Cooper Rush’s first pass as Lamar Jackson’s back-up looked like a lot of his throws over the last seven seasons. Like it’d never get there. In this case, it didn’t. Picked off. In his defense, he doesn’t throw an ugly ball. Not like Quincy Carter, who, as I once wrote, threw what appeared to be a large brown rodent. Rush’s throws are less a matter of aesthetics than aeronautics. A lack of thrust, if you will.
Joe Milton III, on the other hand, probably could throw a football past most of the Rangers’ lineup. On second thought, a bad comparison. Roger Staubach could throw a football past the Rangers, and he’s 83.
Milton shook up the NFL Combine last year when officials clocked his fastball at 62 mph, putting him up there with the likes of Josh Allen, Patrick Mahomes, Justin Herbert and the man for whom Rush now functions as understudy.
Milton is also elusive, tough and athletic, surely the largest non-cheerleader ever to execute a 10.0 back flip in a football game.
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Rush, meanwhile, looks like the guy you’d cut in front of in the Chipotle line.
Related:Cowboys, Joe Milton with plenty to correct after rocky preseason opener vs. Rams
Yet, if you ask me, the Cowboys would be better off with the schlub who’ll be back for a reunion Saturday at JerryWorld.
For all his lack of tantalizing measurables, Rush was 9-5 as Dak Prescott’s back-up over the last seven seasons. A remarkable record for such an unprepossessing passer. He won so often three years ago in relief of Dak that fans wondered if the Cowboys would be better off with the back-up.
Time eventually proved Rush to be a No. 2 quarterback. No more, no less. Still, it once was good enough for an organization claiming it’s in it to win now while running out a starting quarterback who has missed, on average, a little less than four games a season over the last four.
No matter what you think of Dak – and everyone’s got an opinion – it seems safe to say that, at 32, he’ll miss a couple games. At least. He doesn’t get out of the way as well as he used to and, even when he does, it doesn’t always end well.
For the record, I get the fascination with Milton. Who doesn’t like bigger, newer, faster? Lesson learned in the early ‘80s when a woman other than the future lovely wife, peeling herself from the front seat of my cozy clunker, muttered that just once she’d like to date a guy with a nice car.
As rides go, Milton is a Porsche to Rush’s minivan. The Patriots didn’t get him out of the garage until the final game of his rookie season, when he threw for one touchdown and ran for another in a 23-16 win over the Bills. Not bad for a guy who, in six seasons split between Michigan and Tennessee, started just 21 college games. And not because he wasn’t available, either.
He didn’t look any closer to being ready in his Cowboys debut against the Rams. Completed 17 of 29 passes for 143 yards, a touchdown, interception and 68.6 rating. Looked worse. His misses included a wide-open Ryan Flournoy, who could have used the opportunity to make an impression.
Like anyone gifted with a preternatural talent, Milton likes to rely on his. Calls his right arm a “cannon.” No argument here. Problem is, sometimes the situation calls for a little finesse. Even Nolan Ryan didn’t cinch his Hall of Fame election until learning how to throw a changeup. Milton also needs more time to pick up on all the nuances of the game’s most difficult position. No one should have to learn it on the fly.
Look, there’s nothing wrong with finding out what the Cowboys have in Milton for the long run. They’re only on the hook for a little more than a million a year through 2027. He just shouldn’t be the first recourse on a contender.
If that’s what the Cowboys really are, that is.
For now, the Cowboys are better off with Will Grier as the No. 2. Rush would have been an even better choice, but the Ravens paid him more than Jerry Jones was willing. Two years and $6 million. Jerry hates paying back-up quarterbacks. Hates it. They don’t do anything to earn their keep, and then, when they have to play, Jerry can’t even hold them accountable for winning.
Except that was the funny thing about Rush. He may not have looked great doing it, but he won at a better clip than a lot of starting quarterbacks. If he was never cut out to be Dak’s successor, that’s not what the Cowboys needed from him, either. With that contract, Dak’s not going anywhere any time soon.
Apologies if, with all the Cowboys’ other issues, carping about the back-up quarterback situation seems like small potatoes. Once again it looks like they’re clueless about stopping a running game. They’re low on defensive backs and, for reasons yet unclear, high on their running backs. And the negotiating process for the services of their best player apparently will be left to osmosis.
Just that, with Rush coming back Saturday, this seemed like the appropriate time to pay my respects. He was better than he looked. I’d take that epitaph.
Twitter/X: @KSherringtonDMN
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