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This is not the quarterback who burst onto the scene with the Cowboys three years ago.
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Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott (4) with the ball during first half of an NFL football game against the Washington Redskins, Sunday, Sept. 15, 2019, in Landover, Md. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)(Evan Vucci / AP) By David Moore
FRISCO — Dak Prescott was sporting the blue workout shirt and gray practice shorts he often wears when addressing the media. But something looked different. It must have been the cowboy boots.
Prescott and punter Chris Jones got into a conversation about shoes on the flight back from Washington. When Jones learned the quarterback of the Dallas Cowboys didn't own a pair of boots, well, he asked his teammate for a size and color scheme.
"Next thing you know, I got some boots," Prescott said.
Whether it's a blistering start that's beginning to alter the perception of who Dak Prescott is as a quarterback or his honky tonk footwear, change seems to be the theme these days. With a refined throwing motion, improved footwork and a new offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach, it's all coming together.
This is not the quarterback who burst onto the scene with the Cowboys three years ago. Put his throwing motion as a rookie next to what he's doing now, and the difference is dramatic.
"I'd say so," Prescott said Thursday. "Just look where my weight is.
The pass was on my front foot. It was heavy on my front foot. You saw my back foot leave the ground the majority of the time.
"It still does every now and then, I guess, depending on which throw it is. But if you look at it, it's more balanced throughout the throw."
Prescott trains with John Beck of 3DQB during the offseason. Beck is a former BYU quarterback who spent six years in the NFL. Tom House, the former Texas Rangers pitching coach, is also with 3DQB.
Athletic ability got Prescott to the NFL. He relied on his arm. Why not? That's what a quarterback uses to throw.
Prescott looks at it differently now. Pulling the shoulder as far back as he can and planting his back foot allows him to fire from his hips.
Breaking down the muscle and tightness in his torso, gaining more flexibility, allows him to twist and unwind with more force when his arm begins to move forward.
"For the most part, it's torque," Prescott said.
Cowboys quarterbacks coach Jon Kitna has stressed since joining the coaching staff earlier this year that Prescott's right foot and weight distribution are the keys. Kitna swears his arm strength and accuracy improved in his 11th year in the NFL because of what former St. Louis Rams coach Mike Martz taught him when Martz was the offensive coordinator in Detroit.
It's early, but Prescott is completing passes at an 82.3 percent clip to lead the NFL.
"A lot of it is just the work I've done in the offseason with the guys that I train with, then putting on top of that the footwork, just how demanding Kit is and the things he wants and expects of a quarterback," Prescott said. "I mean it all comes in together.
"And then when you're calling plays that are comfortable for me, it allows all of that to tie in together. Allows me to go out there and play free and rip the ball."
The plays Prescott refers to are being called by first-year coordinator Kellen Moore.
The results are striking to open this season. But Prescott will tell you this all began to click near the end of last season. There were a few throws he made during the playoffs that underscored his progress.
"That's definitely my body," Prescott remembers thinking to himself. "All the training I'm doing is paying off.
"To have another offseason of it and then a spring and getting into training camp, it's definitely working.
"I'm sure there are some things I implemented that are different. But for the most part it was just work, putting in those hours of breaking old habits and making a new habit when it comes to throwing the ball."
That included countless repetition.
Have you seen people practice their golf swings in public with no clubs? That's what Prescott will do with his throwing motion. He does it constantly when walking around his home, leaving him to wonder what his dogs think.
Now, he can do it while wearing cowboy boots.
"I've learned over the last year, year-and-a-half I guess, how to use my lower body," Prescott said. "How to use everything from the ankle all the way up to the torque of my body, and allowing that all to make the ball to come out easy, free flowing.
"It's definitely paying off."
Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott (4) with the ball during first half of an NFL football game against the Washington Redskins, Sunday, Sept. 15, 2019, in Landover, Md. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)(Evan Vucci / AP) By David Moore
FRISCO — Dak Prescott was sporting the blue workout shirt and gray practice shorts he often wears when addressing the media. But something looked different. It must have been the cowboy boots.
Prescott and punter Chris Jones got into a conversation about shoes on the flight back from Washington. When Jones learned the quarterback of the Dallas Cowboys didn't own a pair of boots, well, he asked his teammate for a size and color scheme.
"Next thing you know, I got some boots," Prescott said.
Whether it's a blistering start that's beginning to alter the perception of who Dak Prescott is as a quarterback or his honky tonk footwear, change seems to be the theme these days. With a refined throwing motion, improved footwork and a new offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach, it's all coming together.
This is not the quarterback who burst onto the scene with the Cowboys three years ago. Put his throwing motion as a rookie next to what he's doing now, and the difference is dramatic.
"I'd say so," Prescott said Thursday. "Just look where my weight is.
The pass was on my front foot. It was heavy on my front foot. You saw my back foot leave the ground the majority of the time.
"It still does every now and then, I guess, depending on which throw it is. But if you look at it, it's more balanced throughout the throw."
Prescott trains with John Beck of 3DQB during the offseason. Beck is a former BYU quarterback who spent six years in the NFL. Tom House, the former Texas Rangers pitching coach, is also with 3DQB.
Athletic ability got Prescott to the NFL. He relied on his arm. Why not? That's what a quarterback uses to throw.
Prescott looks at it differently now. Pulling the shoulder as far back as he can and planting his back foot allows him to fire from his hips.
Breaking down the muscle and tightness in his torso, gaining more flexibility, allows him to twist and unwind with more force when his arm begins to move forward.
"For the most part, it's torque," Prescott said.
Cowboys quarterbacks coach Jon Kitna has stressed since joining the coaching staff earlier this year that Prescott's right foot and weight distribution are the keys. Kitna swears his arm strength and accuracy improved in his 11th year in the NFL because of what former St. Louis Rams coach Mike Martz taught him when Martz was the offensive coordinator in Detroit.
It's early, but Prescott is completing passes at an 82.3 percent clip to lead the NFL.
"A lot of it is just the work I've done in the offseason with the guys that I train with, then putting on top of that the footwork, just how demanding Kit is and the things he wants and expects of a quarterback," Prescott said. "I mean it all comes in together.
"And then when you're calling plays that are comfortable for me, it allows all of that to tie in together. Allows me to go out there and play free and rip the ball."
The plays Prescott refers to are being called by first-year coordinator Kellen Moore.
The results are striking to open this season. But Prescott will tell you this all began to click near the end of last season. There were a few throws he made during the playoffs that underscored his progress.
"That's definitely my body," Prescott remembers thinking to himself. "All the training I'm doing is paying off.
"To have another offseason of it and then a spring and getting into training camp, it's definitely working.
"I'm sure there are some things I implemented that are different. But for the most part it was just work, putting in those hours of breaking old habits and making a new habit when it comes to throwing the ball."
That included countless repetition.
Have you seen people practice their golf swings in public with no clubs? That's what Prescott will do with his throwing motion. He does it constantly when walking around his home, leaving him to wonder what his dogs think.
Now, he can do it while wearing cowboy boots.
"I've learned over the last year, year-and-a-half I guess, how to use my lower body," Prescott said. "How to use everything from the ankle all the way up to the torque of my body, and allowing that all to make the ball to come out easy, free flowing.
"It's definitely paying off."
