dargonking999
02-03-2005, 08:31 PM
By MICKEY SPAGNOLA
DallasCowboys.com Columnist
Feb. 3, 2004, 7:13 p.m. (CST)
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - These players these days, with all their gadgets.
Troy Brown played dumb the other day out at The Golf World Village in St. Augustine, Fla. He was asked if a New England victory over Philadelphia Sunday at Alltel Stadium would sanction a Patriots' dynasty.
Brown repeated the word inquisitively, "Dynasty?", as if he had never heard of the word that is being thrown around here more than over-caffeinated hospitality from out dear red-coated volunteers.
"We don't know that word in our locker room," the Patriots wide receiver/defensive back said.
To further his gag, he pulled out his phone, punched up his Oxford Dictionary and did a search on "dynasty."
Dynasty, as in the New England Patriots poised to do something only one other team in Super Bowl history has accomplished: Win three Super Bowls in four years. The Patriots have won two in the past three years, and a victory over the Eagles would match the accomplishment of only the Dallas Cowboys, winners of those three Super Bowls in four years from 1992-95.
No other team since the Super Bowl began following the 1966 season has turned this trick. Not the Green Bay Packers. Not the Pittsburgh Steelers. Not the San Francisco 49ers. Not even the Packers, circa 1990's or the Denver Broncos. Oh, these teams were able to win back-to-back Super Bowls, as the Cowboys did in 1992-93. But no one has won three straight, and only the Cowboys have come close, winning three of four, and narrowly missing on winning four straight - getting beat in that 1994 NFC title game.
Patriots, your serve, and they must become the eighth team to repeat Super Bowl titles if they are to draw even with the Cowboys' dynasty.
"Dynasty," Brown repeated, as if in some spelling bee. "A line of hereditary rulers. A succession of powerful or prominent people from the same family.
"Twenty years from now, when these guys all get together again, we can talk about it. But now, we'll just sit back and let you guys talk about it."
Whew, was a tad worried there we would not be able to proceed . . . because this is significant in the history of the NFL.
This was not supposed to happen ever again. Not after the Cowboys dominated the NFL for four years. Not after the NFL instituted a salary cap and sanctioned free agency. This would be impossible, and almost was for the Cowboys.
No longer would a team be able to stockpile players. The salary cap would prevent that. No longer would a team be able to rely on depth. Free agency would prevent that. In a league which prided itself with a socialistic philosophy - everybody gets some - the NFL embraced its meek shall inherit mantra even more robustly.
Just check out some of the players the Cowboys lost following their back-to-back Super Bowl titles, which occurred just prior to the start of this new system in 1994: Tony Casillas, John Gesek, Kevin Gogan, Ken Norton, Alvin Harper, Jim Jeffcoat, Mark Stepnoski, James Washington, Kenny Gant, Larry Brown, Dixon Edwards, Robert Jones, Russell Maryland, Ron Stone, Chris Boniol, John Jett, Godfrey Myles, Darrin Smith, George Teague.
You kidding me? That is nearly a team. But the Cowboys had no choice. If they wanted to hang on to the likes of Troy Aikman, Michael Irvin, Emmitt Smith, Daryl Johnson, Jay Novacek, Leon Lett, Kevin Smith, Nate Newton and Larry Allen, then they had to make do in other areas.
And you've seen what's happened. The Cowboys haven't been the Cowboys since, knocking out only two winning seasons in the past eight years.
"I didn't think when free agency and the salary cap came about we'd see the likes of this," Aikman said.
And that is why the Patriots' accomplishment, if indeed they can tack that third notch on their belts, might be even more impressive than what the Cowboys did. At least the Cowboys got two Super Bowls in before the cap and free agency hit, and at least they had their base team, even if it began to unravel following that 1993 season.
