Bleu Star
Bye Felicia!
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I really believe Troy.
Lovingly Yours,
Bleu
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Dallas Cowboys Hall of Famer Troy Aikman recently joined The Musers on KTCK 1310 The Ticket to talk all things football. Here are some highlights:
Question: How did you think the rookie [Dak Prescott] played for the Cowboys?
Troy Aikman: I thought he played really well. I really did. I thought that he would going into the game. I was very impressed with him. When I talked to you guys last Thursday I had not yet met Dak. I met him the following day in our production meetings. Like everything I had heard, just really an impressive young man. I felt that coming out of that that this guy really seems to be pretty relaxed and really prepared. I saw him just before the game [and] had the same thoughts. I just felt that he was going to play well and I thought that he did.
In fact...I had commented to Joe [Buck], we were at a commercial break, I said, 'Geez. You kind of forget that the kid's playing in his first game ever.' You know? He was so poised in the way that he handled things. I really didn't sense that they were doing anything to hold him back.
I thought the way he opened up the game was good. I commented on it during the broadcast: I felt that Scott Linehan did a good job of mixing things up. I know what the game plan was for the Giants defensively. They allowed him to throw on some early downs. It wasn't just waiting until third downs.
So, yeah, I was impressed with him. Obviously they lose the game, but Dak Prescott, in my opinion anyway, he's not the reason why that happened. But I was happy for him the way he came out in his first start.
Question: How important is preparation for a quarterback compared to physical attributes like arm strength?
Troy Aikman: I think what ultimately defines a guy's success -- beyond the obvious of does he have good players around him - is really kind of his makeup and how he's wired. I've been around a lot of guys more now in broadcasting since I get to see a broad spectrum of different types of quarterbacks - young guys making their first start, veteran guys that you've heard about. I know the league better, I know the guys better certainly now than I did when I played.
The one thing that's interesting to me is when I hear someone say, 'Hey, this quarterback...can make all the throws.' I really don't know what that means. There's only 32 of these jobs. How can someone not be able to make all the throws? I think sometimes these clichés come out. All these guys can throw the ball, some a little bit better than others. All these guys are talented.
Once you get beyond the supporting case, I really think it's a matter of how the guys are just prepared to go play and how they handle making difficult decisions under duress. That ultimately is what determines whether a guy can be successful at this level. How well they process information in short periods of time under a lot of stress because of the moments of those games.
I've come out of meetings with young quarterbacks and I've walked out and said, 'This guy, he does not have a chance in this game. I'm just telling you.' They go out there and they don't play well. You can just tell they're nervous, they're anxious. Things have to go really well for them early in order to get them to calm down. I didn't sense that at all with Dak. I really believe they have something with him. It's one game. He's got a long way to go, but the early signs [show that] he's one of the more impressive young quarterbacks I've been around.
Question: Where do you think the Cowboys are at mentally going what they went through last year going 4-12 and losing a close game in Week 1?
Troy Aikman: There is so much importance placed on Week 1 because you have so much time get ready for that game that when you fail to win it it's pretty demoralizing. I do think even though it's not a must-win, it just puts that much more pressure on those teams that are 0-1 to go out then and win in Week 2.
I think for Dallas, the good thing for them this week it is an opponent that they've had success against. It's a venue where they've had success. I guess the road teams won this game a lot here in recent years. For Dallas, I guess that bodes well in terms of how confident they feel. But yet there are some guys at key positions - whether that's Ezekiel Elliott or Dak Prescott like we talked about - that have yet to play there. How does that bode with them?
The overall mood of the team, I would have to believe that after last year; when we keep pointing back to 2014 and act like, 'Well that's the way that it's always been.' And then last year was the anomaly. Yes, last year was unusual in the fact that it was 4-12, but this has been a pretty average football team with the exception of 2014 in recent years.
Players say the right things. The coaches are always confident that what they're doing is going to give their team the best chance. Players always say the right things. They always believe that they're going to win. But deep down if you haven't won enough, where are you then going in? But I think the way that that game went Sunday it wasn't where they weren't in it and had kind of shown that, 'Gosh. We thought we were going to be this but we're not anywhere close.'
You look at the numbers - and you guys I'm sure have been talking about it all week long - they should have dominated that game. If you just looked at the stat sheet and didn't watch the game you'd say the Cowboys dominated this game. It simply came down to not being able to cash in when they got down there early on some long drives. I would believe this team is still fairly confident with it being as early as it is in the season and knowing that they've still got a lot of football ahead of them.
http://sportsday.***BANNED-URL***/d...ive-young-qbs-around-really-believe-something
Lovingly Yours,
Bleu
××××××××××××
Dallas Cowboys Hall of Famer Troy Aikman recently joined The Musers on KTCK 1310 The Ticket to talk all things football. Here are some highlights:
Question: How did you think the rookie [Dak Prescott] played for the Cowboys?
