For those that will stop reading at Quincy Carter, save your breath, and just stop reading.
There’s no telling about what could have been or ought to have been. Just like one cannot derive an ought from an is, one also cannot derive a could have been from what has been.
Fast-forwarding a couple decades, there has been some who have referred to Dak as a bus driver. I’ve been one of them.
The only problem?
Many fans view "bus driver" as an insult to Dak.
It isn’t.
In fact, it’s actually a compliment.
In 2016, when Dak threw a mere 4 interceptions and 23 touchdowns with a 104.9 QB rating, he did so by being a bus driver. Each year, he hovers within a few points of a 66.6 percent completion rating. In 2019, he passed for 4,902 yards at his second-lowest completion percentage of his career at 65.1 percent, almost one percent more than Romo’s career completion percentage, which speaks for itself.
I personally never understood the arguments over who the better QB was, and I’ve never really gotten too involved in that argument. To me, it’s like splitting hairs. It’s not a false dilemma. They’re both good. I’d take either one of them on my team.
Last year, almost any time I wrote the word bus driver, many insisted I was insulting Dak. That’s not the case. In fact, this year more than any other year, I think it’s important for Dak to get back to his roots of being the type of player who drivers the bus. Does anyone remember Dak being a gunslinger in 2019 — or ever for that matter?
How do you bring down the INT numbers?
By not forcing it and just taking what the defense gives you. That has been Dak’s bread and butter, throughout his career.
Prescott has never been a big INT guy. Only when fans started insisting Dak couldn’t do this or Dak can’t do that, along with all the Tom Brady, Josh Allen, or Matthew Stafford comparisons did Dak seem to be under pressure to be more than just a bus driver. When I say bus driver, it’s about an approach. It isn’t that Dak can’t make almost any type of throw or play that any other QB in the NFL can make. He can.
Show me a so-called "gunslinger," who wasn’t prone to INTs. Driving the bus means you get your team to their desired destiny, not revving up the engine and turning a tight corner and flipping your team into a ditch. If the Cowboys are to reach their destiny this year, they’re going to have to pile 53 players onto the bus and place Dak in the driver’s seat. From there, it’s up to him to do what he does best: drive the bus to victory.
Let’s stop comparing Dak to others’ or feeling like we have to keep up with the Joneses. How many times have we heard Matthew Stafford’s name this offseason? We’re fortunate to have Dak no matter what the nay-sayers insist. And Dak is at his best when he’s not under pressure to be something he’s not. His best asset has always been composure and knowing what not to do even if he can do it. That wisdom has placed him in the upper echelon of QBs in this league.
History is gone. With the right pieces around, and a good enough defense, I believe Dak has the tools and ability to drive this team to the Super Bowl in 2023.
And I genuinely mean that as a compliment to Dak Prescott.
