New Cowboys 'Texas Coast Offense': Less Dak Prescott ‘Hero Ball'?

Mike McCarthy is taking over the offensive play-calling duties, and with his West Coast Offense, quarterback Dak Prescott won't be required to do as much heavy lifting as in previous years.

There has been a host of changes this offseason at The Star for the Dallas Cowboys, with the most significant being head coach Mike McCarthy taking over the play-calling duties after offensive coordinator Kellen Moore was let go.

With more of an emphasis on being physical at the line of scrimmage, McCarthy is implementing parts of his background into the "Texas Coast Offense'' (buy the T-shirt!) to ease the pressure on Dak Prescott's shoulders.

Less will be asked of Dak, much like in his rookie campaign with CowboysSI.com already laying out how "playing like a rookie'' can help Prescott. But what it will also do is others will do more of the heavy-lifting. 

As of Saturday, when our Mike Fisher visited with Dak at his kids camp at The Star? Even as he turns 30 this month - "I'm the old man now!'' Prescott said - yes, the QB is bringing the enthusiasm.

#Cowboys QB @dak at his @ProCamps this am teaching ‘The Dak Dance’ pic.twitter.com/lttepo4uKF

— fishsports ✭ (@fishsports) July 8, 2023

ESPN's Jeremy Fowler thinks Dallas' new offensive scheme will ultimately see a better version of Prescott next season.

“Michael Gallup finally healthy, then you add Brandin Cooks, CeeDee Lamb, you have a really good three-man receiver group,” Fowler said on ESPN’s GetUp. “Plus Tony Pollard as the lead back, no more Ezekiel Elliott, I think that’s better for the overall health of the offense. 

"We know the offensive line has been good, but Dak’s not going to have to play hero ball as much. That’s going to produce better results. I expect Dak Prescott to have a spike season. He’s going to have an edge coming after what happened last year. People are counting him out as a top-10 quarterback, but he’s still in there somewhere.”

So how will the load on Dak be lessened? With McCarthy's scheme, Prescott won't be asked to throw the ball 35+ times in a game consistently (something he did five times in his 12 games last season and 10 times in 2021). This limits the chances of turnovers, as no matter how good a quarterback you are, each time the ball is in the air, it presents a chance for a turnover.

Instead, with a more run-focused approach and "buttoned up" style of offense, Prescott will ideally be getting the ball out quickly with crisp slant routes and routes that take little time to develop.

That is helped when you have CeeDee Lamb, Brandin Cooks, and Michael Gallup, all of whom are good inside the numbers. Additionally, the home run threat of Cooks will dictate coverage and allow Lamb, Gallup, or other receivers to get better looks than last season.

Separation was a problem for Dallas' receivers last season, but with McCarthy's wrinkles, all of them play right into the Cowboys' wheelhouse as the new "Big 3" have already shown they are more than competent in making plays.

Of course, there will still be shots downfield (maybe not all of them as dramatic as T.Y. Hilton's bomb vs. the Philadelphia Eagles), but with Cooks' speed, it will always be an option.

Many are sleeping on Prescott after seeing interceptions "become part of his DNA" last year despite it clearly being an outlier.

With a lot of moving parts offensively, all of which are aimed at making life easier for Dak, will we see the "spike" Fowler is talking about? McCarthy and Cowboy Nation sure hope so.

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