Cowboys’ Brandin Cooks calls criticism of Dak Prescott ‘unbelievable’ and ‘blasphemy;’ QB says he is ‘blessed’ |Max Sporty|

FRISCO, Texas — Rightly or wrongly, quarterbacks get most of the credit and the most criticism depending on how their NFL team results in game day. It makes some sense considering that it is the position that has the greatest impact on the outcome of a given game.

The Dallas Cowboys know that better than anyone because of the venom-filled criticism that comes Dak Prescott’s way, especially after the team’s disappointing 48-32 NFC wild-card playoff loss at home against the seventh-seeded Green Bay Packers in January. However, Cowboys wide receiver Brandin Cooks, an 11-year veteran who has recorded more than 1,000 receiving yards with four different teams, is putting his foot down on the relentless criticism headed Prescott’s way, as the 2023 Second Team An All-Pro quarterback is in the prime. in the midst of a very public contract negotiation.

The 30-year-old wide receiver has caught passes from the likes of Drew Brees, Tom Brady, Jared Goff, Deshaun Watson and Davis Mills during his career, which includes stops with the New Orleans Saints (2014-2016), New England Patriots. (2017), Los Angeles Rams (2018-2019) and Houston Texans (2020-2022) before being traded to the Cowboys in 2023. Never before has he seen a quarterback of his get attacked to the level that Prescott does.

“It’s blasphemy. It’s unbelievable,” Cooks said Wednesday when asked about the criticism Prescott is taking. “The guy shows up every year, year after year. Put up numbers, lead his team. He can’t do it all by himself. A lot of those great quarterbacks I’ve been around, Tom.[Brady] and Drew [Brees]don’t get me wrong, they won a lot of games, won a lot of Super Bowls, but they also had a lot of help around them, right? We players all around [Dak] must also step. So when we hear that disrespect, I take it personally and as his teammates we should take it personally because at the end of the day, somebody has to be able to help him get over that hump so we can win one.”

Pro Bowl left guard Tyler Smith had a similar reaction to criticism of Prescott on Thursday.

“That’s my brother,” Smith said. “A lot of people have a lot of opinions about people and what they think or how things are, but one thing I know is a reality and a fact is that we are here grinding every day. This man leaves the building last almost every day, whether people know it or not, “Just seeing the work he does on the field, how he encourages us, how he lifts us up, it’s something huge. I got his back, I know he’s got mine.”

Prescott was aware of Cooks’ and others’ comments on the issue before his Thursday media session with local reporters, and he called the locker room’s support a blessing.

“I’m blessed with so many of those guys out there,” Prescott said Thursday. “I know we’re talking about one or maybe several guys but obviously I’ve seen what Cooks has said and I’ve mentioned over and over again that’s one of the best guys I’ve ever played with. Obviously one of the best .football payers, you look at his resume and what he’s done, but one of the best men and that’s a guy, he’s the epitome of what I mean by somebody, that just the way they carry themselves, the way they they approach life, push you to be your best every day. And it was so some of those guys and I’m lucky to be the quarterback, being able to connect with so many different people in this position and something I don’t take for granted.”

To Cooks’ point, the Dallas defense allowed the youthful Packers offense, led by first-time starting quarterback Jordan Love, to score touchdowns on six of their first seven drives, including five consecutive drives in a row. Prescott put together what was arguably the best year of his eight-year career in 2023, throwing for an NFL-best 36 touchdowns and recording the best passer rating of his. NFL life (105.9, the second best in the league last season). That production also led to receiver CeeDee Lamb earning the first First Team All-Pro selection of his young career after catching an NFL-best 135 passes for 1,749 yards (second most in the NFL) in coach Mike McCarthy’s first season serving as the Cowboys’ offensive play caller. Lamb’s receptions and receiving yards broke Pro Football Hall of Famer Michael Irvin’s single-season team records in those metrics set back in 1995, the last one. Super Bowl season for the Cowboys. As a result of Prescott’s efforts, Dallas owned the #1 scoring offense in football, averaging 29.9 points per game.

Dak Prescott 2023 Season

* First in Cowboys history to be straight NFL pass TD leader in a season

Yes, Cooks admitted the team is aware of the turmoil surrounding Prescott, but the team doesn’t have the ugly remarks at the top of their minds.

“We locked in,” Cooks said. “I think the big focus is to tune out the noise, focus on what we’ve got in this locker room and take it one game at a time and not get caught up in the roller coaster of a season or what people are saying.”

Some may perceive Cooks standing up for his quarterback in a public way just days before his Week 1 opener at the Cleveland Browns on Sunday as paternalistic, but the wide receiver claims his defense comes from a place of love and respect for how Prescott lives his life , not only as a footballer. The three-time Pro Bowl quarterback overcame the death of his mother Peggy Prescott in 2023 after she lost a battle with colon cancer, and he beat the odds to make it into the NFL as a fourth-round pick back in 2016, now entering his. ninth season as the Cowboys starting QB. Prescott also established a foundation (Trust, Fight Finish) that funds colon cancer research, mental health advocacy, law enforcement and community funding and distress relief. His philanthropy earned the quarterback the 2022 Walter Payton Man of the Year Award, which is given to the NFL player who demonstrates an exemplary, humanitarian commitment to charity and community service.

“Like I told Dak before, and I’m not saying this because I want the ball, but I have so much love for that guy,” Cooks said. “Just his story, forget being a player. So you cherish those moments with guys like that. Our reception room, like I said, our locker room and everything changes year by year. To be able to have that relationship that goes beyond football. , and it will continue throughout the a lifetime, but these moments don’t last forever.”

Entering their second season as teammates, Prescott expects an even bigger year with Cooks, whose eight receiving touchdowns were tied for the eighth most in the league in 2023.

“Especially going into this season knowing that teams are going to take 88 away [CeeDee Lamb]or try to take away 88, as they should. You need these other guys to step up, Cooks being the veteran, being the guy whose resume out of those others stands alone, you know he’s got the production. You know he has the in-game production against different opponents with different quarterbacks. For me, it’s about making sure our relationship is unbeatable. We understand what we both want to do. I can foresee more with the guy. He understands when I throw the ball in and out of lanes. We can all expect a little more from it.

McCarthy spoke with Prescott Wednesday morning before his regular press conference, and he raved about his quarterback’s focus ahead of the 2024 season.

“I think he does a great job,” McCarthy said of Prescott’s ability to split. “I think he’s got a tremendous support system. Just frankly just left him in the quarterback and center meeting and yeah, he’s all football. He’s dialed in. He’s always been that way, so I think he’s doing a great job of that. “

Prescott himself admitted that he even tunes cowboys the public comments of owner and managing director Jerry Jones to the media to remain locked in ahead of a season in Dallas in which 24 players, including himself, are entering the final years of their current contracts (according to OverTheCap.com), along with McCarthy and his entire coaching staff. .

“When you look left or right and there are so many people in that situation, I think it’s a little bit easier to lock and wrap those arms around each other and say ‘this is on us to change this, to do. it’s different, being here next year,'” Prescott said. “Even just going into year nine, all of my past experiences, all of that, plays into the hand of making me, this team better and making that feel different, I guess, that you could say.”