With Dak Prescott under center, the Dallas Cowboys have not looked this good since 2007 Wade Phillips first year at the helm. Yes, 2007. While the Cowboys certainly had some good years and wonderful moments (some not so good,too) with Tony Romo under center, the combination of a young offensive line, much improved defense, and rookie sensation Ezekiel Elliott make it hard to advocate for any change. With each passing week, more and more fans are starting to see one thing: that Prescott is the real deal. Look no further than last Sunday night's exciting come-from-behind win against the Philadelphia Eagles. With the Eagles taking a 23-13 lead into the 4th quarter, Prescott showed no concern leading the Cowboys to three scoring drives (a game winning Jason Witten touchdown in overtime) resulting in a 29-23 win. It is not often that you see the poise Prescott showed from any quarterback, let alone a rookie starting in only his 7th game. Below are the four reasons why I think the Cowboys should continue to start Prescott.
1. The future is now for the Cowboys
Not many franchises have the luxury of having a 23-year-old rookie franchise quarterback…let alone leading the team to a 6-1 record. Prescott even has more touchdowns and less turnovers than Romo had during his first seven games as a starter (after Romo was tutored on the bench for multiple years). It would be foolish for Jason Garrett (well, okay, Jerry Jones) to hand the keys back to Romo. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it!
2. Risk of losing the locker room
In sports, the camaraderie and support within the locker room is one of the biggest factors that make a team. Beginning the year with Romo, switching to Prescott, and then going back to Romo would be detrimental to a squad that is already 6-1. While it is obvious Tony Romo is a great quarterback and proven leader, you absolutely do not want to mess with team chemistry and risk losing 50% of the NFC East leading locker room.
3. Ezekiel Elliott
In case you’ve missed it, pairing Dak Prescott with Ezekiel
Elliott is working. Dak is enjoying an excellent beginning to his career, mainly
in part because of Elliott leading the league in rushing with 799 yards. If
Elliott remains on his record breaking pace, it will be nearly impossible to
stop Prescott and the Cowboys from scoring at ease. This is not to say that
Romo would interfere with Elliott’s running, however with the chemistry shown
between Prescott, Elliott and our offense. I would hate to see this interfered
with.
4. Tony Romo is fragile
At this point, while Tony Romo would be an upgrade, it is simply not worth it for him or, especially, the Cowboys. One more devastating hit could leave Romo in serious trouble for his after football life, and it is simply not worth it. No one should ever question Romo’s toughness (see Week two of 2011 vs. the 49er’s) as the man has played quality football through numerous injuries. Romo will go down as an all-time great Cowboys QB.
If the Dallas Cowboys continue to play at the pace they are at, they will be an extremely hard team to stop in the future with youth flooding their roster.
