Offense sells tickets; defense wins championships. If you watch NFL, you heard this sentence at least thousand times. You probably saw the truth behind it. But, as much as this is the reality in the NFL, the most important position in football is still the quarterback.
Yes, you could argue about this after Eagles have won Super Bowl with their backup. But, this was only possible after their minds were set on the future with Carson Wentz as their franchise quarterback.
So, this brings the question do Cowboys have a franchise QB with Dak Prescott? They were comfortable enough to hand him the reigns and move on from Tony Romo in 2016. He had an outstanding rookie season, followed by a down year in 2017. To be honest, entire Cowboys offense took a step back, especially their receivers. Hence, most of the blame can be put on Prescott’s back.
In 2018 America’s Team will work on making the squad Dak-friendly. But what if he fails to deliver? Cowboys expect playoff berth every season, and they believe that the current roster has enough quality to do this? They are not among the favorites for 2018 Super Bowl, but the season hasn’t started yet.
Franchise from Dallas will do everything they can to have success with Prescott at the helm, but they should also look beyond him. Wentz had Foles as the backup. Some would argue that Foles is better than Prescott. Most people are sure that Wentz is a better QB between the two.
And what about backups? It looks that you can win the SB if you have the right pieces in places and a decent backup QB. Is Cooper Rush good enough, or Cowboys should add a veteran backup? They should definitely put more pressure on Dak, with an experienced QB presence on the roster.
After 2018 season Cowboys will have a decision to make, depending on how Prescott performs. They will either renew his contract, which will be, looking at the QB market, a massive one or they will find him a replacement in 2019 draft.
But, what exactly is expected from Dak, and can he deliver? Look at Redskins. They are about to release Kirk Cousins after he throw for 4,093 yards, 27 TDs to 13 interceptions with RTG of 93.9. And, if you look at his last three seasons, he eclipsed 4,000 yards mark in each of them. In 2016 he almost had 5,000 yards. And, that’s not good enough for a massive payday from Washington. They don’t see him as a franchise QB.
Will Cowboys be willing to give Prescott new deal in the region of $20 million a year? After 2018 he will be a three-year starter in the NFL. Jimmy Garoppolo received the biggest contract for a QB that hasn’t played a full season. When Prescott’s time for resigning comes, he will ask for a ton of money, but if this guy wants it, he will need to show more.
Last year, Dak had 22 TDs, 13 interceptions, 3,324 yards, and 86.6 RTG. If he doesn’t get up his numbers in 2018 and reach the postseason, he will most likely be a goner.
