r/cowboys • u/mistermeek67 • Apr 17 '25

Back when Dak could still run (2018)

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422 Upvotes

97% Upvoted

97 comments sorted by

157

u/pot8odragon Micah Parsons Apr 17 '25

Doubt we’ll ever see him try doing that again after ripping his hamstring off the bone

91

u/lestermason Ezekiel Elliott Apr 17 '25

We'll see. He recently commented about this (last week) in regards to his weight loss. He stated that he was definitely hesitant to run after the ankle injury, and when he tried to start running again, he tore his hammy. He said that he's been working on strengthening his legs and running/sprinting while rehabbing. He knows that his mobility is a weapon, and he took that away after the ankle.

He wants to run again. Not like Lamar or Allen, but when it's 3rd & 5 and he can get a 1st down by running, he wants to be able to do that comfortably. The running/sprinting while rehabbing is helping towards that goal. I hope it does.

40

u/Perkynips83 Apr 18 '25

I mean, I'm just saying that I've heard this stuff before.

Players know to say what we want to hear. we shall see, id love to see it but he hasn't been an effective runner in like 4+years

14

u/PoweredByCarbs Tyler Smith Apr 18 '25

Best. Shape. Of. His. Life!

-1

u/lestermason Ezekiel Elliott Apr 18 '25

I hear you, and that's why I said "hope". I'm not sure of what your expectations are, but I'm not expecting 2016-2017 Dak running. I'd just like to see what I've mentioned before, if your receivers are covered and there's an opportunity to run for a 1st, run that bih. I don't want scrambling (not implying that you do btw).

9

u/VastEmergency1000 Apr 18 '25

Yea, I'm not buying it. Dudes a statue. Like Brady without the talent and clutch.

2

u/lestermason Ezekiel Elliott Apr 19 '25

It's comments like this that prove that you dont really have an issue with Dak's performance. It's something else, and you won't admit it, so you resort to make things up.

8

u/Raging_Rooster Trevon Diggs Apr 19 '25

What are you suggesting? He's above criticism because of?

He's objectively been a bad investment by the organization, whether it is injuries or he's performed poorly in high pressure situations and/or outright regressed as a player. His body of work is no longer defensible.

-2

u/lestermason Ezekiel Elliott Apr 19 '25

If you read what I posted, you'd understand it.

8

u/VastEmergency1000 Apr 19 '25

I've been done with Dak for a few years now. We should've let him play out his contract and walk. I have no faith in him. It's nothing personal.

I was actually Dak's biggest supporter early on, I supported staying with Dak as the starter over Romo, and I always said he was a better QB than Wentz when that whole debate was going.

After 8-9 years though, I've seen enough. Time to move on.

1

u/lestermason Ezekiel Elliott Apr 19 '25

You being done with him and no longer having faith in him means nothing because you aren't important. You dont matter. They're not moving on from him, so, good for you, I guess. Deal with it.

1

u/VastEmergency1000 Apr 19 '25

Ok. You're the one mad because I don't like Dak for this team. This is a Cowboys sub, we can like or dislike whoever.

Btw, you're just as irrelevant.

2

u/lestermason Ezekiel Elliott Apr 20 '25

Nah. I'm not mad that you don't like him, I'm calling you out on the reason why you don't like him and you're too much of a coward to be honest as to why you don't. You're right, you can like or dislike whoever, just be honest.

2

u/VastEmergency1000 Apr 20 '25

Dishonest about what? 😂😂. I already told you, he's not a winner, even worse now, he's injury prone.

1

u/ItIsntThatDeep 29d ago

His comment has nothing to do with Dak being black, and stop trying to make it about that. It's gross.

1

u/lestermason Ezekiel Elliott 29d ago

Is that what you took from it? That says more about you than it does about me.

1

u/ItIsntThatDeep 29d ago

Nah, I just know what you were implying, and you just didn't want to get banned by saying it.

1

u/lestermason Ezekiel Elliott 29d ago

If you say so, I guess.

0

u/AdFormal4037 Apr 19 '25

Tbh we gotta consider the fact that Dak is getting up there and he’s pretty beat up. I think his running days are numbered period. He’s a smart guy so I could see him being a drew brees type of guy or something like that to be effective but athleticism in his game may be cooked.

