NFC Notes: Dak Prescott, Montez Sweat, Commanders, Cowboys, Giants

Commanders

Commanders DC Jack Del Rio wants to focus on having pass rusher Montez Sweat finish more of his plays, which was something they emphasized to DL Daron Payne last season that contributed greatly to his success.

“I think that was really the message for Daron Payne going into last year,” Del Rio said on Sweat finishing more plays, via CommandersWire.com. “He was very disruptive the year before and left a lot on the plate. I think Montez is in a similar situation. I think he’s been very close, very disruptive, done a lot of really good things. I mean, he’s a good football player, and when he starts finishing at a higher rate, his numbers are gonna explode. I anticipate him having that kind of a year for us.”

• The Commanders have hired Preston Biro in a football analytics role. (Seth Walder)

Cowboys

As the Cowboys revamp the offense with HC Mike McCarthy taking over as the play-caller and putting his stamp on the system, QB Dak Prescott will be at the center of all the changes they make. To get over the Super Bowl hump, Dallas needs Prescott to be at his very best, and the scheme will be designed to help him reach that. 

“I love the way we’ve challenged Dak mentally and more importantly I love the way he’s attacked it,” McCarthy said via the Athletic’s Jon Machota. “He’s really handled these changes and adjustments, the input. At the end of the day, the quarterback needs to own the offense. I have no interest in being known as some guru coach or a smart coach. I want smart, Hall of Fame-type quarterbacks.

“The only way to get there is to make them own the offense. And you can see it. He has the personality, but it’s just like anything, this is our first year playing the way we want to play and he’s done a really good job of taking ownership of that, and with that, the mental challenges. He has knocked it out of the park.”

Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said one of the specific changes will be more of an emphasis on getting the ball out of Prescott’s hands quicker. 

“All of those things should potentially adhere to quicker releases, which gives us a better chance to block them up,” Jones said. “I know you’ve heard this a thousand times but we are fundamentally doing things differently in the offensive line that let us block them up, protect. And he’s going to be doing some things too that work with that, that let us get that ball in a spot quicker than we have.”

Giants

Giants GM Joe Schoen said first-round CB Deonte Banks is everything you want in a corner in DC Wink Martindale‘s defense.

“You guys know Wink’s defense and what he likes, and Deonte fits that mold ‘to a T.’ He was ecstatic,” Schoen said, via Giants Wire.

Martindale added that Banks being a press-man corner and his physicality is what will make him successful in his system.

“I just think he’s everything you want in a corner,” Martindale said. “Starting off with he’s tough and he can tackle. He likes to play press coverage, and he likes to be on the island out there. He loves the challenge of it. You can see he’s that way here. A very humble kid from Baltimore, and matter of fact, I went down to a football camp that Jameel McClain put on. Jameel played here and played for us in Baltimore as well. He was at that camp as a camper when he was a freshman in high school, and it was pretty cool.”

Martindale plans on breaking down Banks’ game and rebuilding him and hopefully eliminating any bad habits he may have.

“I think that the biggest thing is strip their game completely down,” Martindale said. “I think he’s got the best secondary coach in the league with Jerome Henderson, and he does a great job with that. I’m talking about starting from stance, initial footwork, start techniques, and fundamentals. He’s done a nice job of just jumping in there. Right now, they don’t have any bad habits when you start that way — and I’m sure you’ll see some — but the thing I like about him is just his energy and how he wants to compete.”