Tony Romo is a lightning rod.

When Romo first burst onto the scene in 2006, replacing an ineffective Drew Bledsoe after halftime of a Sunday night game, almost every Dallas Cowboys fan was excited.

But that was then. Now, we are in December of 2011 and the Romo defenders are much fewer and far less vocal than the Romo haters. Or, at least that is the perception.

The reason the seat Romo sits in is so hot is simple: this is the Dallas Cowboys. The Standard for QB in Dallas is Roger Staubach, Troy Aikman and Lombardi trophies. Nothing less will do.

But even when guys named Staubach and Aikman are at the helm, the Cowboys are susceptible to the backup quarterback infatuation that permeates the NFL.

Just ask Danny White.

For years, White waited patiently behind Staubach. He served as the team’s punter and backup quarterback and was a fan favorite.

Then, Staubach retired and Danny ascended the throne. He was as good as advertised, too. His numbers were extraordinary. He set a number of team records. He guided his Cowboys to three consecutive NFC title games.

Guess what Danny White did not do?

You got it! Danny never won a Super Bowl. In fact, he never won an NFC championship game. By almost any standard, Danny White forged a highly successful career for himself.

But this is not almost any standard. This is the Dallas Cowboys.

Now, back to Tony Romo and some fun facts regarding this quarterback so many Cowboys fans and Cowboys haters love to deride:

• Tony Romo is 46-28-0 as a starter. That is a winning percentage of 62%, which means over a 16-game season, you can expect his team to win 9.92 games.
• Romo has thrown 144 touchdowns and 71 interceptions. This is a TD/Int ratio of better than two-to-one.
• Romo has an average QB rating of 96.4.
• Romo has led nine fourth quarter comebacks.
• In six years as a starting QB, Romo has thrown for 20,296 yards.
• Tony Romo was an undrafted free agent.

By comparison, Troy Aikman posted these numbers on his way to Canton and the NFL Hall of Fame:

• Aikman’s record as a starting QB was 94-71-0. That is a winning percentage of 56.9. On average, his teams won 9.12 games per season.
• Aikman threw 165 touchdowns and 141 interceptions. That is much closer to a one-to-one ration than Romo’s two-to-one mark.
• Aikman had an average QB rating of 81.6.
• Aikman threw for 32,942 yards during his 12-year career.
• Troy Aikman was the first player taken in the 1989 NFL draft.

Now, why do you hate Romo?

There is only one reason that makes any sense at all. While Aikman was 11–4 in the playoffs with three Super Bowl wins, Tony Romo is 1–3.

With all of this said, I have a very good reason for Cowboys fans to hate Romo less. It is a simple one that only asks you to remember. Just…remember.

I am suggesting that a bad memory is a big problem with Romo haters. So, I would like to challenge you to a quiz. Just click on the link and take the quiz below and then ask yourself this question: How bad do I really hate Tony Romo?

Can you name the Dallas Cowboys Starting QBs Post-Aikman?

How did you do? I suffered brain freeze while taking it and could not remember three of them. When you consider the post-Troy, pre-Tony era of Cowboys football, does it do anything to lessen your Romomisery?

Or is that elusive sixth Lombardi trophy the only thing that will cure it?

All-Pro, All Cowboy

The NFL draft is just around the corner and everyone is scrambling to put together their 2011 NFL mock draft. Of course, then the men making the decisions—men like Jerry Jones and Al Davis, for instance—proceed to make a mockery of the mock drafts.

Every Dallas Cowboys fan has to be a bit tied up in knots when draft time rolls around because that fan knows the man in charge is as inept in the judging of NFL talent as he is incoherent when attempting to make an impromptu speech. The post-Jimmy Johnson era of Jerry Jones drafting has not been pretty, which has led to the slow erosion of the team’s talent base and the longterm absence of playoff success.

Not to worry, though. Maybe the next great Dallas Cowboy won’t come through the draft at all. Maybe, just maybe he will fall through the cracks instead. Maybe he will be that great player that all of the genius talent evaluators overlooked, misjudged, or just plain missed. It isn’t an impossibility. It has happened before…more than once.

That said, I give you a brief team history review and present for your consideration, the all-time top ten undrafted Dallas Cowboys. Feel free to discuss and debate amongst yourselves. Better yet, leave a comment.

(Drumroll, please.)

Number Ten: Dan Reeves, Halfback (Class of 1965)– I may be putting Dan Reeves too low on this list, based on the fact that after a productive career as a player he went on to serve as an assistant coach on Tom Landry’s staff, participating in five Super Bowls. He then participated in four more Super Bowls as a head coach. (Yes, if you are counting, that is nine total Super Bowls.)

As a player, Reeves was solid, but not spectacular. He was named to the Sporting News All-Conference team in 1966. That same year, the Associated Press named him second-team All-NFL. Perhaps his most memorable play was a halfback pass he threw for a touchdown against the Green Bay Packers in the 1967 Ice Bowl game.

Number Nine: Miles Austin, Wide Receiver (Class of 2006)– It is hard to believe that, in this information age, a talent like Miles Austin could slip through seven rounds of drafting unnoticed by 32 teams. Austin is big and fast and the reason Jerry Jones felt confident in cutting Terrell Owens loose.

In 2009, Austin had a breakout year that captured the imagination of fans across the NFL. He only started nine games, but caught 81 passes for 1320 yards and 11 touchdowns. He was named to the Pro Bowl in 2009 and again in 2010.

Number Eight: Mark Tuinei, Offensive Tackle (Class of 1983)– This undrafted free agent forged a 15-year career with the Dallas Cowboys. He was named to two Pro Bowls. And, in the early ’90s, he was a member of an offensive line that some feel is the greatest of all time. That line protected hall of fame quarterback Troy Aikman and blew open holes for the NFL’s all-time leading rusher and hall of famer, Emmitt Smith.

Mark Tuinei started in 15 playoff games during his stellar career.

Tragically, in 1999, at the age of 39, Tuinei died of a drug overdose.

Number Seven: Bill Bates, Safety (Class of 1983)– 1983 was a good year for the Dallas Cowboys finding overlooked or ignored talent. Bill Bates, like Mark Tuinei, made the ’83 Cowboys squad as an undrafted free agent and then stuck around for 15 years.

Bates was known as a hard-working, hard-hitting, smart football player. What he lacked in speed and raw talent, he made up for with heart and determination. In 1984, the NFL added a Pro Bowl spot for a special teams player because of Bates’ impact on that part of the game. The ’84 Pro Bowl would be Bates’ only appearance, but he would continue to impact his team and would be a part of three Super Bowl championships.

Number Six: Nate Newton, Guard (Class of 1986)– Listed at 6’3, 318 (add at least 50 pounds to that, I would think), Nate Newton was one giant oversight in the 1986 draft. All this guy did was put together a 14-year career, become the face of the fiercest offensive line of his era, earn six trips to the Pro Bowl and make two All-Pro teams. Oh, and he won three Super Bowl rings for good measure.

‘Big Newt’ was one of the most colorful, quotable characters on one of the most colorful teams in NFL history. He was a character, for sure. He was also a player.

Number Five: Tony Romo, Quarterback (Class of 2004)– In 2006, at halftime of the sixth game of the season, against the New York Giants, coach Bill Parcells made a change at quarterback. He pulled an ineffective Drew Bledsoe in favor of little-known undrafted free agent Tony Romo. Romo was in his third year with the team and was on almost no one’s radar. No one’s but Parcells’ and his staff.

Romo took over in that game and never looked back. He became the Cowboys’ regular starter. In four plus years he has spent under center, Romo has been named to three Pro Bowls. He has thrown for more than 4,000 yards twice. He has tossed 118 touchdowns against 62 interceptions.

Tony Romo is a lightning rod among Cowboys fans because, to date, he has but one playoff win. In Dallas, with names like Staubach and Aikman to live up to, one playoff win won’t cut it. Should Romo ever guide the Cowboys to another Lombardi trophy, he will shoot to the top of this list, or very near it.

Number Four: Everson Walls, Cornerback (Class of 1981)– Everyone knew this guy was too slow to play cornerback in the NFL. So, why did Tom Landry keep him on the 1981 squad? The slow-footed defensive back would be toast.

