Prescott and Bryant, Prescott vs. top defenses

[percyhoward]

Prescott has 395 attempts, of which 392 were aimed attempts (discernible target).

Target <15 yards
to Bryant
26 of 50 311 yd 4 td 1 int 89.7

to everyone else
203 of 275 2,000 yd 10 td 2 in 102.9

Target 15+ yards
to Bryant
12 of 30 333 yd 2 td 1 int 90.0

to everyone else
19 of 37 495 yd 4 td 0 int 132.9


Prescott has played 3 games against defenses ranked in the top 3 in defensive passer rating (Giants, Vikings). He has not faced any of the defenses ranked 4-8. The Cardinals are 4th, the Seahawks are 5th, and the next 7 defenses are all in the AFC. The next highest NFC team is this Sunday's opponent, the Bucs, at 13th. It should be noted that the Bucs rank 1st in the NFL over the last 5 games, however.

Prescott vs...
defenses ranked 1-3 in DPR (3 games)
54 of 100 531 yd 2 td 2 int 67.5

defenses ranked 9-32 in DPR (10 games)
206 of 295 2,608 yd 18 td 2 int 114.6

 

[big dog cowboy]

More ammo for the "throw it to someone else besides 88" crowd.

A crowd I have pretty much already joined myself.

 

[erod]

Romo builds wide receivers. They should build a statue in his honor.

Miles Austin was nothing special at all. Romo made him seem like it.

Patrick Crayton was just a guy. Romo made him a multimillionaire in San Diego.

Laurent Robinson was a journeyman. Romo got him paid like Jerry Rice in Jacksonville.

Terrance Williams had better make sure he plays where Romo plays, or else he'll fall off the NFL map.

And Dez Bryant, who has some freakish abilities, isn't nearly as freakish when he doesn't have Romo throwing pin-point perfect balls in places he can get to. Dez is a poor route runner with limited speed. He prefers to line up in the same spot most every play. He's a one-trick pony, although that is a heckuva trick with the right QB. Dak hasn't yet figured out how to consistently use him.

Dez is catching less than 50% of the balls targeted for him. That is awful.

 

[Bullflop]

More ammo for the "throw it to someone else besides 88" crowd.

A crowd I have pretty much already joined myself.

I'd say that's justified -- Dez sorely needs to give his team more consistent reasons to be targeting him if that's what he really wants badly enough. It's just the natural order of things. Give 'em more completions and they'll respond accordingly. Others have been somewhat more productive for quite a while now. Of course, it'd help if he stayed healthy as well.

 

[Clove]

When Dak throws to Dez, bad things happen. That's my motto for the season. Of course, sometimes good things happen, but more often than not, bad things happen.

 

[DallasCowboys2080]

Romo builds wide receivers. They should build a statue in his honor.

Miles Austin was nothing special at all. Romo made him seem like it.

Patrick Crayton was just a guy. Romo made him a multimillionaire in San Diego.

Laurent Robinson was a journeyman. Romo got him paid like Jerry Rice in Jacksonville.

Terrance Williams had better make sure he plays where Romo plays, or else he'll fall off the NFL map.

And Dez Bryant, who has some freakish abilities, isn't nearly as freakish when he doesn't have Romo throwing pin-point perfect balls in places he can get to. Dez is a poor route runner with limited speed. He prefers to line up in the same spot most every play. He's a one-trick pony, although that is a heckuva trick with the right QB. Dak hasn't yet figured out how to consistently use him.

Dez is catching less than 50% of the balls targeted for him. That is awful.

Romo has also had since 2003-2007 to work some of this stuff out. it takes time. Dak is in his 1st year. However considering that Dak is having better success throwing to Beas, Witten, maybe Twill for some reason.

 

[erod]

Romo has also had since 2003-2007 to work some of this stuff out. it takes time. Dak is in his 1st year. However considering that Dak is having better success throwing to Beas or Witten for some reason.

Dak likes to throw what he sees right in front of him. That's Beasley and Witten over the middle. He's not very comfortable down field unless he can roll out of the pocket. Minnesota and New York were making very conscious efforts to keep him in the pocket, while covering the middle of the field.

 

[DallasCowboys2080]

Dak likes to throw what he sees right in front of him. That's Beasley and Witten over the middle. He's not very comfortable down field unless he can roll out of the pocket. Minnesota and New York were making very conscious efforts to keep him in the pocket, while covering the middle of the field.

true that. agree. no issue here. but give Dak time he will get better just like Romo did. Granted Dak probably wont be the gunslinger Romo was (or maybe still is? hard to tell) but he can improve. He has come a long way for a rookie no doubt.

