Former Falcons HC Mike Smith has his doubts about whether or not Dak Prescott is truly elite
How quickly life can change, and if you are named Dak Prescott, you will be keenly aware of it. Just a week back, after a near-flawless performance against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Prescott was hailed as a savior for the long-suffering Dallas Cowboys franchise. Now, after throwing two interceptions in their Divisional Round, Dak Prescott is a devil incarnate for some Cowboys fans.
Thankfully, former NFL head coach Mike Smith was at hand to provide some sobering perspective. As the winningest coach in the Atlanta Falcons' history, who developed rookie Matt Ryan into franchise quarterback status, Coach Smith certainly knows what he is talking about.
Speaking exclusively to Sportskeeda's "The BallFather Podcast," Smith said:
"Well, the expectations are through the roof for any Dallas Cowboys quarterback, and he is got to not throw the football to the other team. That's what they got to get fixed. That's the thing. He's 30 years old. He shouldn't be doing that if he's an elite quarterback, and I have them in my elite grouping when we talk about the quarterback carousel that's going to be going on here through the offseason. He's not going to be part of it. But they need to, they need to figure it out. Whether it's coaching, whether it's his decision-making, do they need to simplify it because they've got players."
Coach Smith also highlighted the strength of their roster and that the Cowboys are not that far away from becoming the best team again:
"If you look at their roster, one through 46, or one through 53, you can put it up against any team in the NFL. And they're just this far away. But that's what happens in the NFL, you can be this far from going into the Super Bowl, or being out of the playoffs. And they just haven't had consistency down the stretch, and it was showing up."
Mike Smith says Dak Prescott is not the only problem for the Cowboys
Praising the defense, Mike Smith said that the entire Cowboys' offense needed more consistency, not just Dak Prescott:
"Now they did a very good job on defense, probably more consistent on the defensive side of the football than they have been on the offensive side. But let's just don't blame it on Dak. You know, they gotta get it. They got to get it fixed. And that's what you do in the offseason, there'll be 31 teams trying to get it fixed here. And we'll find out who that one team is here in a few in about three, four weeks."
"Is it possible that Jerry made it clear after the game that it's now open season on Dak?"
@RealSkipBayless on Cowboys official twitter's criticism of their QB https://t.co/u9oH1qgZ9z
The Cowboys and Dak Prescott will have to be content with some other team and their quarterback lifting the Lombardi Trophy this year. But coming into the next season, one would hope they would have learned from the experience to emerge stronger.