Dak Prescott barks at his teammates a little more now that he's a couple of years removed from a sensational rookie year with the Dallas
Cowboys.
At least that's the way tight end Geoff Swaim put it
Pat O'Donnell
Jersey , and he didn't mean it in a negative way. The star quarterback
sure hopes so.
"I may be a little bit more vocal," Prescott said. "But when you say 'barking,' it's almost like at a negative tone. Like, you're going out at them
hard. I'd say if anything, I'm trying to be more encouraging and bring more out
of them.
"When you have a young team and different personalities, it's hard just to be negative and be critical the whole time. For me, it's a lot about coaching the
guys up. And then the guys that I know I can be critical on, yeah, sure I
am."
The 2016 NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year, who opens the season Sunday at Carolina trying to get the Cowboys back to the playoffs after they missed during
his less-than-stellar encore , just illustrated offensive coordinator Scott
Linehan's take on leadership from Prescott.
Sure, this 25-year-old with a master's degree in workforce education leadership from Mississippi State is the unquestioned commander of the offense
??and that includes over running back Ezekiel Elliott, his fellow first-year
standout from 2016.
But it's not necessarily because of the retirement of Tony Romo
http://www.dallascowboysteamonline.com/connor-williams-jersey ,
the quarterback he replaced with one of the best debuts for a quarterback in NFL
history.
Or because 15-year tight end Jason Witten joined Romo in the broadcast booth this year. Or because the Cowboys dumped boisterous receiver Dez Bryant, the
franchise leader in touchdown catches, in a cost-cutting move.
Since Prescott showed up as the forgotten third-teamer on Romo's team two years ago, he has shown the leadership qualities that suddenly became more
pronounced. He was a natural to become the face of the franchise , and would be
by himself if not for linebacker Sean Lee.
"He's always been a guy that, even as a rookie, he was not afraid to speak up and give his two cents on the field and encourage guys," Linehan said. "He's a
natural when it comes to that."
Prescott led the Cowboys to 11 straight wins after Romo injured his back in the preseason in 2016, when Dallas had an NFC-best 13 victories before losing to
Green Bay in a divisional playoff.
Elliott's six-game suspension marred their second season together, and Prescott felt the burden of the absence.
The poor decisions he avoided as a rookie were more frequent, including an ill-advised throw that was intercepted and returned for a touchdown in a
late-season loss to Seattle that finished off Dallas' playoff hopes in Elliott's
first game back.
The theme last season was whether Prescott could avoid a sophomore slump, a term he brushed off. Now it's whether he can have a bounce-back season, if there
is such a thing for a young quarterback.
"You can call it whatever you call it
http://www.chicagobearsteamonline.com/brian-urlacher-jersey ,"
he said. "I'm excited for what we're going to have and the year we're going to
have and I feel very, very confident in the players we have and the team we have
and what we're going to do this season."
There are questions, starting with a revamped receiving corps that lacks the star power brought by Witten and Bryant.
The Cowboys say they'll attack the passing game with versatility, hoping to take advantage of one-on-one matchups with opponents focusing first on stopping
Elliott, the league rushing leader when Prescott was voted the top offensive
rookie.
There are two new starters on Dallas' vaunted offensive line. Joe Looney is replacing Travis Frederick at center while the four-time Pro Bowler recovers
from Guillain-Barre syndrome, an auto-immune disease that attacks nerves. He
doesn't know when he will return. Rookie second-round pick Connor Williams is at
left guard.
Despite the questions, Prescott is determined not to try to do too much again.
"I know I'll be better," he said. "I just learned so much from last year, just moving forward, mature within the game, just learned a lot more that I
didn't know last year that I wasn't as comfortable with. Just reads, my game on
footwork, accuracy and
consistency
Cheap
Stacy McGee Jersey , everything."
Learning isn't stopping him from coaching, as he put it.
"I think as a rookie it was more encouraging and that kind of thing," Swaim said. "This year, the barking, it's not like he's screaming and yelling. That's
not his thing. It's more just, 'Hey, this is what you need to do here.' And it's
good because it keeps everyone focused and in their role and doing their
job."
Prescott just wants you to know it's not negative.
The Rams have Aqib Talib and Marcus Peters at cornerback, Nickell Robey-Coleman at slot corner and John Johnson and Lamarcus Joyner at safety.
Offensive coordinators and quarterbacks who face the Rams should be quaking at
the thought.
??ot only the two corners, our two safeties are outstanding players and they can cover man to man,??Rams defensive coordinator Wade Phillips said, via Myles
Simmons of the team website. ??o, it gives you so many possibilities to double
cover somebody and put the pressure on one of those guys to cover his guy by
himself.??
Phillips started Talib and Chris Harris at corner and T.J. Ward and Darian Stewart at safety in the Broncos’ Super Bowl victory over the Panthers. On
paper, the Rams secondary looks even better.
With a defensive line featuring Aaron Donald and Ndamukong Suh
Rico Gathers
Jersey , Phillips will have plenty of options to attack offenses.
??I]t opens up a lot of things for you to play,” Phillips said. “I mean, I can think of a lot of things to play, but I haven?? always had the players to
play those coverages and so forth, and these guys can. So we??e got a lot of
versatility there and we can put pressure, we can match up guys. Both corners
can play both sides, either side. And Robey?? a tremendous nickel-inside player,
and the two safeties are outstanding.??
The Rams finished 13th in pass defense last season. They expect to be even better this season.
???? be surprised,??Phillips said, ??f we weren?? really good on pass defense.??/p>
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Frazier Jersey
