‘Under no circumstance’ – Brian Schottenheimer makes a telling statement after Joe Milton’s rough preseason debut vs Rams
Cowboys HC discusses Joe Milton.
After Dallas Cowboys quarterback Joe Milton’s struggles during Saturday’s preseason loss to the Los Angeles Rams, questions naturally emerged about the team’s backup quarterback situation.
How much of a leash does the uber-talented yet raw second-year quarterback have? Does Will Grier have a shot at stealing the job to back up Dak Prescott? Is the team concerned about Milton’s accuracy issue or relieved about him settling down late in the game?
Cowboys head coach Brian Schottenheimer made a very telling statement on the situation on Monday’s press conference and it’s one that Milton will love to hear.
“Our plan all along has been that we need to find out about Joe Milton, under no circumstance am I panicked or worried about Joe Milton.” Schottenheimer told reporters. “We don’t have to decide [who the backup QB is] today. [. . .] You saw Joe needs the reps, [. . .] I need to get to learn him as the play-caller.”
That’s a big statement to make following Saturday’s performance and one that speaks volumes about the Cowboys’ approach going forward: All offseason and training camp, Milton’s has been the clear QB2 over Will Grier, vastly beating him in number of snaps. If the Cowboys aren’t panicking nor worrying about Milton right now, that’s unlikely to change. Though Schottenheimer won’t name him the backup officially, so far the team’s actions make it obvious: Milton is Prescott’s backup.
Schottenheimer admitted the performance was proof that Milton needs the reps and that he struggled and added part of why Grier isn’t getting many reps is because he knows who he is and has worked with him for a few years.
Something that clearly helps Milton in having his coaches’ trust is the fact that he settled down in the fourth-quarter, stringing together five consecutive completions in one drive that ended in a touchdown pass to rookie TE Rivaldo Fairweather. In those throws, Milton showed accuracy and touch after an evening of throwing overpowered fastballs left and right.
Joe Milton played really well in the second half, he did some really good things,” Schottenheimer added. “He calmed down, he figured it out.”
If I had to guess, Schottenheimer and Co. will give Milton the whole preseason as QB2 before making any drastic decisions.
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Cowboys Nation can expect a better performance in Week 2 of the preseason after Brian Schottenheimer’s postgame message
Big week ahead.
