Video: Why Dak Prescott is Actually the Most Accurate QB in the NFL | NFL Network

[InTheZone]

That’s exactly what it is.

“I’ll disregard the numbers that show his accuracy, but focus on ten to twenty bad throws for the season.”

All while apparently being unaware that the stats include all of them!

10-20 for the season? How about several a game for several games...

I'm simply not making excuses for Dak and hope he turns it around, but let's not act like he has maybe 1 bad pass a game. How many forced passes to Dez alone in tight coverage when someone else was wide open or vice versa.

Some of you really can't be serious about this.

 

[Billyd]

Although i believe that Dak deserves some criticism for his play last season, i also see fans over simplifiing the issue..

Dak had some of these issues in 2016 but we seem to have overlooked those problems then coz 13-3..One difference without question was left guard..If you havent reviewed how badly Green played at guard then at tackle then you wont see the whole picture..

Having said that i realize the accuracy issues were there when Green was finally exiled to pine, and cooper took over..

LETS not put our heads in the sand on this..Dak has issues in the pocket, coz pocket breakdown, short pass touch...and we all saw the nuttyness with Dez..i dont put that all on Dak, linehans insistence last year and 2016 of feeding Dez was pervasive..

I wish we could get Tony as a qb coach and finish the job he started in 2016..With that plan scuttled Dak will need to take advantage of a team committed to giving him receivers that have traits better suited to getting separation, and running better routes.

NEXT thing Inconsistent is a lil vague on Dak..Some things that are unusual..

DAK is very accurate on the run..For long passes...Idgi

DAK is very good at spreading the ball around, unless you force him... (You would have thought Linehan would get this)

The numbers listed previously..

I think some fans are way to critical, and some are way to homer..The answer is in between, 22-10 to me is a pretty good record for a third year qb..

We want playoff success...We are all in agreement there...

 

[Bleu Star]

Say it ain't so. I know of quite a few peanut gallery members that would argue otherwise. The same peanut gallery that argued me up & down that Dez would never get cut.

Quick note to that peanut gallery.... The guy Dak had to babysit & force the ball to will make nothing close to the 14.5 mil you guys thought he might make this year in Dallas. Not even in the ballpark. I say one year 5 mil max. How you like dem apples? #InStephenNWillITrust

 

[Billyd]

I posted this back on March 31st, but will repost it here. Dak was beyond phenomenal his first 24 games. In the last 8 games, not so much. But it is unwise to make judgments on Dak's future viabilty based on the time when both Tyron Smith and Ezekiel Elliott were out, and the receivers weren't performing. This is not to excuse Dak's poor performance over the last half of 2017. But you also cannot discount Dak's performance from 2016 or the first half of 2017.

Dak's 2016 season - 1st half

• Completion Rate - 165 completions / 248 attempts = 0.6653
• Yards/Attempt - 2020 yards / 248 attempts = 8.1451 ypa
• TD Rate - 12 TD / 248 attempts = 0.04839
• INT Rate - 2 INT / 248 attempts = 0.00806
• Passer Rating - (a+b+c+d)/6 x 100 = 104.24
  • Factor A - (0.6653 -.3) x 5 = 1.8265
  • Factor B - (8.1451 - 3) x 0.25 = 1.2863
  • Factor C - (0.04839 x 20) = 0.9678
  • Factor D - 2.375 - (0.00806 x 25) = 2.1735

Dak's 2017 season - 2nd half

• Completion Rate - 146 completions / 211 attempts = 0.6919
• Yards/Attempt - 1647 yards / 211 attempts = 7.8057 ypa
• TD Rate - 11 TD / 211 attempts = 0.05213
• INT Rate - 2 INT / 211 attempts = 0.00948
• Passer Rating - (a+b+c+d)/6 x 100 = 105.69
  • Factor A - (0.6919 -.3) x 5 = 1.9595
  • Factor B - (7.8057 - 3) x 0.25 = 1.2014
  • Factor C - (0.05213 x 20) = 1.0426
  • Factor D - 2.375 - (0.00948 x 25) = 2.1380

