News: BTB: Cowboys News: How ready are Dak Prescott and Cowboys entering 2017?

[NewsBot]

Fresh batch of the latest Dallas Cowboys news to start off your Monday!

Son of fallen deputy surprised with a chance to meet Dak Prescott - Therese Apel, The Clarion-Ledger

Despite seeing his name in controversy over his signature, Dak Prescott continues to show his true character. He surprised one of his biggest fans in a moment of need.

Nash and his family posed for pictures with his sports hero. The family said that while their hearts are still broken over the loss of William Durr, Prescott's kindness to take some time out for them brought them a little happiness.

Prescott, who lost his mother during his career at MSU, seemed to reflect a little of Durr's personality as well -- the deputy was known for taking his time to interact with young people. "His love for others knew no bounds," his family said in a statement after his death.
​

Dak Prescott has ‘no knowledge’ of machine-made autographs - DannyPhantom, Blogging The Boys

Speaking of the controversy, Dak claims that he had “no knowledge” of the machine and autograph incident.

But hang on a second. Maybe this is an instance where a Cowboys player is actually innocent of any wrong doing. Recent information has stated that Prescott had “no knowledge” of how some cards had machine-made autographs. Whew! I don’t know how much more I can take.
​

The information released states:

“Prescott and his representatives have worked closely with Panini during this process since becoming aware of the discrepancies and have no knowledge of how those cards were returned to Panini.”
​

But, as DannyPhantom points out, Cowboys haters will look for any reason to hate on the Cowboys.

Having a machine sign autographs isn’t as terrible as some of these other things, but it’s still a shady thing to do. It’s fraudulent and would be an embarrassment to the Cowboys organization. So while it’s not that big of a deal, it’s comforting to see that he appears to be innocent on this one. Of course that won’t stop the haters from running with it and we’ll have to hear about it all year. The truth won’t matter to them. Just an accusation is all they need to convict any Cowboys player and sentence them to years of stupid memes.
​

Analyzing 2016's best quarterback at every PFF Signature Stat - Vinnie Ronca, Pro Football Focus

On the field, Dak had a historic rookie campaign. He was among the elite at his position over the course of the 2016 season. He excelled at the play action pass, according to PFF. He posted a higher passing rating than the great Tom Brady and Russell Wilson on such play.

PLAY ACTION
​

(via PFF)

Dak Prescott, Dallas Cowboys

Dak Prescott ran play action on 23.6 percent of his dropbacks last season, fourth most of any quarterback in the league. No QB was more effective at utilizing the play action fake though, as Prescott led all quarterbacks with a 124.4 passer rating and 76.1 percent completion rate. The rookie QB also ranked top five in both passing yards (1,176) and yards per attempt (10.1) on play action passes, and tossed six touchdowns to go with an impressive zero interceptions.
​

The Balancing Act of Planning for the Inevitable - Robert Mays, The Ringer

Transitioning from the face of the franchise to the next guy up is typically difficult and comes with a lots of ups and downs. Fortunately for the Cowboys, at least in year-one, the franchise had a clean passing of the torch from franchise quarterback Tony Romo to rookie star Dak Prescott. Mays writes that such a situation is rare in the NFL.

The most recent success stories of teams transitioning from one franchise quarterback to the next look more like blessings than blueprints. For the next set of teams that will have to replace aging stars under center, striking the perfect combination of timing and fit almost certainly won’t be as easy.

Dallas’s original plan for Prescott, when it seemed as though he’d serve as Romo’s short-term backup while being groomed as the franchise’s QB of the future, is the route most of these teams will be expected to take in the coming years. In this draft alone, the Giants picked Cal quarterback Davis Webb in the third round, while Pittsburgh grabbed Tennessee product Josh Dobbs a round later. Using selections outside the range where teams have typically located quarterback starters represents the middle ground for organizations with both aging QBs and playoff aspirations. For the Steelers, spending the 135th overall pick on Dobbs (weirdly, the same one that Dallas used a year earlier to find Prescott) allows them to mold a young passer while not sacrificing the chance to add top-tier talent at other positions.
​

Cowboys QB outlook: How ready are Dak Prescott, his backups entering 2017? - Kate Hairopoulos, SportsDay

After a stellar rookie campaign, how ready is Dak for the upcoming fall? How does the rest of the quarterback room look for the Cowboys heading into the season?

