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By Jon Machota 2h ago
FRISCO, Texas — Dak Prescott looked down for a few seconds to process his answer and then he laughed.
How eager is the Cowboys quarterback to finally get hit?
“I mean, I’m excited for when that moment comes, but I wouldn’t say I’m eager,” Prescott said. “I think it’d be great to come out of that game not touching the ground, but how realistic is that? Obviously, it doesn’t sound very realistic. But I’m just excited for that moment, just to get it out of the way, after 11 months without being hit. I’m just excited for everything this game entails, from warmups, to pregame, to the first whistle to the last, and everything in between.”
When Prescott takes the field Thursday night in Tampa Bay, it will have been 333 days since he last played in a regular-season game. A lengthy rehabilitation from multiple ankle surgeries and then a strained throwing shoulder removed any chance of him getting hit in a practice or a preseason game.
Going up against a defending Super Bowl champion Buccaneers defensive front seven that includes Ndamukong Suh, Vita Vea, William Gholston, Jason Pierre-Paul, Devin White and Shaquil Barrett isn’t a great recipe for keeping your quarterback clean. Those six combined for 37.5 sacks and 88 quarterback hits in 2020. That averages out to 5.5 QB hits and nearly 2.5 sacks per game from those six players alone. Tampa Bay’s 48 team sacks last year were tied for fourth most in the NFL.
Then the Cowboys learned over the weekend that they will be without All-Pro right guard Zack Martin for the season opener because of a positive COVID-19 test. Ezekiel Elliott calls Martin the team’s best offensive player. Most would say he’s at least their best offensive lineman.
Missing key offensive linemen proved to be a disaster for Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs in the Super Bowl while facing Tampa Bay’s loaded defense last February. Mahomes was sacked three times while completing only 53 percent of his passes for 270 yards, no touchdowns and two interceptions. His 52.3 passer rating is the lowest he has posted in eight postseason starts and 46 regular-season starts.
The Cowboys are hoping the return of standout offensive tackles Tyron Smith and La’el Collins can absorb some of the blow of being without Martin. Smith missed 14 games last season because of a neck issue. Collins missed all 16 because of a hip injury. Even with the offensive line banged up early last season, Prescott put up impressive numbers. In the first four games before suffering a compound fracture and dislocation to his ankle, Prescott averaged 423 passing yards per game, with nine passing touchdowns and three rushing touchdowns.
He’s expecting to pick up right where he left off.
“Obviously, I have high expectations for myself,” Prescott said. “I plan to come out starting fast. I’ve said before, I don’t necessarily want the numbers that I had that early because we weren’t winning games and we weren’t being competitive early, and that’s why some of those numbers came about. I plan to come out better than I was last year, to be honest. That’s just the work that I’ve put in going all the way back to February when I got back on the field. I’m excited for it.”
Phil Simms, the former New York Giants’ two-time Super Bowl-winning quarterback, needs to see more to believe Prescott is all the way back.
The NFL on CBS analyst wasn’t surprised that Prescott strained the latissimus in his right shoulder early in training camp.
“When that plant leg is not feeling right for a quarterback, he had to make some adjustments to get power on the football,” Simms said during a recent NFL on CBS conference call. “So he changed the way he threw the football. When you change, the body wasn’t ready for it, put too much pressure on it, and that’s what we saw.
“So I’m really interested to see. I watched ‘Hard Knocks’ just to watch him throw during one of the practices. It looked OK, but I didn’t see him put any mustard on the football, no power at all. It’s really something to watch, and fortunately, he’s (had) maybe some time to really heal up, and when they start that first game against Tampa Bay, he can let the football go.”
Entering training camp, Prescott’s surgically repaired right ankle was the Cowboys’ biggest storyline. While he moved well and looked like his old self throughout organized team activities and minicamp, Prescott wasn’t facing a real pass rush. When he was in team drill situations, there wasn’t a defensive line on the field to prevent the chance of a player accidentally rolling into his legs. He was expected to see some type of pass rush in camp, although defenders are instructed not to even touch the quarterbacks. The final test of the ankle was expected to come in a preseason game.
But those plans quickly changed on July 28 when Prescott felt tightness in his throwing shoulder early in practice. The Cowboys’ athletic training staff decided the best approach was to stop his throwing for a few days. That turned into weeks. Prescott slowly worked back into his regular routine, throwing off to the side or in individual periods while being on a limited pitch count. He didn’t throw again in a competitive period (seven-on-seven or team drills) until Aug. 25.
“Obviously after any injury, when you come back there’s a period,” former Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo said on the NFL on CBS conference call, “you always feel like you’re good and you’re practicing and you feel good, but nothing can duplicate actually being in the game. I always wanted to play in the preseason. … I always wanted personally at least one series at home and one series on the road because they’re different.
“From a quarterback perspective, when you’re on the road, changing a play is very different than changing a play at home. I think that that’s something that you’ve got new receivers sometimes, you have a new offensive line, you have a new running back, whatever it is, you have new plays and you have new verbiage on how to change plays and you try to streamline it and make it simple, so it’s just one word or one hand signal.
“To me, I always wanted that. I think that’s going to be something that, can he overcome it? Sure. It might be a drive or two. You might have perfect plays called and you might score on the first drive or two because you had the perfect scheme set up.
“I do think there will be a slight adjustment when the plays are difficult and everything doesn’t go perfect. I think when you’ve played a little bit, that speed, it’s hard to duplicate. But I think Dak will be fine. I think it’s just a period of time trusting himself and slowly getting back.”
COVID-19 wiped out the preseason last year, and Prescott started the season strong. He doesn’t feel like the offense will be behind because of the experience the group has built over the past few seasons. Having three No. 1 caliber wide receivers and multiple veterans at tight end and running back definitely helps. CeeDee Lamb and Amari Cooper are about as quarterback-friendly as you can get at wide receiver. Lamb was outstanding as a rookie despite playing with four starting quarterbacks, a far-from-normal training camp and no preseason games. Cooper and Prescott hit the ground running after Cooper was traded to the Cowboys in the middle of the 2018 season.
It might take a few series or even a game or two to knock off some rust, but ultimately Prescott thinks this is a group that can be “real special” and have a chance to be the NFL’s best offense.
Cowboys coach Mike McCarthy said last Friday that there are no limitations in their game-planning for the Buccaneers in regards to Prescott. “He’s full-go.”
Prescott said he started feeling all the way back two weeks ago. There was no soreness that followed his practice reps, which was a good sign that the shoulder strain was no longer an issue. He said that was the first time he started ripping passes and not even thinking about his shoulder.
“I’m ready,” Prescott said. “I’m definitely ready. I’m excited. I put in a lot of work to get to this point. Whether it was months ago, just rehabbing the ankle, to the last few months keeping the feet working while I let my arm rest. There is so much work I put into this I’m just excited to go out there and be a part of the full game. Just being out there with my brothers and getting to do something I love.”
Has the past year gone by like a blur or has it seemed like it has taken forever?
“It definitely hasn’t been a blur, but time goes fast,” Prescott said. “Time goes fast when you’re focused on all the small things and all the details. If you’re just trying to accomplish all those small victories that are within each day, that allows the day to go by faster. When I look back now, it’s kind of flown by, it has. But it definitely wasn’t a blur because everything was very purposeful. Everything I was doing with the game, away from the game, just trying to make myself a better person, a better player and it’s just exciting. I know everything has just been cultivated for this moment.”