Dak's 2017 season - 1st half

• Completion Rate - 163 completions / 259 attempts = 0.6293
• Yards/Attempt - 1818 yards / 259 attempts = 7.0193 ypa
• TD Rate - 16 TD / 259 attempts = 0.06178
• INT Rate - 4 INT / 259 attempts = 0.01544
• Passer Rating - (a+b+c+d)/6 x 100 = 97.93
  • Factor A - (0.6293 -.3) x 5 = 1.6465
  • Factor B - (7.0193 - 3) x 0.25 = 1.0048
  • Factor C - (0.06178 x 20) = 1.2356
  • Factor D - 2.375 - (0.01544 x 25) = 1.9890

Dak's 2017 season - 2nd half

• Completion Rate - 145 completions / 231 attempts = 0.6277
• Yards/Attempt - 1506 yards / 231 attempts = 6.5195 ypa
• TD Rate - 6 TD / 231 attempts = 0.02597
• INT Rate - 9 INT / 231 attempts = 0.03896
• Passer Rating - (a+b+c+d)/6 x 100 = 73.98
  • Factor A - (0.6277 -.3) x 5 = 1.6385
  • Factor B - (6.5195 - 3) x 0.25 = 0.8799
  • Factor C - (0.02597 x 20) = 0.5194
  • Factor D - 2.375 - (0.03896 x 25) = 1.4010

NICE look bro!

 

[glimmerman]

This has been beaten to death.. But since I am on vacation I will say my 2 cents.

There is plenty of reasons for a int or a incomplete pass but I will name 3 biggest I can think of.

1 - It slips or comes out of his hand wrong. Bad footing (slips). The ball is wet or his hand is wet or injured (slips). If he sees something at the last second and tries to hold on and pull it back or pump (slips). If his hand is hit or he is getting sacked (slips). All are on the QB.

2 - QB reads the defense and thinks the WR should go out and he goes in. Or reads the route wrong, or WR should be zigging instead of zagging. The WR don’t get where he is supposed to be in time. The ball placement is ahead or slightly behind WR. The timing is just off between the QB and WR. A bad read by either, you would have to ask the QB, WR or staff on each of these mistakes to see who’s fault it is but ultimately, All are gonna be blamed on the QB.

3 - The passes they wish they never threw. They are hopefully few and very far between. When asked the QB just shakes his head and has no explanation for it. Just wish they could have that back. Larry Brown had a career because of 2 thrown in our last SB with the steelers. I have no idea why there QB threw them but glad he did. 1 of them there was nobody around but Brown. Almost looked like the play was rigged. Lol. I think he tried to explain it but come on. The WR was so far away you can’t explain that.

Dak had a unreal rookie season. Broke records and started 15 of the 16 games and only threw 4 picks. He got lucky on a few passes that should have been ints.

If Romo would have been healthy I am not sure this team could have been much better. 2 of our losses where against the giants and Dak looked so nervous in those games where Romo was a giant killler. Maybe if he started in the playoffs? We can debate that all day but that rookie season told me if the conditions are the same or similar he can show the same or better results.

I don’t blame anyone and can’t argue anyone’s feelings or opinion after that year. I had a wait and see opinion, can he improve? Is it possible to improve on that? One thing I don’t think is it was lucky. One pass or a few games maybe luck but not a whole season.

Creating the same situation the next year was going to be impossible because of opposing defenses. Opposing DC are gonna study film and change how they play you. And our OC did nothing to prepare for that.

Last year they changed nothing and had no real game plan. They gave him more responsibility and expected better results. Opposing defenses took his bread and butter away, took away the short stuff and loaded the box. Our staff expected a second year QB to beat that with the same short pass Offense set up for him. Dak could have played better and I thought he could have used his feet more instead of trying to wait for WR to finish there routes. I don’t think he should have been calling as many audibles as he did but he was trying to do what he thought was best.

Don’t let my last paragraph let you think I am making excuses for him. He didn’t play as well as he could have. And expectations were and are still very high if he is gonna get that contract and be our franchise QB. I just think of the growing pains we went through for Romo. JJ and SJ has Dak is in a much better place in his third year with the team built around him. It was built for Romo but the pillar is our O-Line and it works well for any NFL QB.

