Dak Prescott Is Painfully Limited

Are we done with this Dak Prescott is better than Carson Wentz thing? It’s never been true. In fact, it’s never been close. Carson Wentz is one of the top 5 quarterbacks in football. Dak Prescott, well, he’s painfully limited. If you can’t see that watching the games, I can’t help you. Simple as that.

Yes, Dak Prescott is painfully limited. Recently C. Joseph Wright of USA Today wrote a must read column. It tracks how offensive coordinators are struggling to call plays for Dak Prescott. I’ll share an excerpt of the post, but you can read the entire thing here:

“I have been tracking the basic stats in these articles since Prescott was a rookie. Full disclosure: I do not have my notes from the last eight games of the 2018 season. That being said, I do have complete stats for 44 of Prescott’s 52 regular-season games, and nothing about the final eight games of 2018 suggests there was any major deviation from the trends identified. Moreover, the data from this season corroborates the observations noted in the other 40 games.

The most glaring trend detected is that Prescott is rarely asked to drop back and pass after taking the snap from under center.

In 44 games, he has never dropped back and passed after taking the snap from under center more than three or four times in game. When he was a rookie, it was sometimes never and often only once a game.

Moreover, many of the infrequent pass attempts from under center are not traditional five-step drops; they are often quick screens to the wide receiver or something similar, which requires the quarterback just to get his feet planted and fire the ball.

After three years as an NFL quarterback, Prescott still doesn’t routinely drop back into the pocket and throw the ball. He did it just twice against the Saints, twice versus Miami, twice in Washington, and three times in the season opener.”

Again, that’s just some of it. Read the whole thing. You can see how limited Dak is by just watching the game. I’m not a huge film guy but when Wright reviewed the tape, Dak is throwing the ball just 4 times a game under center? That’s a maximum number too! That can’t be right. Prescott can’t be THAT limited. 93 percent of Prescott’s passing attempts have come out of shotgun or play action. That tells you all you need to know.

Dak isn’t comfortable taking snaps under center and being a real quarterback. You’re not beating good teams like that. Especially when the offense is so predictable. If an offense throws virtually every time out of the shot gun and runs the ball virtually every time under center, the Cowboys become so predictable to teams that study them.

This may be the most damning argument against Dak Prescott. Kellen Moore is doing all he can for Dak Prescott. The problem is the ceiling is so low here. That’s with the best offensive line in football, the best running back in football, and a true number one wide receiver. The second Dak gets paid, those pieces start to peel off. Do not pay Dak Prescott. It will be the biggest mistake the Cowboys ever make.