It’s time to Dak Prescott receive his flowers while playing at such a high level. The reactions to Prescott’s successes and failures are always a bit exaggerated due to the position it is in. He is the face of one of the most famous sports franchises in the world and has been largely successful throughout his tenure as a Cowboys quarterback.
His entire career has been under the microscope since he started in place of an injured Tony Romo in 2016 as a rookie. It’s about time we, as the football-watching community, come to terms with this fact about the Cowboys’ last great signalman: Dak Prescott is simply one of the league’s elite quarterbacks. Take it. It is the truth that you must read, the medicine that must nourish your physical and spiritual entities.
The biggest excuse for Prescott’s success as he played out his rookie contract was that he was a product of his surroundings – and his surroundings were undoubtedly great. The Cowboys offensive line was at its peak, Ezekiel Elliott He was immediately one of the best guards in the league as a rookie and there was a decent group of veteran players to throw. This is a core that would help any quarterback and playing with this group in 2016 certainly helped accelerate his development.
Here’s the thing though: The Cowboys’ offensive cast around Prescott hasn’t really improved over the past few years. Elliot, Tony Pollard and Lamb CeeDee are certainly good NFL players who would help any offense, but it’s not the same amount of overwhelming talent. Former All-Pro center Travis Frederick retired, star tackle La’el Collins is on a different team, All-Pro tackle Tyron Smith He’s played three games this year, and Dallas has struggled to find other receiving options outside of Lamb. That hasn’t really been a hindrance to Prescott’s production.
Since Prescott returned from a thumb injury in Week 7, he’s been the catalyst for the Cowboys’ offensive success. According to Ben Baldwin of The Athletic, Prescott ranks third among all quarterbacks with at least 200 games in expected points per game (0.266) and first in success rate (56.1%) since being reinserted into the starting lineup. His production has been elite since he was healthy, but of course the numbers can be a little misleading. The game tape shows a quarterback who is really composed just now.
Prescott is precise, totally masters this attack and is not afraid to go for big plays in the passing game. Sometimes this turns into turnovers for defense, however Prescott had a bad streak with interceptions over the past few weeks. Receivers throwing passes and watching the ball fall into the hands of defenders, poor communication about the timing and depth of runs – it hasn’t always been easy for Prescott this year. Still, he’s managed to make the Cowboys’ deadly passing game this season with plenty of movement and new plays around him.
Don’t waste time saying that Prescott stinks. If you were one of those people who said Cooper Rush was better than Dak Prescott, shame on you. Cling to reality. A young and great quarterback is preparing an incredible season before our eyes. It really is that simple. Don’t let anything else cloud your judgment here.
You don’t agree with me that Prescott is an elite quarterback? That’s fine, you can meet me at the logo where I’ll punch you right over the head until you respect Prescott for the magnificent player he’s become.
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