NFL teams
Ian O'Connor, ESPN Senior Writer 7y

Cowboys great Roger Staubach: Dak Prescott holds real promise

NFL, Dallas Cowboys

Cowboys icon Roger Staubach has seen this movie before. Back in the day, he represented one half of a Texas-sized quarterback controversy with Craig Morton. Had Tom Landry turned to the more athletic Staubach earlier, those Dallas teams might have won three Super Bowl rings instead of two.

Staubach hasn't met current Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott, but he has admired him from afar. "Roger the Dodger" appreciates the rookie's elusiveness and his split-second choices that have contributed to his interception-free start.

"You can tell that the players respect the heck out of him and that he's already a leader," Staubach told ESPN by phone. "He is amazing at making decisions when ... there's a difficult situation there and he needs to dump the ball off. He also can throw to lead a receiver. Sometimes he throws the ball a little low, and I don't know if it's intentional, but he's right on the money in allowing his receivers to make tough catches.

"He's got something ticking up there, and you know you've got to get rid of the ball pretty quick in the NFL. He makes good, solid decisions. I think we've got a wonderful quarterback for the future."

But is the future now for Prescott? Should he remain the starter if he beats Green Bay on the road? Should the Dallas Cowboys deliberate over the bye week and conclude that a healthy Tony Romo is better off as a second-string Romo against the Philadelphia Eagles on Oct. 30?

If anyone deserves the last word on those questions, it's the 74-year-old legend who knows a bit about playing quarterback for the Cowboys. Listen to his words closely for a clue or two.

"It's still all about winning football games," Staubach said, "and Tony deserves to get back in there eventually. We have a great one in Tony and a future great one in Dak. If I was in the atmosphere of the Cowboy locker room, which Jason [Garrett] will be, he'll get a sense of what's the right thing for the team. They all like Tony, who's a heck of a football player, but they also love Dak right now and what he's doing. He's got the team behind him.

"If they beat Green Bay, there will be a lot of controversy to it. I'm a Romo fan, too, so I don't want to say anything against Tony. But the way Dak's going, it's all about the team and what's the best feel for the team at this particular point."

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