Troy Aikman is a Hall of Famer, a three-time Super Bowl champion, and a Cowboys legend. But that doesn’t mean that current Cowboys players love everything he says.
Aikman recently called out Cowboys receivers, branding them as “lazy” and “running terrible routes.” What does Cowboys star receiver CeeDee Lamb think of this criticism?
Calvin Watkins of the Dallas Morning News asked Lamb that very question.
“Got to be better overall,” Lamb replied.
When asked whether he agreed with Aikman’s assessment, Lamb moved on, “Next question.”
Quarterback Dak Prescott was more verbose when discussing the criticism against his receivers.
“[W]hether he got personal, whether he went too far, once again the guy gets paid to do that, and he’s doing a job,” Prescott said via Watkins. “Once again, a job he knows is going to create a ruckus. The last thing I’m allowed to do is create division inside this building.”
The controversy stems from Aikman’s analysis of the team on 1310 The Ticket in Dallas.
“I think the routes are terrible. I think they run terrible routes, and I’ve thought that beyond this year. I think CeeDee has got to improve in his route running. As a quarterback, if you’re not certain where guys are going to be consistently, it’s hard to play the position. That’s what I see.”
Aikman added, “I see guys lazy coming off the line of scrimmage. Sometimes, they run. Usually, if they do, it’s because they’re anticipating they’re going to get the football on that play, but if they’re not, they don’t. And it all ties together. I’m not impressed with that part of it.”
At the outset, let’s start by saying that Troy Aikman has forgotten more about football than I, or anyone reading this article, will ever know. Whether he is right or wrong in his analysis is beyond this writer’s expertise.
However, two things seem abundantly clear: A) the Cowboys receivers are not 100% in sync with their quarterback, and B) Dak Prescott should not insinuate that Troy Aikman has financial motivations to say the things he says.
Troy Aikman has won everything there is to win in football, is immortalized in Canton and Dallas, and has made more money after football than he did during his career. He made his money. He doesn’t need to “create a ruckus” to do his job. Nor is Aikman intentionally trying to create division in the Cowboys locker room. Hint: He doesn’t have to create it; it’s already there.
Remember this?
Sometimes, oftentimes, the most “ruckus-causing” thing someone can say is the truth.
If Lamb or Prescott either refuse to comment or make insinuations based on Aikman’s comments, that tends to suggest there’s more than a shred of truth to them.