Not exactly. Not only did Walls make the ’81 Cowboys team. He started. And, he led the NFL with 11 interceptions. He kept his job with the Cowboys all through the 1980s, earning four Pro Bowl trips.

Number Three: Cornell Green, Cornerback (Class of 1962)– Cornell Green was a two-time All-American at Utah State University— in basketball! It was the genius of Gil Brandt and his way-ahead-of-the-times scouting that led to Green becoming a cornerback in the NFL.

Green played cornerback and safety for the Cowboys from 1962 to 1974. He recorded 34 interceptions and returned two for touchdowns. Cornell Green went to four Pro Bowls as a cornerback and one as a safety. After the switch to safety, Green’s Cowboys went to their first two Super Bowls, winning one of them.

Number Two: Drew Pearson, Wide Receiver (Class of 1973)– The original 88 was Mister Clutch. He was Roger Staubach’s go-to guy for years. Adept at route-running, deceptively fast, and a master at catching the sideline pass while doing the tight-rope thing with his toes to make the catch in bounds, Drew was a highlight reel in a helmet.

Drew Pearson caught the famed Hail Mary pass against the Minnesota Vikings. That was but one of many clutch grabs he made to help his team win big games. Three times he was named to the Pro Bowl and was selected first-team All-Pro each of those times. The NFL named Pearson to the All-Decade team for the 1970s.

Still, Drew Pearson has never been inducted into the Cowboys Ring of Honor, which is both a travesty and evidence that Jerry Jones sometimes lacks good judgment or a sense of team history, take your pick.

In fact, Pearson belongs in the Hall of Fame, as does our selection for the greatest all-time undrafted Dallas Cowboy…

Number One: Cliff Harris, Safety (Class of 1970)– So far, Cliff Harris is the only one in our group of elite nobodies to be inducted into the Cowboys Ring of Honor. Known as a bone-crushing hitter, Harris was given the nickname “Captain Crash.” He and his backfield mate Charlie Waters formed the almost-undisputed best safety tandem in the NFL throughout the 1970s, and they are among the greatest twosome in NFL history.

Cliff Harris played ten years, from 1970–’79. He made six Pro Bowls and was a three-time All-Pro. Harris is in the Ring of Honor and was a Hall of Fame finalist in 2004. The fact that he has not been named to the NFL Hall of Fame is beyond ludicrous, as he rates among the greatest ever at his position…and he was a major component in a team that went to five Super Bowls in a decade.

But he wasn’t a Steeler. He was a Cowboy. So, go ahead and turn those media bias conspiracy theories loose. I am right there with you.

But I digress. The point here is that Cliff Harris is at the top of a list of elite football players that were overlooked on draft day, but left their imprint on the National Football League anyway.

Long live the overlooked, the over-achievers, the underdogs. And God bless those who discover the diamonds in the rough.

Cowboys Team Photo 1979

Bruce Thornton is a big man.

During the Premiere League flag football game, put on by the NFL Players Association the Friday night before the Super Bowl, I spotted him (well, I could not have missed him) in the media bullpen, towering over the rest of us.

It is hard to believe, but I recognized him. He is 52 years old and I had not seen him on TV or anywhere else since 1981, when he was 22 and I was not yet 20. Still, I remembered the face.

As an ardent Cowboys follower, I remember being excited about the eighth round defensive end when he came to the team. I was not alone, either. There were plenty of high expectations for Bruce Thornton. Unfortunately, a leg injury he had suffered in college slowed him.

Then, he suffered another injury in the NFL.

Thornton’s NFL career lasted only four years: Three with the Cowboys and his final year with the St. Louis Cardinals. Like so many before him, the reality had not met his own expectation, nor the expectations of others. He found himself 24 years of age, having to make alternate plans, to find a new career.

Bruce talked about the current players and the expiring Collective Bargaining Agreement with the NFL

“It isn’t necessarily the superstars that need improvement, that need the longterm healthcare benefits. It’s the guys whose careers are cut short. It’s the guys that make it in the league, but never sign the big contract.

“I am one of the lucky ones. I can still get around. Plenty of guys I played with can’t. And they have had to absorb their own medical expenses for years.”

While we were on the subject of the looming lockout, I asked him about the proposed 18-game schedule.

“You can’t go to eighteen games without expanding the active roster, and I don’t mean by three or four players,” Thornton said.

I asked if that wasn’t just another way of saying that the two additional games will result in substantially more injuries to player.

“Absolutely! There is no doubt,” he answered.

I asked how much he would expect players’ careers to be shortened in terms of years played in the league. He didn’t know for sure, but had no doubt it would shorten careers.

Bruce Thornton talks about Jerry Jones

Kalen Thornton, a 6’3″ linebacker out of the University of Texas, and Bruce’s oldest son, also played for the Dallas Cowboys, joining the team as a rookie in 2004. His career was cut short, when in 2005, he suffered what would prove to be a career-ending knee injury.

“I love Jerry Jones,” says Bruce Thornton. “The way he took care of my son…he didn’t have to do all that he did. Oh sure, he had to reach an injury settlement with him, but he went way beyond that.”

“What did he do?” I asked.

“He saw that Kalen had the very best care, that he was seen by the best orthopedic surgeons. Then, when Kalen decided he wanted to go to Stanford to get his MBA, Jerry aided him in getting into the program.”

“Jerry gets a lot of bad press, but he cares about his players. You just don’t hear his former players criticize him.”

Bruce Thornton remembers Harvey Martin

I asked Bruce what it was like to play on the ’70s Cowboys, with those players that would become legends in Cowboys’ lore.

He immediately brought up Harvey Martin.

“Harvey was my mentor,” Thornton said. “He took me under his wing, showed me the ropes.”

I said, “They called him ‘Too Mean’ Martin, but I hear he was the nicest guy.”

“He was! Always had that big smile. I loved him. Man, I wept when I found out how sick he was. When he died, it wiped me out.”

The love Bruce Thornton had for his fallen teammate was still palpable after all these years. There was an emotional strain in his voice.

But, as this giant of a man talked patiently with me, a complete stranger that had invaded his private space, I could not help but think that a young man today could do much worse for a mentor than Bruce Thornton.

I also could not help think how much we miss as football fans when we define an athlete’s worth strictly by his on-field accomplishments. Some of these men on whom circumstance did not smile during their career embody a greatness the world-at-large will never know.

Those fortunate to know Bruce Thornton know what I mean.

God bless the lesser lights. God bless the forgotten men. God bless Bruce Thornton, my new friend.

Ready for some Football?

The Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex has waited 45 years to host its first Super Bowl. It only took a tenacious, aggressive megalomaniac owner and a billion bucks to get it here. And now that the attention of the world is turned to our little corner of it, some old-school Cowboys fans would just as soon the two teams coming to Dallas didn’t. They would be just as happy if their annoying fans stayed home, too.

No sooner had Ben Roethlisberger completed the pass that became the dagger in the heart of Jets’ fans than my cell phone rang. It was my father-in-law, who is navigating his way through his seventh decade in this world, and who happens to be a day-one, dyed-in-the-wool Dallas Cowboys fan.

“Well, it is the worst-case scenario,” he sighed.

I did not have to ask what he meant. He has been around long enough to hate the Packers for what they kept the Cowboys from becoming in the 1960s and the Steelers for stealing the ’70s.

Don’t get me wrong: the Cowboys have had their successes against Green Bay and Pittsburgh. From 1993–’95, Troy Aikman’s Cowboys knocked Brett Favre’s Packers out of the playoffs three consecutive times. All of those games were played in Dallas and none of them were close. The Cowboys also beat the Steelers 27–17 in Super Bowl XXX. They were clearly the superior team in that contest.

All of that notwithstanding, the most heart-breaking, agonizing losses in Cowboys’ history have come at the hands of the Packers and the Steelers.

For the benefit of those too young to know and those too old to remember, I will break down the championship rivalries between the Cowboys and the Steelers/Packers, which may as well be a single entity for all anybody around here cares.

So Close...

