First-year players for the Dallas Cowboys deserve a lot of credit as to the reason why this team is on an impressive 11 game winning streak and has already clinched a spot in the playoffs.
Ezekiel Elliott, Maliek Collins, Anthony Brown, and especially Dak Prescott have been simply outstanding so far in 2016 and they all look like centerpieces for the organization for years to come.
I don’t know about you, but I’ve kind of been waiting for these rookies to hit that “rookie wall” for some time now. Fortunately, they are all still playing at a very high level and there really are no signs of them slowing down anytime soon.
Dak Prescott has arguably been the biggest surprise and has really looked more like a veteran QB then a player in his first year in the NFL. He has been unflappable so far, which is why the Dallas Cowboys are the first team in the NFL to clinch a playoff spot.
Having said that though, it looks as if teams are starting to figure out a way to fluster the rookie QB just a little bit these past few games.
This is really only natural considering that there’s more game film out there now of Prescott running an NFL offense. Teams are starting to get a grasp on his strengths and weaknesses. They are starting to game plan ways to make things as difficult as possible for the young signal caller.
Defensive coverages are starting to get more complex and more pressure packages are being dialed up to make #4 have to make quicker decisions with the ball. Unfortunately, things are only going to get more difficult from here on out, especially once the Cowboys get in the playoffs.
Now, don’t get me wrong. I’m not saying that Dak Prescott is going to fold under the pressure. In fact, he has continued to find ways to win games when the odds were against him.
The game last week against the Minnesota Vikings was evidence enough that Prescott can make just enough plays at the right time to give his team a chance to win the game.
The Vikings have arguably one of, if not the best defense in the entire NFL. This is the caliber of defenses the Dallas Cowboys will see in the playoffs and it was encouraging to see how Prescott performed, despite continuously being put in bad down and distances the majority of the game.
This was exactly the type of learning experience that Dak Prescott and the rest of the young Dallas Cowboys needed to put things into perspective.
When faced with adversity, you have to continue to grind things out. You never know what the outcome will be in the end.
Teams may be starting to figure out how to fluster Dak Prescott a little more, but fortunately he’s not the only one suiting up for the Dallas Cowboys.
The Dallas Cowboys offense is well-balanced with playmakers all over the field. Prescott can neither win or lose a game by himself. He has his teammates to lean on when times get tough and there is no reason to believe this team can’t continue to overcome any obstacles in their way.
Things may become a little bit more difficult for Prescott, but his unflappable nature will be why this year’s team will be a force to reckon with the rest of the season and especially in the playoffs.
Do you Agree or Disagree?
Please feel free to use the comment section below to share your thoughts and opinions on this topic.
We need to stop giving credit to the QB for wins simply because they are the QB. Dak didn’t figure out how win the game despite his struggle, the team figured out how to win despite no passing game from their QB. Dak played a terrible game and they won in spite of him not because of him. This the same golden boy Kool-Aid swilling mentality that lead to the decision to play him over Romo once Romo was healthy. The Boys have had a soft schedule so far but Dak has a shown that if you can put pressure on he does not play well. The media calls this poor play proof of his greatness because the team still won. That is Kool-Aid drinking at its best People are to easily impressed that he has been able to play well with a great running game, a clean pocket, great receivers and a defense that steps up when needed. If you can’t play in those conditions you shouldn’t be a QB in the NFL. Can he do what Romo did in 2014 when he went into Seattle or when he beat the Saints in the Super Dome? Can he throw for 4 TDS and 400 yards if he needs to? Playing a rookie over a QB who is one ring away from a gold jacket is baffling and when the Cowboys have to play better teams they are trouble. Ask yourself what is Dak’s best game against a team you expect to make the playoffs and then ask why you think he is ready to play Seattle in the NFC championship.
Ray, I agree with a lot of what you said. I do however believe that Prescott was still a big reason why the Cowboys were able to beat Minnesota. The one deep pass to Dez Bryant alone put the Cowboys back in the game. Yes, he can’t win or lose a game by himself, but he is doing what he is supposed to…protecting the ball and making plays when it matters. I agree that Romo might be the better QB, but you can’t deny the successes team has had with Prescott.
There is a natural phase of course for a rookie or new-starter QB where defenses amass enough film on him to figure out tendencies, then it is up to the player to adjust again in response. Good reason to draft someone with football smarts and poise for the position.
So in that aspect I don’t worry much about Dak’s next phase of development. The coaches have given him a laundry list for his game so far in 2016 – going back to mini-camp, and all he does is accept that coaching and implement it.
With respect to heavy blitzing or exotic blitzing & coverage packages, Dak has already been seeing that of course and it is absolutely up to team offense to handle it. Up front & blocking RB have to do their best job to ID and stone blitzers, Dak has to read it instantly, and then somebody has to become the hot receiver. Nothing is worse than seeing a kitchen sink blitz that you can’t fully pick up, and then nobody broke off their route to give your QB a chance to get a completion against it.
And of course when you do that right, you can often get a big play out of it. So, bring it… ;^)
Russ, thanks for commenting. I agree with everything you said, but it’s that adjustment phase that might need to be sped up just a little bit. You certainly don’t want Prescott going through that phase in the playoffs. I personally think he will be fine as long as offense doesn’t continuously put him in the long down the distances like they did against the Vikings.
The defense gets the most credit for the win over Minnesota, but Prescott had a 108.3 passer rating. The real problem with the offense was that the plays on 1st&10 were mostly runs that mostly kept getting stuffed. The play calling did not adjust to what Minnesota was doing. Nothing against Elliott, Minnesota was obviously keying on him on 1st&10. There were 17 1st&10 plays. 11 were Elliot rush plays; 6 for 2 or less yds, 2 for 4 yds, 1 for 6 yds, & 2 for 10 yds. Dallas kept getting into obvious passing downs against Minnesota’s #2 in the NFL pass defense. It is amazing Prescott did as well as he did. There was a called run on 1st&goal at 8 yds that Prescott checked off to a TD pass to Dez Bryant.
Thanks for the info Byron. I think it’s pretty well known that the Cowboys are going to try to run the ball on first down the majority of the time. I think the biggest problem against Minnesota was the fact that penalties and turnovers continued to back up the Cowboys offense in a long down and distances. It was an all around ugly performance by pretty much the whole team, but they still managed to come together and win the game.