Back in the mid-2000s on NFL Network’s “Sound FX,” there’d be great examples of quarterbacks like Peyton Manning, Philip Rivers and Drew Brees changing the play at the line of scrimmage after reading the defense’s alignment.
Next season, Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott could look a lot like the all-time greats in that regard.
Mike McCarthy has wanted Prescott to take command of the offense and, throughout the installation period in the offseason, the Cowboys’ head coach thought the seven-year veteran “knocked it out of the park.”
“He’s built for this,” McCarthy said. “He’s taken complete ownership of the offense and you have to. He’s the one out there playing.”
Added Prescott: “I keep saying ‘aggressive nature,’ but it’s aggressive in the play calls with a great purpose in it. ‘Hey, if that’s not there, you know the reads, just get down to it.’ Very clear and concise about getting to a play that I feel most comfortable with.
“If I don’t like that look, whether it’s a run play or a pass play, I have so many plays and things in my back pocket … If the [expected look] is not the defense that I get, I’ll feel comfortable and know: ‘Hey, I need to get to this play because it’s better for everybody.’”
McCarthy coached legendary quarterbacks Brett Favre and Aaron Rodgers during his time in Green Bay, and the latter has grown into one of the best in the game at reading and dissecting defenses before the snap.
McCarthy likes to ease his quarterbacks into taking full control of the offense, but wants to have a changing of the guard because his signal-callers ultimately have “the best seat in the house” — they’re the ones under center and have to make the correct checks.
“You got to be able to take advantage of things, but, most importantly, we have to train in that realm,” said McCarthy, the overseer of the installation of the new “Texas Coast Offense,” a version of his old West Coast Offense in Green Bay. “For [Prescott] to train and perform in that realm, he has to take ownership of it, and I think all the quarterbacks have done a really nice job of that.”
Prescott is getting the experience now in camp of having control over getting everyone lined up, reading the defense and changing the play if necessary – not to mention being in control of teammate Micah Parsons during an Oxnard brawl – and it’ll pay dividends the first time he steps to the line of scrimmage Week 1 against the New York Giants. … with “complete ownership.”
Follow Casey Smith on Twitter @casey_smith2419
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