Cowboys' Dak Prescott disagrees with Tom Brady's approach to WR mistakes: It's better to 'keep the guy's head up'
FRISCO, Texas — There's no question that Tom Brady is the greatest of all time when it comes to being a… National Football League (NFL) quarterback, but Dallas Cowboys star quarterback Dak Prescott has a diametrically opposite view on how to handle his receivers' mistakes.
Brady, Fox Sports’ new A-team analyst, ripped into Cowboys wide receiver Jalen Brooks during the game broadcast of Dallas’ 44-19 loss to the New Orleans Saints in Week 2. Brooks fell to the ground while running a diagonal route just past midfield as the Cowboys drove to try to cut their 28-13 deficit to within a score. That led to Prescott’s pass, which was thrown toward where Brooks would have been, and landed in the hands of Saints cornerback Paulson Adebo for an interception. Three plays later, New Orleans’ lead ballooned to 35-13 after a 1-yard touchdown run by Saints quarterback Derek Carr. Game over.
After that mistake, Brady said he wouldn't attack Brooks for the rest of the game if he were the quarterback.
“Not today,” Brady said on the call. “It's actually pretty hard to go back there. Because you know where he is and you're like, 'I'm going to go get him, but I can't count on him staying up.'”
Prescott went back to Brooks on the next drive and rewarded his quarterback's faith with a 10-yard completion. That was his only reception of the day since a fourth-quarter pass to Brooks, a 2023 seventh-round draft pick from South Carolina, fell incomplete.
“You just have to keep your head up,” Prescott said when asked how he handles a receiver's mistake that leads to an interception. “We're going to need it. As good as that sounds — 'You're going to turn your back on a guy' — that's not realistic. It's the ultimate team play. … Being there to pick up a guy. I told (Brooks), 'Hell, I might miss some passes and there's going to be a ball that probably, unfortunately, gets out of my hand, or you don't put it where I want to put it and it becomes an interception. Does that mean you're going to give up your route next time? Absolutely not.' Yeah, I'm going to go back to that guy, trust him. He's put in a lot of work. He's a young player. He's developing. He's growing. For me, it's about making sure he doesn't get discouraged.”
Joy has been an emotion in short supply in the Cowboys' locker room this week, but that's the mood Prescott has been trying to instill as Dallas prepares to host 2023 NFL MVP Lamar Jackson and the Baltimore Ravens in a crucial bounce-back opportunity.
“This game gives me a lot of joy,” Prescott said. “Honestly, every time I'm on the training ground, the commitment to preparation that I have, that the guys have. The shared commitment. It's the best team sport. You've got to make sure you're doing your part and helping each other do their part, playing complementary football. Being there for a teammate maybe in their preparation if they need it, and then just doing your best on Sunday and doing your part.”