1966 NFL Championship Game: Green Bay Packers versus Dallas Cowboys

The Green Bay Packers were already owners of nine NFL Championships by January 1, 1967. Their opponent, the Dallas Cowboys, had only been around since 1960, but had risen fast under the steady guidance of coach Tom Landry.

The ’67 meeting would take place at the Cotton Bowl, the home of the Cowboys, and would determine the NFL participant in the game dubbed Super Bowl I. The Super Bowl was to be the contest between the rival professional football leagues, the NFL and the AFL.

Though a merger was imminent, it would not take place until 1970.

The Dallas Cowboys had emerged as an up-coming power by 1966. With names like Don Meredith, Bob Hayes, Bob Lilly, Dan Reeves, and Lee Roy Jordan on the team roster, it was little wonder.

The championship game would be a shootout, too, with the Packers emerging victors, 34–27. The Cowboys had a chance to complete a comeback after being down 34–20 in the third, but fell just short. On fourth and goal from the Packers’ two yard line, quarterback Don Meredith rolled out to pass, but was under heavy pressure and threw an interception in the end zone.

Game over.

Ice Bowl: Cold-Hearted

1967 NFL Championship Game: Green Bay Packers versus Dallas Cowboys

This is the famous “Ice Bowl” game, about which so much has been written, it hardly seems necessary for me to add my voice to din. Here is what Wikipedia says about it:

The 1967 National Football League Championship Game between the Green Bay Packers and the Dallas Cowboys was the 35th championship game in NFL history. Popularly known as the Ice Bowl, it is widely considered one of the greatest games in NFL history, due to the hostile conditions in which it was played, the importance of the game, the rivalry between the teams, the duel between two future Hall of Fame head coaches, and the dramatic conclusion.

The game was played at Lambeau field and with an actual game-time temperature of -13°, it is the coldest on record. It was also a brutal battle between Vince Lombardi’s Packers and Tom Landry’s Cowboys. The two legendary coaches had once been coordinators together with the New York Giants. By 1967, they were bitter rivals, vying for the championship and the right to represent the NFL in Super Bowl II.

As it had the year before in Dallas, the championship game came down to a final play on the goal line. This time it was the Packers with the ball and the Cowboys clinging to a narrow 17–14 lead. With 16 seconds remaining, it was third and goal at the Cowboys’ one yard line. Quarterback Bart Starr called his own number. He followed guard Jerry Kramer, who pushed Cowboys defensive tackle Jethro Pugh just enough to let Starr sneak the ball over the goal line. The Packers won, 21–17.

For the Dallas Cowboys, 1967 ended the way it had begun. On January 1st, the Cowboys lost the ’66 championship to the Pack and on December 31st, they lost the ’67 championship to that same ugly, green machine and their gap-toothed coach. (Not that anyone was bitter about it.)

And now the taunts were beginning. The Dallas Cowboys were called “the bridesmaids of the NFL,” or “Next Year’s Champions.”

(See a highlight video of the “Ice Bowl” here.)

Swann Dive into Immortality

Super Bowl X: Dallas Cowboys versus Pittsburgh Steelers

The Dallas Cowboys would meet the Pittsburgh Steelers in the Super Bowl twice in four years. It was inevitable, really, since the Cowboys were to make five trips to the big game and the Steelers four during the course of the 1970s.

The first of these meetings was on January 18, 1976 in Super Bowl X. The game featured two of the the most storied defenses in NFL history. Pittsburgh’s Steel Curtain defense boasted eight Pro Bowl players that year. The Steel Curtain featured “Mean” Joe Greene and L.C. Greenwood on the line; two future Hall of Fame linebackers in Jack Lambert and Jack Ham, and future Hall of Fame defensive back Mel Blount.

The Cowboys’ DoomsDay II defense used Tom Landry’s innovative “Flex” formation and was fearsome in its own right, with Harvey Martin and Ed “Too Tall” Jones anchoring the line and future Hall of Fame cornerback Mel Renfro joining the two best safeties in the league, Charlie Waters and Cliff Harris, in the defensive backfield.

Each offense was led by a Hall of Fame quarterback and NFL legend: Terry Bradshaw for the Steelers; Roger Staubach for the Cowboys. Of course, there was also coaching legends and hall of famers Chuck Knoll and Tom Landry on the sideline.

Befitting two storied franchises, the game itself was a nail-biter and was not decided for sure until the final gun sounded. On the game’s last play, Staubach was throwing for the end zone and the win, but the ball was tipped and intercepted by safety Glen Edwards.

The Steelers won, 21–17. Lynn Swann, another future of Hall of Famer, caught four passes for 161 yards and a touchdown. He was also named the game’s MVP, becoming the first wide receiver to receive the honor.

Super Bowl X was the Cowboys’ third trip to the Super Bowl and their second loss. It was the Steelers’ second consecutive Super Bowl victory.

Just stay down, Jackie

Super Bowl XIII: Pittsburgh Steelers versus Dallas Cowboys

Played on January 21, 1979, in Miami, Super Bowl XIII would mark the third time the Cowboys had been to the championship in four years, and their fifth trip in nine years. It was the Steelers’ third trip in five years. Pittsburgh would return for a fourth time the following year.

Imagine that: In a single decade, the NFC had been represented five times by the same team and the AFC had sent the same team to the contest four times. Yet, only one of those dynasties would emerge as the team of the ’70s. That team would be determined in the fairest way possible: two head-to-head meetings.

Had the Cowboys won just one of those games against the Steelers, they would have had bragging rights for the 1970s by virtue of their remarkable five trips to the Super Bowl. Alas, it was not to be. Though the games against the Steelers were among the most exciting Super Bowls ever played, the Cowboys came up short both times.

Super Bowl XIII was the one where Dallas linebacker Thomas “Hollywood” Henderson famously said that Terry Bradshaw could not spell “cat” if you spotted him the “c” and the “a.” Bradshaw responded by throwing for 318 yards and four touchdowns, both Super Bowl records at the time. The Pittsburgh QB was named the game’s MVP despite throwing two interceptions and losing a fumble on the day.

Bradshaw’s heroics may have won the game, but his miscues very nearly cost his team the game. He might have as easily been the goat as the hero, had it not been for one of the Super Bowl’s all-time notable goats, Jackie Smith.

The Cowboys had lured Smith, a Hall of Fame-bound tight end, formerly of the Cardinals, out of retirement when the injury bug hit them. It was the third quarter and Smith was wide open in the middle of the end zone. Quarterback Roger Staubach hit him in the chest with a pass. Smith dropped it. The Cowboys settled for a field goal.

The rest is history…and still a raw memory for so many Cowboys’ fans.

The Steelers won the game, 35–31.

(See the Jackie Smith drop on video here.)

Four times the Dallas Cowboys have been within inches of a championship, only to be denied, either by the Packers or the Steelers. So, forgive the locals a little long in the tooth if they don’t offer a friendly smile or hearty handshake while you foul their beloved Cowboys’ home with your Green and Gold or Black and Gold.

And pay no attention at all to the bumper sticker that reads, “Welcome to Texas. Now, go home.”

Dateline: January 28, 1996 – Super Bowl XXX featured the two greatest NFL franchises of the Super Bowl era: the Dallas Cowboys and the Pittsburgh Steelers. It was the third time the two organizations had collided in the championship game. The Steelers won the first two, Super Bowls X and XIII, claiming their place as the “team of the ’70.” The Cowboys got a measure of revenge in Super Bowl XXX, winning that one 27–17.

That clash of titans marked the Cowboys’ eighth trip to the big game and their fifth win. They were the kings of the hill.

No more. What has happened to these two franchises in the intervening years has been the story of two ownerships. One that knows what it takes to achieve and maintain excellence and one that knows what it takes to let ego and ignorance destroy a once-proud legacy.

In one corner, you have football royalty in the Rooney family. In the other, you have Jerry Jones, the Arkansas wildcatter.

