The Pro Football Hall of Fame needs to open their doors to Drew Pearson

It's been 29 seasons since Drew Pearson last played for the Dallas Cowboys. That means 24 years ago he should have been inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. For whatever reasons, the voters feel that Pearson is not worthy to have his bust sitting in Canton with the rest of the best of the best from the NFL.

Drew Pearson was signed by the Cowboys in 1973 as an undrafted free agent. He went on to become one of the best wide receivers in Cowboys history and as far as this fan is concerned he was one of the best in NFL history. In his very first playoff game in 1973 he scored on an 83 yard touchdown pass from Roger Staubach to seal a victory against the Rams, 27-16. That was the start of many clutch plays from Pearson who earned the nickname Mr. Clutch.

Pearson's most famous play came in the 1975 playoff game in Minnesota. With the Cowboys losing to the Vikings 14-10, Pearson caught a last second 50 yard touchdown pass from Roger Staubach to win the game 17-14. The pass became known as the "Hail Mary".

Other famous plays from Pearson included his game winning 50 yard touchdown pass from backup quarterback Clint Longley on Thanksgiving in 1974 to beat the Redskins, 24-23. Then in a 1980 playoff game in Atlanta the Cowboys were losing to the Falcons 27-17 with only a few minutes left in the fourth quarter. It was Pearson who caught two late touchdown passes from quarterback Danny White to win the game 30-27.

It was also Pearson who could have made everyone forget about Dwight Clark's famous touchdown grab in the 1981 NFC Championship game. Danny White saw Pearson streaking across midfield and connected with him. If it wasn't for a fingertip tackle by 49ers cornerback Eric Wright, Pearson would have scored the winning touchdown that day and sent the Cowboys to Super Bowl XVI.

Drew Pearson's career came to an end in March of 1984 when he fell asleep while driving and got into a horrible car accident. The accident killed his brother and forced Pearson to retire due to internal injuries. Although Pearson had to retire early he still had become one of the best receivers in the NFL and his career numbers show that he should be in the Hall of Fame.

Regular Season, 1973-1983

Receptions, 489

Yards, 7,822

TDs, 48

Postseason, 22 games

Receptions, 67

Yards, 1,105

TDs, 8

Here are some other accomplishments for Drew Pearson during his career with the Cowboys.

3 - Pro Bowl selections in 1974, 1976 and 1977

3 - First team All-Pro selections in 1974, 1976 and 1977

1 - Second team All-Pro selection in 1975

4 - First team All-NFC selections in 1974 through 1977

1 - Second team All-NFC selection in 1978

3 - Super Bowl appearances in 1975, 1977 and 1978

1 - Super Bowl Championship in 1977

2 - 1,000 yard seasons in 1974 and 1979

Selected to the NFL 1970's All-Decade Team

Some say that many Cowboys from the 1970's, including Pearson are not in the Hall of Fame due to the Cowboys losing both Super Bowls they played against the Steelers in 1975 and 1978. Pearson's career numbers are far better than Steelers wide receiver Lynn Swann when it comes to receptions and yards, but Swann was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2001. Pearson hasn't even been a finalist in the Hall of Fame selection process.

So I plead to the Hall of Fame voters. It's not too late to correct your mistake. Drew Pearson has waited far too long to take his place in the Hall of Fame. He is one of the all time great wide receivers in the NFL. Pearson needs to be with his teammates in Canton like Roger Staubach, Randy White, Tony Dorsett, Mel Renfro and Rayfield Wright and of course his head coach Tom Landry. Do the right thing and vote Drew Pearson in.

Jason Garrett finally speaks, but what exactly did he say?

Please raise your hand if you feel better about the Cowboys after hearing Jason Garrett's press conference yesterday? I can tell you that I raised my hand many times while Garrett was speaking, but it was only to scratch my head because I had no idea what he was talking about 99% of the time. I actually feel worse about the direction of the Cowboys now than I did before the press conference. Garrett speaking reminded me of the movie Billy Madison after Adam Sandler's little speech to the school. The principal then said...

"Mr. Madison, what you've just said is one of the most insanely idiotic things I have ever heard. At no point in your rambling, incoherent response were you even close to anything that could be considered a rational thought. Everyone in this room is now dumber for having listened to it. I award you no points, and may God have mercy on your soul."

That's how I feel about Jason Garrett at this point. I thought maybe it was just me being too critical so I watched the press conference again, but I came away with the same feelings. This team is filled with contradictions from the owner to the coaches, but yet they want us fans to buy into what they are selling. This team may want everyone to believe they have a direction, but I just don't see it. I wrote down some notes as I listened to Garrett yesterday. These are not exact questions or answers from the press conference. I'm simply paraphrasing and this is what I came away with.

- Garrett thought the coaches that were let go did a great while with the Cowboys and he has an immense amount of respect for them, but then said he wanted to hire really, really good football coaches. What does that say about the coaches that were let go and about the amount of respect Garrett had for them while they were doing a great job for the Cowboys? It just doesn't make sense to me.
- Asked why the Cowboys went with a new receivers coach and running backs coach, Garrett said that they had an opportunity to make a change. What does that mean?

- Garrett said that he is really excited about all the new coaches and has an immense amount of respect for them. That doesn't mean a whole lot considering he said the same thing about the old coaches.
- Garrett was asked if he initiated the coaching changes and had the final say on the staff. He answered that is was a collective decision. So the answer was no he did not.
- How much did Jerry Jones impatience factor into the coaching changes? Garrett never gave a straight answer.

- Will Bill Callahan call plays this coming season? Garrett said that they would work through the "mechanics". Garrett said that particular word a lot, but I really don't understand what he means.
- When will a decision be made as far as a play caller? Garrett never gave a straight answer.

- What are the "mechanics" of finding a play caller and for calling plays? Garrett said he won't get into details. Seriously? Why?

- Garrett also said a few times that the Cowboys would be playing a game in early August and that they would look to then to have the play calling set. As a team going through changes wouldn't it be a good idea to have something as important as who is calling plays set well before August?
- Asked if Jerry Jones wanted Garrett calling plays? Garrett said to ask Jerry Jones.

- Garrett said that he trusts the "process".

- When it came to talking about the new defense under Monte Kiffin and Rod Marinelli, Garrett just told stories about when they were all in Tampa Bay. He never got into the direction of the new defense and what to expect other than saying he was counting on more turnovers.

That was the press conference in a nutshell. A whole lot of nothing as far as this fan is concerned, but at the same time it lasted for close to an hour. At times I thought I was listening to Charlie Brown's teacher speaking. To me Jason Garrett is just another one of Jerry Jones puppets. Maybe I'm wrong when I say this team has no direction. It's just my opinion of course from what I read and what I hear. The Cowboys just seem to be a team lost and I don't know if they will be able to find their way any time soon due to the structure of the team as it is currently.