Jimmy Johnson: Cowboys QB Dak 'Can't Carry A Team' To Super Bowl
FRISCO - Dak Prescott, some might argue, is now being paid like a one-man team. But Jimmy Johnson, the former head coach of the Dallas Cowboys team that just paid its franchise QB, cautions that Prescott is not that guy.
I like Dak,'' said Johnson, speaking to Colin Cowherd on FSI. "I think he can win you a championship if he has great players around him. I don't think Dak can carry a football team if he doesn't have great players around him."
Johnson is not exactly ripping on Prescott, who this week agreed to a record four-year, $160 million deal to stay in Dallas. The FOX commentator, who won two Super Bowls with the Cowboys, is actually a fan of Dak in many ways.
READ MORE: Cowboys' Dak Deal: 'Dummy' Years And Did Jerry Win?
"I think he's a great leader for the team,'' Johnson said. "I think the team really rallies around him. So he is a positive influence there. Before the injury, he could make plays with his legs, he could run the football, and he fits into their system.''
We might take issue with Jimmy in a couple of areas regarding his analysis, which included suggesting that Dallas might now be cap-strapped due to the signing. In fact, Prescott's 2021 cap impact was actually reduced greatly with this contract as opposed to using the tag, from $37.7 million down to what a source told us is $22 million.
Additionally, Johnson mentions Dak as a runner "before the injury,'' as if to suggest there will be lingering problems as a result of his ankle surgery. Sources have told CowboysSI.com that they expect no such problems, anticipating that Dak could be "100 percent by April'' and that he will be a "full participant in offseason workouts.''
And finally: Is there a QB who wins Super Bowls without "great players around him''? Didn't Patrick Mahomes just lose a Super Bowl because his O-line was hurt and depleted? Did Jimmy himself oversee a Troy Aikman-led Super Bowl run during which Aikman "carried the team''?
Johnson would've been wise to add that "no QB can carry a team to a Super Bowl,'' if that is indeed what he meant.
Prescott will need to be surrounded by similarly talented players if his Cowboys are to win big, no doubt. But that doesn't make him unique. Hopefully, for Cowboys Nation's sake, what Johnson says about Dak as a person is "unique'' enough to help push Dallas in the right direction.
READ MORE: 'Blame Jerry!'
