NFL
What has Mike McCarthy had to say about Dak Prescott’s offseason?
The Dallas Cowboys failed to make it past the Wild Card round last season but there are positive signs for ‘America’s Team’ ahead of the 2024 campaign.
Eight years on from being taken as the 135th pick in the 2016 NFL Draft, Dak Prescott’s career at the Dallas Cowboys has now reached a crossroads.
The Louisiana-born quarterback has been the Cowboys’ starting QB since his debut season in NFL and is now under pressure to led the team to a real post-season run. Prescott’s contract will expire are the end of the upcoming series and head coach Mike McCarthy has placed his faith, and quite possibly his career prospects, in the hands of the 30-year-old quarterback.
“I think Dak is having his best offseason program that we’ve had,” McCarthy said on Wednesday. “This atmosphere that we’ve practiced in with the quarterback and receivers has really hit the mark. I’ve been very impressed with the quality of work.”
Can the Cowboys win the Super Bowl this year?
Cowboys fans may have been hoping for major off-season reinforcements after another drab end to an NFL season. They will have been disappointed with the comings and goings so far, with no inspiring additions and top receiver CeeDee Lamb absent from off-season workouts.
However it should not be forgotten that this Cowboys team finished top in the East last year, boasting a 12-5 regular season record for the third consecutive year. That level of performance, with that sort of consistency, does suggest genuine quality and McCarthy has insisted that the chemistry within his team is looking ever better for 2024.
“With the quarterback, when the connection is there in the perimeter realm - and that’s been the majority of our physical activity - the connection is better,” McCarthy explained. “The receivers are playing with more urgency, more reps. The timing is better. The real test will be when we get to training camp.”
For his part, Prescott has reiterated his coach’s thoughts and believes that he is doing everything possible to put himself, and by extension the team, in the best place for success this year.
“I agree because it’s what I put into this game,” Prescott told reporters. “It’s what this game means to me. I talk about it every offseason. My focus is always getting better overall in every aspect that I can and in every aspect of my game and making sure I’m pushing the guys around me. Mike’s comments are a result of us doing that this offseason.”