OMFG.. sometimes Cowherd nails it (and sometimes he doesn't) but this one just cuts deep. This is exactly how I feel and exactly what I have been repeating for years. This is IT. Cowherd GETS it. And to his credit.. Cowherd also said this last year during the Dak contract discussions.. he was one of the few that consistently said you shouldn't pay the guy too much money.
Good 'stories' vs good 'play' is where we fall down. The romance of it.. the narrative.
Dak was in the top 3 QBs in power rankings heading into the season.. despite basically missing all of last season. So why was he top 3? Because it is a good story.. it was the narrative. Because the media doesn't often look too deep.. they look at stats and OTHER writers and just copy along.. and Dak got paid.. everybody therefore assumes that he is elite.
No he isn't.. and no he hasn't ever been. Name the times that Dak has won without weapons? Name the time he wins without a dominant running game? Name the times he won without 3 of his best offensive weapons? He hasn't.. he doesn't.. he can't. THIS IS the TRUTH.
Cowherd calls him B+ and I could agree.. I do think he is above average. I think currently in most 'QB rankings' they are putting Dak in around 8-12th. I'd probably sit him around 10-12 but that still means he is 'above average'. Will Dak win games? Yep.. Is he better than a lot of other options around? Heck yes.. Is he elite? No... Should he be on 40M? NO and NO and NO.
You don't pay a 10-12 guy (who needs star power all around him to be 10-12) top dollar and think it is a winning strategy. You don't and it isn't.
If Dak lands on almost any other team his rookie year.. he doesn't get playing time.. in fact I doubt we would even know his name. He is not a stand out. He is not a 'guy'.. he would just be another late round QB that is probably floating around his 3rd team as a relief option.
I don't hate Dak.. far from it.. I agree his 'intangibles' are great.. he is a solid human, great leader, above average QB that likes to win. He is the QB of my team. But that doesn't change reality that he shouldn't have been paid. That doesn't change the reality that I am never going to see my team win a SB while he is the QB.
Imagine if Jerry had traded him for 2 first round picks and then gone and got a Derek Carr.. a Matt Stafford.. a Tannehill.. and yes even a Wentz... can you honestly say we wouldn't be in a better position? I think Wentz would be performing to around the same level.. and we *could* have 2 more Michal Parsons flying around.. THAT is what the contract discussions should have been.. that is what the decisions made by our FO mean.
This franchise created the hype of Dak to sell Jerseys.. to rescue a season derailed by the PS injury to its star starting QB.. and then the wins came and the myth became the story. The rookie who was better than anyone else.. the unstoppable Dak.. the myth grew.. the hype grew. Then he sucked but we blamed everything around him.. we kept the myth alive to sell hope.. to sell tickets.. to sell more jerseys.. then at some point.. the FO lost sight of reality and started to believe their own lies. Anyone with any football IQ knew what Dak was and wasn't. He wasn't elite, he has never been elite. Dak was never a guy that could drag his team to the SB.. Dak is a 'component' guy. Dak is a very good bus driver. You either tag your bus driver and try to snag a championship before letting him go.. or you cash in on your investment and sell him for a profit and use that profit to re-invest in more stars. Either of those options work.. what doesn't work is paying a bus driver 40M and then watching as the whole world works him out and suddenly he is now worthless.. worthless as a player and worthless as a trade option.
Right now.. Dak is the biggest liability on this team bar none. It is concerning not just for this season but for the next four as well.
Oh, shushhhhhhhhhhh!
Liability or not, Jerry doesn't pay Rayne Dakota Prescott $220 million over 4 years (including $60 signing bonus) to change reins or to bench Dak.
Therefore, I will fondly remember Dak as the 7-Year Curse.
I dunna know if I can stand the next several years, if man is still alive. If woman can survive.
Yes, me playmates, after this pop group of talented Cowboys players disperce, Dak might find himself with average talent and then where would he be? He'd be in Mississippi State (4–4 SEC) mode, that's where!
