Cowboys Dak Prescott 'Must Own It!' Is Coach 'Throwing QB Under the Bus'?
FRISCO - We take a great deal of pride in our coverage of the Dallas Cowboys, terming our efforts "boots on the ground.'' It is why for 33 years we've made an effort to attend the locker-room visits, the camps, the practices and the games. ... and of course, the press conferences.
Doing so helps our ability to, for instance, interpret what Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy recently said about QB Dak Prescott needing to "own the offense'' - a statement that has some critics misunderstanding the coach to be "throwing Dak under the bus.''
We're hopeful that the critics who are failing to understand the concept aren't doing so on purpose because they harbor an anti-McCarthy and/or an anti-Dak bias. So, in the spirit of fixing this ...
What McCarthy said, which resonates with us as we sat at his presser as unselfish and egoless: “I have no interest in being known as some 'guru coach' or a 'smart coach.' I want smart, Hall-of-Fame-type quarterbacks. The only way to get there is to make them own the offense.''
Interpret that poorly, and it can sound like he's "setting up Dak for failure'' and "preparing a plan to blame Dak'' and "throwing Dak under the bus.''
But it was about none of those things. McCarthy's view on this greatly pre-dates his three-year relationship with Prescott. McCarthy once coached Joe Montana (with the Chiefs) and talks openly about how he learned far more from Montana than the other way around. He was key in the development of two other Hall of Fame QBs in Packers legends Brett Favre and Aaron Rodgers, and yes, he wanted them to "own the offense'' as well.
"Owning the offense'' simply means "mastering the offense.'' It does not mean "owning the blame.'' And by the way, the part of the McCarthy quote that's getting omitted here is this: "He’s done a really good job of taking ownership of that. He’s knocked it out of the park.”
That's "throwing Dak under the bus''? Quite the contrary; it's an endorsement of his team leader and his most pivotal player - frankly, the player who by nature of his position is most likely to help McCarthy keep his job. Hey, if the Cowboys flop in 2023, any "setup of blame'' for Dak won't work in terms of job security; owner Jerry Jones will be infinitely more likely to fire his coach than his QB.
When we first noticed the twisted takes on "McCarthy vs. Prescott on ownership,'' we offered up an educated guess: If Prescott himself ever addresses the subject of "ownership,'' we said ... his words will mirror and mesh quite precisely with those of his coach. And ... voila!
Said Dak: "I think I’m in a good spot. Obviously there’s more to grow. I’ll use these (offseason) weeks to make sure I’m crossing my T's & dotting my 's. “I feel great (about) the things we’ve put in. I’m saying, 'I own it.' But I obviously want to own it more.”
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