Stephen A. Smith didn’t mince words when he took aim at Dak Prescott and the Dallas Cowboys on ESPN’s “First Take” on Friday. His message was blunt: Dallas has gotten too comfortable, and that comfort has helped create a culture where losing doesn’t sting enough.
Smith zeroed in on Prescott in particular, saying he wants to see the quarterback show more edge and more public accountability toward his teammates.
“I just want to say this about Dak Prescott,” Smith said. “Here's what really, realy bothers me about him: he's a damn great player, he can ball, he's not a scrub, but the priority is always in saying the right things and coming across polished.
Sometimes I’d like to see him ticked off. Sometimes I’d like to see him annoyed at his damn teammates.
Sometimes I’d like to see this cat that’s getting paid $60 million a year, that's gotten $337 million over the last seven years, that has one playoff win to show for it in that span, come across as a little pissed off.”
Smith didn’t stop there. He said the Cowboys’ environment has made losing too easy to tolerate.
“They living the life in Dallas. That’s why they’re trash. Because they’re so damn comfortable that losing doesn’t hurt enough,” Stephen A. added.
He also made clear what he wants to see from Prescott going forward.
“I wanna see him ticked. I wanna see him calling out teammates.
I wanna see him doing whatever it takes to ruffle feather and to get cats uncomfortable with mediocrity. I don't see that with Dak Prescott.
While Prescott’s behind-the-scenes approach is hard to measure, his public tone has long been the diplomatic one. Smith’s point was that Dallas needs more visible frustration from its leaders, especially with the team struggling the way it is.
Smith isn’t the only former Cowboy or Cowboys figure questioning the team’s culture. Former quarterback Ben DiNucci criticized the offense’s effort, saying, “You can’t turn on the Cowboys tape from last night and tell me guys on that offense are giving 100%. Lazy, no attention to details, no creativity with play calls.”
DeMarcus Ware also took aim at the defense, focusing on effort and attitude.
“When I played and there were problems, the first thing we did was how do we control the trenches?” Ware said.
“That’s something that’s free. It’s the effort and attitude of the team.
That’s something that can be changed, that’s not a quantitative thing. It’s a heart thing, a pride thing these guys have to sort of turn up.
Yes, a lot of people are saying their season is over, but in the locker room there has to be a mentality shift to say we still got it.”
The blame doesn’t stop with the players, either. The article points to the coaching staff as the bigger source of the problem, with defensive coordinator Christian Parker getting some of the blame and head coach Brian Schottenheimer taking the biggest hit. Schottenheimer, the piece argues, deserves the most criticism for what it calls a wildly unsuccessful run as Cowboys head coach.
Dallas still has plenty to clean up before any talk of a turnaround makes sense. And with the culture questions now out in the open, the path back looks even tougher.
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