Cowboys' Lamb primed for bounceback: 'He's got that look in his eye'

Four-out-of-eleven is a hot streak for a hitter in baseball. For CeeDee Lamb, however, it's cause for concern.

But not for people named Brian Schottenheimer.

The Cowboys head coach says he's not the least bit worried about his superstar receiver, even after he caught just four balls on 11 targets in Sunday's win over Philadelphia.

"I don't think you lose your confidence. I think you can be shaken at times; I don't think CeeDee is," Schottenheimer told reporters Tuesday at his pre-practice press conference.

To illustrate his point, the coach who held free-throw contests with the team all summer long used a relevant example from that sport.

"I always talk about the great basketball shooters. I love basketball, but I think it was Rick Barry who talked about if he missed a free throw- he'd had some record or something- but he said if he had missed four, five, six in a row, he said, 'I'm a 90% free-throw shooter. I'm making the next one.' I think it's that mindset. With CeeDee, I think it's more [that] he's determined to play to his capabilities."

Sunday's struggles didn't keep Lamb from making some key contributions. His 48-yard catch late in the third quarter was made despite a DPI call on Cooper DeJean and ended up tied for the Cowboys' longest play of the afternoon. More important, it set up Dallas in the red zone for a touchdown that narrowed the once-hopeless deficit to just seven points.

Overall, it has been a less-gaudy statistical year for Lamb than the four-time Pro Bowler is used to. He ranks just 42nd leaguewide in catches and sits outside the top 20 in yardage. The presence of George Pickens in the Dallas passing game has certainly contributed to a downturn in those numbers, but it's the drops that have people asking questions.

Lamb's reception percentage of 61.1% places him 141st among all pass-catchers.

He had seven drops in the two-game Eagles series this season. After the Week 1 opener, he notably showed up at the team facility the next morning- on an off day- to get in some solo work with the JUGS machine.

He responded in the next contest by hauling in nine passes on 11 targets for 112 yards, posting a season-best catch percentage of 81.8%.

But after a Week 12 outing that left Lamb visibly frustrated on the sidelines, Schottenheimer says he's already seen something familiar in the two days since. Yes, history could repeat.

"He's got that look in his eye. He's ready to go play. He loves the bright lights, he's an incredible football player, and he's got that look in his eye that means business. It's the same look he had after the first Philadelphia game."

The head coach was promising as early as his postgame press conference on Sunday evening that he wouldn't shy away from targeting Lamb moving forward, a sentiment he echoed on Tuesday as the Thanksgiving Day game draws closer.

"I think I let the cat out of the bag a little bit [on Sunday]," Schottenheimer grinned, "but there will be plenty of balls going to 88 on Thursday afternoon."

Of note is the ankle injury that shelved Lamb for three games. It's obviously had an impact on Lamb's season from a pure numbers standpoint, but as Schottenheimer pointed out, it has also required some work (and some time) for the 26-year-old to get back to his usual self.

"I think he's finally healthy," the coach told reporters. "I think he's finally moving around the way that I think he was. He came back early. I know there were a few snaps last week at practice where I was like, 'Okay, that's different. He's back.'"

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This article originally appeared on Cowboys Wire: Cowboys' Lamb primed for bounceback: 'He's got that look in his eye'