But the Patriots have been able to not only hold this team together, but they have found ways to fortify it with some savvy drafting and free-agent moves. And that doesn't mean just spending lavishly in free agency. More so, that means allowing high-priced veterans past their prime to walk - Drew Bledsoe, Damian Woody, Lawyer Milloy - which keeps the cap fluid and prevents having to eat bonus money in the end.
They've also been able to do this without an expensive star system in place. Who knew of Tom Brady four years ago? The Pats spent little money there at the league's most important position, and at running back and at wide receiver, too, positions normally a drain on a team's cap.
And let's not kid ourselves. They've done this with coaching. Bill Belichick has, well, let former Cowboys head coach Jimmy Johnson explain.
"Coaching is more important today than it's ever been in the NFL, and these are the two best coaches in the game," said Johnson, normally not one who dabbles in hyperbole. "What Belichick has accomplished in the past four or five years is the best coaching job in the history of the NFL."
So factoring in the difficulty to maintain consistency in this era, what the Patriots are doing - again if they can win Sunday - might be the most dominating performance in the history of the NFL.
Aikman, Johnson's partner in dominance, would agree.
"I think it's more meaningful than what we accomplished," "said Aikman, who will be calling Sunday's game in the Fox three-man booth. "Now the cynics would say, how good is (this accomplishment) when teams regularly go from first to worst.
"But the Patriots, they are doing this when no one else is having that consistency. What New England has been able to do is outstanding, and I can see where they could maintain this for years."
Now don't misunderstand all this. We are not talking about the Patriots being a better team than what the Cowboys were during their string. And we're not saying the Patriots could beat the Cowboys of those days.
In fact, Aikman and Johnson basically said don't even go there.
"You know the answer . . . the Cowboys would win," Johnson said.
But what we are talking here is the accomplishment, and just where the Patriots' place in the history of the NFL should be if indeed they can beat Philadelphia to stretch their run to three Super Bowls in four years.
Dynasty?
"We were considered a dynasty for winning three out of four Super Bowls, so why wouldn't (the Patriots) be?" Aikman said. "And It's harder today to win consistently.
"And hey, I don't think the Patriots are going away regardless if they win this game."
Because that succession of prominent and powerful people in this Patriots family doesn't seem likely to be broken any time soon.
Let's talk again late Sunday night.
MICK SHOTS
More Maurice Carthon: When Romeo Crennel interviewed for the Cleveland job, he put together a list of assistants he'd like to hire, and the Cowboys' offensive coordinator/running backs coach was on that list. And after the Cowboys first balked at allowing Carthon to make a lateral move to the Browns, seems as though they have changed their minds. So if Crennel gets the job, and it seems he will, chances are Carthon will be gone. And remember, Crennel was on Bill Parcells' Giants staff when Carthon was there as a player.
More Browns fallout: Dave Campo, technically still the Browns' defensive coordinator, apparently is in line for the secondary job here in Jacksonville. But he hasn't been released from his Cleveland contract. But if he's fired, then the Browns would be responsible for his contract, or the difference between his next contract if less, which financially would make Campo qualify stepping down to secondary coach pay with the Jags. And he needs one more year in the NFL before he is eligible to fully retire.
Hey, it's not every day you're in the same room with Paul McCartney. OK, so it was nearly a ballroom, but there was the famous Beattle, on center stage talking about his halftime performance coming up here at halftime of Super Bowl XXXIX. How big of a generation gap is out there for Sir Paul. One young lady in the audience asked "what band will be play with?" What band? Wonder if she thought the Beattles were making a comeback. Er, in her case . . .naw, she was so young she probably didn't even know McCartney play in Wings.
This might not be fair, but I think it's accurate. Donovan McNabb will decide this game, one way or another. McNabb must be at his best for the Eagles to win this game, and if he is, that will cancel out whatever the Patriots offense manages to do. Even Johnson said McNabb must pull the ball down and threaten the Patriots with his legs, too, if the Eagles are to having any chance of dethroning the champs.
