The spotlight around America’s Team always shines brighter, and that’s no different here in the early stages of the 2018 NFL season. Any slight bit of controversy or failure seems to be completely blown out of proportion by both the local and mainstream media. This year is a lot of the same for quarterback Dak Prescott and the Dallas Cowboys.
After a roller-coaster offseason that saw receiving leaders Dez Bryant and Jason Witten depart, pretty much everyone around the team seems to be panicking about the Cowboys offense and how it will perform. From the wise words of college football’s Lee Corso, not so fast my friends!
Even though the initial word out of Cowboys camp isn’t the best, it is most definitely too early to hit the panic button. It’s only the beginning of August and the team has yet to put on their game uniforms. This seems to be an overreaction.
As of Monday, Dak’s numbers in team and seven-on-seven portions of practice aren’t looking as strong as his critics would like. He’s 67 of 93 through the air with three touchdowns and four interceptions. It can be noted none of the touchdowns have been to a wide receiver.
Obviously the turnovers are always a concern, but the sample size seems much too small to get worked up over. Practice makes perfect sounds cliché, but its an actual fact in the NFL.
Prescott and his receivers have only had a few organized practices together, so how can expectations be so high? A lot of NFL passing schemes’ success is based around familiarity and timing. Running the same routes over and over until the quarterback and receiver can connect on out routes practically blindfolded. This takes time for most players, especially when many of them are so youthful and inexperienced like the Cowboys are.
Michael Gallup is a rookie. Noah Brown has four career receptions. Allen Hurns, Deonte Thompson and Tavon Austin are in their first year with the team. There is no way this unit should be clicking on all cylinders in the opening weeks of camp.
On top of the inexperience, physically being on the field for every practice would help as well. Dallas hasn’t had that luxury as the majority of these guys are overcoming some sort of injury. The most crucial of these are Hurns’ groin and veteran Terrance Williams’ surgically repaired foot. The Cowboys anticipate both of them to be vital parts of this season’s passing game.
“It’s challenging, but it’s not tough,” Prescott said, according to the Associated Press. “That is what you want. Those guys are going to be rotating in the game. So we have to go ahead and get in out here … so I can gain chemistry with all of them and figure out who is a guy I can call on in that time.”
The most overlooked part of Dak’s early struggles seem to be that people are forgetting the identity of this offense. Like the past few years, the Cowboys will undoubtedly run, and I sure mean run, with stud running back Ezekiel Elliott behind their perennial powerhouse offensive line.
Dak doesn’t need to be a stat monster who throws for 30 touchdowns. The Cowboys need the efficient quarterback they had in 2016 who completed nearly 68 percent of his passes and rarely turned the ball over. If Elliott can stay on the field for 16 games, this offense will be leaps and bounds better than last year.
Although the loss of Bryant on the outside seems to be a gaping hole Dallas hasn’t filled, the numbers might tell you otherwise. Over the course of Prescott’s first two seasons, Dez averaged just 59 receptions and 817 yards. With his size and physicality, Hurns should be able to duplicate this production.
Obviously every team and player wants to start a new season on a high note and as well as they can, but sometimes it’s just not feasible. The pressure is clearly on Prescott this year and no matter how great Elliott and the running game is, the quarterback will need to have great moments for Dallas to be where they want to be come January. It is the beginning of August, however, so please pump the breaks on panicking – for at least a few weeks.
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