A quick comparison of the two franchises’ fortunes since their meeting in Super Bowl XXX will illustrate what I mean:

Interactive Whiteboards by PolyVision

Jerry Jones hired coaches like Barry Switzer, Dave Campo, Chan Gailey and Wade Phillips, men he felt he could control; men that, if successful, would not detract from the glory he desired the way Jimmy Johnson had. The Rooneys stuck with the model they believed in, hiring coaches Bill Cowher and Mike Tomlin.

Cowher and Tomlin are not just football men; they are leaders of men.

The Rooneys, apparently, believe there is glory enough to go around when your team wins, even if they are delegating responsibilities. Jerry Jones still smarts from never getting his just desserts for the three Super Bowl wins in the early ’90s.

Jerry Jones did hire Bill Parcells, but that was only after three consecutive 5–11 seasons under Campo. He needed someone to resurrect the franchise from the ruins his ego had put it in. And, as he confessed in a drunken rant that was recorded without his knowledge, bringing in Parcells was a ploy to shut up the media and fans so he could get his precious new stadium built.

Jones quickly replaced Parcells with the most puppet-like coach ever to wear the Cowboys’ head coach headset: Wade Phillips. It was not until the Phillips experiment imploded mid-season this year, with the Cowboys at 1–7, that Jones finally admitted failure and hired Jason Garrett.

Garrett, by all appearances, will be a strong leader, but that is conjecture—and history not yet written.

The Steelers will be bringing with them one of the heroes of the AFC championship game, running back Rashard Mendenhall. Mendenhall was available when Jerry Jones listened to his Arkansas Razorback roots and selected Felix Jones in the first round of the 2008 draft. In his three seasons with the Cowboys, Felix has run for 1751 yards and seven touchdowns. He has caught passes for 579 yards and one touchdown. He has failed to establish himself as a consistent starter in that period.

Mendenhall, meanwhile, has run for 2,439 and 20 touchdowns and caught passes for 445 yards and one TD. He is renowned as a battering ram kind of back that can tote the rock on a regular basis.

Don’t get me wrong. I like Felix Jones. I love his big-play potential. I do wonder, however, why we are still talking about potential when he is already a three-year veteran, especially when you consider the relatively short shelf-life of an NFL running back.

So, here we are. Fifteen years after the Cowboys and Steelers last met in a Super Bowl and they are set to meet again: the Steelers as participants in Super Bowl XLV and the Cowboys as their unhappy hosts.

The Steelers already have the most Super Bowl wins with six. The Cowboys are tied with the San Francisco 49ers with five. Now, the Steelers and Cowboys share the lead in appearances with eight apiece.

There is hardly any argument left about which team is the greatest of the Super Bowl era. If the Steelers beat the Green Bay Packers in Arlington, they will, for the moment, end the argument altogether.

And all the Cowboys’ fans said in unison, “Thanks, Jerry.”

2010 was a miserable year for the Dallas Cowboys and their fans. It may well have been the most disappointing year in team history.

Never fear silver and blue bloods: a new year has dawned and 2011 will be much kinder to your Cowboys.

That is, if there is football in 2011. Big “if” there.

So, provided there is NFL football in 2011, here are the top ten reasons the Cowboys will fare better and find themselves once more in contention for postseason play and more…

Number One: No more Wade Phillips.

It is not yet clear who will coach the Cowboys in 2011, but it is clear that it will not be the under-achieving, over-excusing, pompom-waving, affable Phillips.

Not long after his dismissal, Wade Phillips went on a Virginia Beach radio station and compared his Cowboys record to that of Tom Landry, saying that he had left with the same winning percentage as the Cowboys’ legendary coach of 29 years.  That laughable statement is roughly the equivalent of me saying I am as wealthy as Jerry Jones because we both have accounts at Chase Bank.

The truth of the matter is Wade took a team built by Parcells, poised to take that next step, and rode it into the ground. Based on the talent base and the ultimate results, Phillips may actually be the worst coach in team history, with apologies to his defensive backs coach and former Cowboys head coach Dave Campo.

Number Two: Jerry Jones will be compelled to make coaching and personnel decisions that are best for the team, rather than merely selecting the best candidates who are most likely to be “yes” men.

Jerry Jones, in a drunken admission recorded on a cell phone and posted on YouTube, confessed he only hired Parcells to shut the media up and change public perception so he could get his precious stadium built. Of course, once Parcells had had enough of Jones’ ridiculous meddling and left town, Jerry immediately hired himself the most capable puppet available: Wade Phillips.

Wade Phillips proceeded to give Jerry his most humiliating moments. They suffered a huge blowout loss to the Eagles in the final game of 2009, ending the team’s playoff hopes. They lost the last game ever in Texas Stadium to the Ravens. They lost the first game ever in the new stadium to the hated New York Giants. They were utterly destroyed by the Minnesota Vikings in the 2010 playoffs, after winning their first playoff game in 15 years. And they were throttled and embarrassed by the Green Bay Packers on Sunday Night Football, falling to a ridiculous 1–7 record at the time.

Financially, Jones is in it up to his false teeth with that new stadium. He cannot afford to put his ego ahead of the team’s success. As badly as he wants to construct things so that this time he will get the credit for success, rather than the coach (he still smarts over the Jimmy Johnson days), he will have to make moves that make sense, or suffer dire consequences. Whether he ultimately decides to stick with Jason Garrett or to pursue one of the proven Super Bowl-winning coaches available, you can bet he will make the hire with the primary concern being whether the coach can take the Dallas Cowboys back to Super Bowl glory.

Number Three: The Cowboys will get a top ten 2011 draft pick.

While it is always dicey to have Jerry pulling the strings on draft day, it is much more difficult to screw up a top ten draft pick than one in the latter part of the first round. With so many holes to fill—offensive line, defensive line, safety, linebacker, cornerback—there figures to be real value and a potential opening day starter available when the Cowboys make their first pick.

Number Four: The 2011 schedule will favor the Cowboys.

The NFL has worked its schedule so that out-of-division play features match ups between teams who finished in the same place in divisional standings. First place teams face first place teams, second place teams face second place teams, and so on. The Cowboys had a murderous schedule this year because they won their division in 2009.

Number Five: Dez Bryant will continue to emerge.

Dez Bryant was the best first-round pick the Cowboys have made since DeMarcus Ware. In an injury-shortened rookie season, Dez caught 45 passes for 561 yards and six touchdowns. He was the king of the circus catch, and easily the most aggressive offensive skill player on the team.

In addition to his prowess as a big-play receiver, Dez was a special teams standout. He had 15 punt returns for 215 yards and two touchdowns. He also returned 12 kickoffs for 293 yards.

Number Six: The Cowboys will be forced to get younger at inside linebacker.

Keith Brooking has been a pro bowl player. He has been a team leader. He has also been the heart and soul of the Cowboys’ defense since his arrival two years ago. Unfortunately, that defense is one of the worst in the league now, and Brooking has clearly lost a step. It happens to the best of them, and he is among the best of them.

The harsh reality is that neither Bradie James nor Brooking have had much of an impact this year, other than being torched on passing routes and gouged by the running game. Both men are leaders. They just have not performed in 2010.

Sean Lee may be part of the answer. He had better be. But there will have to be someone else emerge, as well.

Number Seven: The Cowboys will address the safety position.

Alan Ball works hard. But, as Clark Griswold’s father-in-law famously said, “So do washing machines.”

The Dallas Cowboys must have help at the safety position. Good safety play is absolutely essential to the success of any defense. Too often, the Cowboys’ safeties are seen coming into the picture just in time to wave at a receiver as he races to the end zone. Inept safety play impacts the effectiveness of cornerbacks, because they have to play softer, less aggressive, when they know there is no adequate help over the top.

Number Eight: There will be more Tashard Choice and less Marion Barber.

Marion Barber was once a great change-of-pace back, coming in to relieve Julius Jones late in the game, when the defense is tired. He used his relentless, battering ram style to break down said defenses and secure victories. Then, he became the featured back and has never been very effective since.

Barber is showing signs of slowing down. It may be that his bruising running style has taken its toll on body and mind.

Marion Barber also continues to make bonehead decisions that hurt his team, like ripping off his helmet after a touchdown or over-celebrating a three-yard run.

