News: BTB: Cowboys News: How Dak Prescott Changed The Locker Room In Dallas

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A fresh serving of the latest Dallas Cowboys news for you to enjoy on your Monday morning.

Jerry Jones: The No. 1 reason Dak Prescott has succeeded with Dallas is... | SportsDay
Jerry Jones recently sat down with former Razorback and NFL tight end D.J. Williams and talked about a number of things, including what Jones thinks are the most important qualities in football.


"The ability to inspire: Whether it's a coach, a quarterback, a key position of leadership - sure you want ability. But the most important thing: Will his teammates, or his players, play for him? Will they follow him? If you had to name one thing about our quarterback Dak Prescott who was the rookie of the year, it's that the players will play for him. They inspire.

How Dak, Zeke changed Cowboys' locker room in a way Tony Romo never did or could - SportsDay Staff
Brad Sham joined SportsDay podcast to talk all things Cowboys. Here's his take on what makes Dak Presott different from Tony Romo.


Tony started as an enthusiastic puppy who was the only one who really believed in himself and then he caught the eye of a couple of coaches, Parcells and proved to be much more than what anyone thought. Once he became established, you could hear it said he had a core of players, of people that he was really close to but it wasn't necessarily everybody.

Prescott is different from that. And I don't know that it's true but I've heard it. I feel the same way about Romo ... [and] have great respect and admiration for what he did and has done in his career. Nobody wanted him and he accomplished it all without help.

Prescott's personality appears to be different. You can walk in the locker room, and this is just when we're allowed in there, and you could see him horsing around with Zeke or sitting on the other side with Orlando Scandrick. I don't know that that's something you ever saw from Tony. I'm not saying he wasn't interactive with all of his teammates but I think it's fair to say Prescott's got a different personality, won over everybody across every imaginable demographic line - age, race, position, whatever - early. And he's a different guy. There's such high hope for his continued development.

We do need to see the expected growth and improvement. He's going to have a spotlight glare next year ... in podcasts, talk show hosts ... expect him to be flawless and win every game without ever making a first-out. If they have to punt in a game, he's going to have failed. That's going to be the next thing he'll deal with.

But assuming he makes the normal first- to second-year progression, now having fully embraced and grown into the leadership of a team through the year, he's a different guy and the future looks really bright.

Why The Cowboys Should Expect Dak Prescott And Ezekiel Elliott To Be Better In Year Two - VAfan, Blogging the Boys

After historically great rookie seasons, can Dak Prescott and Ezekiel Elliott actually be better in their second season? BTB’s VAfan decides to take a look that. He looks at past evidence to see how rookie signal callers performed in their second year in the league:


Moreover, two of the three quarterbacks on this list in their first year were on the list again in their second year — Cam Newton and Russell Wilson. The one who missed - Robert Griffen — suffered a major injury and played in a bit of a gimmick offense that caught the NFL by surprise his rookie season.

This suggests that second year quarterbacks have a somewhat better chance of scoring well than they did as rookie.

10 things to know from Cowboys OTAs (Week 2): Dak-Dez connection and more - SportsDay Staff

The SportsDay staff dives in and gives 10 interesting things that occured during the second week of Dallas Cowboys OTAs, one of which is that the Dak-Dez connection has a chance to be dangerous this year.


At this time last year, Prescott was the third-string quarterback on the Cowboys' roster. Now, he's the bona-fide No. 1 with a full offseason to work with his No. 1 wide receiver.

"I've seen a motivated, a hungry go-getter in Dez,'' Prescott said. "It's hard for me to say he's better this offseason than last because I wasn't in the same position to judge. But what I've seen from him, I'm so excited for what he can do this year and the way he's handled it all the way back to March ... He's one of the best at what he does.''

Dez Bryant lobbying Cowboys to let him return punts - Steve DelVecchio, Larry Brown Sports

The Dallas Cowboys selected Ryan Switzer in the fourth-round of this past draft to, presumably, help in the return game. Nonetheless, Dez Bryant really wants some snaps back there and is confident in his ability to make plays.


Earlier in the week, Bryant said he has been hounding Cowboys special teams coach Rich Bisaccia to let him return a punt in a regular season game for the first time since 2012.

“I’m always in Coach [Rich] Bisaccia’s ear,” Bryant told reporters, per Jon Machota of the Dallas Morning News. “That’s why I’m back there practicing. I’m going to get me one of them, I’m telling you. I’m going to crib it. I’m telling you I’m going to score.”

CBS doubles down on Tony Romo in NFL broadcast booth - Bob Raissman, NY Daily News
In the two months since CBS hired him, CBS is even higher on Romo and is ready to roll with him in the booth on Sundays and on the five CBS Thursdays. Here's why:


Romo’s preparation for the gig began the first week in May. He has worked with a broadcast coach and has already done four practice games in a studio-three with Jim Nantz and one with Brad Sham, the Cowboys’ radio voice.

