Drew Pearson: Dallas Cowboys must knock RG3 around

An old-school Cowboy advocated for current Dallas players to break out the old-school tactics when they face Robert Griffin IIIon Sunday night.

Drew Pearson, the original No. 88, told KESN-FM this week that the Cowboys need to batter the Washington Redskins' rookie Pro Bowl quarterback, even if it means crossing the border into prohibited activity, to try and get into his head.

Robert Griffin III

"We need to let him know that it's not going to be that easy or we're not going to lay down for them and we're not intimidated by him," Pearson said, via the Dallas Morning News. "The way you do that is you go out on that field and you knock him around. Even if it costs you a 15-yard penalty, and I'm only saying this if it's not a critical situation or anything."

Knocking around a starting quarterback isn't a new or shocking message. Advocating that his former team take a personal-foul penalty to prove a point is a provocative statement from both a strategic and a player-safety perspective.

"Sometimes you have to deliver that kind of blow and that kind of message to let him know it's going to be like this all day and not a walk in the park," Pearson said. "We need to establish this with RG3 and the Redskins as well."

The message behind Pearson's comments is accurate: The Cowboys can't let RG3 go hog-wild. However, to advocate that a team take penalties to prove a point misses the mark. Pearson can say they should take a penalty only in a non-critical situation, but ask any coach and he'll say such a time in a game doesn't exist. Plus, to ask players to go that hard and recklessly after a player, then shut it down when they get into "critical situations" is asinine.

The Cowboys do need to contain RG3 in order to win the NFC East, but they can't take foolish penalties -- on purpose or otherwise -- to achieve that goal.

Follow Kevin Patra on Twitter @kpatra.