Archer: Simple answer for Ezekiel Elliott and Dak Prescott's playoff inexperience?

Cotton

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Simple answer for Ezekiel Elliott and Dak Prescott's playoff inexperience?
7:00 AM CT
Todd Archer
ESPN Staff Writer

FRISCO, Texas – Mark Sanchez remembers seeing punter Steve Weatherford on a training room table before his first playoff game as a rookie quarterback for the New York Jets during the 2009 season.

“Did you ever see ‘I am Legend,’ the movie? Remember when they capture the zombie guy and he’s in there breathing superfast?” Sanchez said. “I promise you he was on the training room table like that before we took the field.”

Weatherford had a heart condition since high school but it was never problem in the NFL until that day.

“I’m walking out there thinking, ‘All right, nothing to be nervous about, let’s go,’ and I see him having like a heart attack,” Sanchez said. “I was like, 'Oh my God, the punter can’t even handle it, how am I going to handle it? Geez Louise, we got guys dropping like flies.’ So it was pretty wild.”

The Jets beat Cincinnati and would go on to the AFC Championship Game.

Sanchez’s memory speaks to what Dak Prescott and Ezekiel Elliott will face when the Dallas Cowboys open the divisional round of the playoffs against the Green Bay Packers, New York Giants or Detroit Lions.

A rookie quarterback has never led a team to a Super Bowl, but the Cowboys are not only relying on Prescott but also Elliott, who led the NFL in rushing with 1,631 yards.

So, does playoff experience matter?

“No,” Elliott said, not offering a reason why until prompted by a follow-up.

“Because we’re competitors. That’s what we love to do. We go out there and compete, we’ve done it all season. I mean, we’ve played in big games all season. Every game in this league is a big one. Every time they play the Dallas Cowboys, especially when you’re winning, you’ve got a target on your back and you’re going to get the team's best, so I think the season has prepared us for this.”

The Cowboys won at Lambeau Field against the Packers with Prescott throwing three touchdown passes and Elliott rushing for 157 yards. They won at Heinz Field against Pittsburgh with Prescott outdueling two-time Super Bowl winner Ben Roethlisberger and Elliott running for 114 yards and scoring three touchdowns. They won against another Super Bowl quarterback, Baltimore’s Joe Flacco, with Prescott throwing three more touchdowns and Elliott rushing for 97 yards.

“I just think experience is experience. Some guys have some experience; some guys don't,” coach Jason Garrett said. “My experience in life is you use your experiences to help you with new experiences. For rookies in particular, every experience they have up until this point is the first time they have done it. It was their first rookie minicamp. It was their first OTA. It was their first minicamp. It was their first training camp. On and on and on.

“What you try to do is encourage them to use their experiences up to this point in life. In Zeke's case, playing at Ohio State. In Dak's case, playing at Mississippi State. And use them in your experiences you are about to embark on. I encourage everybody to do that. We all have to do that in life. Some guys are experienced the playoffs, they will use those experiences. Those who aren't will use different experiences.”

Garrett has not told his players – rookie or otherwise – about what to expect in the playoffs. That would go out of his day-to-day mantra, but players know the intensity grows, just like it grew from the preseason to the regular season, non-division game to division game.

“I feel like pressure comes from what you put on yourself,” Prescott said. “I have great teammates, great coaches that allow me to just go out there and be myself and play the game of football that I love and have fun while doing it. So no matter what the game’s for, what the game means, they’ll be around me and allow me to do that.”

Even as the fourth overall pick Elliott overdelivered as a rookie. As a fourth-round pick Prescott has wildly exceeded expectations.

They haven’t played a playoff game yet, but they know playoff success matters more than what they accomplished in the regular season.

“It means everything,” Prescott said. “It’s about how you finish, not how you start. At the end of the day, the quarterback position and the team is defined by how they do in the postseason. We’ve got to move forward and get better doing it.”
 

fortsbest

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Elliot's experience includes national championship games which are nearly at the level of the SB in terms of hype and promotion. He will do great.
 

Genghis Khan

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Experience matters. It's not everything but it's something.
 

Simpleton

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It'll take Elliott about one quarter to get adjusted to what's going on and then after that I expect him to blow the doors off.
 

2233boys

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It's a football game. They've all played football at a high level and at the NFL level.

Is the intensity more because it is one and done? Yes, but it is still just football.
 

townsend

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Just another box to check.

Preseason: Can Dak step into his role as backup, now that Kellen Moore is hurt. ✓
Week 1: Can Dak play well in his first real NFL game ✓
Week 2: Can Dak connect with Bryant ✓ Can Dak lead a come back✓ Can Dak win a game✓
Week 3: Can Dak win back to back games✓ Can Dak throw a TD✓ Can Zeke bounce back after being benched ✓✓✓
Week 4: Can Dak adapt when a defensive scheme confusing him✓ Can Dak manage an effective passing attack without Dez✓
Week 5: Okay 3-1 is great but can this team defeat Cincinnati's strong defensive front✓
Week 6: But can they beat a winning Packers team, in Lambeau✓
Week 7: With the division lead on the line can they move past the Eagles✓ When Dak starts making mistakes will be able to overcome them✓ If a defense takes away Dak's short reads and forces him to throw deep can he make them regret it✓
Week 8: But seriously it's Pittsburg, in Pittsburg. Ben just got healthy can they seriously...✓ Okay but I bet Zeke can't run for 2 TDs in the last two minutes of the game✓
Week 9:
Week 11:What else we got? Strong defense, on the road, starting from behind, uhhh also just for the hell of it, can Dak sidearm a bullet to a receiver at the edge of the end zone, while moving sideways✓
Week 12: Can you come off a short week and win a shootout with one of the hottest offenses in the league✓
Week 13: Okay same thing as week eleven, but also your 3rd game in 12 days, your right tackle will be a turnstile, and all your best plays will be called back with ticky tack fouls can you win that game✓
Week 14: What about in NY □
Week 15: After Dak's first loss in nearly 3 months, can Dak put together a good game, against a winning team, and silence the peanut gallery✓
Week 16 Okay the division, and top playoff seed, are already wrapped up. The lions are still fighting for their lives in the playoffs, can Dak fucking Prescott, and Zeke Elliot, in a literally meaningless game crush a playoff team with everything to lose✔
 