This staff is making changes and churning the WR roster to get young WR around him. The OC or JG better change that passing portion of the playbook. If we don’t back these opposing defense out of what they are doing then expect the same.

I fully expect Dak to come out and be better this year. If not for the loss of a few key ingredients last year then we would have made the playoffs but not sure we would have done much good. Romo would have never survived the falcons game. But he may have done things differently to combat and make teams pay for loading the box and coming after him. Why? Because he was a seasoned vet that knew the playbook and opposing defenses better than a second year QB. He was partial reason for Daks rookie year success. He was in the room drawing things up for Dak and helping him more than the rest of the staff.

Lots of questions should be answered this year about Dak. One thing is that he is not a flash in the pan. He has leadership skills and can make plays. But can he play it consistantly enough to make it as a starter in the NFL. Or is he a back up that can come in and able things up for a while and only play in a short passing Offense. We have seen him make some good passes down field. And can by time with his feet.

We don’t have the choice to cut him or play him. The staff is playing him. Let’s set back and see what happens. I am excited about it. Maybe the staff makes the changes needed. Or they do nothing and we see if Dak can do it on his own. I personally think that the staff will change the personnel (which they already have) and come out with the same playbook. JG is the one I don’t have faith in changing or getting better. Dak must improve or we will be hollering for Rush or White. Some of you will anyways. Be careful what you wish for. I don’t think we have another QB on the current roster that’s any better at this point. White is unknown. Rush can ball but could he do it every game all year long?

 

[Sydla]

They leave out the passes he DIDN'T make. He tucks it or dumps it off when guys downfield have a step on their guy. Routinely.

LOL.

So you start by lamenting all the bad passes he has thrown and when you can't argue your way out of that debate, let's start another one about something completely subjective.

I expect more out of you. Maybe that's my mistake.

 

[Billyd]

Say it ain't so. I know of quite a few peanut gallery members that would argue otherwise. The same peanut gallery that argued me up & down that Dez would never get cut.

Quick note to that peanut gallery.... The guy Dak had to babysit & force the ball to will make nothing close to the 14.5 mil you guys thought he might make this year in Dallas. Not even in the ballpark. I say one year 5 mil max. How you like dem apples? #InStephenNWillITrust

I dont see a wierd wr market as a reason to slap Stephen on the back for realizing a few years later that he overpaid for Dez to begin with..They were going to cut Dez no matter what..That should be apparent by now..Having said that who cares how much money he will make playing for another team? Lol..

 

[CowboyRoy]

Yes, they are stubborn. I re-watched the Cardinals game yesterday. He had several throws that were well off target when he had a clean pocket. A couple where he had some pressure but still should have been able to give the receiver a chance.

Otherwise, he threw quite a few very good balls. Point being, those that he whiffs on can easily be the difference between winning & losing a game.

Bla.........Its nothing but picky nonsense. Hes a young QB that has things to work on like footwork and reading defenses. YOu watch ANY football game, even Tom Brady and you see throws off target. Sometimes its the QB and sometimes its the receiver not being where the QB thought he would.

Dak Prescott, for his first two years has been absolutely incredible. There is NO two ways about it. A QB could really not look any better than he has overall. I would say the same for Wentz.

 

[waving monkey]

Risen would look funny with those glasses!

RS cant carry those glasses,

 

[Verdict]

As a rookie, Dak made FANTASTIC decisions with the football and took very good care of the ball. I think having Dez on the team was a HUGE handicap on Dak.

Not having to force the ball to Dez will allow him to do what he does best, which is find the open man. I don't think any of our WR group will have eye popping stats but as a group out passing game will be much more efficient than it was last year.

I have no idea who our leading receiver will be. My best guess would be Hearns, because of experience, but it literally could be anyone who makes the roster.

 

[waving monkey]

I'm really glad he's here, and I'm excited about watching where he goes from here.

But I'm not going to pretend I've seen NFL-caliber throws when I simply haven't yet. He can throw on the run well. Check. He can throw deep down the sideline pretty well. Check. he can throws 5-yard hook routes and out routes. Check. However, he can't sit in the pocket, go through reads, and throw in to windows down the middle of the field with any regularity. Until we see that, he's just an average quarterback at best.

erod honestly you dont leave that impression at all
I will watch better

 

[ESisback]

Here's an article that has Dak ranked as the 5th best QB in the NFL, just below Tom Brady, Matt Ryan, Drew Brees and Aaron Rodgers.

