Delusional in Dallas? Cowboys' Jerry Jones Compares Dak Prescott 'Better with Age' to Tom Brady
FRISCO - Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones has often compared QB Dak Prescott to the legendary Tom Brady, and frankly, with all due respect to Prescott's many fine qualities, outside of a couple of facts - both were non-premium draft picks and both are lauded for their leadership skills - it's never made much sense.
And it doesn't make much sense now as Jerry, speaking on Friday from the scouting combine in Indianapolis, is doing it again - this time by projecting that Dak is destined to get better with age in a Brady-like way.
“I don’t want to dare do this to Dak or me or anybody,'' said Jones, knowing he was about to wade into a headline-making comment. "But I think just as Brady became ... better and better and more impactful in how they won as he got into his career, I think Dak really has those qualities.
"I think he can get better.”
On the one hand, "getting better'' is not an especially bold statement, especially as some argue that Prescott - coming off a season in which his 15 interceptions led the NFL - has regressed.
"Better'' might not be saying all that much.
On the other hand, Jones' projection and evaluation as it relates to the just-retired Brady seems ... lofty.
Dak is 29. He is 2-4 in playoff games in his seven NFL seasons.
Brady, finally out of the game, is 45. His career playoff-games record is 34-11. Oh, and he has 10 Super Bowl appearances and seven titles.
Jerry is right about one thing: It is indeed "daring'' to make this comparison to Brady, who is considered by many to simply be the greatest player in the history of the sport.
And here's where "daring'' melts into "delusional'': The idea that Brady, first of the Patriots and later with the Bucs, was somehow a magically more successful QB in his old age isn't really true.
While it's true that Brady won four Super Bowls after the age of 37, he'd won three by the age of 27.
There are plenty of reasons to justify Prescott’s present $40 million APY contract, and to justify the new, richer contract extension that is on the horizon.
But comparing him to Tom Brady is not among those reasons.
Jerry's best point - and one he should've left it at - is about Prescott's character.
"As one of my ex-coaches said, ‘Coaches dream of what Dak is,'' Jones relayed. "'You see the way that team follows him? Don’t touch that.’ That’s a big part of really my talking about Dak is has that great leadership quality. He has the physical skills to do this at the level to win us a Super Bowl.”
That may be true. But almost no amount of "skill'' is likely to see the Cowboys winning four Super Bowls in the coming Dak era. And the only thing that would allow him to match Brady's early-career three Super Bowls would be a time machine.
And not even the billionaire Jerry Jones can buy one of those.
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