Cowboys News: Dak Prescott Prepares For An Offseason Of Improvement

Thanks To Dak, This Year’s Pre-Draft Process Has Less Emphasis On QB - Rob Phillips, Dallas Cowboys
A year ago today, Cowboys coaches directed the North squad at the Senior Bowl and the organization – Cowboys coaches and personnel staff – kept an eye on the quarterback prospects with the clear priority of finding a developmental backup in the 2016 draft.

"Not as much (emphasis) as we put in last year because we actually thought we were getting our backup quarterback when we got Dak," Cowboys owner/general manager Jerry Jones told reporters last week in Mobile, Ala. "But we were pushing hard. We knew we had (Tony) Romo and we were pushing hard looking at those quarterbacks with an eye to the future. That won’t quite be the emphasis this year."

Dallas Cowboys Draft 2017: Six Senior Bowl Players That Made An Impact - Michael Sisemore, Blogging The Boys
The Cowboys certainly value the Senior Bowl and Sisemore offers a list of guys that really stood out, including one small-school edge rusher.

DE Tanoh Kpassagnon, Villanova, 6’7, 280 lbs (South)

The NFL loves themselves some freakish athletes and that’s exactly what Tanoh is. He’s what Nick Eatman would call your bus guy. As soon as your team pulls up for an away game, make sure he’s the first guy off the bus. His stature is intimidating and he plays very hard.

Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones changed TV landscape for NFL - Todd Archer, ESPN
With the NFL's TV contracts in limbo, Dallas' Jerry Jones proved prescient in 1992, saying "we think there will be an economic uptick down the road."

Then-commissioner Paul Tagliabue invited Jones into the contract talks with the television networks, and the NFL found a fledgling network looking to add to its cache. In December 1993, Fox wanted in on football and outbid CBS by more than $100 million a season and the league’s television contract reached $1.1 billion.

NFL analyst: Cowboys QB Dak Prescott has special 'it' factor, will avoid sophomore slump with these two traits - SportsDay Staff
NFL analyst Charles Davis recently joined ESPN Dallas 103.3's J Dub City to talk Jason Garrett, Dak Prescott and how the Cowboys' success will translate in 2017.

This kid has a special "it" factor to him that in scouting, in evaluation we often don't really grasp until we see it presented to us. I think Dak Prescott, if you were to ask just about anyone of us who does player evaluation, if you ask the legitimate scouts and GMs in the league? I think very few of them had it in their notebooks but we all know about it now.

Dak Prescott targeted for greatness early by training guru - Clarence Hill, The Star-Telegram
Quarterback Dak Prescott is one of seven members of the Dallas Cowboys who will be playing in Sunday’s Pro Bowl. Prescott has a special link to the field where he went from NFL long shot to Pro Bowler.

"It feels good," said Shaw, while taking a break from a workout with new crop of rookies that include Texas A&M quarterback Trevor Knight, Alabama defensive tackle Jonathan Allen and Alabama offensive tackle Cam Robinson. "It definitely does.

Prescott, Shaw said, "came out a day early and worked out with [his new pupils]. He talked to them. Eleven months ago, he was here. Now look at him."

Dak & Zeke Humbled, Honored To End Season as Pro Bowl Starters; NFC Loses - Art Stricklin, Dallas Cowboys
The Dallas Cowboys spectacular rookie twosome of Dak Prescott and Ezekiel Elliott got a chance to finish their rookie season in style at the 2017 Pro Bowl Sunday, but were mainly used in supporting roles in a 20-13 NFC loss.

"It was a humbling experience to get to play in the game," Prescott said on the field of Camping World Stadium after the game. "Of course I was excited to play in the Pro Bowl, it was everything I thought it would be. I was playing with the best of the best."

National Signing Day: Who Were The Cowboys' Five-Star Recruits Out Of High School? - OCC, Blogging The Boys
The Cowboys have five former five-star recruits on their roster right now. Do you think you could name them?

It's not Ezekiel Elliott (former 4-Star recruit), it's not Dez Bryant (4), and despite his high draft pedigree, it's not Morris Claiborne (3) either. It's not Zack Martin (4) or Travis Frederick (3) or Dak Prescott (3), so who does that leave?

Before outside answers, Dallas Cowboys have inside questions - Todd Archer, ESPN
The Dallas Cowboys have questions, mostly on defense, but on offense, too. We take a look at five of them, in no particular order.

"With our cap situation the way it is, and really at the end of the day, our philosophy -- we're not big on overspending in free agency," Jones said the other day from the Senior Bowl.

How Ezekiel Elliott's spoon-to-mouth gesture turned into a Cowboys 'Feed Zeke' phenomenon - Jon Machota,  SportsDay
After several runs Sunday night, Ezekiel Elliott flashed a gesture he did often at Ohio State.The rookie running back motioned his "Feed Me" gesture.

"I didn't even know what it was, so I asked him about it," Brown said of Zeke's NFL "feed me" debut in a preseason game vs. Seattle. "He said, 'It's just my thing,' so I was like roll with it. My thing is this," Brown said. "If you need to wear a crop top pregame and doing the 'feed me' thing in the game gets you in your zone and you're not hurting anybody or hurting the team, then roll with it."

Blame Game: Marinelli shouldn’t escape criticism over Cowboys blah defense - K.D. Drummond, Cowboys Wire
Something has to change about the Cowboys approach defense. Either the front office needs to amend their ways, or Rod Marinelli needs to go.

The Cowboys no longer look to make big splashes in free agency for proven stars, yet Marinelli hasn’t molded any player into a true force since Sapp. His two stars since have been Simeon Rice and Julius Peppers, both players had double-digit sack seasons before ever playing for Marinelli.

NY writer: Could Jason Pierre-Paul sign with the Cowboys? What Dallas learned from Giants D rebuild - Jori Epstein,  SportsDay
The New York Giants proved to be the Cowboys' Achilles heal during the 2016 season. Could one of their free agents be a missing piece in Dallas?

I don't know if Pierre-Paul will go to Dallas, but I do know that he's not planning to take a hometown discount to stay with the Giants. Pierre-Paul just turned 28 and he has played the last two seasons on a discount after the fireworks accident that mangled his right hand. He knows this is his last chance to cash in and he seems intent upon doing just that. As far as his strengths and weaknesses, I think he's one of the best all-around defensive ends in the NFL.