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By Calvin Watkins 3h ago
The noise comes from different areas. Fans, media, opponents. Maybe even teammates. Dak Prescott has become skilled at muting that noise.
“My mom is always one of those people that (says) ‘Pull your head out of your ass and do this and do that,’” Prescott said. “I never cared too often, being from where I come from, not having much. You never really cared what somebody thought about you or thought about the shit you wore or this and that. You had confidence in whatever you’re doing. I think it’s just always been a part of me.”
This isn’t new territory for Prescott, but scrutiny increased this spring when he began negotiating a new contract with the Cowboys. He most likely will receive the largest deal in franchise history. Prescott’s value has been hotly debated by Cowboys fans, but one thing is clear: It does not matter whether you believe he deserves a deal or not. He’s going to get one.
The Cowboys believe Prescott is the face of their franchise. Dallas took the same approach with Tony Romo during his career. Romo was a good quarterback who stabilized the position, but his teams struggled in the postseason. Winning a championship is the standard for Cowboys quarterbacks. You could argue the franchise has been spoiled; Troy Aikman (three titles) and Roger Staubach (two titles), along with their respective supporting casts, set a high bar. Joe Namath is treated like a king in New York for winning a single Super Bowl with the Jets. Winning a title can change a quarterback’s perception overnight. With Prescott entering the fourth year of his career, his goal is to reach that level of respect. As it stands, Cowboys Nation, at least a portion of it, has its share of skeptics.
Prescott rarely acknowledges the criticism, but he senses it more than most realize. Sources indicate that, privately, Prescott says he doesn’t want you on his bandwagon if you weren’t there from the beginning. He ignores doubters because his own desire to be great never wavered.
Prescott trusts his coaches and teammates to hold him accountable more than anybody else.
“It’s elevating, it’s standards, it’s expectations,” Prescott said. “Why get mad at somebody if they’re trying to raise my expectations? My expectations are already (high), and that’s my point. Anybody that’s coached me or trained me knows that it’s not a sense of having to ride somebody’s ass. Some players are like that, some players need that.”
Prescott set career highs for completions (356), attempts (526) and yards (3,885) in 2018. He was also sacked an alarming 56 times last year, after going down 28 and 32 times in 2016 and 2017, respectively. (If you want to find out why, join Bob Sturm as he breaks down every sack the Cowboys allowed this season). With new offensive coordinator Kellen Moore calling the plays in 2019, there’s an expectation Prescott will attempt more passes on the move. The Cowboys will also likely run quicker routes with the addition of Randall Cobb to the offense, limiting the pressure on Prescott. The return of All-Pro center Travis Frederick will provide another boost to the Dallas offense.
Prescott challenges himself daily with the goal of bringing a championship to Dallas. It’s no different than what Romo did when he was the starter. And as Romo saw, the noise grows a little each year the fanbase sees another team win a Super Bowl. Prescott can’t worry about what you think of him. It serves no purpose.
“(The coaches) all know me pretty well and they know I’m very hard on myself,” Prescott said. “I know what I’m doing right or wrong. Actually, they literally don’t (get in my ear); I go to them and ask questions more than them coming to me and saying something.”
Prescott is an average quarterback looking to elevate his game. The gist of fans’ criticism is simple: Why pay an average quarterback like an elite one? Reality offers a difficult answer: The Cowboys have to pay what the market dictates for quarterbacks. You can partially blame Kirk Cousins for this. In 2018, Cousins signed a fully guaranteed three-year, $84 million contract with the Minnesota Vikings. Prescott and Cousins are essentially on the same tier. According to Football Outsiders, Cousins finished 19th in the NFL with a 2.7 percent DVOA (Defensive-adjusted value over average). Prescott was 26th at -8.1 percent. DVOA is a rate stat which evaluates quarterbacks against the average at their position. ESPN’s QBR, meanwhile, ranked Cousins 14th and Prescott 17th.
Pro-Football-Reference calculates an Approximate Value for each player. Among quarterbacks, the Chiefs’ Patrick Mahomes was rated No. 1 with a mark of 22. Prescott tied for eighth at 14. Prescott had the same mark as Philip Rivers, Ben Roethlisberger, Russell Wilson and Tom Brady. Cousins finished the year with an AV of 12. We’re not saying Prescott is as good as Brady or Roethlisberger. Not even close. But Prescott is a rising talent whom the Cowboys value, which justifies the large contract he’ll receive this Summer.
Would you like to see Prescott produce better numbers? Of course. Everybody would. Prescott finished just 24th among quarterbacks in yards gained per pass completion (10.9). He was 16th in passing touchdowns (22) and 21st in plays of 20+ yards (39).
Those metrics should improve, given what Cooper and Cobb bring to the offense as well as Moore’s experimentation.
There’s more to like about Prescott’s game than there is to dislike. He led five game-winning drives last season and finished 10th with a 67.7 percent completion percentage. He threw only eight interceptions. But criticism persists.
Prescott does not need to prove his value to skeptics; he’ll sign an enormous contract in short order. All he can do is continue to block out the noise and help his team win games.
“In college it’s just kinda the same way,” Prescott said. “If I did some bonehead shit maybe my coach would get on me, but for the most part, I think if you’ve been around me or seen how I work or coached me then you know how hard I am on myself.”
