FORT WORTH, Texas — For the 25th consecutive training camp, Dallas Cowboys owner and Pro Football Hall of Famer Jerry Jones has boldly proclaimed his team is in a better position to win this year than it was at the same time one year ago.
The consistency of his salesmanship, and optimism, remains unmatched.
Every August the Cowboys are always better than they were than the previous August.
Inevitably, the ides of September get the Cowboys. Or the ides of October, November, December and January, too.
February usually isn’t an issue.
Maybe August is the reason why the Dallas Cowboys remain the most valuable franchise in North American sports. It’s certainly not January or February.
Per Sportico’s made-up formula, the Cowboys are now worth $4.15 billion. Not sure what that converts to in Bitcoin.
Imagine their value if they won a NFC divisional playoff game for the first time this century?
It is August, and the Dallas Cowboys are less than two weeks away from starting the season when they play in Denver in the first fake game of the year.
Not much suggests the Cowboys are better today than they were at this time one year ago, but there is one good reason to support Jerry’s optimism.
It’s because the NFC East is the Pac-12 of the NFL, and the Cowboys have the best quarterback of The Poor Four.
Dak Prescott is "The Why" the Cowboys should be the favorite to win the NFC East and return to the playoffs for a second consecutive year.
Doesn’t mean they’ll do anything once they get there, but it’s August, so allow us to drink from the Dallas Cowboys Chalice of Hope, which is on sale now at the Cowboys team store for $49.99; all proceeds benefit the Dallas Cowboys.
The Dallas Cowboys starting quarterback is 29 years old, and entering the prime years of his career. These next six years or so should be the best years of his football life.
After six seasons and 85 NFL starts, it’s apparent Dak is a good NFL quarterback. In his six years, the Cowboys have won three NFC East titles, and are 53-32.
After six seasons and 85 NFL starts, it’s also apparent he is not one of the best NFL quarterbacks.
He’s behind Patrick Mahomes, Russell Wilson, Joe Burrow, Josh Allen, Aaron Rodgers, Tom Brady, and maybe a few others.
Put the right guys around him, and he’s good enough to win a Super Bowl.
If you put Dak Prescott on the Tennessee Titans, rather than Ryan Tannehill, that’s a Super Bowl team.
Dak isn't as great as Josh Allen and those other names, but he is better than all of quarterbacks he will face a combined six times in 2022.
A schedule of Carson Wentz, Jalen Hurts and Daniel Jones strikes fear into their respective fan bases, not the teams they play.
Wentz is on his third NFL team since he was the second overall pick of the 2016 NFL draft; the one where Dak was a fourth-round pick.
Maybe it was the injuries, but as the Indianapolis Colts learned last season with Wentz as their starting QB, he ain’t got it.
After only one year in Indy, the Colts dumped him on the Washington Football Team, which named him the starter because apparently they cannot find any other human being to do it.
Dak is better than Carson Wentz.
The New York Giants remain committed to 2019 first-round pick, Daniel Jones, who is 12-25 in his career as a starter.
Jones has shown some ability in his 37 career starts, and he’s had almost zero help in his time in New York, which is why the Giants will give him one more year.
Dak is better than Daniel Jones.
Which brings us to the most intriguing player on the list, Philadelphia’s Jalen Hurts.
The ex-Alabama and Oklahoma quarterback is entering his third season, and he’s shown the Eagles just enough that they married him as their starter.
He’s an NFL quarterback.
Also, Dak is better than Jalen Hurts.
With the exception of Dak, the NFC East’s starting quarterbacks will soon be career backups.
If you are looking for a reason to be excited about the Cowboys’ season, Dak’s your guy.
Behind this matchup advantage, however, the Cowboys have some terrible history working against them in their bid to sell $35 Back-To-Back NFC East Champs T-shirts.
The last time a team won consecutive NFC East titles was 2004, when Andy Reid and Donovan McNabb were on their run of four straight division championships.
The last time the Cowboys won consecutive NFC East championships was 1995 and ‘96.
For the younger audience, the 1995 season is the last time the Cowboys won a Super Bowl. Check YouTube or Google for highlights.
Dak Prescott was 2 years old.
That’s when the Cowboys owned January, not just August.
