Dak Prescott Plan: Cowboys Reveal 'Time' as Offseason Goal for QB
PALM BEACH, Fla. - The Dallas Cowboys' offensive performance last season was somewhat of a roller-coaster ride. Through the first six games of the season, quarterback Dak Prescott looked like a league MVP, and the offense was a juggernaut that could not be stopped.
But a funny thing happened to Dallas on its way to the Super Bowl. A calf injury suffered against the Patriots in Week 6 sidelined Prescott. With the possible exception of a couple of games along the way, the rest of the season was quite different for the offense. Prescott seemed out of sync with his receivers and unsure of himself at times on the field.
But entering this offseason presumably healthy and under contract, there's an opportunity for Prescott to get better.
“My wish would be for him to get as much time throwing with our receivers as he can in the offseason,” Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said this week here in Palm Beach at the NFL owners meetings. “I would like, when we get to the first game, for him to have had more time in the offseason with our receivers.”
That's almost going to be a necessity with the turnover of players at the wide receiver position. Gone are Amari Cooper and Cedrick Wilson, who combined for 1,467 yards and 14 touchdowns through the air. Newly re-signed Michael Gallup will most likely miss the start of the season rehabbing his repaired ACL, opening the door for free-agent acquisition James Washington to start some early games.
Last season, even with a sketchy second half of 2021, Dallas still led the league in total offense with 407 yards per game and total points per game with 31.2. But that 12-5 record is certainly misleading, as the Cowboys struggled mightily against teams with winning records. And the post-season home loss to the San Francisco 49ers can only be described as alarming, as Prescott completed just 53.5 percent of his passes.
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“Offensively, we have to be more efficient,” Cowboys COO Stephen Jones said. “We had a top-ranked offense. Just to be more efficient in the big games and the postseason.”
Prescott admitted he was challenged by some of the defensive coverages he saw last year, especially late in the season. And he wasn't helped by dropped passes by his targets. Wideout CeeDee Lamb, the Cowboys presumed new No. 1 target, dropped eight passes last season, including four in December.
Perhaps a COVID-free offseason and a healthy Prescott can fix some of the shortcomings the Cowboys suffered last season. And Jones clearly thinks it starts with the chemistry between his quarterback and receivers.
