So, Saturday's game showed us all that Dak has potential to be a starting QB in this league and successor to Romo. We have four years to mold him before his contract is up. How we coach him up will be crucial. Over the years, our QB and offensive coaches have not shown a great aptitude for developing QBs and integrating them into our system. We should take a lesson from Seattle and Russell Wilson...
In my mind, Prescott and Wilson share similar physical and mental makeup. They are great athletes, smart, natural leaders, and have strong arms. However, their passing fundamentals, especially from the pocket, needed (Wilson) and need (Prescott) work. As the link below shows, Wilson has progressed well in this area because he has learned to suppress the instinct to run or throw immediately in the face of pressure, but instead, to "hitch up" or subtley step up or slide in the pocket to buy more time for him to read the defense and for his receivers to get open. This skill (along with improving footwork to create a solid base, so that each throw is accurate) will be key in Dak's development.
So how do we get Dak to where Wilson is (or close to it)? First step is make him the #2 QB (as Jerry alluded to today), so that he gets enough reps each week. Second step is to hire a better QB coach. Apologies to Wade Wilson, but we can do better. Maybe Jerry poaches a guy like Carl Smith (Russell Wilson's QB coach in SEA since he was drafted in 2012) or hires a bright young mind who has played QB more recently in the NFL and knows the "new game" (Wade Wilson retired from the NFL in 1999). Third step is for Dak to hire an offseason QB guru (I don't think NFL coaches can work with players except for specified camps) to work with him on fundamentals all year round.
If we follow these steps (or something like them), within four years when Dak's rookie contract is up, we should know if we have our next franchise QB or not.
http://www.fieldgulls.com/2015/12/21/10636606/seahawks-replay-booth-russell-wilson-nfl-tyler-lockett