Meanwhile, Choice has shown himself to be perhaps the most complete back on the team. He can get the tough yards. He can make the important play in the passing game. He can break off a good run here and there.

Number Nine: Jon Kitna has impacted this team.

Tony Romo is not a fiery leader, known for holding his teammates accountable. His most famous quote to date is something like, “Football is fun.”

Kitna is a different kind of cat. He is fiery. He is ultra-competitive. He will get in your face just as quickly as he will jump in your arms. He also stands up and takes responsibility for failure, even if it doesn’t necessarily belong to him.

Romo and Kitna seem to have a good rapport. You have to believe that Romo has been watching his more-experienced replacement operate. Expect Tony to be focused and single-minded come 2011.

Oh, and healthy. A healthy Romo is absolutely essential to this team’s success.

Number Ten: Training Camp will actually take place.

The Cowboys treated the 2010 training camp like a rock band tour, moving it three different times, from San Antonio to California to Dallas. Only a handful of days were actually spent in full pads, featuring full contact.

Coach Wade “Marshmallow Puff” Phillips felt he had the kind of team he could just suit up and run out there and win enough games to keep his job. Competition for starting positions was nonexistent. There was a sense of entitlement that permeated the organization, from the owner/general manager and the head coach on down.

Whomever Jerry chooses to lead this team is bound to change that. (Heck, late-season practices under Jason Garrett have been more intense than training camp was under Phillips.)

It is a new year and hope springs eternal. Off with the old. On with the new.

Raise your glass to the new-look, more successful Dallas Cowboys.

Cheers!

[picappgallerysingle id="10162847"]The debate over whether Jerry Jones is one of the NFL’s best owners or one of its worst has raged in these parts (these parts being Cowboys’ country) for at least 15 years.

Ever since the brash Arkansas oilman stormed into Big D like a mule on crack, heehawing and smash-kicking his way around the hallowed grounds of the beloved Dallas Cowboys, he has frustrated, amused, irritated, enraged, and (on the rare occasion) delighted the faithful.

Under Jerry’s direction — and make no mistake, this thing is under Jerry’s direction— these past 22 years, the Dallas Cowboys have reached the highest of highs and the lowest of lows in franchise history. They have won three Super Bowls in a four-year span, and they have posted three 5-11 seasons back to back to back. They have been the model of success and they have been the butt of the joke.

Jerry Jones is Dr. Jekyll, a genius mad scientist who challenged the standard operating procedure of NFL marketing and taught an already-successful group of stodgy sports businessmen how to really sell their product and capitalize on their marketing cash cow. He helped oversee the greatest television contract coup in sports history, shooting the Fox network into orbit and resulting in the professional football viewing cornucopia we enjoy today.

Jerry Jones is Mr. Hyde. He is the raving lunatic who cannot manage a truly coherent public statement to save his life. His stream-of-consciousness speaking has caused many a confused listener to question his own sanity.

Jerry Jones is also the jerk that treated Tom Landry, the greatest legend in Dallas history, like a bumbling employee who could just be let go without notice or explanation. He is the ego-maniacal idiot who sabotaged his own franchise by firing Jimmy Johnson, the man who made him a football success in the first place, after they had won a second consecutive Super Bowl.

He is the sloppy drunk who gave us gold nuggets like the slurred declarative, “Rrrrommmmoooo was a mirrracle.” And the bold pronouncement, “Parcells isn’t worth a (expletive). I love him. but he isn’t worth a…”

So, the question remains: is Jerry a good owner or a bad one? Is he Dr. Jekyll, who just happens to have the baggage of Mr. Hyde, or is he at heart Mr. Hyde and Jekyll is just his cover?

We like to think that history will decide these things. I think maybe not. I think our interpretation of history will decide them. I propose, therefore, to offer a list of things that point to Jones being a good owner and then a list of things that point to him being a bust.

I am like Fox News: I report; you decide.

Jerry Jones is A Good Owner

Fact One: He took over the Dallas Cowboys when the team was in decline, made a bold and unpopular (at the time) move, hiring college coach Jimmy Johnson, a man who had won a national championship at the college level but had never coached or been on any coaching staff in the NFL.

Fact Two: He pulled the trigger on the biggest —and most rewarding— trade in franchise history.

Hershel Walker was the best player on a bad Cowboys team. He was also their only real bargaining chip. The Cowboys received four players and six draft picks for Walker. Jones and Johnson used those draft picks to acquire Emmitt Smith, Darren Woodson, and Russell Maryland. The trade essentially provided a shortcut to success for the Cowboys.

Fact Three: Under his ownership, the Dallas Cowboys became the first team in NFL history to win three Super Bowls in four years, and were but one NFC championship win away from making it four straight.

Fact Four: Jerry Jones has expanded the Dallas Cowboys brand.

Tex Schramm, shrewd promoter that he was, built the Cowboys into “America’s Team,” with the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders; the glamorous team image; the high profile positioning in the NFC East, which makes no logistical sense, but exposed the Cowboys to the largest media markets and the nation on a regular basis; the Thanksgiving Day game; etc.

Jones took that brand and expanded it. Under his leadership the Cowboys became simultaneously the most loved and most hated team in the league and managed to remain so, even through down years, when most franchises would simply be ignored. Jones himself is a lightning rod. Many people hate the Cowboys because they cannot stand Jerry Jones.

Jones laughs all the way to the bank. He understands that there is hardly any such thing as bad publicity.

Fact Five: Jerry hired Bill Parcells.

When the Cowboys were at their lowest point (well, prior to 2010), Jerry knew he had to act. He had suffered through three straight seasons, during which his team won a total of fifteen games. He had to do something significant. And he did.

Jerry shocked the football world when he managed to land the biggest fish in the coaching pond, the magnificent, giant Tuna, Bill Parcells.

Fact Six: Against all odds, with an economy teetering on the brink of disaster, Jones built the 1.4 billion dollar state-of-the-art Cowboys Stadium, instantly making the Cowboys’ home the center of the sporting world universe. He said that if we would build it, they would come.

They are coming. Big-time college football games. Huge boxing matches. The biggest names in entertainment. And Super Bowl XLV.

Jerry Jones is a bad owner.

Fact One: He bungled the firing of Tom Landry.

Many people in the Dallas/Fort Worth area remain former Cowboys fans to this very day, refusing to forgive Jerry Jones for firing their beloved coach the way he did, with such indignity and crassness.

Fact Two: Jerry Jones fired Jimmy Johnson.

Only God knows for sure how great the 1990s Cowboys could have been. Jimmy and Jerry won two Super Bowls in a row, and then, angry that Jimmy was getting all the spotlight and not sharing the credit for the success, Jerry fired him and said that Johnson was one of 500 coaches who could have won a Super Bowl with that team.

Apparently, he was right. Barry Switzer managed to stay out of the way enough to milk one more Super Bowl win out of them. But that was Jimmy’s team. he had put them together. He had evaluated the talent, made the tough calls on cutting dead weight, orchestrated the big trades, assembled the coaching staff.

Jerry could not long maintain what Jimmy had built. The team declined.

Fact Three: Jerry let Bill Parcells get away prematurely.

It is well chronicled how miserable Jerry Jones was when Parcells was in Dallas. Parcells was a necessary evil to Jones. He needed a genuine football man to put the team back together, to resurrect it, to rebuild the roster into a competitive one again.

Bill did that, and in short order. His team went 10-6 his first year, returning to the playoffs for the first time in four seasons. Bill only stayed in Dallas for three seasons. He had had enough of Jerry and Jerry had been in Bill’s shadow long enough. They were both ready to call it quits.

Fact Four: Jerry’s Cowboys have never really returned to the glory of the early ’90s.

Before their first-round win over the Philadelphia Eagles last year, the team had gone 13 years without a single playoff win, a staggering fact no Cowboys’ fan would have ever believed possible for the team they had come to expect to at least compete for a championship most every year.

Since Johnson’s departure, Jerry’s Cowboys have been above .500 ten times in 17 years. Compare that to Landry’s 20-year run of winning seasons. Since their last Super Bowl win in 1995, they have won exactly two playoff games.

