Cowboys want Prescott to cut sacks
Dak Prescott’s lone drive against the Rams on Saturday night in Hawaii was, by most preseason measures, a success.
Prescott completed 5 of 5 passes for 64 yards. He connected with a different target on each pass, highlighted by a ball he aired 31 yards to Michael Gallup down the right sideline. The Cowboys capped the 12-play, 97-yard drive with a rushing touchdown from rookie Tony Pollard.
The one blemish: a sack Prescott took on the fourth play. Linebackers Natrez Patrick and Bryce Hager blitzed for a loss of 12 yards, knocking the ball from Prescott’s hands. Suddenly, the Cowboys faced 2nd-and-22 from their 3.
“A critical blitz pickup that got our quarterback killed,” Cowboys owner Jerry Jones described it after the game.
It was also a familiar experience for the quarterback. Last season, Prescott was sacked a franchise-record 56 times, only one fewer than the sum of first two seasons combined. The culprits varied. After Pro Bowl center Travis Frederick was sidelined all of 2018 with an autoimmune disease, Dallas’ traditionally dominant offensive line play declined. Until an October trade for Amari Cooper, the Cowboys didn’t have a true No. 1 receiver, making it harder for Prescott to find an open target quickly on routes. And, overall, Prescott was slow on the release: Twenty-nine QBs threw more quickly than the 2.82 seconds he took on average, according to Next Gen Stats.
Prescott aims to reduce his release time and sack count entering Year 4. “100%, it has to come down,” he said. “The type of guy I am, I’d say 50% or more (of sacks are) on me, simply knowing where my checkdown is and getting it out of my hand, whether it’s completed or not.”
Prescott has practiced throwing the ball away as well. The Cowboys backtracked a combined 347 yards from Prescott’s 56 sacks last year. He knows that’s a problem, especially for a team that converted on 51.79% of red-zone trips in 2018 (seventh worst in the league). “You look at the ... teams that are in the Super Bowl: Those are the teams that don’t have many negative plays,” Prescott said.
Prescott has honed his ability to read defenses and make decisions more quickly since he propelled from fourthstring to first-string quarterback during training camp in 2016, months after Dallas drafted him in the fourth round. Tight end Jason Witten repeatedly has pointed to Prescott’s anticipation as one of the starkest changes he noticed after a year away broadcasting in ESPN’s “Monday Night Football” booth.
Yet there’s a catch. Prescott’s knack for threatening with his arms and his legs is among his best traits. He has rushed for 944 yards in three seasons, averaging 5 yards per carry. He has also run for six TDs each year. No quarterback owns more than his 18 since 2016.
Prescott realizes he must balance snap decisions with remembering to consider his run lanes.
He should have more help this year than he did entering 2018. With Frederick’s return, Prescott lines up behind three Pro Bowl offensive linemen. Cooper and a more experienced Gallup should give Prescott better receiving targets than he had early last year. Witten doubles as an able pass protector and reliable underneath target who has caught 73.7% of his career targets from the quarterback.
The major question mark is whether running back Ezekiel Elliott’s holdout ends before the season opener. Elliott is a savvy pass protector, and the focus he draws from opposing defenses can open up opportunities elsewhere for Prescott.
With or without Elliott, Prescott will undoubtedly be faced with more than a few sacks.
Said Witten: “I just think he knows where he wants to go with the football. He’s just in command.”