expand his game. Dak's game is already more developed as a pocket passer than RG3's ever was.
Ryan Tannehill came into the league with marginal accuracy and prone to throwing picks.

Prescott has been significantly better than all of those guys. If you want to compare him to rookie campaigns you need to look to Ben Roethlisberger and Russell Wilson whose extrapolated passing performances actually are similar.

lol... there's always a reason after the fact. It's not like it will be hard to explain away Dak's "success" either. Bottom line is, no one thought RG3 would be irrelevant 2 seasons after hoisting the ROTY and having a legitimate MVP season.

 

[dallasdave]

Morning, Dave!!!

Top of the morning to you Mate

 

[erod]

lol... there's always a reason after the fact. It's not like it will be hard to explain away Dak's "success" either. Bottom line is, no one thought RG3 would be irrelevant 2 seasons after hoisting the ROTY and having a legitimate MVP season.

I just want to put the weight of expectations on Dak when it's fair to do so. That kind of pressure has ruined other QBs.

 

[Super_Kazuya]

I just want to put the weight of expectations on Dak when it's fair to do so. That kind of pressure has ruined other QBs.

Ultimately a 6 game preview of the NFL may not be a bad thing. A lot of NFL busts could have used a trip back to the bench to regroup, but their draft status and crappiness of the team prevented that. Unfortunately for Dak, Garrett isn't interested in him growing right now... just like with Weeden he wants only safe throws, ball control and hanging on until Romo gets back. Only this time it's working because of the horrifically bad schedule.

 

[FuzzyLumpkins]

lol... there's always a reason after the fact. It's not like it will be hard to explain away Dak's "success" either. Bottom line is, no one thought RG3 would be irrelevant 2 seasons after hoisting the ROTY and having a legitimate MVP season.

Most of those were not 'after the fact.' When looking at those on the list going in you could tell that they were inaccurate, turnover prone, or unable to function in conventional sets right from the get go.

During his rookie season, there were plenty of people saying that RG3 was going to have to develop his ability to read defenses out of the pocket if he was going to have any long term success.

Traits like arm strength, accuracy, and pocket presence seem to be innate; you either have it or you do not. Dak has them. Reading defense, learning an offense, and mechanics improve with experience assuming work ethic. Prescott has shown more ability to do so in his first 4 games than RG3 has in his entire career.

 

[Setackin]

Jake Plummer
Josh Freeman
Marc Bulger
Byron Leftwich
Vince Young
Nick Foles
RG3
Ryan Tannehill
30 more just like them

A lot of what's being written about Dak Prescott and Carson Wentz have been written about rookies before. They come in, show some veteran poise, win a few games, make some youthful plays, and next thing you know, the fan base is bubbling over and building golden statues.

Too often, too much is expected too soon. Natural growing pains aren't tolerated because it's forgotten how young they are and how much of this game still doesn't register in their minds. The pro game adapts to you and makes you do things you've never done before....or else.

We've seen the fall before. Frustration grows and these young guns become defensive, secluded, aloof, and bitter. It's an all-too-common theme with promising NFL quarterbacks.

We're watching Andrew Luck slowly unravel in Indianapolis. Bortles, Winston, and Mariotta are starting to fray at the seams, too. Bridgewater is still woefully raw. Derek Carr is the only young QB who's holding steady. I believe Matt Stafford would be far better today if he didn't have to start so soon. Same for Alex Smith.

We've been bickering back and forth around here for days over this trumped-up QB controversy. But the absolute best thing that could happen for OUR young quarterback is to watch and learn the game for a while without the pitfalls of failure and expectation raining down upon him.

The best quarterbacks in the NFL sat and watched a while....Brady, Rodgers, Brees, and Romo. It's true, Roethlisberger and Wilson did well as rookies, but that was because they had devastating defenses and tremendous running games to carry the lion's share of the load. Dak has one of those parts, which is good, but not the other.

The best policy is to bring this guy along at a human pace. Don't kill his spirit with challenges he's not yet ready for if it's avoidable. Don't throw him to the wolves if you don't have to. Far bigger animals await him than the lowly teams he's faced so far.