During that time, the Cowboys have had five (now six, counting Jason Garrett) head coaches, but only one general manager. Jerry Jones.

Fact Five: Jerry Jones the owner keeps renewing the contract of Jerry Jones the general manager.

The owner of a football team has an obligation to his team’s fans to do the best he can to put the best product on the field, year in and year out. That is how one defines a great owner, ultimately.

Jerry Jones has never, ever done that, because he has always insisted on making himself the general manager. Consequently, he has never placed the team’s football operations into the most capable hands available.

Fact Six: Jerry built Jerry World and now is over-obligated and stretched too thin.

Recent financial decisions— like going with a completely unproven, out-of-position cornerback at the free safety spot while passing on a free agent who would have shored up that position; like staying out of the off-season free agent market almost entirely and entering the season with an aging, ailing offensive line; like electing to go with a rookie fullback who gets your quarterback killed— have vaguely suggested that Jerry might be pinching pennies.

Even if that is not the case, the fact remains that Jerry the owner now has his plate fuller than ever with the need to sell and promote stadium events, so Jerry the general manager has no choice but to be distracted, pulled, stretched thin.

There you have my list. Jerry is a good owner. Jerry is a bad owner. Jerry is a good owner gone bad.

You tell me. You be the judge and jury judging Jerry.

How do you heal a broken heart?

It was the best of times (for some). It was the worst of times (for us).

And so it ends. In a few days hence, just like that, the clock strikes midnight, Dec. 31, 2009, and the first decade of the 21st Century draws to an end.

It came in like a lion, with the threat of worldwide computer failure—the presumed result of the Y2K bug that so many experts feared would cripple the computers of the world, impacting everything from drinking water to banking systems. (Of course, the whole thing was much ado about nothing.)

It came in like a lion, as just one year into the decade, on the 11th day of the ninth month, terror struck at the heart of America. No one would ever utter the phrase 9/11 the same way again.

And now, with Congress locked in what seems an interminable debate over health care reform, with the economy stuck in the deep freeze of recession, with the election of the first black president and the declaration of Camelot II already losing its luster…this decade goes out like a lamb, slipping into the vault of human history, waiting its turn to be prodded, analyzed, labeled, and forever put on the shelf—another volume in the ever-expanding library of Father Time.

But what, you ask, of the NFL?

For the National Football League, the 2000s (old timers would call this decade The Aughts) will be remembered as the decade of dominance. The league took center stage on the American sports scene, easily outdistancing Major League Baseball to become America’s new pastime.

Glorious new stadiums rose like mighty Sphinxes from the earth to be filled to the brim and boiling over with fans eager to spend their disposable income—and their children’s inheritance, if need be—to be entertained by the American Gladiators, otherwise known as NFL players.

The team of the decade? The New England Patriots, of course.

For the Patriots, it was the best of times. They became the second team to win three Super Bowls in four years. They became the first NFL team to finish the regular season 16–0. They came within a miraculous Eli Manning-led drive of becoming only the second team in history to log an undefeated season, capped with the Super Bowl championship. Under the guidance of the derelict-looking genius head coach—and known cheater—Bill Belichick, the Patriots put together as good a decade as any team ever did.

But what, you wonder, of the Dallas Cowboys?

Ah, now we get to the meat of this New Year’s Eve dinner. You waded through this lengthy introduction to get down to the nitty gritty: How about them Cowboys?

Unfortunately, my anxious friend with the quiver in your voice and the gleam of hope in your eye, for your Cowboys, the Aughts (OK, the 2000s) were the worst of times.

Any way you slice it, the fifth decade of the NFL’s flagship franchise was as forgettable as a Friday night at home. It was far and away the worst decade in team history, and it came right after the best. Not a single Lombardi Trophy was added to the collection at Valley Ranch. In fact, there was not so much as a playoff victory to add to team lore.

The decade began with a volatile little madman named Dave Campo ranting and raving on the sideline and will conclude with the docile, doughy, take-it-all-in-stride Wade Phillips wandering aimlessly through another so-so season, all while relishing moral victories and congratulating his team on “fighting hard.”

Sandwiched between them was the football genius—if you don’t believe me on the “genius” part, ask him or anyone from New Jersey—Bill Parcells, doing his dead-level best to maneuver around the interferences of Jerry Jones to return the franchise to its rightful place of football glory.

Parcells failed to manage glory, but he did at least restore a level of respectability and left in his wake a roster many describe as being “as talented as any team in football.” (Maybe they are. If so, what a sad indictment on the whole team, from management to coaching to the players on the field. Such underachievement.)

I see the doubt on your face. You just cannot believe that, as bad as it was, this was the worst decade in team history. Fine. I will break it down, decade by decade.

Are your sitting down? Here goes…

The 1960s

Coach: Tom Landry

Record: 67 – 65 – 6

Winning Percentage: 50.7%

Playoffs: Four times

Championships: None

Remember now, this decade includes the birth of the franchise—and that first 0-11-1 season of theirs. The Cowboys did not even have the benefit of a draft their first year but were forced to pick up the castoffs and leftovers from the established franchises in order to field a team.

Still, with the steady hand of the fedora-topped Tom Landry at the helm, the Cowboys would play in their first Conference championship game in 1966. They would make the Conference championship again in 1967 and would make the divisional round in ’68 and ’69.

The 1970s

Coach: Tom Landry

Record: 105 – 39 – 0

Winning Percentage: 75.9%

Playoffs: NINE times!

Championships: Two

The 1970s Dallas Cowboys were as much the team of the decade as the Steelers. Their ridiculous winning percentage, their nine trips to the playoffs in those 10 years, their five Super Bowl appearances and two championships all put them in the rarefied air of a true dynasty. The ’70s Cowboys were 13-7 in playoff games.

The 1980s

Coaches: Tom Landry, Jimmy Johnson

Record: 79 – 73 – 0

Winning Percentage: 51.9%

Playoffs: Five times

Championships: None

The 1980s saw the ascendancy of Danny White to starting quarterback, due to Roger Staubach’s retirement after the ’79 season. The decade also saw the greatest run of winning football in league history finally come to an end, as Landry’s team aged and poor drafts led to the dilution of talent near the end of the decade.

The decade ended with the brash Arkansas wildcatter named Jerry Jones storming into Dallas, buying the team, and summarily firing the greatest—and most revered—legend in the city’s history, Tom Landry. The decade that began with three trips to the NFC championship game would end with Jimmy Johnson cleaning house and going 1-15 in his initial season, featuring, essentially, a bunch of rag-tag vagabonds and a rookie quarterback named Troy Aikman.

The 1990s

Coaches: Jimmy Johnson, Barry Switzer, Chan Gailey

Record: 101 – 59 – 0

Winning Percentage: 63.1%

Playoffs: Eight times

Championships: Three

The ’70s Cowboys can be argued to be one of the teams of that decade, but you might not win the argument if it is conducted against a Steelers fan flashing four Super Bowl rings in your face.

The ’90s Cowboys, however, were without question the team of their decade. To that point, no team in modern NFL history had been so dominant. No team had ever won three Super Bowls in four years.

Led by Troy Aikman, Emmitt Smith, and Michael Irvin—the Triplets—that team left an indelible mark on NFL history. They were so good that even a coaching change from Jimmy Johnson to Barry Switzer could not deter them from winning it all.

The 2000s

Coaches: Dave Campo, Bill Parcells, Wade Phillips

*Record: 79 – 74 – 0

*Winning Percentage: 51.6%

*Playoffs: Three times

*Championships: None

*These figures are through Week 13 of the 2009 season. The Cowboys’ final record and playoff fate is yet to be decided.

In every decade before the 2000s, the Dallas Cowboys contended for multiple championships. In two of those four decades, they won multiple championships. But from the years 2000 to 2009, unless the football gods are crazy or go on extended holiday at this, the end of the ’09 season, the Cowboys will finish having never contended for a single championship. In fact, they have not so much as posted a playoff victory in 13 years.

Before this decade began, Cowboys fans considered the 1980s to be the Dark Ages of team history, with the ultimate demise of the Schramm/Landry regime, and that dreadful 1–15 season at the end of that decade. Compared to the so-so product Jerry Jones and Company have put on the field over the past 10 years, however, the 1980s look like the halcyon days of team history.

