Dak Prescott's difficulties in the passing game

Dak Prescott's difficulties in the passing game go back further than a loss in the opener at Carolina for the Dallas Cowboys.Now that the slump has extended into a new season http://www.panthersfootballauthentic.com/da_norris-searcy-jersey-authentic , coach Jason Garrett and his staff must weigh the factors and when or whether to make changes to try to fix them.Six sacks of Prescott and little running room early for star back Ezekiel Elliott magnified two significant questions on the offensive line.Most of the focus, though, will remain on a revamped and largely unproven group of receivers trying to replace tight end Jason Witten and receiver Dez Bryant.Then there's the play-calling, with offensive coordinator Scott Linehan under siege from the unemployed Bryant on Twitter, along with the fans."I have a tremendous amount of faith in Scott," Garrett said Monday, a day after a 16-8 loss to the Panthers. "We just have to do a better job collectively as a staff and as an offensive unit. That starts with basic execution, play after play not beating ourselves and then finding ways to generate some big plays."Going into a suddenly important home opener against the New York Giants on Sunday night, Garrett also sounds as if the Cowboys will stick with the same five on the offensive line.Joe Looney is replacing four-time Pro Bowl center Travis Frederick, out indefinitely with a condition that affects his nerves. Rookie left guard Connor Williams was beaten twice for sacks by Kawann Short."Joe Looney ... looked like he did a pretty good job in the game," Garrett said. "Connor Williams, obviously it's a challenging task for him Week 1 to go against that defensive front. There were some good things for him. There's some areas in pass protection that wasn't good enough."Prescott had fewer than 200 yards passing for the seventh time in nine games. That stretch started when he was sacked a career-high eight times in a loss at Atlanta that triggered the Cowboys' slide out of playoff contention last year. It was also the beginning of Elliott's six-game suspension over domestic violence allegations.Elliott's presence didn't help much against the Panthers Womens David Mayo Jersey , and the question going forward is how the Cowboys can hope to live off the running game when they haven't shown they can be a threat throwing the ball.Focused on stopping Elliott first, the Panthers held the 2016 NFL rushing leader to 18 yards before halftime. Nearly half of Elliott's 69 yards, and his touchdown, came in the fourth quarter after the Cowboys had fallen behind 16-0.If the Cowboys want something resembling the remarkable rookie seasons of Prescott and Elliott two years ago, when they had an NFC-best 13 wins, they will need bigger numbers from the focal point of their offense earlier in the game."We've got to start faster," Elliott said after the game. "That's not Dallas Cowboys football. That's not how we've ever played. If we want to succeed, if we want to go out there and win ballgames, we can't come out there and lay an egg in the first half."Filling the void left by Witten and Bryant will probably look a lot as it did in the opener, except for draft-day trade acquisition Tavon Austin getting shut out. The speedy receiver and returner figures to have more of a role.Holdover Cole Beasley had the most targets (eight), catches (seven) and yards receiving (73). The rest were split among newcomers Allen Hurns, Deonte Thompson and rookie Michael Gallup.No. 1 tight end Geoff Swaim had three catches Womens Devin Funchess Jersey , and backup Blake Jarwin was open for what would have been the biggest play of the game for Dallas if Prescott hadn't underthrown him."We think each of those guys has some strengths and they have some different things that they can bring to our offense," Garrett said. "We do think as we go forward that mixing those guys in and giving them all an opportunity to contribute will be a good thing for our team."The Cowboys have a long way to go to prove it.Are you afraid of the Eagles? I don’t see any reason to believe that the Panthers can’t secure a win against all of our remaining opponents, though surely they will lose a few. When thinking about which game I fear the most, like last year, I think about the Philadelphia Eagles. The main concern by then will be a healthy Carson Wentz. Assuming he continues to play without setbacks, he’ll be in a groove by week seven and the fact he missed all that preseason time will no longer be relevant. Any rust to shake off will have been shook. Wentz was amazing in 2017 and there is no reason to think he won’t duplicate that success this year. The Panthers’ corners will have to continue their current level of good play, and the pass rush will have to hold up its end of the bargain to get Wentz off his spot.The second reason I’m worried is the Fletcher Cox effect. Even with the offensive line playing well right now —having successfully neutralized Geno Atkins in Week 3— the Panthers will be in trouble. A better interior line than this one (that featured Andrew Norwell last year) could not stop Cox. Pressure in Cam Newton’s face has proven to be far more detrimental in the past than edge pressure. That isn’t even accounting for all of the Eagles’ talent on the edge of their defensive line.The final reason I don’t like this matchup is the presence of a talented and involved tight end. Zach Ertz is a big part of the Eagles’ offense, and so far this year the Panthers have struggled to defend other tight ends like Austin Hooper in Atlanta and Tyler Eifert in Cincinnati. Ertz is a step above those two. The Panthers will need to focus a lot of attention on him to neutralize that threat.However, despite the reasons above I fully believe this Carolina Panthers team is capable of winning against anyone. If both sides of the ball play up to standard, they can win, but it will definitely be a tight contest to the end.