Troy Aikman: 'Take the dresses off' comments were 'dumb remarks on my part'

There was another controversial roughing the passer call during Monday night's Chiefs-Raiders game, and it prompted ESPN announcer and Hall of Fame quarterback Troy Aikman to make a comment that earned him immediate criticism.

Said Aikman during the broadcast, "My hope is the competition committee looks at this in the next set of meetings and, you know, we take the dresses off."

Aikman addressed the remark on Dallas radio Thursday morning, saying it was a dumb comment he should not have made.

“Yeah, I mean, my comments were dumb. Just shouldn’t have made them, just dumb remarks on my part,” said Aikman, via the Dallas Morning News. 

“But the other part of what came from that, what I said was that it implied that I’m not in favor of protecting the quarterbacks, which could not be further from the truth. I’m totally in favor of the protection that the quarterbacks are afforded, and all players for that matter. But there’s no question there has been over-enforcement of the protection for quarterbacks.”

Aikman's initial dress comment was an obvious throwback to comments made by Pittsburgh Steelers Hall of Fame linebacker Jack Lambert in the 1970s. Lambert was asked by Howard Cosell if there should be any changes to rules protecting quarterbacks, Lambert sarcastically said "Well, it might be a good idea to put dresses on all of them. That might help a little bit." 

Roughing the passer rules have become a top storyline in the NFL given some of the calls that have been made in recent weeks. On Monday, it was Kansas City's Chris Jones being penalized on a play where he forced a Derek Carr fumble. On Sunday, Atlanta's Grady Jarrett was penalized for sacking Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady, a call that played a significant role in determining the outcome of the game.