Soon it will be New Year’s Eve, and around the world people will raise a glass of Champagne to toast the New Year. Some will drink to remember; others to forget. And then they will sing together that old Scottish refrain…

Should old acquaintance be forgot and never brought to mind? Should old acquaintance be forgot and auld lang syne?

And, if you are a Cowboys fan…and if the “old acquaintance” is The Aughts…the answer will be a resounding “Yes! Let’s forget all about it, the whole thing. Just…forget it.”

And then raise your glass and toast a new year, a new decade, a new head coach, a new direction…and new hope.

Maybe, just maybe, the best of times are yet to come.

Never Forget!

With insincere apologies to Quentin Tarrantino for pilfering his wonderful movie title (I even kept the curious spelling because it just seems to fit the blood-and-gluts glory of yesterday’s NFL: you know, before they instituted a glorified game of two-hand touch football), I give you the ten most underrated Dallas Cowboys in team history.

Some of the names on my list are anything but anonymous faces in Cowboys lore. Time and distance, however, have eroded their memory, until their names are seldom called and – for a new generation of Dallas Cowboys fandom – relatively unknown and completely unappreciated.

These men may be underrated for any number of reasons, ranging from never having won the ultimate title of Super Bowl champion to laboring under the long shadow of someone better – or at least better known. But they made their mark. They contributed more than time and effort to the team for which they labored. They brought talent, as well. They brought grit and determination. And they enjoyed a measure of success.

George Andrie, DE (1962 – 1972)

George Andrie

George Andrie was 6’6”, 250 pounds, which made him a big dude in the 1960s NFL. At

Marquette University, he played both ways. He  led the team in receptions and was among the team’s leaders in tackles, as well.

Andrie earned the starting job at right defensive end his rookie season with the Cowboys. He proceeded to earn a spot on the NFL’s All-Rookie team. Andrie would go on to forge a fine career for himself, earning Pro Bowl honors five consecutive times from 1965 – 1969. He would also receive first-team All Pro honors in 1969.

Overshadowed by Bob Lilly, the defensive tackle known as Mr. Cowboy, Andrie was a solid player for a decade and a major contributor to the DoomsDay Defense and the emergence of the Cowboys as a championship contender.

Walt Garrison, FB (1966 – 1974)

Walt Garrison was once, twice, three times a Cowboy. He played for The Oklahoma State Cowboys in college, the Dallas Cowboys in the NFL, and participated as a bona fide bronc-riding cowboy in the professional rodeo circuit.

One of the most colorful players in Cowboys’ history, Garrison served both as a steady runner of the football and a devastating lead blocker for the halfback. He was a fan and media favorite. Any Cowboys fan who was a child of the late sixties, early seventies remembers Walt Garrison pitching his favorite smokeless tobacco, Skoal. And which of us never tried it out to see if his assertion that “just a pinch between your cheek and gum gives you full tobacco flavor without lighting up” wasn’t true?

I know I did.

The Cowboy's Cowboy

Walt Garrison was only named to one Pro Bowl team, after the 1972 season. But he played a significant role in a Cowboys’ offense that participated in Super Bowls V and VI. He played well in both games, too, rushing for 65 yards on 12 attempts in a losing effort against the Baltimore Colts, and gaining 74 yards on 14 carries against the Miami Dolphins in the Cowboys’ first Super Bowl victory.

Don Meredith, another colorful Cowboy and the Cowboys quarterback for the first part of Garrison’s career, once said of Walt Garrison, “If it was third down, and you needed four yards, if you’d get the ball to Walt Garrison, he’d get ya five. And if was third down and ya needed 20 yards, if you’d get the ball to Walt Garrison, by God, he’d get you five.”

Everson Walls, CB (1981 – 1989)

After recording a slow time in the 40-yard dash, NFL scouts backed away from Everson Walls, believing him to be too slow to make it as a cornerback in the National Football League. Consequently, he went undrafted.

Everson Walls’ hometown team, the Dallas Cowboys, offered him a free agent rookie contract. Walls paid them back by snagging 11 interceptions his rookie season, good enough to lead the NFL. Walls would go on to play in four Pro Bowls and be named All-Pro once. He recorded 44 interceptions in nine years with the Cowboys.

Unfortunately, many simply remember Walls as the defender futilely swiping at the ball San Francisco’s Dwight Clark caught against the Cowboys in the NFC Championship Game of the 1981 season. The play became known simply as “The Catch,” and it forever changed the fortunes of the two teams. Walls’ coverage was not bad on that play. Clark simply made a great play on a ball only he could reach.

Ralph Neely, RT-LT (1965 – 1977)

Ralph Neely and hall-of-famer Rayfield Wright secured the tackle positions on a stellar Cowboys offensive line for more than a decade. Wright has rightfully been honored for his prowess by being inducted into both the Dallas Cowboys Ring of Honor and the National Football League Hall of Fame. Ralph Neely, through no fault of his own, has yet to be invited to either place.

Neely was drafted in the second round of the 1965 draft by both the Houston Oilers of the AFL and the Baltimore Colts of the NFL. He initially signed with the Oilers, but when the Colts traded his rights to the Dallas Cowboys, he reneged on the agreement with the Oilers and signed with the Cowboys.

At 6’ 6” and 265 pounds, Ralph Neely was a big, strong, versatile lineman. The first half of his career he played the right tackle position. He was moved to left tackle in 1971. Neely was named to the NFL All-Pro team three times from 1967 to 1969. He played in two Pro Bowls, 1967 and 1969. He participated in four Super Bowls and retired after the Cowboys won Super Bowl XII in 1977.

Nate Newton, LG (1986 – 1999)

Nate Newton fell into bad company and made poor choices after his professional football career was concluded. Caught transporting over 200 pounds of marijuana in Louisiana, he was sentenced to 30 months in federal prison.

While many choose to focus on Newton’s moral and legal failures, it should be pointed out that since his release from prison, he has apparently turned his life around and is doing his part to encourage kids not to repeat his mistakes.

None of that has any bearing on what Newton accomplished on the football field. A huge man – and powerful – the 6’3 lineman played at a reported 318 pounds, but that may be short-selling him. Though Nate was a jolly fellow and always good for a quote before or after a game, he was fierce competitor and significant contributor to an offensive line some have called the best in history. Newton played in six Pro Bowls and was named All-Pro twice.

Nate helped pave the way for Emmitt Smith to run for more yards from scrimmage than any back in league history. He also helped create the pocket for statuesque Hall of Fame quarterback Troy Aikman. Newton and his compatriots bowled over the competition, becoming the first team in NFL history to win three Super Bowls in four years.

Billy Joe DuPree, TE (1973 – 1983)

Too cool

Bill Joe DuPree has one of those cool Louisiana surnames that just sticks with you. But he was more than just a cool name in a Cowboys uniform; he was the starting tight end for a very good Roger Staubach (and later, Danny White) led offense for all of his eleven years with the team. At 6’ 4”, 225 pounds, DuPree was a good run blocker and an excellent receiver.

DuPree played in three Pro Bowls during his career. He also recorded a 25 reception, 225 yard game against the Saint Louis Rams in 1975. The following year, he would go off for 195 yards against the Saints. Impressive showings for a tight end. DuPree  would finish his career having recorded 41 touchdown receptions. He averaged 13.4 yards per reception.

Ed “Too Tall” Jones, DE (1974 – 1989)

Ed Jones was the first player taken in the 1974 draft. It was a good pick by the Dallas Cowboys.

Ed was Nicknamed “Too Tall” because, at 6’ 9”, he was the tallest man in the NFL. He used his height to great advantage, swatting passes back into the faces of frustrated quarterbacks throughout his career. Jones was the starting left defensive end for the Cowboys from 1975 until he retired in 1989.

The NFL did not begin officially recording sacks until 1982. Once they did, Jones would record 57.5 sacks from 1982 – 1989, an average of just over eight per season. He recorded 13 sacks in 1985 and 10 in 1987.

