Dallas Cowboys: The numbers don’t lie about Dak Prescott
Dallas Cowboys new OC Kellen Moore has to help QB Dak Prescott prove he’s worth a major contract extension by doing better in this statistical category.
In two of the last three years, Dallas Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliott has been the NFL’s leading rusher. When Elliott was the leading rusher, the Cowboys were the NFC East conference champions which put them in the NFL playoffs.
During the 2018 NFL season, Elliott led the league in rushing attempts (350) and rushing yards (1,618). Elliot also led the Cowboys in passing receptions (83) and passing targets (105).
Using Pro Football Reference’s formula for total number plays is a result of adding the Cowboys passing attempts, rushing attempts and the number of times Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott was sacked. This indicates that the Cowboys ran 1,022 offensive plays during the 2018 season. The Cowboys either handed the ball to Elliott or attempted to throw him the football a jaw dropping 455 times.
Despite two recent playoff appearances, the Cowboys fired offensive coordinator Scott Linehan and replaced him with Kellen Moore. Moore, in my opinion is the next big offensive genius that will reinvent the way football is played like the legendary Hall of Famer Tom Landry. Moore’s first job is to stop Elliott from being 44.5% of the Cowboys’ offensive plays.
His second job is accomplishing the miraculous task of making Prescott better. I’m on the record for saying Prescott’s maximum potential as a passer will never equal or surpass the great former Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo. Number 4 is simply half of 8 and if 4 was twice as good, he would still be less than 9. I have faith that you will figure that cryptic message out.
With Elliott leading the league in rushing attempts and yards, Cowboy Nation might believe the team has a run heavy offense. Numbers indicate the Cowboys ranked 10th in rushing play percentage at 43.23%. The Cowboys actually ran the ball less than the: New Orleans Saints, Chicago Bears, New England Patriots, Houston Texans and the LA Rams.
The numbers don’t indicate the situations and that can create a false narrative. It’s possible the New England Patriots ran the ball more because they had big leads and wanted to run out the clock at the end of games. What if the LA Rams ran the football more because they had more red zone or goal line opportunities? The Chicago Bears could have faced more short yardage situations on 3rd downs.
With a 43% run and 57% pass play calling ratio, the Cowboys offense can be considered balanced and I’m not upset at that. The passing game just hasn’t been as efficient as the rushing offense. Let’s look at the teams I mentioned that ran the football more than the Cowboys. Since they ran more running plays, they passed less than 57% of the time.
- The New England Patriots ranked 5th with 273.8 average passing yards per game.
- The LA Rams ranked 6th with 273.3.
- The New Orleans Saints ranked 10th with 253.7.
- The Houston Texans ranked 17th with 235.2.
- The Chicago Bears ranked 20th with 226.8.
- The Cowboys ranked 22nd with 222.9.
Teams featuring high profile quarterbacks like Tom Brady of the Patriots or Drew Brees of the Saints aren’t leading pass heavy teams. You might picture them attempting lots of downfield throws that get intercepted by Cowboys future Hall of Fame safety Jeff Heath. The numbers indicate that these teams are actually running less passing plays than the Cowboys.
The numbers indicate that when these teams do pass, they’re more productive than the Cowboys. That’s why these quarterbacks are making the big bucks. New offensive coordinator Kellen Moore has to get Dak Prescott to average at least 25 more passing yards per game. That would put the Cowboys in the top half of the league in average passing yards per game. More passing touchdowns wouldn’t hurt either, because quarterbacks are judged based on the performance of their arm.
Maybe you think that I’m tough on Prescott because I’m still #TeamRomo and you might be right. However, let’s finish this article with a quick look at the Seattle Seahawks.
The Seahawks had a passing play percentage of 47.56%. They were the only team to run the ball more than they passed. Seattle’s quarterback, Russell Wilson still finished the season with 36 passing touchdowns and 7 interceptions compared to Prescott’s 24 passing touchdowns and 9 interceptions.
Next. 6 free agent safeties not named Earl Thomas. dark
The numbers are indicating that there is room for improvement in Prescott’s game. The numbers are also stating that Prescott isn’t worth a ginormous contract extension right now. Remember: Men lie, women lie, but these numbers don’t.
#GoCowboys