With QB Dak Prescott back, the Dallas Cowboys expect to have the league’s top offense
To know Dallas Cowboys offensive coordinator Kellen Moore is to understand that he is a man of few words and he is not prone to hyperbole.
So when Moore met with the Cowboys’ offense before the start of training camp and matter-of-factly stated his expectations for the season in his normal dry and monotone voice, no one batted an eye.
“In our first meeting Coach Kellen said our No. 1 goal this year is to be the No. 1 offense,” running back Ezekiel Elliott said.
However, the Cowboys likely won’t be playing at that level Thursday when they open the season at the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
The first-team offense has not played any meaningful snaps together since the fifth game last season when quarterback Dak Prescott fractured his right ankle.
He did not play in the preseason and Pro Bowl right guard Zack Martin has been ruled out of the opener after testing positive for COVID-19.
“Where do I see us being Week 1? I don’t know right now,” Elliott said. “Hopefully, we’ll be looking pretty good.”
Elliott acknowledged the Cowboys never expected to operate at peak efficiency in the first game of a 17-game season in 2021.
Circumstances certainly make it unrealistic.
But Moore’s overall goal is attainable with the Cowboys’ plethora of explosive weapons, led by Elliott, a two-time NFL rushing champion, and the trio of Amari Cooper, CeeDee Lamb and Michael Gallup at receiver.
Dak Prescott is back and hungry
But it all starts with Prescott, the team’s newly minted $160 million man.
Before going down in Week 5, Prescott was on pace to shatter the NFL record for passing yards in a season in 2020.
He’s back and expects to be better than ever.
The surgically repaired ankle is 100 percent rehabilitated. But then he missed all of training camp and the preseason with a strained shoulder, raising questions about his overall health and team chemistry.
But there are no doubts about Prescott’s ability to regain his status as one of the league’s premier quarterbacks.
“We’re talented,” he said. “We can be special, we can be real special.”
WR CeeDee Lamb is a budding superstar
The Cowboys are truly special at receiver.
Cooper, a four-time Pro Bowler with four 1000-yard receiving seasons, had a career-high 92 receptions last season despite playing with four quarterbacks.
Lamb set a team rookie record with 74 receptions in 2020, despite playing only five games with Prescott and playing primarily as the slot receiver.
He has been the Cowboys’ best player in training camp and is a budding superstar as an outside receiver.
Gallup is often the forgotten man but is the team’s best vertical threat. He recorded 1,107 yards receiving in 2019.
The Cowboys plan to move the trio around to different spots, possibly making them even more explosive and unpredictable.
“It’s special. And when we break the huddle, you’re not going to necessarily know where any of the guys are lining up,” Prescott said.
The Cowboys are also potent at tight end.
Blake Jarwin has regained his starting job after missing the final 15 games last season with a torn ACL sustained in the season opener.
He brings a vertical threat to the position and is especially dangerous on seam routes.
But not to be overlooked is Dalton Schultz, who emerged as a capable pass catcher in his own right following Jarwin’s departure. Schultz had a career-high 63 catches in 2020 and remains a favorite safety valve for Prescott.
Ezekiel Elliott eager for bounce-back season
What is even more exciting for the Cowboys is that Elliott is motivated to be a dominant force again.
In 2020, Elliott averaged career lows of 4.0 yards per carry and 65.3 rushing yards per game. He scored only six rushing touchdowns and had six fumbles with five lost.
In his first three seasons, Elliott had 31 plays of 20 or more yards, including four over 40 yards. But he only had four plays of 20-plus yards in 2019 and three in 2020.
An aggressive offseason conditioning program has him lighter, quicker and in the best shape of his career.
He is ready to put the big plays back in his game.
”I feel real good. I feel healthy,” Elliott said. “I feel like I’m in good shape. I like where my speed and my quickness is. I like how comfortable I am in the offense. So I think I’m ready to go.”
The good news for the Cowboys is they have a capable backup in the speedy Tony Pollard, who had two touchdown runs of 40 yards or more last year and will serve as the third-down back.
How to keep them happy? Just win, baby
You won’t hear Moore complaining about having too many weapons.
”Honestly, I feel fortunate,” Moore said. “We’re in a great position. We’ve got a lot of versatility with our group, which is something we’re really embracing right now.”
And you won’t hear the players talking about not getting enough touches. They have all checked their egos at the door.
”When you’ve got guys like that, that don’t have an ego, that’s what makes this group special,” Prescott said. “We all want to see each other succeed and more importantly we want to do it as a unit.”
And if they do that and they win, the happiness will come.
”That’s how everybody will be happy,” Cooper said. “When you’re winning a lot of games, you know that something has to be going right. That’s all that matters to me, no matter what my stats look like. If we win, I’m real happy, because that’s what it’s about.”
OL must stay healthy after injury-plagued season
Of course, it all starts up front for the Cowboys.
That group must stay healthy, especially the Big 3 in Martin and tackles La’el Collins and Tyron Smith.
Martin, who missed six games last season, is sidelined for Game 1 but he should be back soon.
Collins, the right tackle, will head into the Buccaneers game nursing a neck strain. But he will be on the field after missing every game last season due to hip surgery.
Smith, the Pro Bowler at left tackle, missed 14 games last season because of neck surgery but says he feels as good as ever.
Center Tyler Biadasz is more comfortable in his second year as a starter, and left guard Connor Williams is coming off the most consistent season of his career.
Primary backup Connor McGovern, who will start in place of Martin against Tampa Bay, has the experience of eight starts under his belt from 2020.
“Those guys are the heartbeat of our whole team,” Elliott said. “They set the tone week in and week out and we definitely missed them a lot last year.
“We’ve got a lot to prove. I’m proud of this team and how hard we’ve worked this offseason to get back to where we are. And I’m excited where we’re going to go.”
And they hope to go straight to the top of the NFL as an offense and fulfill Moore’s goal.
“I think we want high expectations,” Moore said. “That’s what we want in the room. And we’ll take it from there. What that turns into, we’ll see what happens. But we’re certainly going to aspire to take it as far as we can.
“We know the season is going to have ups and downs. We’re going to have struggles. We’re going to have successes. But we still have the endgame in mind that we want to be the best.”