**These rankings are based exclusively on what each quarterback did from September 2017 to February 2018. It’s not about previous seasons, skill sets or where the quarterback is in his career at the time. It’s solely about each player’s performance in that single season.**

36 Quarterbacks ranked

• Tier 1 - Tom Brady, Matt Ryan, Drew Brees, Aaron Rodgers
• Tier 2 - Dak Prescott, Marcus Mariota, Cam Newton, Phillip Rivers
• Tier 3 - Alex Smith, Carson Wentz, Tyrod Taylor, Jacoby Brissett, Jared Goff
• Tier 4 - Mitchell Trubisky, Matthew Stafford, Ben Roethlisberger, Kirk Cousins, Nick Foles, Case Keenum, Russell Wilson, Carson Palmer, Eli Manning, Andy Dalton
• Tier 5 - Jameis Winston, DeShaun Watson, Derek Carr
• Tier 6 - Blake Bortles, DeShone Kiser
• Tier 7 - Josh McCown, C.J. Beathard, Trevor Siemian, Jay Cutler, Brian Hoyer, Tom Savage, Joe Flacco, Brett Hundley

Bit on Prescott:

5. Dak Prescott – Tier 2.​

Did you know? Only 5.3 percent of Dak Prescott’s attempts were screens, the second-lowest rate in the league.

If you thought Dak Prescott played like a superstar as a rookie but was awful during his second season, you’re likely conflating quarterback evaluation with evaluating the offense as a whole. Everything on the Cowboys offense got significantly worse in 2017. The offensive line got weaker at left guard and right tackle with new players, the center’s performances dropped off and the left tackle was hurt. Jason Witten was even slower at tight end. Dez Bryant spent the season struggling to get open then had a monumental number of drops when he did get open. Ezekiel Elliott was out of shape then out of the league for six weeks through suspension.

Everything was worse except for the quarterback. The quarterback actually got better.

Prescott wasn’t a star during his rookie season. The Cowboys should have gone back to Tony Romo. But he grew in his second season. He was one of the most accurate passers in the league, ranking fourth in the league with a 60.2 depth-adjusted accuracy percentage. That was while throwing to a group of receivers who couldn’t separate and offered limited catch radiuses.

Prescott wasn’t just checking down either. He threw 58.2 percent of his passes further than five yards downfield, the seventh-highest rate in the league. More significantly, he threw the second-highest rate of passes into the 1-20 yard range. 77.2 percent of the Cowboys passing game existed within those parameters. It was the opposite of a short and shot play offense.

Throwing into the 1-20 yard range is tougher to do than throwing the ball short and deep. In the Cowboys offense it meant an over-reliance on isolated routes with straight dropbacks where the quarterback had to manage the pocket. 29 quarterbacks used play action or screens more often than Prescott did. He wasn’t throwing into distorted coverages or making quick throws into the flat that gained big yardage. He was responsible for throwing receivers open and carrying an offense that wasn’t built to work without an all star supporting cast.

It was the same offense that Garrett ran during Prescott’s rookie season, but without the incredible pass protection and dominant running game, and with a worse group of receivers, the quarterback never had a real chance.

What really stood out from Prescott was his acumen. He showed off more command of his offense during his second season. Making successful audibles and adjustments to spring receivers open. That was on the occasions when he had opportunities to do so. Jason Garrett’s refusal to adjust to his personnel or to his opponents meant that Prescott often appeared to be the only one on the Dallas offense who was trying to make the offense function smoother.

Although the numbers weren’t there, Prescott’s precision as a passer, his intelligence as a quarterback and his physical skill set to function inside and outside of structure were obvious. The Cowboys have a lot of problems, the quarterback isn’t one.
​

Read the whole article: http://presnapreads.com/2018/03/25/...ankings-based-exclusively-on-the-2017-season/

A handful of posters will ignore this.