What did Cowboys WR Dez Bryant have to say about Josh Norman's recent diss? - Jon Machota, SportsDay

Josh Norman is known for trash talking behavior, even though he doesn’t always back it up. What did Dez think about the latest out of Norman’s mouth?


"Hell no. No, no, no, no. Why would I respond to that? He'll see me when he sees me. When I line up against him, we're going to go at it. That's what it is. I don't have no words to say to him.

"There's no extra motivation. All I care about is me. All I care about is that first game, that second game, that third game, that fourth game, all the way up to the last game, all the way up to the playoffs."

Even with Zack Martin and Anthony Hitchens, the Cowboys' 2014 draft class receives lower grade - SportsDay

While the 2016 draft class looks to be historically good, CBS Sports does not see the 2014 class very highly. Here is what Pete Prisco, according to SportsDay, has to say about a draft class that included All-Pro Zack Martin and linebacker Anthony Hitchens:


After originally giving the Cowboys a B, Prisco lowered that grade down to a B-.

Here's what he had to say:

“The Cowboys had nine picks, but five of them were seventh-round choices and none of the seventh-round players is still with the team. But they nailed their first-round pick, getting All-Pro guard Zack Martin, one of the best in the league. Second-round pass rusher DeMarcus Lawrence has flashed, but injuries have limited him to 16 starts. He is coming off his second back surgery, an injury that limited him to three starts last season. Fourth-round linebacker Anthony Hitchens has started 34 games in three seasons, including 16 in 2016. He has been a big hit coming in the fourth."

Why The Dallas Cowboys Should Swipe Jeremy Maclin - Erik Lambert, NFL Mocks

Jeremy Maclin to Dallas? There have been many speculating whether or not Dallas would like to go after the former Eagles and Chiefs wideout. Lambert gives three reasons why the Cowboys should go after Maclin, including that he believes Maclin is better than Terrance Williams:


He’s better than Williams
This is going to sound a bit harsh but the truth can hurt sometimes. Maclin is a better football player than Terrance Williams. Their numbers were virtually identical last season and Williams wasn’t playing hurt. For his career, Williams is averaging 43.6 yards per game. Maclin is averaging 62.7. Keeping in mind he was the #2 guy quite often opposite Desean Jackson. Dallas can’t let favoritism getting in the way of an opportunity to get better.

Rate Your Steelers Hate Results: The Cowboys reign supreme in the NFC East - Bryan Anthony Davis, Behind The Steel Curtain

The Dallas Cowboys are not very well liked in Pittsburgh... at all. Our friends over at Behind The Steel Curtain hosted a poll for their readers to vote on who the least liked team in each division is. The Cowboys received the majority of the NFC East vote — by a wide margin:


Let's take a look at the results...

Dallas Cowboys - 77% (478 votes)

Philadelphia Eagles - 17% (105 votes)

New York Giants - 3% (21 votes)

Washington Commanders - 3% (17 votes)

When it comes to the NFC East, most of the animosity of Steeler Nation is geared towards “America’s Team” and that label is only part of the reason why. Other reasons mentioned were the pretentiousness of the fans, the rivalry from the 70s, the renegade mentality of the 90s that continues today and Jerry Jones.
In case you missed it


Can The Dallas Cowboys Have The Best Linebacking Group In the Division? - Manik Aggarwal, Blogging The Boys

Speaking of linebackers, can the Dallas Cowboys actually have the best group in the NFC East? Aggarwal discusses:


Dallas Cowboys: Sean Lee, Jaylon Smith, Anthony Hitchens

In all likelihood, the Cowboys will start the season with Smith and Hitchens playing alongside All-Pro Sean Lee. It is clear that Lee is one of the best linebackers in the NFL and this year will be no different. His talent, speed, intuition, and leadership is undeniable and absolutely critical for the Cowboys to be successful this season. What will separate this group from the rest is the potential play of Smith. At best, Smith can be a superstar in his own right, but given his injury history, only time will tell how successful he can be. Given the uncertainty surrounding Smith, the Cowboys linebacking corps ranks as the second best group in the division.

Offseason Rankings: Pundits Are All Over The Place With The Dallas Cowboys - Michael Sisemore, Blogging The Boys

As everyone knows, the Dallas Cowboys shocked the NFL world by earning the top seed in the NFC behind the rookie duo of Dak Prescott and Ezekiel Elliott. How do the pundits see the Cowboys fairing during the upcoming fall?


FPI is certainly not done with the Cowboys as they give them a 63.2% chance of making the playoffs, 46.4% chance of winning the East, 16.8% chance of being a wildcard, and 13.2% chance of claiming the number one seed, again. In the NFC, only two teams have better percentages than the Cowboys; the Seahawks and Packers.

According to FPI, the Cowboys rank fifth in the ability to reach the Super Bowl at 13.5% and a 5.7% chance of hoisting the Lombardi. The teams with the best odds are the New England Patriots at 50.7% chance to make it and a 34.7% chance to win it. The Seahawks and Packers follow them up with Seattle having a better chance to make it but Green Bay has a better shot at winning the title.

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