Dallas Cowboys legend Troy Aikman joined The Musers on Sportsradio 96.7 FM/1310 The Ticket (KTCK-AM) Thursday to discuss Dallas’ thrilling win over the Giants and how Dak Prescott has played early in the season.
Here are some highlights, edited for clarity:
Working through another crazy Cowboys game after that thriller against the Giants, what did you think of that game?
Aikman: I guess we’re at a time in the season when we’re not quite sure what anyone is, even though we all go into the year thinking we know what every team has. I don’t think anyone expected that game to be very close, based on how Dallas had played in the opener against Philadelphia, they had extra time to prepare, the Giants haven’t shown me anything in a couple of years, didn’t Week 1 and then it turns into a shootout, and the Giants’ flight home, they’re scratching their heads wondering how they didn’t win that game. I guess the answer to that is they don’t have Brandon Aubrey, so it’s pretty wild itself, especially in today’s NFL, with the landing zones and getting the ball at the 35. You start thinking about it, and what a weapon Brandon Aubrey is, you pick up 10 yards and he’s in field goal range. So if you’re up three as an opponent, how do you handle that? I think time will tell. We could look back at that win and say, “Wow, that was a better Giants team than we thought.” I also think you find ways to win those kinds of games. So on the one hand, I thought there’s still a lot to work out, but on the other hand, it was one of those where I think you leave the game knowing you’re going to have something like that each year. They won so that’s what they had to do based on how their season gets as we move through this year.
Cowboys
Related
Dak Prescott is off to such a good start, but I wonder the mindset of a quarterback when you play well, give the team the lead and the defense gives it up right away. Does that get frustrating?
Aikman: A little bit. If when the clock runs out, you won then it’s all palatable, you know? I feel that as a quarterback and as an offense, if you are able to answer the bell and keep scoring and then you win those shootouts, that’s kind of fun, too, and so to have to go out there and respond in the way in which they did, but I think everyone understands, Dak certainly does, the coaching staff, the defense themselves, they all understand they’ve got to be better if they’re going to be able to accomplish much this year. But I have been impressed with with Dak, certainly Week 1 and what he was able to do and then this last game. He’s always had good energy, he’s always had good body language and all that on the field. But in addition to just how well he’s played, I just sense that there’s a confidence about him in the way in which he’s playing that, I don’t want to say I haven’t seen it before, but I just feel like he’s really dialed in and feeling good about where this offense is going, the way that it’s playing, the way he’s playing. And usually to have that, you feel really good about the plays that are coming in and who’s calling them. So it just seems to be a pretty good fit right now for Dak, and what I’ve seen as just a casual observer.
Playing the position is tough in any town, but playing quarterback in this town, there is that expectation. Have you had that conversation with Dak before about what it’s like in this town? You felt the same expectation when you got here.
Aikman: Yeah, not quite for me, I don’t think. I think Danny White certainly felt it, and in a lot of ways, I think he responded to it very positively. When you follow Roger Staubach, and he had won Super Bowls, and what he’d been to four or five, and won a couple of them and getting to a championship game, nobody celebrated that. When I first came to Dallas, had we have gone to a championship game, which I guess we did four years later, that would be celebrated, because the team had really struggled leading up to when I came into Dallas. Quite honestly, I was a Cowboys fan growing up when I moved to Oklahoma and watched Roger and watched Danny when he took over, but I had no idea the popularity of the team in general. Because when I first got here in 1989 the old Texas Stadium, which sat about 65,000, it was half empty for our home games. It wasn’t until we started to win that that then you realize the legacy of the Cowboys and what the 70s Cowboys had really built.
So if you’re a quarterback in the league for any one of these teams, there’s a lot of pressure on those guys. Now, what I’ve always admired about Dak, and I’ve said this many times, is from the get go, he said the only thing that matters is winning championships. I mean, he’s never shied away from that. From the time he took over, he’s understood what it means to be the quarterback for the Cowboys, and what the standard is. I’m proud of that. I’m proud that I had a part in raising that bar. Certainly, Roger was the first to do that. I came in and I hoped that I’d win a Super Bowl, but I certainly felt pressure. But it wasn’t because of what Staubach and the 70s Cowboys did. It was pressure because I was drafted first overall, and with that is the expectation that you’re going to win a lot of games and ultimately win a championship. So everybody feels it, but I admire Dak. He’s never shied away from that, and he’s the only one that I’ve really heard say that championships are all that matters and not find comfort in any other type of accomplishment or achievement for a football team. I’ve said it before, I mean, I love Dak. There’s nothing I’d rather see than see him go on and win a Super Bowl and win multiple Super Bowls, and win more than me and Roger and all of us combined, if possible, because he’s that type of guy, and he represents himself and the organization and really our city so well.
Cowboys believe secondary’s dismal outing vs. Giants is fixable. What’s their plan?As Dak Prescott climbs Cowboys’ all-time ranks, predecessor Troy Aikman has lofty praise
Find more Cowboys coverage from The Dallas Morning News here.