DMN: Stephen A. Smith on Dak - 'I understand the brother can play,' but the Cowboys will contaminate him

Cotton

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Stephen A. Smith on Dak: 'I understand the brother can play,' but the Cowboys will contaminate him

By SportsDayDFW.com

Crazy as always, Stephen A. Smith took to Facebook to rant about the Cowboys beating the Redskins and watching "Dak Prescott look like the second coming of Joe Montana," he said. He then elaborated at length on First Take this week with Max Kellerman. Here are some highlights:

On Cowboys' D against the Redskins:

Smith: As stupid as it was, the reality is Dallas' defense surrounding Pierre Garcon because they knew that's where Kirk Cousins was going and they were able to recognize his transparency which is something the Dallas Cowboys have struggled to do in the years past. ...

You can call it bad Redskins but I'm going to give Dallas credit where credit's due. It doesn't matter how discombobulated, disoriented, fragmented or whatever the case may be. You won. If you went against the Cowboys, that was your remedy, your medicine because nobody was worse than them. ...

Are you trying to make me sick on purpose? Are you trying to make me throw up on national television [and] defend the Dallas Cowboys? ... When you look at the Dallas Cowboys, six times they were in the third-down situations they converted. ... It isn't all about how bad the Redskins are. To some degree it's about how Dak Prescott has performed, Dez Bryant showed up, Cole Beasley is a reliable commodity and I got to give credit where credit is due. I hate to do it but got to... I'm a fair-minded individual even for the pathetic Dallas Cowboys with the worst fan base in American history.

On the Dak hype: Pump the brakes or QuarterDak of the future?

Stephen: Well let's pump the brakes now ... 75 pass attempts, not a turnover... I get it, I appreciate it, I respect it. God bless him. But let's pump the brakes and recognize that even though he's got some talent, even though he's good, I'm not willing to sit up there and throw a parade for him just yet.

That doesn't mean he's not going to look good, that the future might not be so bright for Tony Romo because he beat the Redskins ... I need to see more. I'm going to require that I see more. I thought he deserved credit for yesterday. That don't have a damn thing to do with next week and those that follow.

Kellerman: Dak Prescott is unlikely to take the Cowboys very far this season because he's a rookie QB and rookie QBs throughout the history of football very rarely do. But is it too early to say Dak Prescott's the real deal? Just the eye ball test: Right from the preseason you're looking at this guy going: OK wait. He has an arm, has legs, makes good decisions with the ball, can read defenses. He's a rookie QB, things are happening very fast but how many rookie QBs from the first time you see them in preseason look as good as Dak Prescott?

He's been roundly, almost universally praised since his first preseason appearance by everyone.

You look at Dak Prescott and say, yep that's a franchise QB. The eyeball test says yes - he's missing nothing ... He's 11th in total QBR this season, ahead of guys like Aaron Rodgers, Cam Newton, Drew Brees. It's very early, yes ... but is it too early to say the guy is the real deal? ... Rookies basically don't do it but Dak Prescott is absolutely the real deal. You can't tell that when watching it?
Smith: I'm not questioning Dak Prescott's skill set - I understand the brother looks like he can play and may deserve the benefit of the doubt. But Dez Bryant when healthy is an all-pro caliber receiver, got nothing but love for Dez. Didn't stop the Dallas Cowboys from being mediocre.

The Dallas Cowboys have always had talent. So it's one thing to look at Dak Prescott and talk about him as a talent. It's another to imply that somehow, some way, he's going to be able to erase, omit, eradicate the level of talent these guys have put forth for 20 years.

...Somehow some way the Dallas Cowboys always have someone you can point to and say: That dude is legit! I like that dude. He can play for me. But in the end, what does it come down to? Not much.

They're the Dallas Cowboys and that's Dak Prescott. He's nice but the second [reporters] start blowing him up when he gets and warrants the attention, you're going to get in his way and force that black cat that perpetually around the Dallas Cowboys to come out and it's going to contaminate Dak Prescott. I'm actually looking out for Dak Prescott - trying to help him. Because the second y'all blow him up, he's going to fall because he's a Dallas Cowboy.

Kellerman: When you go on the road and beat a division rival - from Prescott's point of view, on the road, divisional rival, a win, no interceptions: real deal. By the way, on top of everything else, he commands the huddle. His teammates like him. He energizes them. They want to play for him. They want to play with him. 100% the real McCoy.
 

bbgun

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Smith compared Zeke to Trent Richardson after his first game, and he deplores the Dallas fan base, so this is just more needling on his part.
 

Cowboysrock55

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He just says stupid shit to try and get attention. It's what his career is built on and if he stopped saying stuff like this no one would pay attention to him anymore.
 

dallen

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Don't even post stuff from\about Stephen A Smith or Skip Bayless. They are just attention whores. The sooner people ignore them the sooner they will go away
 

Texas Ace

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They're the Dallas Cowboys and that's Dak Prescott. He's nice but the second [reporters] start blowing him up when he gets and warrants the attention, you're going to get in his way and force that black cat that perpetually around the Dallas Cowboys to come out and it's going to contaminate Dak Prescott. I'm actually looking out for Dak Prescott - trying to help him. Because the second y'all blow him up, he's going to fall because he's a Dallas Cowboy.
I hate Stephen A. Smith and he's an idiot, but I don't think he's wrong with what he says here.