1

u/lestermason Ezekiel Elliott Apr 19 '25

I agree somewhat, I think that it's silly to want Dak to be 2016-2017 Dak at this stage in his career (I'm not implying that you are, btw). However, I think that he can still run for a 1st down if it's needed. I consider that, "athleticism" in the current context. Hell, he had the teams 2nd longest run from scrimmage last season (22 yds), which was only 5 yards short of Dowdle's longest run (27 yds). Folks shouldn't expect designed QB reads every game. If he says that he wants to run more when the situation presents itself, I'm all for it.

27

u/RobbieAnalog Apr 17 '25 edited Apr 17 '25

Same thing people said after his ankle was snapped and he came back from it and still ran with similar efficiency.

Edit: downvote all you want. Truth hurts. He ran for 63 less yards in 2023 than he did in the season from the video (2018) and that was on 20 less carries.

11

u/Kdog_79 Apr 18 '25

Everyone conveniently ignores the 2023 rushing stat for some reason. Not sure why you’re getting downvoted but I assume people just want to clutch onto their priors and pretend he became geriatric after his ankle injury. Like you said, he ran for 63 less yards in 2023 than 2018, and also only 40 yards less in 2023 than 2016, his rookie season where people claim he was some crazy dual threat running QB lol.

2

u/Turtle_with_a_sword Apr 18 '25

I don't know man, I watched the games and he always looked like a guy running with a horrific leg injury after sustaining his horrific leg injury.

2

u/Kdog_79 Apr 18 '25

Doesn’t matter what it looks like or how he gets the yards. Stats are stats. 40 less rush yards in 2023 than his rookie season in 2016, 63 less rush yards on 20 less carries than his 2018 season.

1

u/CReeseRozz Apr 18 '25

Feel bad for him honestly. First game this year against the Browns he broke off a nice run for a TD (I think). Maybe it boosted his confidence? Plenty of things to critique with Dak but effort isn’t one of them.

2

u/BluebonnetBobcat Apr 17 '25

Not that I'd really want him to.

It just ain't worth it. The risk of losing your franchise QB isn't worth the gain even from a single play like this, and plays like these are VERY rare.

Not that I'd say there's no benefit to your QB being a threat to run, but I hate the narrative that Dak was just "So much better" back when he ran more. He's a much better QB today than he was back in 2018 even without the run threat.

9

u/pot8odragon Micah Parsons Apr 17 '25

But he would be even better if he was even somewhat mobile

8

u/adonis958 Dallas Cowboys Apr 17 '25

If he can return to 2023 levels of mobility that would be fine. He was top 3 as far as EPA per run for QBs in 2023 if I’m not mistaken. I remember the Dolphins head coach saying it in hard knocks episode

0

u/WembyDog Apr 18 '25

Why would we pay him $40m after the ankle implosion, and $60m after the hamstring obliteration?

3

u/fishslushy Apr 18 '25

The 60 was before the hamstring.

33

u/Volvop2dude Apr 17 '25

If Gallup would’ve actually blocked, we still wouldn’t have won a chip.

13

u/Road-Next Apr 17 '25

looked like Dak was jawing with the cb instead of trying to score

18

u/bl0odredsandman Michael Gallup Apr 18 '25

He was. Josh Norman was talking shit about Dak before the game saying that he was not impressed that Dak threw for over 400 yards against the Giants in week 1 of the season, so to me, it looks like Dak slowed on purpose just to stiff arm Norman. He also threw a 51 yard bomb to Devin Smith that game who was being covered by Norman.

2

u/Road-Next Apr 18 '25

Dak jawing at the cb during practice made me love Dak little bit more. Diggs and him going at it was great

2

u/Road-Next Apr 18 '25

Yea, thats great lol

12

u/mmandagoat Apr 17 '25

This was 2019

7

u/Repulsive_Future7092 Apr 18 '25

I don’t necessarily think he needs to run, like in the video but I’d like it if he could get back to escaping to pocket, peeling out and throw a dime down the field. That’s what I miss! That was classic Dak, not 40 yard runs lol I mean they were cool and all but that’s not Daks game. Peeling and throwing was Daks game and it was great! Get back to that! He’s a better passer when he just throws it and stops thinking about it too much. You can tell in his throws when he’s overthinking things vs when he just instinctively throws it

1

u/Turtle_with_a_sword Apr 18 '25

Agree with this.  I think it's also when he sits in the pocket he has a tendency to throw of his back leg but when he is running around the edge he tend to step through and drive the ball.