Troy Aikman: I thought he played really well. I really did. I thought that he would going into the game. I was very impressed with him. When I talked to you guys last Thursday I had not yet met Dak. I met him the following day in our production meetings. Like everything I had heard, just really an impressive young man. I felt that coming out of that that this guy really seems to be pretty relaxed and really prepared. I saw him just before the game [and] had the same thoughts. I just felt that he was going to play well and I thought that he did.
In fact...I had commented to Joe [Buck], we were at a commercial break, I said, 'Geez. You kind of forget that the kid's playing in his first game ever.' You know? He was so poised in the way that he handled things. I really didn't sense that they were doing anything to hold him back.
I thought the way he opened up the game was good. I commented on it during the broadcast: I felt that Scott Linehan did a good job of mixing things up. I know what the game plan was for the Giants defensively. They allowed him to throw on some early downs. It wasn't just waiting until third downs.
So, yeah, I was impressed with him. Obviously they lose the game, but Dak Prescott, in my opinion anyway, he's not the reason why that happened. But I was happy for him the way he came out in his first start.
Question: How important is preparation for a quarterback compared to physical attributes like arm strength?
Troy Aikman: I think what ultimately defines a guy's success -- beyond the obvious of does he have good players around him - is really kind of his makeup and how he's wired. I've been around a lot of guys more now in broadcasting since I get to see a broad spectrum of different types of quarterbacks - young guys making their first start, veteran guys that you've heard about. I know the league better, I know the guys better certainly now than I did when I played.
The one thing that's interesting to me is when I hear someone say, 'Hey, this quarterback...can make all the throws.' I really don't know what that means. There's only 32 of these jobs. How can someone not be able to make all the throws? I think sometimes these clichés come out. All these guys can throw the ball, some a little bit better than others. All these guys are talented.
Once you get beyond the supporting case, I really think it's a matter of how the guys are just prepared to go play and how they handle making difficult decisions under duress. That ultimately is what determines whether a guy can be successful at this level. How well they process information in short periods of time under a lot of stress because of the moments of those games.
I've come out of meetings with young quarterbacks and I've walked out and said, 'This guy, he does not have a chance in this game. I'm just telling you.' They go out there and they don't play well. You can just tell they're nervous, they're anxious. Things have to go really well for them early in order to get them to calm down. I didn't sense that at all with Dak. I really believe they have something with him. It's one game. He's got a long way to go, but the early signs [show that] he's one of the more impressive young quarterbacks I've been around.
Question: Where do you think the Cowboys are at mentally going what they went through last year going 4-12 and losing a close game in Week 1?
Troy Aikman: There is so much importance placed on Week 1 because you have so much time get ready for that game that when you fail to win it it's pretty demoralizing. I do think even though it's not a must-win, it just puts that much more pressure on those teams that are 0-1 to go out then and win in Week 2.
I think for Dallas, the good thing for them this week it is an opponent that they've had success against. It's a venue where they've had success. I guess the road teams won this game a lot here in recent years. For Dallas, I guess that bodes well in terms of how confident they feel. But yet there are some guys at key positions - whether that's Ezekiel Elliott or Dak Prescott like we talked about - that have yet to play there. How does that bode with them?
The overall mood of the team, I would have to believe that after last year; when we keep pointing back to 2014 and act like, 'Well that's the way that it's always been.' And then last year was the anomaly. Yes, last year was unusual in the fact that it was 4-12, but this has been a pretty average football team with the exception of 2014 in recent years.
Players say the right things. The coaches are always confident that what they're doing is going to give their team the best chance. Players always say the right things. They always believe that they're going to win. But deep down if you haven't won enough, where are you then going in? But I think the way that that game went Sunday it wasn't where they weren't in it and had kind of shown that, 'Gosh. We thought we were going to be this but we're not anywhere close.'
You look at the numbers - and you guys I'm sure have been talking about it all week long - they should have dominated that game. If you just looked at the stat sheet and didn't watch the game you'd say the Cowboys dominated this game. It simply came down to not being able to cash in when they got down there early on some long drives. I would believe this team is still fairly confident with it being as early as it is in the season and knowing that they've still got a lot of football ahead of them.
http://sportsday.***BANNED-URL***/d...ive-young-qbs-around-really-believe-something
