The Athletic has live coverage of Cowboys vs. Bills
Anyone who has watched a Dallas Cowboys game this season has heard the three words. Those rooting against the Cowboys are likely sick of hearing them by halftime.
When Dallas has the ball, Dak Prescott is going to yell: “Here we go!”
It is then usually followed by: “White 80 set!” And then the ball is snapped.
Advertisement
Why those words? What do they mean?
One of the Cowboys’ offseason goals with coach Mike McCarthy taking over offensive play calling was to have better communication at the line of scrimmage. They felt like something needed to be yelled before the snap to get everyone on the same page. “Here we go!” was the idea of the coaching staff.
When Prescott was asked about it back in August at training camp, he declined to go into much detail. However, he did share that if opposing teams thought it meant the same thing every time, it would be an advantage for the Cowboys.
He recently shed more light on it following Dallas’ 41-35 win over the Seattle Seahawks last Thursday night at AT&T Stadium.
“Really, we wanted to make sure that we’re all getting off (at the same time), using the cadence to our advantage,” Prescott told the Amazon Prime postgame show. “The linemen wanted a little something before. For me, really, it’s to tell them, stop the communicating, here we go.”
Has it helped?
“I think it has helped those guys up front,” backup quarterback Cooper Rush said. “They lock into it, so I’m assuming it does. … We heard it in OTAs and we were like, ‘What are we going to do?’ It’s definitely different and out there. But it has worked. You do it for a week and realize it’s not hard. Your goal (as a backup QB) is to sound the same as (Prescott). It has evolved for him a little bit too, and now it’s this big thing.”
Rush noted that center Tyler Biadasz wanted something before the actual cadence, but “Here we go!” has evolved into the cadence. Rush said friends have texted him: “What the hell is going on with the cadence?”
We’re thankful for QB1…HERE 🗣️ WE 🗣️ GO! pic.twitter.com/MD0XBDq6zJ
— Dallas Cowboys (@dallascowboys) November 23, 2023
Former Cowboys Pro Football Hall of Fame QB Troy Aikman spoke about the uniqueness of it in October on 1310 The Ticket in Dallas. When Chan Gailey was hired as Cowboys head coach in 1998, the Dallas QBs had something extra put on their plate pre-snap, identifying the mike linebacker by calling out the player’s number.
Advertisement
“I said it every play for 70 plays in the game,” Aikman recalled. “‘Fifty-six is the mike!’ You’re like, ‘If 56 is the mike, why do I gotta keep pointing it out? Can everyone not see that?’ So, I’m listening to Dak and I’m like, ‘Gosh, he has to do that every snap, come on?’”
Aikman then added his own impression: “Here we gooooo!”
Part of the popularity is likely connected with the Cowboys having so many nationally televised games and Prescott playing the best football of his career. New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers, who was coached by McCarthy for 13 seasons in Green Bay, recently discussed the Cowboys’ cadence while praising Prescott’s play.
GO DEEPER
The biggest reasons why Cowboys should be favorites over Eagles this Sunday
“He has become one of my favorite quarterbacks to watch,” the four-time NFL MVP said last week on The Pat McAfee Show. “I just love that he’s really playing the position. What I mean by that is, watching him make protection adjustments against these crazy looks and picking things up. … I’m watching him use his cadence beautifully and get into this rhythmic, ‘Here we go,’ (and then) into using it as a dummy sometimes, doing it twice, and into other cadences.
“I’m not talking about just making good throws. I’m talking about it seems more rare that guys are actually really playing the position, where you’re making adjustments, you’re handling everything at the line of scrimmage. Now, you’re doing this crazy cadence stuff. I love it.”
During Prescott’s postgame interview last week, he mentioned there being a song about the team’s cadence. It was actually being played outside of the stadium before the game.
The song is called “Here we go,” by Preston Wayne and 13lackbeard, featuring Prescott.
Sing it with us now! 🗣️🎶#SEAvsDAL on Prime | @pepsi pic.twitter.com/iTyE6zyveV
— Dallas Cowboys (@dallascowboys) November 29, 2023
Both artists are diehard Cowboys fans. 13lackbeard, who was looking for a way to give the Cowboys a new anthem, has been performing during pregame and postgame outside of the stadium for the last 15 years. He has also performed at events for Prescott.
Advertisement
“I personally was tired of playing ‘We Dem Boyz’ because Wiz Khalifa is not even from Dallas,” he said. “I wanted something that was going to be original that the fans would love and that could carry over to the radio in the same light of how ‘We Dem Boyz’ was. When I heard ‘Here we go’ and how the cadence came out, I immediately messaged Dak.”
What did the Cowboys’ QB think?
“He replied back, ‘This is fire,’” 13lackbeard said. “We knew we had one when America’s Team’s quarterback hit us back and said it was fire.
“We wanted to make sure that he was OK and the team was good. The biggest thing is that we understand the Cowboys’ culture. We didn’t want to step on anybody’s toes. We wanted to make sure that it was right for the organization.”
GO DEEPER
2023 NFL MVP odds: Dak Prescott, Brock Purdy become co-favorites
The Cowboys not only approved, they posted it on their social media accounts. Wayne and 13lackbeard recently performed it live at a private Miller Lite party at The Star. They’re scheduled to perform the song Sunday at the AT&T Stadium west plaza before and after the Cowboys host the Philadelphia Eagles.
“It literally came together overnight,” Wayne said. “The Cowboys in like two or three days had a post with it. It was wild.”
He said his father, a lifelong Cowboys fan, was in tears when they recently talked about the success of the song over the phone. It hit a million views last Thursday night as Cowboys star LB/DE Micah Parsons forced Seahawks QB Geno Smith to throw incomplete on fourth down to secure the Cowboys’ ninth victory of the season.
“He couldn’t believe it,” Wayne said of his father. “He was like, ‘It would’ve been cool if it was any team, but our team?’ I’m ecstatic. But my dad even more, he just can’t believe it. It’s just amazing.”
As Prescott said last Thursday when talking about the team’s popular cadence, “There’s a song about it now, so it has taken off.”
New @PrestonWayneMT & @13lackbeard_ feat. @dak Here we go @dallascowboys anthem! @TrueBrvnd @DallasTexasTV #cowboysnation pic.twitter.com/6YVDwSRsmx
— 13LACK BEARD (@13lackbeard_) November 27, 2023
(Photo of Dak Prescott: Michael Owens / Getty Images)
“The Football 100,” the definitive ranking of the NFL’s best 100 players of all time is on sale now. Order it here.
ncG1vNJzZmismJqutbTLnquim16YvK57lGpocmhpZ3xzfJFsZmpqX2WEcLDApGSpqpWosLDA02afnqqVYsSmecaoZJynp5e8ur%2BO