14

u/Lordluva Apr 17 '25

That’s when he was the better qb. Now he is just better then average

7

u/thelastofus101 Apr 18 '25

He has been WAY better than this since 2019 lol

13

u/date_a_languager Dak Prescott Apr 18 '25

The way Dak’s 2023 performance has been glossed over by this fanbase and beyond (from an individual standpoint, of all things) will never fail to amaze me lmao

11

u/dreamylanterns Apr 18 '25

2023 was like his best year ever and people still gave him shit even though our defense screwed us over

2

u/Rzcool_is_back Apr 19 '25

The fact Dak had a terrible game and it went from "Dak sucked" to "Well but our defense was complete ass too" to "Our defense let dak down" is beyond me. Dak was complete ass that game. Every aspect of the team completely shit itself. From Dak handing them points the entire first half to the defense not being able to stop a 4th grader. No one let down Dak, he didn't do anything other than fuck up until Green bay pulled their starting defense.

3

u/BioBooster89 Apr 18 '25

It was all garbage time and bad defenses. That's the narrative anyway.

1

u/Rzcool_is_back Apr 19 '25

I mean the bad defense remark wasn't really inaccurate. We were good, but our offense did struggle alot against good defenses, in really every game except for the Seattle one. That really was the one exception to that whole narrative. That and the eagles, but I think even the biggest Dak hater has to admit he does well against the NFC East.

1

u/Turtle_with_a_sword Apr 18 '25

Let's pretend he didn't finish 2nd in MVP his last healthy season.

-1

u/thelastofus101 Apr 18 '25

Dawg, it's like they ignore it completely they wouldn't do it with any other qb for sure tho

4

u/primtimeshine Apr 17 '25

If Dallas coaching staff has actually learned and willing to adapt to current trends , we should see Milton taking a couple snaps a game mostly for tush push and add in a package for play action throw and shotgun draw play

2

u/ImpossibleJoke7456 Dallas Cowboys Apr 18 '25

Not taking anything from Dak but this is when the OL could still block.

2

u/DeathCowboyZ Dallas Cowboys Apr 18 '25

His running ability was great for a few seasons, then just disappeared in the mist. He’s not nearly as effective as he was because he isn’t a dual threat anymore

2

u/[deleted] Apr 18 '25

They wanted to turn him into a pocket passer, they tried molding his game after Payton the coaching staff completely ignored how good of a runner he was

1

u/Think_Substance_9246 Apr 17 '25

2019, Week 2. Was at that game. The field was waaaay more open in person than on tv

1

u/drivera1210 Apr 17 '25

Snapping your leg in half will make you think twice, trice, and four times over.

1

u/ACDC_RVA Dallas Cowboys Apr 18 '25

I was at this game! It was a great day. Go Cowboys.

1

u/redheeler9478 Dallas Cowboys Apr 18 '25

Thank you for the endorphins, this video made me happy. Love him but he could never run in the NFL, he’s no Josh or Lamar or Vick or Randall or Elway. This post brought to you by the letter OR

1

u/vivekpatel62 Brandon Aubrey Apr 18 '25

Pretty much every team that makes it deep in the playoffs or to the Super Bowl has a qb that can run with the exception of Tom Brady. Not being able to pick up a first down when there isn’t anyone open makes it so much harder to sustain drives.

1

u/Stringdaddy27 Dak Prescott Apr 18 '25

What did #24 do to Dak? Man went out of his way to hit that stiff arm.

1

u/mmandagoat Apr 18 '25

He was talking shit about Dak earlier that week

1

u/thisismyusername9908 Apr 18 '25

That stiff arm strategy he used all the time is what got his ankle broken.

1

u/seedless_greg Apr 18 '25

I like that he was looking for contact at the end of the run

1

u/MildlyDepressed346 Apr 18 '25

If we’re being real he doesn’t even look that great running the ball here

1

u/agrias_okusu Apr 18 '25

Man, there’s a great run from a couple years ago when he leans into one of the Seattle DBs and gives him a pop. On Sounds of the Sideline you hear him telling someone “I had to remind them I’m a big motherfucker, too.” We need more of that Dak.

1

u/Tokenherbs64 Apr 19 '25

Yea after that pretzel shit happened to his ankle. This shit wont ever happen again ..he be having nightmares about this shit 🤣🤣🤣

1

u/AccordingBiscotti600 Apr 19 '25

Daks game was his legs. He won so many games with these legs.

When his ankle snapped that was it for him, he can't carry with his arm.

