Roger Staubach and Troy Aikman regularly defend Tony Romo, making it seem like there's a brotherhood among those that have quarterbacked the Dallas Cowboys.
But the wide receiver position doesn't share that same brotherhood when it comes to Drew Pearson and Dez Bryant.
Pearson had been critical of Bryant throughout his first two years with the Cowboys, and Year 3 looks to be more of the same. This stems from Bryant wearing the same jersey number, 88, that Pearson did during his 11 seasons with the franchise.
"He's not living up to the expectations that were placed on him by wearing that number," Pearson recently told the Midland Reporter-Telegram. "Drew Pearson took it to the Ring of Honor level and Michael Irvin took it way beyond that to the Hall of Fame level.
"When Michael and I had a chance to talk to Dez when he came in his rookie year we told him, 'Don't do what Drew Pearson did in it. Don't do what Michael did in it. Do more than that.' I know that's a lot to live up to, but what else is there? You live up to those expectations and people will cherish you for the rest of your life."
Bryant dropped three passes in the Cowboys' 34-18 loss to the Chicago Bears Monday night. Two of those drops cost the Cowboys first downs and the third might have gone for a touchdown. Bryant also ran an incorrect route late in the second quarter, resulting in a Romo interception that the Bears returned for a score.
Even though Bryant finished with a career-high 105 receiving yards, the mistakes overshadowed his eight catches.
Pearson focused on Bryant's mistakes during a Tuesday interview that aired on ESPN.
"You should know your plays. You should know where to be. You should know your adjustments that you need to make," Pearson said. "You know what your value is to this Cowboys offense. You should be making the big plays to help the offense when they need it. To me, that's what the 88s are all about. That's what I did in the 88s, that's what Michael (Irvin) did in the 88s. I'm not saying Dez needs to be us. But we'd just like to see him carry that tradition on with the 88s a little better."
Follow Jon Machota on Twitter: @jonmachota
