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- Apr 7, 2013
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By Jon Machota
6h ago
OXNARD, Calif. — Dak Prescott paused for a moment to think about it. With RB Ezekiel Elliott and CB Anthony Brown no longer on the roster, the Cowboys’ franchise quarterback is the lone remaining member from the team’s nine-man 2016 draft class.
“I guess after (those) last two departures, it did hit me,” Prescott said Thursday, speaking after the Cowboys’ second training camp practice. “And yeah, it’s interesting. It just speaks to urgency. Yeah, I’m blessed to play this game, blessed to be in this organization. But as you see, it’s a business, it’s not forever for everybody. And I know what I want to do. I know what I want to accomplish. I know what this team wants. And it’s about that now.”
Micah Parsons is Dallas’ best player, but Prescott is the team’s most important. The goal is to win the Super Bowl this season. Without Prescott having a big year, it’s difficult to envision the Cowboys playing for it all Feb. 11 in Las Vegas.
Prescott had an up-and-down end to one of the most disappointing of his seven seasons. He posted a 91.1 passer rating, second-lowest of his career, and threw a career-high 15 interceptions in only 12 games. He missed five games after fracturing his right thumb in the season opener.
What was particularly odd was how he finished the regular season with one of the worst games of his career in a loss at Washington. He then had arguably the best game of his career in Dallas’ wild-card win at Tampa Bay. But another one of his worst performances immediately followed in a divisional-round loss at San Francisco.
Against the Buccaneers, Prescott completed 75.7 percent of his passes for 305 yards, four passing TDs and one rushing TD. His passer rating was 143.3.
In the two games against Washington and San Francisco, he combined for only 334 passing yards with two touchdowns and three interceptions. His passer rating against Washington was 45.8. It was 63.6 against the 49ers.
https://theathletic.com/4724670/2023/07/27/cowboys-training-camp-trevon-diggs-tony-pollard/
“Only thing that I can do is get up and keep swinging,” Prescott said. “And that’s exactly what I’m gonna do every chance that I get. So every opportunity to come out here and practice is about being purposeful. It’s about understanding and making sure the young guys understand that we’ve got to be purposeful and intentional in everything that we do, because we don’t know when these reps are going to come up. Me personally, and this team, we’ve been bit by that the last couple of years when we needed it.
“It’s just about not taking a play for granted, not taking a moment or walk-through for granted, communicating our asses off. Just putting our best foot forward each and every day.”
With head coach Mike McCarthy taking over as offensive play caller, the hope is that they will get more consistency from their franchise QB.
It’s been difficult to notice any significant changes to the offense through two training camp practices. McCarthy noted Thursday that the biggest change from last year will likely be the protection in the passing game. New offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer has said that 70 percent of the offense will be similar to last year.
Their biggest offensive addition this offseason was the trade for veteran wide receiver Brandin Cooks. After parting ways with Amari Cooper last year, Dallas did not adequately replace his services on the roster. Michael Gallup was not fully back to the player he was before his knee injury. Rookie Jalen Tolbert didn’t contribute much after being drafted in the third round.
With Gallup now feeling all the way back and CeeDee Lamb continuing to ascend among the NFL’s best wide receivers, Cooks could end up being exactly what the offense was missing. He’s an experienced player with speed and quickness that has been noticeable during minicamp and early at training camp.
Cooks was asked Thursday how Prescott compares to some of the other quarterbacks he has played with, which includes two of the greatest, Tom Brady and Drew Brees.
“I don’t get into comparing, but the one thing I see about Dak is the way he’s able to lead,” Cooks said. “Leading, you just can’t fake it. And the way that Dak leads, so authentic, you’ll follow that man anywhere. That alone is the No. 1 key in my opinion that you have to have in a quarterback, and he has that and more.”
There’s no question that Prescott’s interception number has to come down. It has never been an issue before last season.
“What last year represented relative to turnovers was unexpected,” Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said of Prescott. “I expect to see what we expect from Dak, which is don’t turn the ball over, be protective of the ball. When I think of Dak, that’s the first thing that comes to my mind. That’s what he does good.”
Some might be concerned to know that Prescott has thrown two interceptions in the first two camp practices. Like last season, not all were on him. There was a dropped pass by WR Simi Fehoko on Wednesday in seven-on-seven work that he absolutely should have caught. It bounced up and into the hands of rookie CB Eric Scott. On Thursday, Nahshon Wright made an impressive grab on a Prescott deep ball intended for Tolbert.
“Once again, just gotta look at what the play is, look at the read and understand that it is football,” Prescott said. “(Wednesday’s interception) was tough and (Thursday’s) was 50/50, maybe the ball gave them a little more percentage, I guess. But that’s part of it. I’m not gonna stop being aggressive. … I am going to lessen my interception numbers. That is a guarantee.
“We’re trying to gain chemistry here and we’re trying to be aggressive. That’s who our coach is and that’s who I am. That’s the confidence I’ve gained in myself and I’ve worked so hard to be able to have this confidence and be able to make the throws that I’m making. That’s just two, right? If it continues every day, come back to me and I might change my mood a little bit.”
Dallas has a defense capable of being the league’s best. It should only help Prescott and the offense to face that group on a daily basis. It’s also a defense that should take pressure off Prescott on Sundays. If both sides of the ball can get some luck in the health department, this has the potential to be the best team Prescott has quarterbacked.
The best so far has probably been 2016, his rookie year. The Cowboys won 13 games. They were NFC East champs and the No. 1 seed in the NFC playoffs. Prescott won NFL Rookie of the Year. At the time, offensive coordinator Scott Linehan told the young QB to enjoy it because of how difficult it is to consistently win in the NFL.
“The way my rookie year went,” Prescott said, “it kind of messed my head up. And I didn’t think that it was going to be as hard as it’s been the six years following. But I don’t want anything that’s easy. I’ve never gotten anything easy in my life. I don’t ask for anything and I’m damn sure not going to start now.”
