The original No. 88 gave his thoughts on the Cowboys ahead of their 2024 season opener.
While meeting with 105.3 The Fan (KRLD-FM) on Tuesday to break down his role as East-West Shrine Bowl ambassador, Dallas Cowboys icon Drew Pearson took some time to discuss the current state of the team before its 2024 season begins.
The original No. 88 gave his thoughts on CeeDee Lamb’s return to the team after receiving an extension, how Dallas can redevelop its tough identity and more. Here are some highlights from Pearson’s appearance on the K&C Masterpiece (edited for length and clarity):
You once said “I didn’t have a catch radius. I had a zip code. You just throw it in that zip code and I’m gonna catch it.” When it comes to CeeDee Lamb, does he represent that well, too?
Pearson: “Without a doubt. You saw the season he had last year, the catches he made. The defenses knew he was going to be the man and he still was able to get open and beat coverages, whether it’s double coverage or single coverage. You throw ball in his radius, he catches it. I don’t remember CeeDee dropping anything from last season. Of course, 88, we don’t drop nothing. We don’t even drop phone calls, that ain’t our fault.
“CeeDee helped the passing game, the downfield passing game and he made a difference. Again, he did it with the defense knowing in their preparation that he was going to be the guy. Also, the Cowboys did a good job of disguising CeeDee, putting him in motion, lining him up in the slot. Double receivers on one side and things like that. It’s to confuse the defense and keep them off balance. Dak [Prescott] knows that he has a clutch receiver in CeeDee Lamb, No. 88, and he goes to him in clutch situations. I just hate that he missed all that training camp time because that time is really important as far as the reps you get with your quarterback, the reps you get with the offense and the feel you have of the offense with you being there…”
How much time would it take you to flip that switch and really be in football shape?
Pearson: “As soon as you hit training camp back in the day with Tom Landry. You ain’t ready coming into our training camp. This training camp now, I was out in Oxnard for a couple days and watched practice. I’m thinking, ‘Man, I should go suit up. I can get through one of these practices.’ Baseball caps on in shorts and no shoulder pads. Coach Landry’s training camp was two-a-days. As a rookie, we had a whole week of two-a-days. We had 100 rookies in camp my rookie year and at the end of that week of two-a-days, out of 100, 50 guys left. The next week, the veterans come and you’re trying to catch up and keep pace with them.
“It’s a tough process to come through and try to make the team. But once you get there as a veteran and make the team, now training camp becomes a necessity as far as getting yourself ready for the upcoming season. Once you get yourself ready, that’ll help the team become better and get ready as well through that whole process. You’ve got to put in the work. You put that in in training camp and the preseason. I don’t like the fact that these guys don’t play any, or don’t have much play time in the preseason. They’re not getting knocked around and getting tackled in real-life NFL games. Then they go out and play their first regular-season game and, hey, once you step in the NFL sidelines, you can’t hide. You’re going to get hit…”
How does a team develop a tough identity?
Pearson: “You establish that in practice. With the new rules, the Collective Bargaining Agreement, what the players can do and what they can’t do in practice, how many practices they can have. It’s hard to get that. These current guys have to find that missing piece of the game to be successful in the game. They’ve got to find that out on their own. Once you become a veteran, you know how to face yourself. You know what you gotta do to face the adversity, the challenges of the upcoming season. So you just go out there and do it. You do your job the best you can and hopefully it’s good enough to help the team win some football games.
“It’s all about winning. We got away from the main thing about stepping out there as the Dallas Cowboys, playing and representing the Cowboys. It’s not you individually, it’s the team. And it’s all about winning…”