2016 recap: You know the story by heart by now. First, backup Kellen Moore went down for the season after suffering a broken fibula days into training camp. Then Tony Romo crumpled awkwardly soon after kickoff in that preseason game in Seattle, suffering a fracture in his back. The Cowboys liked what they'd seen early on in Prescott, their fourth-round pick, and didn't go after a pricey veteran. Prescott took over for good as he led Dallas to a 13-3 regular season, completing 67.8 percent of his passes and throwing 23 touchdowns to four interceptions. He ran for another six TDs. Romo retired and moves to CBS's broadcasting booth as the network's lead analyst.
​

Will Cowboys Regret Losing CB Brandon Carr? - Jess Haynie, Inside The Star

In other news, the Cowboys decided to go the youth movement route and revamp the defense. Will they regret the decision to move on from Brandon Carr?

Carr was never as good as his salary but also never as bad as fans made him out to be, and the 2017 season could easily have you wishing he was still a Cowboy. One injury, another conduct issue for Carroll, a sophomore slum for Brown, or a slow start for the rookies, and your Dallas defensive backfield may be in worse shape than last year.
​

Cowboys player profiles: What's David Irving's pass-rush ceiling after his suspension? - Brandon George, SportsDay

David Irving flashed the potential to become a nightmare for opposing offenses. After his sudden suspension, how talented can he be in 2017?

2017 outlook: Irving won't be able to help the Cowboys the opening month of the 2017 season. Irving has been told he'll be suspended for the first four games of the season because he violated the NFL's performance-enhancing drug policy. The Cowboys were hoping Irving could build off his strong finish in 2016 and become a force on the left side of the defensive line. The Cowboys will have to wait a month to see if that's the case.
​

2017 NFL re-draft | First-round edition - Marcus Mosher, Fan Rag Sports

Say the NFL decided to have a fantasy draft out of nowhere. What players would be the first 32 selections of the said draft? Marcus Mosher gives his take and says two Cowboys would be involved early:

8. Seattle Seahawks – Dak Prescott, QB (Age: 23)

Like Wilson, Prescott can win in the pocket with his arm or outside with his legs. He’s the perfect quarterback to pair with Pete Carroll. He’s a fierce competitor who plays his best in the biggest of games. Prescott doesn’t have the resume of some of the quarterbacks drafted ahead of him, but his poise, athleticism and confidence make him a lock top-10 pick in this type of draft.
​

Mosher has Dak going eighth overall to the Seattle Seahawks — behind Marcus Mariota and Matt Stafford but ahead of Tom Brady and Carson Wentz. Offensive tackle Tyron Smith would be the second Cowboy to hear his name called, according to Mosher.

28. San Francisco 49ers – Tyron Smith, LT (Age: 26)

Taking an offensive tackle in the first round of this mock may not be the “sexiest” of picks, but you can’t go wrong with Smith. The 26-year-old has been to four straight Pro Bowls and was a first-team All-Pro selection in two of the past three seasons. The 49ers will have to bank on getting an unproven quarterback later, but Smith is one of the safest picks in the draft.
​

One exclusion? Ezekiel Elliott. Mosher believes the majority of the first-round would see quarterbacks taken by teams. Without a quarterback, it’s hard for a team to go anywhere. For what it’s worth, he doesn’t have any other running back taken in round-one, either. Notable non-quarterbacks included Khalil Mack (16), Aaron Donald (17), and Odell Beckham Jr. (22), to name a few.

10 things to know about Jimmy Johnson, including Survivor appearance, coaching a future Cowboys nemesis - SportsDay

SportsDay listed ten things to know about former Cowboys coach Jimmy Johnson, including that he will be in Canton.

3. He'll be in Canton in August, too

Jimmy Johnson won't be presenting his former boss Jerry Jones for Hall of Fame induction in August, but Johnson will be in Canton, Ohio. Johnson, who coached the Miami Dolphins following enormously successful tenure in Dallas, will present Dolphins defensive end Jason Taylor, also a member of the 2017 Hall of Fame class.
​

Also, a very interesting story during his time at the University of Arkansas.

7. Extra money in the cards

While at Arkansas, Johnson played football, studied when he had to and hustled bridge. The summer after his sophomore season, he married Linda Kay Cooper. The next year, son Brent was born. His bridge money helped the fledgling family. Johnson played mornings instead of going to class.

"Bridge is a game of strategy," Johnson told SportsDay's Barry Horn, also in 1992. "You have to be analytical, figure out what cards other people have. Even if you have worse cards, you can win. That was part of the attraction for me."
​

Continue reading...