The internet lost its mind over Cowboys QB Dak Prescott's 4-TD performance - Andrew Lynch, FOX Sports
This is a fun romp through some of the social media reactions to Prescott's performance, which Lynch closes with the following observation:
More than the stats, though, Prescott has played with a striking amount of poise. He stayed in the pocket as long as possible, making quick (and accurate) reads across the field. He didn't stare down his receivers, and he didn't try to force any throws. The few times that he couldn't find someone open, he was decisive in either checking down or trying to make something happen with his feet.
At this rate, the Cowboys are going to have a QB controversy before the regular season even begins. (Note: They are not going to have a controversy; this is all an overreaction. But still, Prescott looks really good, you guys.)
What we learned: Prescott outshines Romo's return - Gregg Rosenthal, NFL.com
It's not easy to relegate Tony Romo to an afterthought, but that's exactly what Dak Prescott did after another impressive preseason performance, Rosenthal explains.
All of the usual preseason caveats apply. Prescott is playing against vanilla schemes and often against backups. The Cowboys' offensive line is so good that it makes game action look like a 7-on-7 drill. But the kid now has more touchdowns (6) than incompletions (5). Prescott's decision-making and accuracy coming out of a spread offense have been more impressive than his athleticism. NFL quarterbacking isn't supposed to look this easy.
None of this means Prescott will be a superstar or that we should be taking "QB competition!" jokes seriously. Prescott will make mistakes and also has been fortunate, having an interception overturned Friday by a roughing the passer penalty. But it's not too early to say Dallas has a potential "quarterback of the future" to groom. That's a key position when you have a 36-year-old starter facing his football mortality.
Cowboys' Dak Prescott has more TDs than incompletions in his NFL career - Ryan Wilson, CBSSports.com
The Cowboys rookie has come out of nowhere but owner Jerry Jones preaches patience.
Jerry Jones -- of all people! -- is preaching patience.
"Let's don't get ahead of ourselves here," the owner continued. "That would be a mistake. We are in a situation where we can have a developing -- but adequate -- because of the excellence of Tony Romo, we can have that behind him. To me that's what you're ideally striving for. What we've seen so far in these first two preseason games does make you look positively toward his progress."
Preseason Blitz: Dak Prescott's stellar outing overshadows Tony Romo's sharp return - Ron Clements, Sporting News
Just the facts from the Sporting News:
Dak Prescott continues to impress for the Cowboys. The rookie quarterback from Mississippi State went 10 for 12 for 139 yards and two scores last week against the Rams. He then threw for 199 yards on 12-for-15 passing with two scores against the Dolphins on Friday. Prescott also ran for 28 yards and two more touchdowns, including a 20-yard scoring scramble.
Tony Romo, Dez Bryant gush over rookie Dak Prescott - Marc Sessler, NFL.com
Veterans Tony Romo and Dez Bryant had nothing but praise for the stellar play of Prescott.
"Man, I'll tell you this: rookie is a name -- just a name that they give you in the league," said wideout Dez Bryant, who caught a beautifully thrown 28-yard touchdown from Prescott. "Either you can do it or you can't. The guy is a student -- give it to him. 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 potential Hall of Famer, Tony Romo, saw his first action of the preseason Friday, going 4-of-5 passing before Prescott hit the field and completely stole the show hitting 12-of-19 throws for 199 yards while generating 34 points over six drives.
"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."
Dak Prescott continues impressive preseason - Sam Monson, Pro Football Focus
PFF also gets in on the Prescott action.
Prescott remains the top-graded QB in the preseason this year with still some games remaining of this week’s action, and his raw numbers for his two weeks of play are beginning to look silly. He has completed over 80 percent of his passes, passed for four touchdowns, and has a perfect passer rating, and that doesn’t count the two scores ad 41 yards he has added on the ground.
He has been under pressure on more dropbacks (16) than he has been kept clean on (15), and is a hair away from having a perfect passer rating under pressure as well (156.3).
As always at this time of year, the caveat is that it is only preseason, but Dak Prescott’s NFL introduction couldn’t have gone much better than it has so far.
Dak Prescott continues to be the surprise story of preseason for Dallas Cowboys - Lorenzo Reyes, USA Today
Reyes looks at how a quarterback who played in a spread offense in Mississippi State, who rarely took a snap from under center, whose mechanics needed work, become the hottest name in the NFL preseason.
He said it’s simple. Prescott said he simply has immersed himself in the playbook and has worked on his weaknesses.
Throughout the pre-draft process, Prescott trained in Orlando with private coach Tom Shaw, where every single snap, every single practice rep, every single drill he went through, was under center. He fine-tuned his footwork. He molded his game to become more adaptable to a pro scheme.
Dallas, for its part, has called plays in Prescott’s two preseason games that highlight his strengths.
Dak Prescott just keeps on turning heads - Hugh Kellenberger, The Clarion-Ledger
Kellenberger explains how the Cowboys have been using the RPO offense to help Prescott.
The biggest external factor is that Mississippi State prepared him for the next step — Prescott said exactly that postgame Friday, that coach Dan Mullen’s offense was every bit a NFL offense — and that the Cowboys are playing to Prescott’s strengths.
They’ve used some run-pass options (RPOs) with Prescott so far, Chris Brown from SmartFootball.com pointed out after the first preseason game. RPOs are essentially when a quarterback is reading a second-level defender (either a linebacker or safety, usually) to determine whether to hand the ball off or throw it into the space the defender created.
It’s not a brand new offensive concept in college, where it was created to add another wrinkle to the run-read option defenses had begun to figure out. But it is something that we have not previously seen at the NFL level, and that makes it both a foreign concept to defenses and a familiar one to Prescott.
That’s how you make your offense work for the personnel, and not the other way around.
Preseason superstar Dak Prescott lighting it up at QB for Cowboys - Frank Schwab, Shutdown Corner
Mid-round picks at quarterback are generally wasted, but the Cowboys might have gotten this pick right, Schwab explains.
The notion that Dak Prescott set the NFL world on fire, even for a few weeks in his rookie preseason, might be hilarious down the road if he turns into another mid-round quarterback who never pans out. But, for whatever it’s worth, Prescott has been the biggest revelation to this point of the NFL preseason. The Cowboys might have struck gold at the end of the fourth round.
VIDEO: Every Daktacular pass - NFL Videos
Watch every Dak Prescott threw in the Dallas Cowboys Preseason Week 2 game against the Miami Dolphins.