Mort & Schefter's Week 1 notebook: How Dak, Brady are similar

Cotton

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Mort & Schefter's Week 1 notebook: How Dak, Brady are similar

Chris Mortensen

Dak Prescott isn't Tom Brady, but ...

There are at least three or four traits that rookie quarterback Dak Prescott shares with Tom Brady in the eyes of renowned performance trainer Tom Shaw, who has worked with both in their post-collegiate days.

"I was up there [with the Patriots] when Brady just got out of [Michigan]," Shaw said. "He may not have had the same athletic and physical ability at the identical stage as Dak, but what Tom had was a work ethic and desire to get better that was undeniable. Dak has the exact same work ethic as Tom.

"It extends to every imaginable area. Dak wants to be the best. Tom wanted to be best and became the best. Everybody says they want to be the best, but is it really the most important thing in your life when you wake up in the morning and you're breathing? For Tom it was that way, and it is that way with Dak."

Prescott, a fourth-round pick who has been pushed into the starting role because of Tony Romo's injury, trained during the offseason with Shaw at ESPN's Wide World of Sports Complex at Disney World Resort in Orlando, Florida. It was not just restricted to physical training. Ike Taylor (Steelers) and Abe Elam (Browns), two former NFL defensive backs known for their acumen, held intensive skull sessions with Prescott about understanding defensive coverages. Prescott also drove to see Jon Gruden to raise his level of understanding several notches.

"If Dak could've worked with Jon 25 times in 25 days, he would have done it," Shaw said. "Dak craves it. Those are not just words, and I have my own friends at the Cowboys who echo the exact same thing."

Shaw says his best friend is Cowboys strength and conditioning coach Mike Woicik, who has six Super Bowl rings from his work with the Cowboys (1990-96) and Patriots (2000-10) before he returned to Dallas in 2011.

"Mike would tell you the exact same thing about the similarities between the way Tom Brady and Dak go about their work," Shaw said. "I'm not saying Dak will be the next Tom Brady. But he has the tools, he has the work ethic, he has the mind and he has the competitive desire."

Shaw has a couple of other traits he believes Prescott shares with Brady at a similar stage. One sticks out.

"Dak has a chip on his shoulder because of where he was drafted, just like Tom," he said. "Tom has never forgotten it. Dak will never forget it."
 

BipolarFuk

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Encouraging, maybe.

Tom Brady wasn't a rookie when he had to take over.
 

townsend

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It's kind of a miracle that a guy like Dak seems to get along so well with everyone. The fact that he's so congenial is probably going to make a big difference as he finds his place as Romo's replacement in waiting.
 

Cowboysrock55

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It's kind of a miracle that a guy like Dak seems to get along so well with everyone. The fact that he's so congenial is probably going to make a big difference as he finds his place as Romo's replacement in waiting.
Yeah and I think we all had a pretty good idea prior to the draft that he was a great leader and person in general. So this report doesn't surprise me at all. What surprised me was his accuracy and ability to complete a pass 65 yards in the air.
 

boozeman

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So um, yeah. Time for the Prescott hysteria to stop.

It is cool he is a hard worker and wants to make it.

But they are setting the bar so damn high, almost like it is ripe for failure.
 

Hawkeye19

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So um, yeah. Time for the Prescott hysteria to stop.

It is cool he is a hard worker and wants to make it.

But they are setting the bar so damn high, almost like it is ripe for failure.
Yah...I feel bad for Dak. As soon as he throws an INT, the media are going to turn on him and declare he was fool's gold.
 

townsend

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That's basically what happened to Romo.
Yeah, pretty much goes with being a Cowboys QB. The, admittedly obnoxious, cowboys nation breeds an equally obnoxious backlash. Especially since most of the talking heads favor east coast teams.
 
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