Jones was named to the Pro Bowl for three consecutive seasons, from 1981 – 1983. He was also named first-team All-Pro once, in 1982.

Harvey Martin, DE (1973 – 1983)

Harvey Martin and “Too Tall” Jones were bookend defensive ends on the famed DoomsDay Defense of the 1970s Dallas Cowboys. While Jones was adept at quarterback sacks, he was more of a run-stuffer and pass blocker. Harvey Martin, on the other hand, was a sack machine. Most of his sack count is unofficial due to the fact they weren’t officially recorded by the league until his final two seasons.

Martin’s sack numbers are nonetheless impressive, if not staggering. As a rookie, he recorded eight sacks. He was the first Cowboy (and the only one until DeMarcus Ware matched him in 2008) to record twenty sacks in a season. He finished his stellar career with the unofficial count of 114 sacks.

Martin’s post-football life, like so many before him and many after, was not pretty. He became a substance abuser, suffered bankruptcy, and was arrested for domestic violence.

The former four-time Pro Bowler died of pancreatic cancer in 2001. He was 51 years old.

Danny White, QB-P (1976 – 1987)

Danny White was the Dallas Cowboys’ quarterback-in-waiting behind Roger Staubach from 1976 – ’79. He was also the team’s starting punter. As a punter, he was dangerous. Not only was he among the league’s best at his craft, he was always a threat to throw or run for a first down.

In 1980, White became the Cowboys’ starting quarterback. Staubach, who remains the team’s greatest icon (along with Landry), retired after the ’79 season, and Danny White was finally given the reins he had been chomping at the bit to take.

White wasted no time establishing himself as a more-than-capable replacement for the legendary QB. In his first year as a starter, he guided the team to the NFC championship game, which the Cowboys lost to the Philadelphia Eagles. It was a tough loss and a bitter pill, but gave Cowboy Nation the confidence that their beloved team was in good hands.

In 1981, Danny White’s second year at the helm, the Cowboys returned to the NFC championship game. This time, the game was in San Francisco at Candlestick Park. The 49ers were led by the young upstart quarterback Joe Montana. They were young, talented, and hungry.

The game would prove to be a classic. It was a back and forth battle of gargantuan proportions. Down 27 – 21, Montana led his team down the field, but stalled in the red zone. On a scrambling, desperation play, with Ed “Too Tall” Jones bearing down on him, Montana heaved a prayer into the end zone as he was falling out of bounds. Receiver Dwight Clark, with cornerback Everson Wall trailing him, was crossing the back of the end zone. Clark made an improbable leaping catch on a ball that seemed to be sailing harmlessly overhead. The touchdown gave the 49ers a 28 – 27 lead late in the fourth quarter.

The play was simply called “The Catch,” and stands as one of the most famous plays in the annals of NFL history.

On the ensuing drive, White would lead his team into San Francisco territory, only to be sacked and fumble the ball. What seemed to be an inevitable field goal that would have secured a 30 – 28 victory was not to be. The Cowboys lost.

The following season, the Cowboys would make the NFC championship game for a third straight season. They would lose again, this time to the Washington Redskins.

In his book, “The Catch,” which chronicles the impact the Montana to Clark pass had on the two franchises, the coaches, and the players involved, author Gary Myers says no player’s career was more adversely impacted than Danny White’s. He sees it as the turning point, the catastrophic moment that would mark the beginning of the Cowboys’ slow descent into mediocrity and would keep White from being recognized as a truly great NFL quarterback.

Danny White was selected to just one Pro Bowl, but he closed out his career in possession of many of the franchise’s career records. The numbers he posted were anything but pedestrian:

• 21,959 yards passing
• 1761 completions on 2950 attempts (59.7% completion ratio)
• 155 touchdowns to 132 interceptions
• 482 yards rushing, with eight rushing touchdowns
• He had a 62 – 32 regular season record and was 5 – 5 in the playoffs
• His career quarterback rating was 81.7
• He punted 610 times, averaging 40.4 yards per punt

Don Meredith, QB (1960 – 1968)

Dandy!

Football fans from my generation (I am, ahem, somewhere past 40) remember “Dandy” Don Meredith more for his work on Monday Night Football, as part of the legendary crew featuring himself, Howard Cosell, and Frank Gifford. Meredith brought homespun wit and humor to the broadcast and often engaged in playful verbal sparring with the brainy – but potentially insane, and decidedly egomaniacal – Cosell.

Who can forget Don Meredith singing, “Turn out the lights, the party’s over,” when he deemed a game out of reach?

Don Meredith was a fan favorite from the start. He was an east Texas boy from the small town of Mount Vernon who had starred at SMU in Dallas and then, via trade with the Chicago Bears, joined the Dallas Cowboys of the NFL.

Meredith joined the Cowboys when they were a fledgling expansion club and not very good. His first two years, he was the backup quarterback to Eddie LeBaron. In 1963, coach Tom Landry named him the starter and by 1966, Meredith had helped to mold the Cowboys into a formidable, championship-contending playoff team.

Meredith suffered two heart-breaking losses in NFL championship games at the hands of Vince Lombardi’s Green Bay Packers. His team hosted the first meeting in 1966 and lost in a wild, high-scoring affair, 34 – 27. The next meeting, in 1967, took place in Green Bay on the coldest day any NFL football game was ever played. The famous “Ice Bowl” game came down to a Bart Starr quarterback dive into the end zone. The Packers won the game 21 – 17.

Don Meredith was named to three Pro Bowl teams. He was the NFL’s player of the year in 1966. During his career, which was cut short by his unexpected decision to prematurely retire, Meredith threw for over 17,000 yards and 135 touchdowns.

Don Meredith is in the Dallas Cowboys’ ring of honor and ought to be in the NFL Hall of Fame. But, as the very loquacious quarterback once quipped, “If ifs and buts were candy and nuts, wouldn’t we all have a merry Christmas?”

Garrett Then and Now

Dateline Thanksgiving Day, 1994 – The Dallas Cowboys staggered into the holiday match-up with the Green Bay Packers – a team they had owned throughout the ’90s – battered and beaten.

A worried Cowboys nation nervously gnawed Turkey legs and anxiously awaited the afternoon kickoff, sure this would not go well. After all, Cowboys hall of fame-bound quarterback Troy Aikman was injured and would not play. To make matters worse, the more-than-capable backup QB Rodney Peete was hurt, as well.

The Cowboys were down to their third string quarterback, a redhead named Jason Garrett. Everyone knew Garrett had the grey matter to play the position. We also knew he lacked the natural physical gifts of a frontline quarterback. With Favre leading his Packers into Texas stadium, it figured to be a long day for the silver and blue.

What it figured to be and what it was turned out to be were two very different things.

The game started just as one would expect. The Cowboys stumbled out of the gate with Garrett at the helm. By halftime, the Packers had established a pretty comfortable 17-6 lead over a team that didn’t look like they were up for putting up much of a second half fight. Just get it over with and get to the turkey and dressing.

But Jason Garrett had other ideas.

Garrett connected on a 45-yard touchdown pass to Alvin Harper. Then, he threw a 36-yard TD to Michael Irvin. Later, he hit Emmitt Smith, who turned the pass into a 63 yard gain that led to another touchdown.

The Cowboys scored on their first five second half drives. Garrett out-dueled the great Brett Favre, passing for 311 yards and two TDs. And the Cowboys won what would become a classic Thanksgiving Day game, 42 – 31.

That game changed the perception of the ruddy redhead with the big brain and the somewhat slight frame. He became a folk hero, a fan favorite. Then, years later, as the Cowboys offensive coordinator, in the 2007 season, he became the hottest commodity in the NFL, after helping to guide the Cowboys to a 13-3 record with his high-powered offense.

My, how times have changed. The genius tag has been pulled and replaced by the “What the @#$%! is he thinking” tag.

Jason Garrett changed the perception of a team and their fan base once upon a Thanksgiving. Can he do it again? The table is set. The turkey has come all the way from the west coast, freshly plucked, gutted, ready to baste and bake.

Come on, Jason. Light that oven. Cook this turkey’s goose. Be our Thanksgiving hero again.