Gosselin: Dak Prescott still could make these Cowboys better -- if only they'd tap into his bonus feature

Cotton

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Dak Prescott still could make these Cowboys better -- if only they'd tap into his bonus feature

By Rick Gosselin , Staff Columnist

The stunning rookie success of Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott as a fourth-round draft pick may be a surprise to the NFL, but not to the folks at Mississippi State.

Prescott flashed unprecedented ball security to open the 2016 NFL season. He didn't throw an interception until his sixth game, a streak of 176 consecutive passes to open a career that broke the NFL record held by Tom Brady.

The folks at Mississippi State weren't surprised. Prescott set a school record with 239 consecutive passes without an interception.

Prescott is completing 65.2 percent of his NFL passes, including a 79.1 percent night against the Chicago Bears.

Again, the folks at Mississippi State aren't surprised. He set a school record by completing 62.8 percent of his career passes, including a single-game record 76.9 percent against Texas A&M.

Prescott also is winning his NFL starts, steering the Cowboys to the best record in the NFC at 6-1.

Again, the folks at Mississippi State aren't surprised. His winning percentage of 69.7 percent set another school record for quarterbacks. He went 23-10 for the Bulldogs.

But there is one element of Prescott's NFL game that might surprise the folks at Mississippi State. He's not running. At least he's not running like he did in college, where he was one of the most mobile quarterbacks in NCAA history.

Prescott is one of only four players in the NCAA to pass for 70 career touchdowns and rush for 40 more. He's one of only 10 players to pass for 8,500 career yards and rush for 2,000 more, and his 2,521 career rushing yards rank third in SEC history among quarterbacks. He also hit double figures in touchdowns each of his three seasons as a starter for the Bulldogs.

Prescott rushed for a Mississippi State position-record 986 yards and 14 touchdowns in 2014 and 829 more yards and 13 scores in 2013. He had nine career 100-yard rushing days, including a career-best 154 yards in a 2013 game against Texas A&M. In a 2015 game against Kentucky, he passed for 348 yards and three touchdowns and rushed for 117 yards and three more scores.

Prescott had a 75-yard touchdown run against Bowling Green in 2013, a 56-yarder against LSU in 2014 and a 49-yarder against Southern Miss in 2015. He also had runs of 47 yards against Auburn and 44 yards against A&M in his career.

But for all the running he did in college -- 536 career carries -- Prescott has done very little of it in the NFL. He's run the ball only 27 times through seven games for 105 yards with a long of 17 for the Cowboys. He had 22 carries alone in one college game.

Ten NFL quarterbacks have more rushing yards than Prescott this season, including prototypical pocket passers Matthew Stafford, Andy Dalton and Blake Bortles.

Whether by choice of his coaches or Prescott himself, the wheels of this quarterback have not been set into motion. Which tells me Prescott still has more to offer this team and this offense in a conference that invites participation from his legs.

Look at the last four NFC champions -- Carolina in 2015, Seattle in 2014 and 2013 and San Francisco in 2012. What did they have all in common? A quarterback who could beat you with his legs and had no reservations using them.

Cam Newton set an NFL record for rushing touchdowns by a quarterback with 14 for Carolina in 2011, and Kaepernick set a record for rushing yards by a quarterback with 181 on 16 carries in a playoff game against Green Bay in 2012. The San Francisco quarterback also rushed for 130 yards against Seattle the following post-season in the NFC title game.

Wilson rushed for 849 yards for the Seattle Seahawks in 2014, the fifth-best season by a quarterback in NFL history, and his four 100-yard rushing games rank second all-time at the position to Michael Vick.

Newton rushed for 1,473 yards and 20 touchdowns in his Heisman Trophy-winning season at Auburn in 2010. He has since posted two of the top nine rushing seasons by a quarterback in NFL history plus two of the top six touchdown seasons. He passed for 35 touchdowns and rushed for 10 more in his MVP season in 2015.

The arm is a quarterback's greatest asset. His legs are a bonus -- but it's a bonus that neither the Cowboys nor Prescott have tapped into yet. The Cowboys have the NFL's fourth-ranked offense. It's already a good one. But Prescott's legs give that offense a chance to be even better.

If and when he decides to start running.
 

Cowboysrock55

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I disagree, I think we have tapped into his running ability. We have just done it in the right way. We selectively let him run near the goal line or we use his mobility on bootlegs forcing the defense to decide if they will abandon coverage to prevent him from running or if they will stay with the coverage and allow him to run for yards. We stress the defense in many different ways with Daks legs. You just don't see it in a ton of yards because this isn't college football and you don't beat up your QB.
 

Genghis Khan

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I disagree, I think we have tapped into his running ability. We have just done it in the right way. We selectively let him run near the goal line or we use his mobility on bootlegs forcing the defense to decide if they will abandon coverage to prevent him from running or if they will stay with the coverage and allow him to run for yards. We stress the defense in many different ways with Daks legs. You just don't see it in a ton of yards because this isn't college football and you don't beat up your QB.
Exactly. It's a nice element to have but it has to be ancillary. You pick your spots.
 

BipolarFuk

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Dak might have been fast enough in college, but he's not a burner in the NFL.

Wilson, Newton, Kaepernick, are all guys around 4.5

Dak runs around a 4.8 He's not going to kill NFL defenses running all the time.
 

GForce78NJ

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the read option is a great weapon for us and I'm glad we are using it. Maybe add in a few Quarterback draws to keep the defense honest.

I really can't complain about any of the offensive play calling this season. This is the first time in a long time we've been able to say that
 

Cowboysrock55

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The more your QB runs the more likely you are to lose him.
That is absolutely true and on top of that you don't want your QB trying to drop a dime with a sore shoulder because he just took a shot running the ball. Defenders are bigger and hit harder in the NFL and that takes a toll on a guy running the ball. I think the way the Panthers use Cam is going to lead to a shortened career as a result.
 

Genghis Khan

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Dak might have been fast enough in college, but he's not a burner in the NFL.

Wilson, Newton, Kaepernick, are all guys around 4.5

Dak runs around a 4.8 He's not going to kill NFL defenses running all the time.
Straight speed is nice but I think it's overrated. Dak seems to have good acceleration, instincts and decisiveness, and those things are important also.
 

Cowboysrock55

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Straight speed is nice but I think it's overrated. Dak seems to have good acceleration, instincts and decisiveness, and those things are important also.
Dak runs more like a RB to me. He accelerates quickly and has excellent change of direction speed. He is also powerful and capable of running through a defender. He isn't a long strider like a Cam Newton or a Collin Kaepernick.
 

shane

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Dak relied a little bit more on his running last game when he was struggling. I think waiting until we absolutely need him to run is the way to go because protecting him should be the main priority.
 

hstour

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Dak might have been fast enough in college, but he's not a burner in the NFL.

Wilson, Newton, Kaepernick, are all guys around 4.5

Dak runs around a 4.8 He's not going to kill NFL defenses running all the time.
So college/combine speed is the determining factor?
 

ravidubey

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Exactly. It's a nice element to have but it has to be ancillary. You pick your spots.
I think we got a taste of how effective this sprinkling of runs can be last week vs Philly on the tying and final drives.

12 yard scramble for 1st down, QB sneak to convert critical 4th down.

Roger Staubach used to do it and Aaron Rodgers has been doing it for years.

When the defense is in man-to-man they have to keep their heads on a swivel.
 
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