When the Washington Redskins and Dallas Cowboys last met, Robert Griffin III had a field day on Thanksgiving, throwing for 311 yards and four touchdowns as the 'Skins knocked off the 'Boys 38-31, their first-ever Thanksgiving Day victory in Dallas.
Five weeks later, the two teams are preparing to meet once again in a winner-take-all game for the NFC East championship. On the Cowboys' side, they're looking for ways to make sure that RGIII doesn't torch them again.
Linebacker Brady Poppinga believes that in order to stop RGIII, the Cowboys "need to inflict him with pain," especially when left exposed while running the option. Yet, Poppinga made sure to clarify that "you're [not] trying to knock they guy out or anything, but you have to tackle him, and you have to hit him and you have to make it where the coach says, 'Look, we need to protect our guy a little more.'"
Former Cowboys All-Pro wide receiver Drew Pearson, on the other hand, wasn't as judicious.
"We gave RGIII a lot of confidence playing against the Cowboys in our first game here in Cowboys Stadium so we need to take it to him," Pearson said Wednesday during an appearance on ESPN 103.3 FM's Ben & Skin Show. "We need to let him know that it’s not going to be that easy or we’re not going to lay down, we’re not intimidated by him or any of those kind of things.
"The way you do that is you go out on that field and you knock him around. Any chance you get. Even if it costs you a 15-yard penalty, and I’m only saying this if it’s not a critical situation or anything. Sometimes you've got to deliver that kind of blow, that kind of message to somebody to let him know it’s going to be like this all day and it's not gonna be a walk through the park. We've got to establish this with RGIII and the Redskins as well.”
With no disrespect to the city of Dallas, I think we found the real "Big D." If you know what I mean.
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