 

[InTheZone]

Say it ain't so. I know of quite a few peanut gallery members that would argue otherwise. The same peanut gallery that argued me up & down that Dez would never get cut.

Quick note to that peanut gallery.... The guy Dak had to babysit & force the ball to will make nothing close to the 14.5 mil you guys thought he might make this year in Dallas. Not even in the ballpark. I say one year 5 mil max. How you like dem apples? #InStephenNWillITrust

All I got from this was you acknowledged Dak has a major problem forcing passes into coverage rather than being a leader and spreading the ball around. No one forced Dak to make those throws, unless of course that was the plan all along. Throw it regardless, we'll blame him for our downfall. Now that Dak has the Dak friendly pieces the coaches will shift the blame to Dak next it they fail? Stay tuned.

 

[Billyd]

This is pretty funny overall, but something else i read yesterday that was pretty ludicrous..Some analysts think that because Elliot avg less yards per carry last year that he had a down year, and overall are rating the Cowboys full RB Core as fifth in the Nfl this season.

STAY with me on this. I noticed the lg is alot more critical in the zone blocking scheme last year. THE Lg has zone responsibility in backside pass blocking and the real killer..If your lg does not shut down tackle penetration on your run game over the center guard gap consistently your rg in the zone scheme is effectively dead. YOUR cutback starts there...

TAKE away the run game of the Cowboys, allow a team to tell your OCord that you are going to stuff it, then duet is completely unacceptable..

Take away the backside safety blanket, and the zone blocking scheme of the Cowboys any qb going to struggle...Last year our rb & qb struggled because of a lg that should not have been on the field...Connor Should make that issue go away...

Really last year will actually be a positive reminder to the coaching staff and to Dak going forward..

Hopefully Stephen learns, coz I hold him responsible for that joke of a pick of Chaz Green...If you dont believe me, think about it..Leary was leaving no matter what, and we didnt draft a gd in 2016...

 

[waving monkey]

This has been beaten to death.. But since I am on vacation I will say my 2 cents.

There is plenty of reasons for a int or a incomplete pass but I will name 3 biggest I can think of.

1 - It slips or comes out of his hand wrong. Bad footing (slips). The ball is wet or his hand is wet or injured (slips). If he sees something at the last second and tries to hold on and pull it back or pump (slips). If his hand is hit or he is getting sacked (slips). All are on the QB.

2 - QB reads the defense and thinks the WR should go out and he goes in. Or reads the route wrong, or WR should be zigging instead of zagging. The WR don’t get where he is supposed to be in time. The ball placement is ahead or slightly behind WR. The timing is just off between the QB and WR. A bad read by either, you would have to ask the QB, WR or staff on each of these mistakes to see who’s fault it is but ultimately, All are gonna be blamed on the QB.

3 - The passes they wish they never threw. They are hopefully few and very far between. When asked the QB just shakes his head and has no explanation for it. Just wish they could have that back. Larry Brown had a career because of 2 thrown in our last SB with the steelers. I have no idea why there QB threw them but glad he did. 1 of them there was nobody around but Brown. Almost looked like the play was rigged. Lol. I think he tried to explain it but come on. The WR was so far away you can’t explain that.

Dak had a unreal rookie season. Broke records and started 15 of the 16 games and only threw 4 picks. He got lucky on a few passes that should have been ints.

If Romo would have been healthy I am not sure this team could have been much better. 2 of our losses where against the giants and Dak looked so nervous in those games where Romo was a giant killler. Maybe if he started in the playoffs? We can debate that all day but that rookie season told me if the conditions are the same or similar he can show the same or better results.

I don’t blame anyone and can’t argue anyone’s feelings or opinion after that year. I had a wait and see opinion, can he improve? Is it possible to improve on that? One thing I don’t think is it was lucky. One pass or a few games maybe luck but not a whole season.

Creating the same situation the next year was going to be impossible because of opposing defenses. Opposing DC are gonna study film and change how they play you. And our OC did nothing to prepare for that.

Last year they changed nothing and had no real game plan. They gave him more responsibility and expected better results. Opposing defenses took his bread and butter away, took away the short stuff and loaded the box. Our staff expected a second year QB to beat that with the same short pass Offense set up for him. Dak could have played better and I thought he could have used his feet more instead of trying to wait for WR to finish there routes. I don’t think he should have been calling as many audibles as he did but he was trying to do what he thought was best.

