drawandstrike
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5 REASONS WHY DAK PRESCOTT HAS THE BEST CHANCE OF BREAKING THE NFL'S SUPER BOWL ROOKIE CURSE
It's being pointed out in the media this week that of 21 rookies that started playoff games in the past, NONE of them ever got their team to the Super Bowl.
Some are using this as a reason to claim the Dallas Cowboys have little chance to reach the Super Bowl, that the reason Dallas won't make the title game is because of their rookie QB.
This is a team game, and this needs to be stressed. Pointing out cherry picked data like 'Of 21 rookies who played postseason games none of them reached the Super Bowl' can create an impression that the biggest reason the team never reached the title game is BECAUSE the QB was a rookie.
There are many other reasons a team can lose in the postseason tournament other than 'rookie QB'.
1. INJURY MAY HAVE STARTED DAK'S RUN TO THE PLAYOFFS, BUT DIDN'T EXTEND IT
Dallas is in a unique situation unlike many of the teams that were often FORCED to start rookie QB's in the postseason.
A vast majority of the times an NFL team had a rookie QB starting once the postseason commenced was DUE TO INJURY to more experienced starters.
A perfect example of this from this season would be the Oakland Raiders. 3 year starter Derek Carr went down, followed by backup QB Matt McGloin, which led to rookie QB Connor Cook getting his very first start vs. the Houston Texans in the wildcard round.
Many teams that have ended up starting rookies in the playoffs are teams that are early in a rebuilding cycle. It's rare you have a team that is mostly complete taking a rookie into the playoffs, with an above average offense coupled with an above average defense.
Dallas may have been FORCED to start Dak Prescott at the beginning of the season, but by game 8 they had the option of going back to Tony Romo once he was recovered from his injury, and the team opted to stick with Prescott.
Dallas isn't being FORCED to start Dak in the post season due to injury, and it's also in the unique position of having probably the best back up QB in the league ready to come in should disaster strike.
2. Dallas Isn't A Rebuilding Team That Snuck Into The Playoffs
Dallas isn't at the beginning or the middle of a rebuilding cycle; the team has 1 of the strongest offenses in the league and a defense that is playing above average. That's not been the case for most starting rookies in the playoffs, who are often surprise entrants from weak divisions.
3. A shorter path to the Super Bowl playing two home games.
Another factor that aids Prescott in his quest in breaking the NFL's Rookie QB Super Bowl curse is the fact he'll only have to win 2 HOME games to get there, having guided Dallas to a 13-3 record, something that secured the team a 1st round playoff bye. A team with a rookie QB starting often doesn't escape having to play that extra game in the wild card round, meaning the rookie has to win THREE games in a row to reach the championship title game.
Also how many of these 21 rookies were being forced to play road games in the playoffs? How many had the #1 seed and had 2 home games to win to reach the Super Bowl? Not very many, I'll bet.
4. Starting the playoff run against a familiar opponent
Now add in this factor: the first playoff game Prescott will start is against a defense he's already seen and led his team to victory over earlier this year. How many of the 21 rookies that came before him had to win just 2 games to reach the Super Bowl, the first game being against a team already handily defeated in the regular season with that rookie as the starter?
5. A powerful running game behind him.
Of all the rookies that have attempted this before Prescott, how many had the NFL's #1 rusher sharing the backfield with them? I'm pretty sure that # is likely not larger than 1 and is likely 0.
These are the factors that come into play to give Dak Prescott probably the BEST shot at breaking the rookie Super Bowl curse. He's in a FAR better position on a very strong team than the rookies that attempted this before him.
It's being pointed out in the media this week that of 21 rookies that started playoff games in the past, NONE of them ever got their team to the Super Bowl.
Some are using this as a reason to claim the Dallas Cowboys have little chance to reach the Super Bowl, that the reason Dallas won't make the title game is because of their rookie QB.
This is a team game, and this needs to be stressed. Pointing out cherry picked data like 'Of 21 rookies who played postseason games none of them reached the Super Bowl' can create an impression that the biggest reason the team never reached the title game is BECAUSE the QB was a rookie.
There are many other reasons a team can lose in the postseason tournament other than 'rookie QB'.
1. INJURY MAY HAVE STARTED DAK'S RUN TO THE PLAYOFFS, BUT DIDN'T EXTEND IT
Dallas is in a unique situation unlike many of the teams that were often FORCED to start rookie QB's in the postseason.
A vast majority of the times an NFL team had a rookie QB starting once the postseason commenced was DUE TO INJURY to more experienced starters.
A perfect example of this from this season would be the Oakland Raiders. 3 year starter Derek Carr went down, followed by backup QB Matt McGloin, which led to rookie QB Connor Cook getting his very first start vs. the Houston Texans in the wildcard round.
Many teams that have ended up starting rookies in the playoffs are teams that are early in a rebuilding cycle. It's rare you have a team that is mostly complete taking a rookie into the playoffs, with an above average offense coupled with an above average defense.
Dallas may have been FORCED to start Dak Prescott at the beginning of the season, but by game 8 they had the option of going back to Tony Romo once he was recovered from his injury, and the team opted to stick with Prescott.
Dallas isn't being FORCED to start Dak in the post season due to injury, and it's also in the unique position of having probably the best back up QB in the league ready to come in should disaster strike.
2. Dallas Isn't A Rebuilding Team That Snuck Into The Playoffs
Dallas isn't at the beginning or the middle of a rebuilding cycle; the team has 1 of the strongest offenses in the league and a defense that is playing above average. That's not been the case for most starting rookies in the playoffs, who are often surprise entrants from weak divisions.
3. A shorter path to the Super Bowl playing two home games.
Another factor that aids Prescott in his quest in breaking the NFL's Rookie QB Super Bowl curse is the fact he'll only have to win 2 HOME games to get there, having guided Dallas to a 13-3 record, something that secured the team a 1st round playoff bye. A team with a rookie QB starting often doesn't escape having to play that extra game in the wild card round, meaning the rookie has to win THREE games in a row to reach the championship title game.
Also how many of these 21 rookies were being forced to play road games in the playoffs? How many had the #1 seed and had 2 home games to win to reach the Super Bowl? Not very many, I'll bet.
4. Starting the playoff run against a familiar opponent
Now add in this factor: the first playoff game Prescott will start is against a defense he's already seen and led his team to victory over earlier this year. How many of the 21 rookies that came before him had to win just 2 games to reach the Super Bowl, the first game being against a team already handily defeated in the regular season with that rookie as the starter?
5. A powerful running game behind him.
Of all the rookies that have attempted this before Prescott, how many had the NFL's #1 rusher sharing the backfield with them? I'm pretty sure that # is likely not larger than 1 and is likely 0.
These are the factors that come into play to give Dak Prescott probably the BEST shot at breaking the rookie Super Bowl curse. He's in a FAR better position on a very strong team than the rookies that attempted this before him.
