It’s Time to Stop Underrating Dak Prescott

[THEHEREAFTER]

So funny how we look at Dak as just some 4th rounder who plays like a 5 year vet... pro bowl, OROY, NFL records for lack of int's, TD/INT ratio, consistently leads the league in QBR... guiding America's Team ... inadvertently took a team legends job leading to his retirement.. 18-5 strarting record... #1 conference seed first year.. we treat this like ho hum... nothing to see and proceed to pick him apart. The kid is phenomenal.

 

[Risen Star]

Usually "good" QBs are "good" because of the circumstances they are in.

Prescott is a good QB for what we do and he has a command of what he is asked to do in our system, so far.

I firmly believe he needs the stability of a top shelf running game behind him.

If he turns into a Russell Wilson type , I would be extremely surprised.

He's a limited passer. An area thrower. It's not a coincidence that every WR on the roster is having a down year.

I don't really question his brain or his intangibles. It's the physical ability where I think he's lacking.

 

[Alexander]

 

[TwoDeep3]

Montana would never have been as heralded as he was if he arrived in Oakland with their "bombs away" type of passing game. Montana was accurate, but he did not have a rocket launcher of an arm. The dink and dunk style of the West Coast offense was the perfect scenario for him. It causes me to wonder if there have been quarterbacks who would have been much better than the career we saw because they went to a team that didn't have the right components to feature that players talent.

The immediate player that comes to mind is Romo. What could he have been with Denver's defense a few years ago? Would the league be talking about Romo in the same breath as Brady?

Another aspect is Prescott's ability to run. While Russell Wilson is the QB that comes to mind when discussing a running quarterback. And Prescott is not truly a run first. I think Steve Young is a good example of what Dak is not. I never thought Young was a great quarterback. I believed his running was more along the lines of him making the decision and thinking of himself as a weapon. He had a great deal of talent around him. Yet he was sand lot in that he looked for the place to bail out on a play.

Dak hangs tough and understands the passing game is the most important aspect. The tell-tale sign for me is when he leaks out of the pocket and moves laterally looking down field. He is looking for that spot to connect with a receiver for a gain. Not run the ball.

Not sure how to prove this, but I don't believe teams spy Dak because of his running. Perhaps the fact his run plays are designed for the most part.

But it is these very same plays as illustrated in the videos of this article which indicate to me he is more than a bus driver.

Now let me say I think all quarterbacks are bus drivers in games. They throw to the open guy on designed plays. That is why there are options other than the first options on a passing play. Like a bus driver, the quarterback makes the right turn at the right time. And they all do that, from Rodgers to Romo to Brady.

But where the play making ability, which is what I assume most fans believe is the hallmark of the quarterback that doesn't drive the bus, Prescott maneuvers, moves, slides and finds the right angle for big gains while finding the clean spot to articulate a pass that was not drawn up in the playbook before the snap of the ball.

So here is the real question.

Will Dak's ability to manage his game, throwing from the planned spot to the target, yet being able to change the play as it progresses by moving, causes the defense's focus to alter enough for the running game to flourish?

What made Aikman special was his accuracy and cannon of an arm. As he stood tall in the pocket, teams would be back pedaling to cover his receivers. Then Dallas would hand the ball to Emmitt on the lead draw and he was in the second level before the defense could recover.

I think this could be a yard stick on where Dak is if the opposing team becomes accutely concerned about his passing enough to be fooled by what is essentially the polar opposite of the play action pass.

To me that is when you know other teams respect this guy because of his arm.

 

[Alexander]

I'm not sure that jailbreak in Denver is a good example of anything. It was just one of those days for the whole team.

Tell yourself that if you must. But it is a simple fact. That is the only game where there was no run game in his entire professional career. Every other game he has had Elliott on the field with him.

We will have six more of those coming up. We'll see how much of an anomaly that was.

 

[Alexander]

Dak hangs tough and understands the passing game is the most important aspect. The tell-tale sign for me is when he leaks out of the pocket and moves laterally looking down field. He is looking for that spot to connect with a receiver for a gain. Not run the ball

I honestly think if he expanded his running for a few games, he would be a lot more dangerous.

 

[PJTHEDOORS]

Dak is the best player on his team, and he plays the hardest position. Zeke (if that's who he thinks is), is averaging only 4.1 ypc. No way he is playing better than Dak. As for Goff, Dak's overall numbers are better than his.

 

[TwoDeep3]

Tell yourself that if you must. But it is a simple fact. That is the only game where there was no run game in his entire professional career. Every other game he has had Elliott on the field with him.

We will have six more of those coming up. We'll see how much of an anomaly that was.

Okay, I'll accept that fact of no running game. But there was little to no pass blocking. The line was not the same as 2016. People ridiculed Free often. Mostly because fans lose their minds during games and look for someone to blame for the loss.

But Collins and the new guard were not in sync with the rest of the three linemen. And this is my biggest complaint about what we see in this touch football training camp where teams don't come together before the season starts. Because they limit the hitting. The league has essentially figured out how to make the first three or four games simply pre-season games where teams are still gelling. Thanks players union.

If you leave the decisions to the labor force on how work is to be done, they will invariably choose what is easier for them, which flies in the face of productivity.