Don’t let my last paragraph let you think I am making excuses for him. He didn’t play as well as he could have. And expectations were and are still very high if he is gonna get that contract and be our franchise QB. I just think of the growing pains we went through for Romo. JJ and SJ has Dak is in a much better place in his third year with the team built around him. It was built for Romo but the pillar is our O-Line and it works well for any NFL QB.

This staff is making changes and churning the WR roster to get young WR around him. The OC or JG better change that passing portion of the playbook. If we don’t back these opposing defense out of what they are doing then expect the same.

I fully expect Dak to come out and be better this year. If not for the loss of a few key ingredients last year then we would have made the playoffs but not sure we would have done much good. Romo would have never survived the falcons game. But he may have done things differently to combat and make teams pay for loading the box and coming after him. Why? Because he was a seasoned vet that knew the playbook and opposing defenses better than a second year QB. He was partial reason for Daks rookie year success. He was in the room drawing things up for Dak and helping him more than the rest of the staff.

Lots of questions should be answered this year about Dak. One thing is that he is not a flash in the pan. He has leadership skills and can make plays. But can he play it consistantly enough to make it as a starter in the NFL. Or is he a back up that can come in and able things up for a while and only play in a short passing Offense. We have seen him make some good passes down field. And can by time with his feet.

We don’t have the choice to cut him or play him. The staff is playing him. Let’s set back and see what happens. I am excited about it. Maybe the staff makes the changes needed. Or they do nothing and we see if Dak can do it on his own. I personally think that the staff will change the personnel (which they already have) and come out with the same playbook. JG is the one I don’t have faith in changing or getting better. Dak must improve or we will be hollering for Rush or White. Some of you will anyways. Be careful what you wish for. I don’t think we have another QB on the current roster that’s any better at this point. White is unknown. Rush can ball but could he do it every game all year long?

very fair write up, I agree

 

[LocimusPrime]

Statistics can be used to prove anything.
41.6% of all people know that.

 

[waving monkey]

This is pretty funny overall, but something else i read yesterday that was pretty ludicrous..Some analysts think that because Elliot avg less yards per carry last year that he had a down year, and overall are rating the Cowboys full RB Core as fifth in the Nfl this season.

STAY with me on this. I noticed the lg is alot more critical in the zone blocking scheme last year. THE Lg has zone responsibility in backside pass blocking and the real killer..If your lg does not shut down tackle penetration on your run game over the center guard gap consistently your rg in the zone scheme is effectively dead. YOUR cutback starts there...

TAKE away the run game of the Cowboys, allow a team to tell your OCord that you are going to stuff it, then duet is completely unacceptable..

Take away the backside safety blanket, and the zone blocking scheme of the Cowboys any qb going to struggle...Last year our rb & qb struggled because of a lg that should not have been on the field...Connor Should make that issue go away...

Really last year will actually be a positive reminder to the coaching staff and to Dak going forward..

Hopefully Stephen learns, coz I hold him responsible for that joke of a pick of Chaz Green...If you dont believe me, think about it..Leary was leaving no matter what, and we didnt draft a gd in 2016...

very good observation thank you

 

[Billyd]

All I got from this was you acknowledged Dak has a major problem forcing passes into coverage rather than being a leader and spreading the ball around. No one forced Dak to make those throws, unless of course that was the plan all along. Throw it regardless, we'll blame him for our downfall. Now that Dak has the Dak friendly pieces the coaches will shift the blame to Dak next it they fail? Stay tuned.

I think you are missing something..Do you think that Dak wanted to lock onto Dez? NAH!! That was Linehans deal..

Next When your base is screaming to the air that the ocord should be changing routes for Dez, to slants and others coz the league knows whats coming then you change five games later, one has to wonder why a offensive coordinator who seems smart enough to be able to see that crap, didnt anticipate or adjust quicker...

There has been and was a issue here last year as well..Maybe this changes this year without Dez whinning..It better...

 

[LocimusPrime]

Here's an article that has Dak ranked as the 5th best QB in the NFL, just below Tom Brady, Matt Ryan, Drew Brees and Aaron Rodgers.