By Calvin Watkins 3h ago
The noise comes from different areas. Fans, media, opponents. Maybe even teammates. Dak Prescott has become skilled at muting that noise.
“My mom is always one of those people that (says) ‘Pull your head out of your ass and do this and do that,’” Prescott said. “I never cared too often, being from where I come from, not having much. You never really cared what somebody thought about you or thought about the shit you wore or this and that. You had confidence in whatever you’re doing. I think it’s just always been a part of me.”
This isn’t new territory for Prescott, but scrutiny increased this spring when he began negotiating a new contract with the Cowboys. He most likely will receive the largest deal in franchise history. Prescott’s value has been hotly debated by Cowboys fans, but one thing is clear: It does not matter whether you believe he deserves a deal or not. He’s going to get one.
The Cowboys believe Prescott is the face of their franchise. Dallas took the same approach with Tony Romo during his career. Romo was a good quarterback who stabilized the position, but his teams struggled in the postseason. Winning a championship is the standard for Cowboys quarterbacks. You could argue the franchise has been spoiled; Troy Aikman (three titles) and Roger Staubach (two titles), along with their respective supporting casts, set a high bar. Joe Namath is treated like a king in New York for winning a single Super Bowl with the Jets. Winning a title can change a quarterback’s perception overnight. With Prescott entering the fourth year of his career, his goal is to reach that level of respect. As it stands, Cowboys Nation, at least a portion of it, has its share of skeptics.
Prescott rarely acknowledges the criticism, but he senses it more than most realize. Sources indicate that, privately, Prescott says he doesn’t want you on his bandwagon if you weren’t there from the beginning. He ignores doubters because his own desire to be great never wavered.
Prescott trusts his coaches and teammates to hold him accountable more than anybody else.
“It’s elevating, it’s standards, it’s expectations,” Prescott said. “Why get mad at somebody if they’re trying to raise my expectations? My expectations are already (high), and that’s my point. Anybody that’s coached me or trained me knows that it’s not a sense of having to ride somebody’s ass. Some players are like that, some players need that.”
Prescott set career highs for completions (356), attempts (526) and yards (3,885) in 2018. He was also sacked an alarming 56 times last year, after going down 28 and 32 times in 2016 and 2017, respectively. (If you want to find out why, join Bob Sturm as he breaks down every sack the Cowboys allowed this season). With new offensive coordinator Kellen Moore calling the plays in 2019, there’s an expectation Prescott will attempt more passes on the move. The Cowboys will also likely run quicker routes with the addition of Randall Cobb to the offense, limiting the pressure on Prescott. The return of All-Pro center Travis Frederick will provide another boost to the Dallas offense.
Prescott challenges himself daily with the goal of bringing a championship to Dallas. It’s no different than what Romo did when he was the starter. And as Romo saw, the noise grows a little each year the fanbase sees another team win a Super Bowl. Prescott can’t worry about what you think of him. It serves no purpose.
“(The coaches) all know me pretty well and they know I’m very hard on myself,” Prescott said. “I know what I’m doing right or wrong. Actually, they literally don’t (get in my ear); I go to them and ask questions more than them coming to me and saying something.”
Prescott is an average quarterback looking to elevate his game. The gist of fans’ criticism is simple: Why pay an average quarterback like an elite one? Reality offers a difficult answer: The Cowboys have to pay what the market dictates for quarterbacks. You can partially blame Kirk Cousins for this. In 2018, Cousins signed a fully guaranteed three-year, $84 million contract with the Minnesota Vikings. Prescott and Cousins are essentially on the same tier. According to Football Outsiders, Cousins finished 19th in the NFL with a 2.7 percent DVOA (Defensive-adjusted value over average). Prescott was 26th at -8.1 percent. DVOA is a rate stat which evaluates quarterbacks against the average at their position. ESPN’s QBR, meanwhile, ranked Cousins 14th and Prescott 17th.
Pro-Football-Reference calculates an Approximate Value for each player. Among quarterbacks, the Chiefs’ Patrick Mahomes was rated No. 1 with a mark of 22. Prescott tied for eighth at 14. Prescott had the same mark as Philip Rivers, Ben Roethlisberger, Russell Wilson and Tom Brady. Cousins finished the year with an AV of 12. We’re not saying Prescott is as good as Brady or Roethlisberger. Not even close. But Prescott is a rising talent whom the Cowboys value, which justifies the large contract he’ll receive this Summer.
Would you like to see Prescott produce better numbers? Of course. Everybody would. Prescott finished just 24th among quarterbacks in yards gained per pass completion (10.9). He was 16th in passing touchdowns (22) and 21st in plays of 20+ yards (39).
Those metrics should improve, given what Cooper and Cobb bring to the offense as well as Moore’s experimentation.
There’s more to like about Prescott’s game than there is to dislike. He led five game-winning drives last season and finished 10th with a 67.7 percent completion percentage. He threw only eight interceptions. But criticism persists.
Prescott does not need to prove his value to skeptics; he’ll sign an enormous contract in short order. All he can do is continue to block out the noise and help his team win games.
“In college it’s just kinda the same way,” Prescott said. “If I did some bonehead shit maybe my coach would get on me, but for the most part, I think if you’ve been around me or seen how I work or coached me then you know how hard I am on myself.”