So keep a cleaner pocket before making a sweeping indictment of the passing game. If he can't get it done when a team is not inside his jersey right after the snap, and he has time to throw, then I'll start to worry.

 

[PA Cowboy Fan]

Dak is the best player on his team, and he plays the hardest position. Zeke (if that's who he thinks is), is averaging only 4.1 ypc. No way he is playing better than Dak. As for Goff, Dak's overall numbers are better than his.

It's why I don't watch those talking head shows anymore. Nothing but hot air.

 

[TwoDeep3]

Tell yourself that if you must. But it is a simple fact. That is the only game where there was no run game in his entire professional career. Every other game he has had Elliott on the field with him.

We will have six more of those coming up. We'll see how much of an anomaly that was.

Ahem, he had Elliott in the Denver game as well.

 

[Alexander]

Ahem, he had Elliott in the Denver game as well.

And Elliott was effectively taken out of the game and we saw the results. But bonus points for you for indicating the error in my statement.

 

[CODE_BLUE56]

Dak is certainly a franchise QB, and his control of the game, passing-wise and running-wise is incredible valuable. He rarely commits turnovers.

With that said, it's also apparent that he doesn't, at least right now, have the throwing ability(especially for longer passes) that someone like Romo had. He also has the benefit of excellent protection and a top-notch RB. That doesn't necessarily take away from Dak, but it makes it easier to have a comfortable passing game.

I think he's still one of the better QBs in the league, but his throwing ability isn't quite there yet. And that's fine. He's a 2nd year QB who was drafted in the 4th round, we struck gold.

This stretch without Zeke(assuming it fully stands), will definitely require Dak to step it up a bit if we want to stay in playoff contention. I'm looking forward to seeing that.

 

[Yakuza Rich]

LOL. This is stupid as a criticism. What QB is asked to throw it 45 or 50 times a game as anything other than an anomaly?

Some QB's are. But Dak is much like Russell Wilson in the sense that his ability to run plays a large factor in this as well.

With guys like Wilson and Dak, the ball is moved thru them by either throwing it or running it themselves.

It kinda reminds me a lot of watching Larry Bird or Magic Johnson play basketball. They may not score the most points and shoot it 25 times in a game. They may just go 6 for 11 from the field and come away with a stat line that reads 21 points, 10 boards and 5 assists. And while that may look pretty good, it still doesn't tell just how dominant they were and how they controlled the entire game.

So while Dak or Wilson may not put up gaudy numbers, often times they have completely controlled the game because of their passing and running ability.




YR

 

[Clove]

Medicine. Deodorant. Dessert. Whatever you want to call it. Winning without Zeke will shut up all these fools. But no matter what happens, we're a better team with Zeke than without him.

True, and Wentz is better with his receivers and his defense. Montana better with Jerry Rice and others - Troy Aikman was better with Emmitt and Novachek and Michael Irving and Lebron is better with his big 3. It's always been like that.

 

[THEHEREAFTER]

Tell yourself that if you must. But it is a simple fact. That is the only game where there was no run game in his entire professional career. Every other game he has had Elliott on the field with him.

We will have six more of those coming up. We'll see how much of an anomaly that was.

That was anomaly. Was Elliot NOT on the field for the Denver game or just ineffective? Elliot has had poor rushing efforts before albeit few. Not everyone has Denver's home field or their defense. Int caused by a Dez drop. Some days are an avalanche. I think our Oline has come a long way since then no matter the back. We'll see.

 

[Garrettop]

People pointing to the Denver game and acting like no other franchise QB had a bad game when the oline wasn't performing.

 

[Ranching]

I agree.

 

[Zman5]

I was not referring to the scramble plays. I was referring to taking a team on his back and winning without a run game. Wilson has a bad OL and no running game. Yet he is entirely capable of making plays to help his team win.

There is perhaps one game in his professional career that Prescott had no run game and he had to step up. That was Denver and the results were not pretty.

Wilson also had a great defense and a run game to start his career. I doubt Wilson could have done what he is doing now in his second year.

 

[HungryLion]

I was not referring to the scramble plays. I was referring to taking a team on his back and winning without a run game. Wilson has a bad OL and no running game. Yet he is entirely capable of making plays to help his team win.

There is perhaps one game in his professional career that Prescott had no run game and he had to step up. That was Denver and the results were not pretty.

One of the best defenses in the league over the last 5 years didn’t have anything to do with Seattle’s wins?

That’s odd.

Wilson also had Marshawn Lynch going beast mode when they won a title and when they went back to the Super Bowl.

The notion that Wilson has carried that team anywhere solely on his back, is laughable.

(Disclaimer). Russell Wilson is a franchise QB. He just hasn’t won anything all by himself, which no QB in the league does.

 

[Mr Cowboy]

Tell yourself that if you must. But it is a simple fact. That is the only game where there was no run game in his entire professional career. Every other game he has had Elliott on the field with him.

We will have six more of those coming up. We'll see how much of an anomaly that was.

Well let's look at the GB game in the playoffs, where the team fell way behind, and Dak brought the team back to tie game. The running game was of little use when mounting the comeback. Or are you saying that the mere presence of Zeke on the field, even if on the sidelines was all it takes.