I don’t think Dak Prescott’s biggest problem as a Cowboy is between the 20-yard lines. I know the Dak haters will say his problem is he folds under pressure. Well, this article isn’t about folding, that’s just an opinion.
We all know from social media that it’s much easier for fans to have the same conversation about Dak Prescott year in and year out. Well, I’m tired of that conversation.
When I looked at PFF’s QB Annual I didn’t see a player that fell apart when he had room to work, but that right there is the key to it all. He needs room to work.
When we get to his red zone numbers you will see what I’m talking about.
I’m a numbers guy, and when you look at Dak’s numbers, most are top 5 in the NFL.
When Dak Prescott had a clean pocket, he posted a grade of 86.5, against the blitz 84.5, play action was 84.5, and shotgun was 85.9. That’s not a quarterback just grasping at straws trying to make throws, but a quarterback excelling.
His first-read grade was 86.7. In normal words, when the play worked the way it was supposed to, Dak was good. I want to see this because we don’t need every play turning into backyard football.
The receiving numbers back this up because Dak was at 90.4 when throwing to outside receivers and 88.6 throwing to slot receivers.
I love this. When Dak threw it to an actual receiver, he was able to spread the field with a high level of production. We don’t need Dak to turn into a magician every play and try to pull a play out of his hat.
Here is where we would all watch the wheels fall off.
When I came across the red zone numbers, it made sense, but I didn’t realize just how bad they were.
Dak Prescott had a 51.1 red-zone grade, and against red-zone coverage, it dropped to 36.7. Those are numbers you do not want attached to your starting quarterback. Because they are drive killers.
We watched all last season as Dallas moved the ball up and down the field, chewing up yards, and getting everyone feeling good about the offense. But when the Cowboys settled for a field goal instead of a touchdown, that was deflating.
Does it all fall on Dak Prescott? No, but he’s the quarterback, so it will.
Throws to outside receivers and slot guys were money, throws to running backs weren’t good, and throws to tight ends close to the line were bad.
The field is already tight. Why does Dallas bunch everyone together to help the defense? It turned the passing game into a not so masterclass of short dump-offs and tight window junk.
I want to see them keep the spacing, use motion, and play-action. Give Dak some help by using the things that got...
