Another week. Another football coach giving Dak Prescott props for being good at his job.
Last week, Arizona Cardinals Defensive Coordinator, Nick Rallis ran off a list of ways Dak Prescott could beat a defense.
Unfortunately, that list did not include “behind an offensive line that is missing three starters and has Chuma Edoga in the left tackle position.”
This week, eight-time Super Bowl winner Bill Belichick was the one praising Prescott.
Unlike many Cowboys fans, Dak Prescott's struggles during Week 3 weren't enough for the Patriots head coach to write him off.
During a weekly film breakdown dubbed the “Belestrator,” Belichick identified the most impactful Dallas Cowboys players, from his perspective, on both sides of the ball.
The title of this post is a spoiler for one of them, but in the video (which can be found on the New England Patriots YouTube channel), he started with the defense.
“THESE TWO GUYS ARE REALLY A PROBLEM…”
When breaking down the Dallas Cowboys defense, Bill Belichick focused on DeMarcus Lawrence and Micah Parsons.
“These two guys are really a problem on the edge of the defense,” he said as he described what's become a common issue for many opposing offenses — running away from Lawrence only to run into Parsons or vice versa.
Now, there are a few analysts who seem to believe the best way to avoid dealing with Parsons, Lawrence, and the Cowboys pass rush is to run the ball.
After the Arizona Cardinals got away with 7.4 yards per carry against the Cowboys, a lot of observers became convinced that the ground game, especially outside runs, is the key to neutralizing the most dangerous parts of the Cowboys defense.
MULTIPLE PROBLEMS, ACTUALLY
There are two main problems with that line of thought, however.
Firstly, the Patriots don't have that great of a run game. Although it has improved somewhat with the acquisition of former Dallas Cowboy Ezekiel Elliott, the Patriots run game is still predictable, and too often, ineffectual.
Secondly, several members of the Cowboys' defense or especially motivated to prove that Week 3 was a fluke.
Micah Parsons said he learned a lot from their performance against the Cardinals.
Jayron Kearse said New England is, “not getting nothing close to [Week 3].”
And the words of these players are, honestly, just support from what we've already seen on the field.
In Week 1, the Cowboys allowed 108 yards rushing and 3.9 yards per carry.
In Week 2, they allowed 134 yards rushing and 3.0 yards per carry.
So the allowance of 222 yards rushing and 7.4 yards per carry already looks like an outlier from a statistical perspective.
Week 3 was odd from an observational standpoint as well.
One of the first things Defensive Coordinator Dan Quinn acknowledged during his press conference on Monday was that the Cowboys defense didn't look like themselves.
In a nutshell, there's no reason solid reason to believe that running the ball will save Mac Jones from having to deal with Micah Parsons and DeMarcus Lawrence.
The Cowboys' defense will return to their usual “earn the right to pass rush” philosophy, and we should see another dominant performance similar to how the season started.
“THOSE GUYS JUST DO A LOT OF DAMAGE”
When he got around to discussing the offense, Bill Belichick focused on what he called the “Big Three” — Dak Prescott, CeeDee Lamb, and Tony Pollard.
Belichick complimented Lamb's hands and route running.
Then, over video of CeeDee blocking for Tony Pollard, he added, “Lamb can do it all.”
The strengths of Tony Pollard he mentioned were Pollard's balance and ability to break tackles.
But the biggest clues to how Bill Belichick might try to stop the Dallas Cowboys offense lay in his remarks about Dak Prescott.
He acknowledged the skills of the Cowboys starting quarterback when he said, “Obviously, Prescott's one of the top quarterbacks in the league.”
When he went into detail, though, he mentioned Dak Prescott's patience in the pocket and ability to, at times, complete solid passes despite being pressured or hit.
“He can throw under pressure,” the coach said, “Certainly don't wanna give him a lot of time back there. He can put it on the money.”
Bill Belichick vs Dak Prescott
It sounds like Bill Belichick will make it a point to hurry Dak Prescott and throw off his timing.
With Tyron Smith out for the second week in a row, Chuma Edoga is expected to be a part of the offensive line again.
This author would not be surprised if Edoga became a point of focus for the Patriots' defensive line.
Anything to cut down on the amount of time Dak has to make a decision.
I'd also expect Belichick to try to make that decision-making as difficult as possible for Dak Prescott.
If Dak has trouble finding a target, or if something happens that makes him second guess a play call, his hesitation might allow enough time for a lineman to get to him or enough confusion to frustrate skill players, nullify their efforts, or botch the play entirely.
Hopefully, Dak was serious when he said he should perhaps use his feet a bit more.
Being prepared to take off with the ball might come in handy against an opponent who wants to disrupt Prescott's pocket poise.
Fans will discover how this all plays out when the Cowboys face the Patriots in Arlington on Sunday. Kickoff is set for 3:25 p.m. CST.
