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R.J. MacReady
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Barnwell: Busting myths of Dak vs. Wentz debate
The most unbiased breakdown I think you could ask for.
Argument: Prescott has been more efficient and productive since both entered the league.
The simplest comparison is just to use all the available data and compare career stats. After their first 25 games in the NFL, Prescott has been far more efficient than Wentz as a passer:
Dak Prescott 494 748 66.0 5661 7.6 39 8 101.6 76.6
Carson Wentz 555 898 61.8 6044 6.7 39 19 87.3 55.2
Wentz has more passing yards than Prescott, but he has needed 150 additional attempts to generate 383 passing yards at a totally untenable 2.6 yards per attempt, and that's without considering the 11 additional interceptions. If Wentz was relatively efficient over those 150 passes, it would be appropriate to give him credit for assuming more of the offensive workload in terms of volume, but those would be subpar numbers for a replacement-level running back, let alone a quarterback.
If we were comparing players over the course of a 10-year career, the argument could stop right here. Obviously, that's not the case. The most recent performances of a player in the second year of his career, when he's likely to be growing and developing, mean a whole lot more than they do for someone who has been in the league for a decade. And it's quite clear that Wentz has improved dramatically from one year to the next. Split up his career in two halves and you can see how he has become a much more effective performer:
Total QBR, numbers right in line with Prescott's career totals. I think it's disingenuous and an exercise in hindsight to suggest that Wentz was as good as Prescott in 2016, but it's also fair to say that the 2017 version of Wentz has caught up to Prescott's level.
The most unbiased breakdown I think you could ask for.
Argument: Prescott has been more efficient and productive since both entered the league.
The simplest comparison is just to use all the available data and compare career stats. After their first 25 games in the NFL, Prescott has been far more efficient than Wentz as a passer:
Dak Prescott 494 748 66.0 5661 7.6 39 8 101.6 76.6
Carson Wentz 555 898 61.8 6044 6.7 39 19 87.3 55.2
Wentz has more passing yards than Prescott, but he has needed 150 additional attempts to generate 383 passing yards at a totally untenable 2.6 yards per attempt, and that's without considering the 11 additional interceptions. If Wentz was relatively efficient over those 150 passes, it would be appropriate to give him credit for assuming more of the offensive workload in terms of volume, but those would be subpar numbers for a replacement-level running back, let alone a quarterback.
If we were comparing players over the course of a 10-year career, the argument could stop right here. Obviously, that's not the case. The most recent performances of a player in the second year of his career, when he's likely to be growing and developing, mean a whole lot more than they do for someone who has been in the league for a decade. And it's quite clear that Wentz has improved dramatically from one year to the next. Split up his career in two halves and you can see how he has become a much more effective performer:
Total QBR, numbers right in line with Prescott's career totals. I think it's disingenuous and an exercise in hindsight to suggest that Wentz was as good as Prescott in 2016, but it's also fair to say that the 2017 version of Wentz has caught up to Prescott's level.