I don't want Prescott charged with trying to lead a team to the playoffs this season. I want him to be fully prepared to do that in 2018 and well beyond. That's the prize we want from him, not the here and now.

He's good. We've been blessed. Now, let's take care of this good fortune and invest it wisely.

Which is why I Romo to come back and start, just give the kid time to learn.

 

[FuzzyLumpkins]

Roethlisberger and Wilson had dominant defenses to eliminate their mistakes and allowed them to play very conservatively early on.

My point was, most of those guys might have had more success if they were properly developed like Rodgers, Brady, Romo, and others.

Either way, Prescott is on pace to have one of the best rookie campaigns ever. If he was getting hit a lot and struggling to read the field which can destroy confidence then sure but he otherwise I believe he will learn best with live reps.

He likely would do better than he is now if he were to sit a year but he would be even better next year receiving reps now moreso than if he sat.

 

[erod]

Either way, Prescott is on pace to have one of the best rookie campaigns ever. If he was getting hit a lot and struggling to read the field which can destroy confidence then sure but he otherwise I believe he will learn best with live reps.

He likely would do better than he is now if he were to sit a year but he would be even better next year receiving reps now moreso than if he sat.

I think watching Romo prepare and execute would help him see the game at another level sooner.

 

[toto1939]

We just might want to leave Dak in, let him win MVP and Rookie of the Year honors...that is if we're interested in going to and winning the Super Bowl which Romo has never done despite plenty of opportunity

 

[toto1939]

I think watching Romo prepare and execute would help him see the game at another level sooner.

I like Dak seeing the game with his receivers having the ball upfield, rather than defenders running the other way with the ball in their hands like how Romo often sees the game

 

[plymkr]

I agree with the OP. That's why I think it's in Dak's best interest if Romo returns this year and plays at a high level. also if Romo plays another year or two at a high level and then retires and then hands the reigns over to Dak. Dan's maturity and demeanor gives me a lot of confidence that he will not have a massive fall from grace but with Romo playing the rest of this year and next year it will show Dak the ups and downs of being the Dallas cowboys QB without personally going through it. Right now he is on the "upside" of being the Cowboy quarterback. Much like Romo was when the fanbase wanted Bledsoe out of there and Romo in. Romo was the savior and the greatest thing in the world. A couple mediocre seasons and some ups and downs and now some of the fanbase wants Romo out and Dak in. The advantage with Romo was he saw the ups and downs of being the QB while sitting on the sidelines watching Quincy Carter get handed the job and falling, Henson falling, Hutchison falling and then Bledsoe falling. I believe with that it made him mentally tougher and he knew what to expect and how quickly fans can turn on you. I think the best way to protect Dak from falling is Romo playing for two more years and then handing the torch off for good to Dak. Dad can learn the ups and downs and can learn how to be a professional from one of the best professionals in the game.

 

[Doomsday101]

I like Dak seeing the game with his receivers having the ball upfield, rather than defenders running the other way with the ball in their hands like how Romo often sees the game

Romo often sees that? his last full season he had 34 TD and 9 ints.

 

[toto1939]

Romo often sees that? his last full season he had 34 TD and 9 ints.

That's nine INTs more than Dak has seen so far..and completing 15 passes for 191 yds and 1 score in the 2nd half against Green Bay in a playoff game doesn't cut it (even if it was freezing that day), unless you consider making it past one wildcard game in the playoffs a great success

 

[Undisputed]

Either way, Prescott is on pace to have one of the best rookie campaigns ever. If he was getting hit a lot and struggling to read the field which can destroy confidence then sure but he otherwise I believe he will learn best with live reps.

He likely would do better than he is now if he were to sit a year but he would be even better next year receiving reps now moreso than if he sat.

Agreed.

"The things we have to learn before we do them, we learn by doing them”
-- Aristotle

 

[haleyrules]

Risen is the real GM of the Cowboys

lol. He couldn't be any worse.!

 

[Zekeats]

6 of the 8 names never wanted it. Dak wants it.

 

[dallasdave]

lol. He couldn't be any worse.!

That's for sure