The quarterback of America's Team thinks of where

Through every interception Youth Zack Martin Jersey , fumble and loss, Dak Prescott's mind is on the next throw, the next scramble, the next game for the Dallas Cowboys. he's been: almost exactly five years removed from his mom, Peggy Prescott, dying of colon cancer when her son was a 20-year-old sophomore at Mississippi State. That makes it easier for him to move on in his football world."When you lose your mom, it's not that easy," Prescott said. "That's something you've got to wake up every day, looking yourself in the face and knowing that you've got an angel. You've got an angel that has expectations for you to do and you've got to go out there and do them each and every day."And that's why the expectations of others won't faze Prescott with the losses almost as frequent as the victories since he led a franchise-record 11-game winning streak that helped him earn NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year honors in 2016.The struggling Dallas offense, more specifically the passing game , appears to be the biggest obstacle for the Cowboys as they try to return to the playoffs after falling short during Prescott's less-than-stellar encore last year. He figures his football-loving mom would be right there with the rest of the critics, with a caveat."She'd let me know how she felt about our struggles and about the mistakes and those type of things," Prescott said. "Simply on the other hand of having the confidence in me of fixing them and in our team of fixing them and getting back to playing the type of ball we want to play as a team."Prescott paused in the middle of the season during the Cowboys' open week for a cause that will endure for him regardless of which direction his career goes.His role in Bristol-Myers Squibb's "Ready. Raise. Rise." campaign is one of his cancer awareness initiatives from a platform Prescott's mom envisioned after she was diagnosed.Whether she could have seen it coming through her son's sudden stardom as quarterback of one of the world's most visible pro sports franchises is another question."I think she definitely did," said Prescott, who has been part of a campaign that led to a $250 http://www.authenticsdallascowboys.com/cheap-jeff-heath-jersey ,000 donation to cancer advocacy groups. "And she had plans and she had dreams for me."Prescott remembers watching with his mom when Hall of Fame quarterback Brett Favre played a night after his father died and threw for 399 yards and four touchdowns in Green Bay's 41-7 win over Oakland in 2003."She said, 'I want you to play if that ever happens,'" Prescott said.His mom died on a Sunday — the day after he threw three interceptions in a loss to South Carolina when he knew something was wrong because his mom hadn't texted or called him back before the game. The funeral was on a Wednesday — three days before a loss to Texas A&M."And I said, 'I've got to get back. My mom would be mad that I even missed that practice that I missed yesterday,'" Prescott recalled. "I could say that's the moment that I started allowing my mom to be my story, doing the things that she told me and she taught me."His Mississippi State teammates saw it when Prescott led the Bulldogs to the first No. 1 ranking in school history a year later, before a loss to Nick Saban and Alabama.His Dallas teammates saw it when he showed up as the forgotten fourth-round pick and third-stringer behind franchise passing leader Tony Romo. After backup Kellen Moore broke an ankle in training camp and Romo injured his back in a preseason game, Prescott got his chance. Romo never got his job back."He's had the same qualities from Day One, as a rookie to now," receiver Cole Beasley said. "Hasn't changed at all. I don't know if he had many bad games in 2016. But I know he has always been the same guy whether good or bad since I've known him."Those qualities have been tested, with a 14-13 record since his remarkable 11-1 start and more interceptions, fumbles and sacks. While owner and general manager Jerry Jones keeps using stronger language to suggest he's settled on his quarterback of the future, doubters are numerous outside Cowboys headquarters."When you have a guy that's a winner, boy, hard to pass up on guys that are winners http://www.authenticsdallascowboys.com/cheap-anthony-brown-jersey ," said Florida coach Dan Mullen, who was Prescott's coach at Mississippi State. "There's all kinds of different quarterbacks. A winner's a winner. That's the first thing I look for in quarterbacks."Ask Prescott how he thinks he needs to improve, and he'll say in everything. A Cowboys fan as a kid growing up near the Texas state line in Louisiana, Prescott longs to end a Super Bowl drought that's approaching 25 years.But there's a small part of Prescott that would concede he's already a winner, looking back over five years since his mom died, and 25 months