FRISCO, Texas — That persistent banging sound you heard the entirety of the preseason was Brian Schottenheimer beating the drum on just how hellbent he was in keeping his offensive playcalling as vanilla as a cup of Breyer's traditional in the month of August, shrugging off any and all criticism surrounding his decision to not show a single card in his hand before now.
And that was perfectly fine with quarterback Dak Prescott, who was relegated to the sidelines for the entirety of the preseason but who also shared in the value of Schottenheimer's decision.
It all begs the following question, though: what exactly will the Cowboys' offense look like when their Week 1 clash with the Eagles in Philadelphia rolls around?
Exactly how many flavors were the Cowboys hiding in the freezer??
"An exciting offense," said the All-Pro. "We've kept it vanilla for a reason, so we're excited about getting out there and putting it all on display next Thursday."
You can bet every able-bodied fan of the NFL will have their retinas glued to the NFC East battle in primetime come Sept. 4 and, for Prescott, it will also mark the first time he's played an official game against an opponent since inadvertently tearing his hamstring off of the bone in early November against the Atlanta Falcons.
But here's the scoop: while he's champing at the bit to return, Prescott also understands the value of not letting his nerves overpower his preparation.
"When I say a lot of work goes into this — a lot does, and whether that be the mental or the emotional part, I do a lot of practice on that," he said. "So, for me, it'll be going out there and the practice I've done on [my] breathing, and on my emotional conditioning and just making sure that is in tune. That hat starts well before the game, that I'll be in the right headspace that I need to be [in] to know I'll go out there and take it play-by-play.
"It's the game that I love, and that I've been playing for a long time."
Prescott batted down any implication that playing the Eagles in Philly will fuel any sort of nervousness, and that is all indeed tied to his want of getting back onto the field and playing meaningful games again.
"It doesn't matter who the hell you're going against," he said. "Much respect and credit to them, but the emotions would just be about this team, and us starting the right way."
Getting off to a fast start is paramount for Prescott and Schottenheimer, and they've got the weapons to do it, e.g., having traded for wide receiver George Pickens to play in tandem with CeeDee Lamb, and with neither of those players having taken a single snap this August, that much more pressure will be placed upon them to show, in September, they didn't need to.
It doesn't appear Prescott is concerned in the least, though, because Rayne believes he'll make it do exactly that — rain — in Philadelphia.