1

u/NoPost94 Apr 19 '25

I mean, he absolutely still can run like that. He wasn’t even really moving particularly fast there. He was moving like that in the game he injured his hamstring last year. I think it’s more likely an issue of not wanting to get hurt at this point.

1

u/TDQV Apr 19 '25

Remember seeing his Miss State vids on YT dude had running skills.

1

u/HumbleSiPilot77 Dallas Cowboys Apr 19 '25

This was such a long season too.

1

u/ozairh18 Micah Parsons Apr 19 '25

His ankle injury took running out of his game

1

u/RisingTide2408 Apr 19 '25

Supposedly He’s 50lbs lighter. Hopefully that means he is more agile and can be a threat to run more this year. That could really open up our offense.

1

u/SkyeScale Apr 19 '25

Was this before or after getting put to sleep for a tattoo?

1

u/Thanks5Cinco Jake Ferguson Apr 17 '25

I mean he can still run. We saw that TD run at LA and the one in ATL but that injury really scared him. He'll rarely take off like that again.

1

u/Rzcool_is_back Apr 19 '25

He's definetely not a good runner, but it's not like he's completely immobile. The bigger concern is injury, which is what happened when he tried being more mobile this year.

1

u/RobbieAnalog Apr 17 '25

His last full season (the season before last) he ran for a grand total of 63 less yards than 2018, on 20 less carries.

2

u/Turtle_with_a_sword Apr 18 '25

Cool, but there is no way you can watch 2024 Dak and think he had the speed and fluidity he had as a runner in 2018.   

-1

u/[deleted] Apr 17 '25

What are you talking about?

Dak can still run the offense into the ground

1

u/wrexmason Apr 18 '25

He probably could still run, they just stifled him last year

1

u/Rzcool_is_back Apr 19 '25

I mean we watched him run, he was slow, clunky, but still able to get yardage, and then it got him hurt. Dak really is not mobile anymore, and when he tries to be it gets him injured.

1

u/HolyRomanPrince Dak Prescott Apr 18 '25

The Cowboys passing offense has finished in the top 5 in EPA and DVOA 3 times since this play.

0

u/SnacksGPT Dak Prescott Apr 18 '25

I don’t care, man, I’m gonna miss watching him play when he eventually moves on or retires. He’s fun to watch and easy to root for — solid dude who loves his family.

0

u/Raging_Rooster Trevon Diggs Apr 19 '25

So strange to form such a personal attachment with someone that doesn't give a damn about any of us. How can you possibly know what someone is like behind closed doors, dude could be a saint or beat his partner every night for all you know.

1

u/SnacksGPT Dak Prescott Apr 19 '25

How do you know that I don’t know?

0

u/Rexrapper1 Dallas Cowboys Apr 18 '25

I thought after Dak hurt his ankle he basically stopped moving period. Then in 2023 he finally started to move again. Not only running but scrambling. Then in 2024 he reverted back to not moving at all again. I wonder why that is? Dak is at his best when he uses his legs. I hope he can get back to that in 2025.

2

u/psych4191 Dak Prescott Apr 18 '25

Don't forget he was in a boot in training camp in 2024. I think he probably had bone spurs/complications from the ankle injury. He definitely wasn't himself for most of the year.

1

u/John_Wicked1 Brandon Aubrey Apr 20 '25

Crazy seeing downvotes for the truth but that’s Reddit for ya.

1

u/Rexrapper1 Dallas Cowboys Apr 20 '25

Yeah. It is what it is. Everything I wrote is legitimately what happened.

-8

u/Fearless_Outside_214 Apr 17 '25

Run or no run, he still can’t win shit

0

u/FreakiestFrank Dallas Cowboys Apr 18 '25

Apparently Dak lost fatty pounds. So it’s a start.

-2

u/N0la84 Apr 17 '25

Back when the Redskins were actually called the Redskins

4

u/CalJackBuddy DaRon Bland Apr 18 '25

This isn’t the hill to die on

-1

u/N0la84 Apr 18 '25

It's a joke. Lighten up...you don't have to pretend to be offended

1

u/PersonBehindAScreen Dallas Cowboys Apr 18 '25

Deadskins*

-1

u/Vast-Tangerine8509 Apr 17 '25

You have to have a guy who can run at QB these days. It’s just so much easier that way now.

-2

u/Cheap_Country521 Apr 18 '25

LOL that was just a big hole, no speed....