 

[percyhoward]

Dak likes to throw what he sees right in front of him.

Target 15+ yards
to Bryant
12 of 30 333 yd 2 td 1 int 90.0

to everyone else
19 of 37 495 yd 4 td 0 int 132.9

 

[Toruk_Makto]

Do we win the Washington Philly or Minnesota games without Dez I wonder?

Does Dak have as much success throwing to guys not names Dez if Dez isn't on the field I wonder?

This type of analysis is rudimentary. And if you followed the logic to its natural conclusion.... You'd argue that Dak should only throw to Beasley. That of course is a ridiculous thought.

 

[percyhoward]

Romo 2008
to Owens
56 of 115 905 yd 9 td 7 int 76.2

to everyone else
220 of 335 2543 yd 17 td 7 int 96.6

Prescott 2016
to Bryant
38 of 80 644 yd 6 td 2 int 89.8

to everyone else
222 of 312 2495 yd 14 td 2 int 106.9

 

[percyhoward]

Does Dak have as much success throwing to guys not names Dez if Dez isn't on the field I wonder?

The lower passer rating on Bryant's targets is hardly a prerequisite for such success.

 

[erod]

true that. agree. no issue here. but give Dak time he will get better just like Romo did. Granted Dak probably wont be the gunslinger Romo was (or maybe still is? hard to tell) but he can improve. He has come a long way for a rookie no doubt.

But what do you do right now?

I don't think Witten, Dez, Lee, etc, really want to wait for Dak to figure it out in 3-4 years. They'll be gone.

 

[DallasCowboys2080]

But what do you do right now?

I don't think Witten, Dez, Lee, etc, really want to wait for Dak to figure it out in 3-4 years. They'll be gone.

U go with the guy that got u 11 wins in a row and doesn't turn ball over much. Easy. U bench him u send a bad message. We kept with Romo when he was messing up. Hard to go back to Romo now he hasn't played much in 2 years and he can't stay on field. If Dak goes down than that's the only good risk we can take. Easy.

 

[Tabascocat]

Romo 2008
to Owens
56 of 115 905 yd 9 td 7 int 76.2

to everyone else
220 of 335 2543 yd 17 td 7 int 96.6

Prescott 2016
to Bryant
38 of 80 644 yd 6 td 2 int 89.8

to everyone else
222 of 312 2495 yd 14 td 2 int 106.9

I expect those numbers to be lower than the "others" considering T.O. and Dez had the best coverage on them.

I am not saying that Dez does not have his concerns but comparing #1's to the field is useless.

 

[erod]

U go with the guy that got u 11 wins in a row and doesn't turn ball over much. Easy. U bench him u send a bad message. We kept with Romo when he was messing up. Hard to go back to Romo now he hasn't played much in 2 years and he can't stay on field. If Dak goes down than that's the only good risk we can take. Easy.

Well, here we go. I don't think the record would be different with Romo at all. If he could stay upright that is. And I think Zeke would have another 200-300 yards by now. Romo could really open up the field for him.

You will not make a real run at a Super Bowl with Dak. He's just not ready.

 

[KJJ]

It appears the more we've tried to get Dez involved the more of a detriment it's been to Dak's game as of late. We need to get back to the formula we were using earlier in the season of throwing to the open receivers and moving the chains. Dak had some of his highest completion percentages earlier in the season.

 

[CCBoy]

Most passes by Prescott, are within fifteen yards of the line of scrimmage. This means that teams can all stack the box and t-off on the run and blitzing the quarterback. Good defenses, are successful at doing this.

Until Dak can successfully and consistently beat the heat, and hit a deep target effectively too...Dallas will be limited in their offensive output from this point forward.

 

[DallasCowboys2080]

Well, here we go. I don't think the record would be different with Romo at all. If he could stay upright that is. And I think Zeke would have another 200-300 yards by now. Romo could really open up the field for him.

You will not make a real run at a Super Bowl with Dak. He's just not ready.

More ready than any rookie ever was though.
We have no better option right now. Unless Dak goes down with injury or its proven he keeps team from winning (hasnt happened yet)than our best option is Romo.

 

[Blackspider214]

This is why this offense works much better without Dez on the field when Dak is our QB. Without Dez was when this offense was at its peak in efficiency. He bogs and slows everything down.