since he was the opening day quarterback with Dallas fans wondering if another season was lost because of another Romo injury."My mom's definitely an emotional woman," Prescott said, slipping into the present tense."So it'd be tears, it'd be a lot of tears in the last 25 months. She asked me when she initially got sick to allow her to be my story. She said all greats have a story. So for my mom to say that back in 2013 to where we are now, I think she'd be proud." Cam Newton is welcoming the idea of sharing the spotlight in Carolina.Newton has been the focal point of the Panthers' offense for the past seven seasons, but that's about to change — at least to some degree.Sure, Newton will still be running the show and remain a dual-threat QB, but coach Ron Rivera has made it clear Christian McCaffrey will play a much larger role this season, saying that it would be "ideal" to get the second-year running back 25 to 30 touches per game.That's a lot.McCaffrey averaged less than half that amount of touches as a rookie and still managed 1,086 yards from scrimmage and seven total touchdowns Color Rush Connor Williams Jersey , so there's potential for him to have a big season.Most of McCaffrey's production came as a receiver in 2017, where he set a franchise rookie record with 80 receptions and five TD catches. But after releasing all-time leading rusher Jonathan Stewart, the Panthers are eager to feature McCaffrey more in the running game — similar to how new Panthers offensive coordinator Norv Turner used LaDainian Tomlinson in San Diego."I could see Christian, especially if he continues to develop the way we think he can, being a very integral part of what we want to do," Rivera said.And it's all part of the overall design to take some of the pressure off Newton, who led the team in rushing as well as passing last season.One of the reasons Turner was brought in was to find new and creative ways to get McCaffrey the ball, particularly in open space where he's difficult to tackle because of his speed and shiftiness.McCaffrey has been featured extensively in the preseason, touching the ball 10 times for 51 yards on Carolina's opening 16-play drive against the New England Patriots in the third preseason game.Here are some other things to know about the Panthers:CAM AND NORVAs for Newton, all eyes will be on how well he adapts to Turner's offense.Newton worked in a similar scheme with Turner understudy Rob Chudzinski early in his career, so there is some familiarity there.But while Newton said he's "extremely comfortable" with Turner, players say this system is more intricate than what former offensive coordinator Mike Shula ran.Under Turner, Newton will be asked to look past his first and second options more often and take what the defense gives him, relying heavily on McCaffrey and new speedy receivers Jarius Wright, Torrey Smith and rookie D.J. Moore to make plays."That has to be my mentality Youth Tyron Smith Jersey ," Newton said. "We have a lot of guys who can take 2 yards and turn it into 20 yards, or more. But it starts with me and I have to trust those guys and get the ball to them."SPREADING IT AROUNDRivera also wants to see Newton get back to doing the things that earned him the league MVP honor in 2015 and helped the Panthers reach the Super Bowl — spreading the ball around to his several different receivers.He certainly has the options to do that with the additions at wide receiver and tight end Greg Olsen."Norv gets guys a lot of different guys in a lot of different places," Wright said. "There are some quick throws here and there and he basically gives the quarterback places to go with the ball."REPLACING DAVISIt is Shaq Thompson time in Carolina.Thompson has been groomed for the past three seasons to take over for Thomas Davis at weakside linebacker. With Davis suspended four games to open the season for testing positive for a banned substance, Thompson gets his shot."Thomas is the leader of our room, he's the leader of this team," middle linebacker Luke Kuechly said. "We are going to miss having him around. Shaq will do an excellent job, but when Thomas gets back, he's going to be hungry and he's going to be fresh."ACTION JACKSONThe Panthers will be counting on second-round pick Donte Jackson to step in and start right away at cornerback.Jackson is not big, but he was one of the fastest players in college football last season. He still struggles at times taking the correct angle on tackles, but the Panthers love his swagger and playmaking ability.O-LINE INJURIESThree starters on the offensive line went down with knee injuries during the preseason leaving the Panthers in a potentially precarious situation. Rivera said he's not sure if 2017 All-Pro second-team right tackle Daryl Williams, left tackle Matt Kalil or left guard Amini Silatolu will be back on the field for Carolina's Sept. 9 regular-season opener against Dallas.