QB Index: Yes, Cowboys' Dak Prescott is 'Top 10' in NFL
FRISCO - I'm not big on "rankings.''
There is so much subjectivity involved in the process that "rankings'' sometimes border on being arbitrary. Does it matter if Dak Prescott is the "fifth-best'' or the "seventh-best'' or the "14th-best'' quarterback in the NFL?
Isn't almost all that really matters right there on the scoreboard and in the standings?
Still, I do appreciate the effort of applying sense and science to who's who, as NFL.com’s Gregg Rosenthal does in his 2021 QB index.
It's something to chew on - especially for Dallas Cowboys watchers who are about to learn that Prescott is "a top-10 quarterback.''
Writes Rosenthal:
"Dak's play sunk after a Week 6 calf injury, but his struggles ran deeper than the injury. "I wouldn't say it lingered as long as people gave me the excuse of it," Prescott said on The Rich Eisen Show during Super Bowl week. "I went through a period of time during the season where I just didn't play my best ball."
"After Prescott's fast start to the season, his inaccuracy and tentative play made for one of the most inexplicable stories in the entire league. He still mixed in enough boffo games to finish with strong stats, but the bar is higher for Prescott, considering his teammates.''
To repeat: The ranking of quarterbacks is highly subjective (I saw the other day an ESPN ranking of QBs that put Los Angeles Rams standout Matthew Stafford at No. 3, above Green Bay Packers all-timer Aaron Rodgers, while omitting Kansas City Chiefs superstar Patrick Mahomes altogether) we think Rosenthal nails it in his remarks on Prescott.
"Prescott's fast start''? Yup.
"Sinking play'' after the calf injury? Inarguably.
"Inaccuracy and tentativeness''? Sounds right.
"Inexplicable''? I don't know about that one; I've explained here that the calf injury didn't linger, but the aftereffects of a change in Dak's gait - simply the way his body moves following the 2020 ankle surgery and then this injury - threw him out of whack.
"The bar is higher for Prescott, considering his teammates''? Absolutely, as everyone around this team, from Jerry Jones to Troy Aikman to Dak himself has sadly acknowledged.
Rosenthal has Bucs retiree Tom Brady, Rodgers and Buffalo's Josh Allen as his top three. He's got Arizona's Kyler Murray one spot ahead of Dak, and the Raiders' Derek Carr one spot behind. Notably, he's also got Dak ahead of Seattle's Russell Wilson.
Is Rosenthal's list accurate? That's up for debate. Is his analysis of Prescott's 2021 season, and what must be accomplished in 2022, accurate? Indeed. No subjectivity. No arbitrariness. No debate.
