The Cowboys have been so impressed with rookie QB Dak Prescott, they've decided against adding a veteran signal caller to the roster.
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The Mississippi State product torched Miami for 199 yards and a pair of TD passes, including a 28-yarder to Dez Bryant, in Dallas's 41-14 victory. He also added two rushing touchdowns, ending the game with a dazzling 156.4 QB rating. The 4th round pick definitely turned some heads with his performance, most notably that of Jerry Jones, who now believes their quarterback search is over.
"I don't see a veteran quarterback on the scene or coming in," Jones said, "as long as we got the uptick arrow of Dak Prescott."
Prescott also impressed his teammates.
"Man, I'll tell you this: rookie is a name — just a name that they give you in the league," said wideout Dez Bryant. "Either you can do it or you can't. The guy is a student. You've got to give it to him. He wants to learn, he wants to be good. He's sitting behind a Hall of Famer. Give him his credit."
That Hall of Famer—-Tony Romo—-echoed those feelings.
"I've been very impressed with how Dak has played," said Romo. "It kind of reminds me a little bit of back in the day in some capacity. He's playing great. To have depth at that position, it's a big, big bonus. Hopefully, he can continue to do that. And he's a good kid, so you really root for him."
While Prescott's been undeniably impressive, also playing well in the Cowboys' first preseason game against the Los Angeles Rams, connecting on 10-of-12 for 139 yards and 2 touchdowns, preseason is an altogether different animal than the regular season. Defensive schemes are typically a lot less complex, and coverages more vanilla. Backups, rookies and players just trying to make the roster are not the same level of talent that he'd be facing on Sundays.
Just ask Jacksonville's Blake Bortles, who looked solid last preseason, connecting on 62.7 of his passes and compiling 110 QB rating. But in the regular season, the first-round draft pick wilted, completing just 58.9 percent of his passes for 11 TDs and 17 INTs, and with a 69.5 QB rating. Or Washington's Kirk Cousins, who was promising in the preseason, completing 61.8 percent of his passes for a 101.6 QB rating. When he took over for Robert Griffin III in week two, though, Cousins did an about face, throwing for just 1,710 yards, 10 TDs to 9 INTs, for a QB rating of 86.4.
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All this is to say that if conventional wisdom counts for anything, anointing Prescott the future of the Dallas Cowboys at this stage is more than a little premature. And not bringing in a veteran, especially considering Romo's seemingly increasing fragility, could be a mistake of pretty big proportions. We'd like to hear what you think.
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