ravidubey

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Inexperience will hurt everyone. This is a young team.

They either adjust or they don't.
 

Cowboysrock55

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They've played the Packers and they've played the Giants. I don't think playoff football is any different for these guys. It's a football game. Plus they are at home so they don't have to worry about an over the top crowd in the playoffs or anything like that.
 

Cotton

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Just another box to check.

Preseason: Can Dak step into his role as backup, now that Kellen Moore is hurt. ✓
Week 1: Can Dak play well in his first real NFL game ✓
Week 2: Can Dak connect with Bryant ✓ Can Dak lead a come back✓ Can Dak win a game✓
Week 3: Can Dak win back to back games✓ Can Dak throw a TD✓ Can Zeke bounce back after being benched ✓✓✓
Week 4: Can Dak adapt when a defensive scheme confusing him✓ Can Dak manage an effective passing attack without Dez✓
Week 5: Okay 3-1 is great but can this team defeat Cincinnati's strong defensive front✓
Week 6: But can they beat a winning Packers team, in Lambeau✓
Week 7: With the division lead on the line can they move past the Eagles✓ When Dak starts making mistakes will be able to overcome them✓ If a defense takes away Dak's short reads and forces him to throw deep can he make them regret it✓
Week 8: But seriously it's Pittsburg, in Pittsburg. Ben just got healthy can they seriously...✓ Okay but I bet Zeke can't run for 2 TDs in the last two minutes of the game✓
Week 9:
Week 11:What else we got? Strong defense, on the road, starting from behind, uhhh also just for the hell of it, can Dak sidearm a bullet to a receiver at the edge of the end zone, while moving sideways✓
Week 12: Can you come off a short week and win a shootout with one of the hottest offenses in the league✓
Week 13: Okay same thing as week eleven, but also your 3rd game in 12 days, your right tackle will be a turnstile, and all your best plays will be called back with ticky tack fouls can you win that game✓
Week 14: What about in NY □
Week 15: After Dak's first loss in nearly 3 months, can Dak put together a good game, against a winning team, and silence the peanut gallery✓
Week 16 Okay the division, and top playoff seed, are already wrapped up. The lions are still fighting for their lives in the playoffs, can Dak fucking Prescott, and Zeke Elliot, in a literally meaningless game crush a playoff team with everything to lose✔
:towel
 

ravidubey

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They've played the Packers and they've played the Giants. I don't think playoff football is any different for these guys. It's a football game. Plus they are at home so they don't have to worry about an over the top crowd in the playoffs or anything like that.
Well when we face the Giants this time at least the weather won't be a factor.
 

Cowboysrock55

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Well when we face the Giants this time at least the weather won't be a factor.
Dak in the snow for the first time in his life was a problem. We also need to not force the ball to Dez. Jenkins seemed to have him shutdown. If we do go to Dez it should be on slants and in breaking routes because Jenkins can't compete with his size on that stuff. In general against the Giants we just need to work the middle of the field better.
 

townsend

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Dak in the snow for the first time in his life was a problem. We also need to not force the ball to Dez. Jenkins seemed to have him shutdown. If we do go to Dez it should be on slants and in breaking routes because Jenkins can't compete with his size on that stuff. In general against the Giants we just need to work the middle of the field better.
I think having McFadden as the #2 back will make a difference. He's shown more play making ability in a couple games than Morris or Dunbar showed all season. Elliot was effective in NY but once he came off the field our rushing attack was impotent. Frankly, I'd love to see the team steal an entire quarter on a long drive by battering it down the field.
 

ravidubey

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In general against the Giants we just need to work the middle of the field better.
Big time. Williams has had success against them (last play of week 1 aside) but we also need to work Dez into the mix.

I don't blame Dez for dropping the ball late in a game where he barely touched it. You've got to get your playmakers involved early and often.

The single coverage lockdown corner excuse is bullshit. Everyone tries that against Dez, and he's made a great career anyway thus far.

And get McFadden some touches in the passing game. His size and speed will make an impact in the middle without a doubt
 

Cowboysrock55

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I think having McFadden as the #2 back will make a difference. He's shown more play making ability in a couple games than Morris or Dunbar showed all season. Elliot was effective in NY but once he came off the field our rushing attack was impotent. Frankly, I'd love to see the team steal an entire quarter on a long drive by battering it down the field.
I also like what McFadden does catching the ball better then Dunbar. I'd really wish we would use McFadden strictly in those situations.
 
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