The Jerry Jones led Cowboys do contaminate players to an extent. Jerry's way of doing things trickles down into the poorly assembled coaching staff because it's the best staff that can be assembled under this type of ownership. And who is affected most by this flawed approach from the organization?

The players.

Look no further than Tony Romo. If Tony Romo were a Steeler, does anyone think his career would only have 4 playoff appearances and only 2 playoff wins? Not a chance.

A player's potential is stumped when he joins this organization, and it's very possible that Dak may not ever truly realize his potential if things never change here while he's a member of the team.

What's more, the fact that he is excelling despite being led by the Jason Garrett and Wade Wilson is pretty damn impressive in itself.

This team is disease to any great player looking to win a championship. It ain't happening.
 

Genghis Khan

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Is anyone else reading the stuff Screamin A says in the voice of Jackie Chiles from Seinfeld?
 

Cotton

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mcnuttz

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The guy's a joke, but he's on point regarding the culture in Dallas.

Dak seems a humble dude like Romo was coming in, so hopefully he doesn't buy into his own hype.
 

Joe Fan

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I hate Stephen A. Smith and he's an idiot, but I don't think he's wrong with what he says here.

The Jerry Jones led Cowboys do contaminate players to an extent. Jerry's way of doing things trickles down into the poorly assembled coaching staff because it's the best staff that can be assembled under this type of ownership. And who is affected most by this flawed approach from the organization?

The players.

Look no further than Tony Romo. If Tony Romo were a Steeler, does anyone think his career would only have 4 playoff appearances and only 2 playoff wins? Not a chance.

A player's potential is stumped when he joins this organization, and it's very possible that Dak may not ever truly realize his potential if things never change here while he's a member of the team.

What's more, the fact that he is excelling despite being led by the Jason Garrett and Wade Wilson is pretty damn impressive in itself.

This team is disease to any great player looking to win a championship. It ain't happening.
I've got to agree. In these points he's spot on.

He's winning despite our idiot coaching staff and front office. Want proof? Look no further than last year with the complete incompetence without Romo.
 

Smitty

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Out of curiosity, if the organization ends up posting a winning season with Prescott at some point, does that disprove the narrative that Romo is the only QB saving the team from futility? Would we admit that despite Weeden winning like, wow, 1 whole game in Houston, that maybe the QBs here did actually just suck?
 

Jiggyfly

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Out of curiosity, if the organization ends up posting a winning season with Prescott at some point, does that disprove the narrative that Romo is the only QB saving the team from futility? Would we admit that despite Weeden winning like, wow, 1 whole game in Houston, that maybe the QBs here did actually just suck?
Everybody has actually already admitted that.:shrug

The point still remains you can win a game with QB that sucks if you are a good enough coach.
 

Smitty

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Everybody has actually already admitted that.:shrug

The point still remains you can win a game with QB that sucks if you are a good enough coach.
Well then why do I keep reading that we can only win with Tony? Seems to be a recurring (false) narrative.
 

L.T. Fan

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Out of curiosity, if the organization ends up posting a winning season with Prescott at some point, does that disprove the narrative that Romo is the only QB saving the team from futility? Would we admit that despite Weeden winning like, wow, 1 whole game in Houston, that maybe the QBs here did actually just suck?
Might clear up the process if the suck is located under the coaches nameplate. Romo could win regardless of the coaches ineptitude.
 

townsend

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Well then why do I keep reading that we can only win with Tony? Seems to be a recurring (false) narrative.
It isn't specifically Tony, just a quality starter, and Tony was the only quality starter in Dallas. Unlike the Pats, Broncos, Colts, Steelers, Rams, 49ers, and Texans, Garrett can't win with a backup. I think it's pretty clear that if Garrett does not trust his QB he does not have the skill to gameplay around it. He makes them dink and dunk their way to a loss.
 

Joe Fan

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Well then why do I keep reading that we can only win with Tony? Seems to be a recurring (false) narrative.
Why? Because the ginger is a horrible head coach who relied on Romo to win games for him.

Now it looks like Prescott is saving him again.
 

Cowboysrock55

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Well then why do I keep reading that we can only win with Tony? Seems to be a recurring (false) narrative.
Here is a better question, will Wade Wilson get any credit for helping to develop Dak? He took the abuse by everyone because he wasn't able to "develop" any QBs here in Dallas. If Dak becomes a legit QB, does he get credit for that or do we just pretend like he had nothing to do with it?
 

L.T. Fan

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Here is a better question, will Wade Wilson get any credit for helping to develop Dak? He took the abuse by everyone because he wasn't able to "develop" any QBs here in Dallas. If Dak becomes a legit QB, does he get credit for that or do we just pretend like he had nothing to do with it?
He is one of the few products that have actually been a legitimate candidate for being groomed by Wilson. Most of Wilson's tenure has been with veteran backups who were already seasoned before they arrived.
 

Cotton

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Here is a better question, will Wade Wilson get any credit for helping to develop Dak? He took the abuse by everyone because he wasn't able to "develop" any QBs here in Dallas. If Dak becomes a legit QB, does he get credit for that or do we just pretend like he had nothing to do with it?
Looks like he has come in and done well straight out of college. Not a whole lot of developing has happened via Wilson.
 

Cowboysrock55

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Looks like he has come in and done well straight out of college. Not a whole lot of developing has happened via Wilson.
Well I have a hard time believing that a rookie QB looks this prepared for the NFL without a little coaching. But I'm assuming he keeps this up and progresses through the season.
 
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