**These rankings are based exclusively on what each quarterback did from September 2017 to February 2018. It’s not about previous seasons, skill sets or where the quarterback is in his career at the time. It’s solely about each player’s performance in that single season.**

36 Quarterbacks ranked

• Tier 1 - Tom Brady, Matt Ryan, Drew Brees, Aaron Rodgers
• Tier 2 - Dak Prescott, Marcus Mariota, Cam Newton, Phillip Rivers
• Tier 3 - Alex Smith, Carson Wentz, Tyrod Taylor, Jacoby Brissett, Jared Goff
• Tier 4 - Mitchell Trubisky, Matthew Stafford, Ben Roethlisberger, Kirk Cousins, Nick Foles, Case Keenum, Russell Wilson, Carson Palmer, Eli Manning, Andy Dalton
• Tier 5 - Jameis Winston, DeShaun Watson, Derek Carr
• Tier 6 - Blake Bortles, DeShone Kiser
• Tier 7 - Josh McCown, C.J. Beathard, Trevor Siemian, Jay Cutler, Brian Hoyer, Tom Savage, Joe Flacco, Brett Hundley

Bit on Prescott:

5. Dak Prescott – Tier 2.​

Did you know? Only 5.3 percent of Dak Prescott’s attempts were screens, the second-lowest rate in the league.

If you thought Dak Prescott played like a superstar as a rookie but was awful during his second season, you’re likely conflating quarterback evaluation with evaluating the offense as a whole. Everything on the Cowboys offense got significantly worse in 2017. The offensive line got weaker at left guard and right tackle with new players, the center’s performances dropped off and the left tackle was hurt. Jason Witten was even slower at tight end. Dez Bryant spent the season struggling to get open then had a monumental number of drops when he did get open. Ezekiel Elliott was out of shape then out of the league for six weeks through suspension.

Everything was worse except for the quarterback. The quarterback actually got better.

Prescott wasn’t a star during his rookie season. The Cowboys should have gone back to Tony Romo. But he grew in his second season. He was one of the most accurate passers in the league, ranking fourth in the league with a 60.2 depth-adjusted accuracy percentage. That was while throwing to a group of receivers who couldn’t separate and offered limited catch radiuses.

Prescott wasn’t just checking down either. He threw 58.2 percent of his passes further than five yards downfield, the seventh-highest rate in the league. More significantly, he threw the second-highest rate of passes into the 1-20 yard range. 77.2 percent of the Cowboys passing game existed within those parameters. It was the opposite of a short and shot play offense.

Throwing into the 1-20 yard range is tougher to do than throwing the ball short and deep. In the Cowboys offense it meant an over-reliance on isolated routes with straight dropbacks where the quarterback had to manage the pocket. 29 quarterbacks used play action or screens more often than Prescott did. He wasn’t throwing into distorted coverages or making quick throws into the flat that gained big yardage. He was responsible for throwing receivers open and carrying an offense that wasn’t built to work without an all star supporting cast.

It was the same offense that Garrett ran during Prescott’s rookie season, but without the incredible pass protection and dominant running game, and with a worse group of receivers, the quarterback never had a real chance.

What really stood out from Prescott was his acumen. He showed off more command of his offense during his second season. Making successful audibles and adjustments to spring receivers open. That was on the occasions when he had opportunities to do so. Jason Garrett’s refusal to adjust to his personnel or to his opponents meant that Prescott often appeared to be the only one on the Dallas offense who was trying to make the offense function smoother.

Although the numbers weren’t there, Prescott’s precision as a passer, his intelligence as a quarterback and his physical skill set to function inside and outside of structure were obvious. The Cowboys have a lot of problems, the quarterback isn’t one.
​

Read the whole article: http://presnapreads.com/2018/03/25/...ankings-based-exclusively-on-the-2017-season/

Wow. He has Wentz and Goff a tier below Dak. Hmmmmm

 

[Sydla]

7 months from now, the levelheaded fans amongst us are either going to be really happy or really sad with regards to our QB situation. I suspect the fringe fans on both sides of the debate will never change their minds on Dak.