And the score . . . Patriots do it again, 27-24, but a lot closer and a lot more competitive game than most are giving the Eagles any chance of playing.
DallasCowboys.com Columnist
Feb. 3, 2004, 7:13 p.m. (CST)
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - These players these days, with all their gadgets.
Troy Brown played dumb the other day out at The Golf World Village in St. Augustine, Fla. He was asked if a New England victory over Philadelphia Sunday at Alltel Stadium would sanction a Patriots' dynasty.
Brown repeated the word inquisitively, "Dynasty?", as if he had never heard of the word that is being thrown around here more than over-caffeinated hospitality from out dear red-coated volunteers.
"We don't know that word in our locker room," the Patriots wide receiver/defensive back said.
To further his gag, he pulled out his phone, punched up his Oxford Dictionary and did a search on "dynasty."
Dynasty, as in the New England Patriots poised to do something only one other team in Super Bowl history has accomplished: Win three Super Bowls in four years. The Patriots have won two in the past three years, and a victory over the Eagles would match the accomplishment of only the Dallas Cowboys, winners of those three Super Bowls in four years from 1992-95.
No other team since the Super Bowl began following the 1966 season has turned this trick. Not the Green Bay Packers. Not the Pittsburgh Steelers. Not the San Francisco 49ers. Not even the Packers, circa 1990's or the Denver Broncos. Oh, these teams were able to win back-to-back Super Bowls, as the Cowboys did in 1992-93. But no one has won three straight, and only the Cowboys have come close, winning three of four, and narrowly missing on winning four straight - getting beat in that 1994 NFC title game.
Patriots, your serve, and they must become the eighth team to repeat Super Bowl titles if they are to draw even with the Cowboys' dynasty.
"Dynasty," Brown repeated, as if in some spelling bee. "A line of hereditary rulers. A succession of powerful or prominent people from the same family.
"Twenty years from now, when these guys all get together again, we can talk about it. But now, we'll just sit back and let you guys talk about it."
Whew, was a tad worried there we would not be able to proceed . . . because this is significant in the history of the NFL.
This was not supposed to happen ever again. Not after the Cowboys dominated the NFL for four years. Not after the NFL instituted a salary cap and sanctioned free agency. This would be impossible, and almost was for the Cowboys.
No longer would a team be able to stockpile players. The salary cap would prevent that. No longer would a team be able to rely on depth. Free agency would prevent that. In a league which prided itself with a socialistic philosophy - everybody gets some - the NFL embraced its meek shall inherit mantra even more robustly.
Just check out some of the players the Cowboys lost following their back-to-back Super Bowl titles, which occurred just prior to the start of this new system in 1994: Tony Casillas, John Gesek, Kevin Gogan, Ken Norton, Alvin Harper, Jim Jeffcoat, Mark Stepnoski, James Washington, Kenny Gant, Larry Brown, Dixon Edwards, Robert Jones, Russell Maryland, Ron Stone, Chris Boniol, John Jett, Godfrey Myles, Darrin Smith, George Teague.
You kidding me? That is nearly a team. But the Cowboys had no choice. If they wanted to hang on to the likes of Troy Aikman, Michael Irvin, Emmitt Smith, Daryl Johnson, Jay Novacek, Leon Lett, Kevin Smith, Nate Newton and Larry Allen, then they had to make do in other areas.
And you've seen what's happened. The Cowboys haven't been the Cowboys since, knocking out only two winning seasons in the past eight years.
"I didn't think when free agency and the salary cap came about we'd see the likes of this," Aikman said.
And that is why the Patriots' accomplishment, if indeed they can tack that third notch on their belts, might be even more impressive than what the Cowboys did. At least the Cowboys got two Super Bowls in before the cap and free agency hit, and at least they had their base team, even if it began to unravel following that 1993 season.
But the Patriots have been able to not only hold this team together, but they have found ways to fortify it with some savvy drafting and free-agent moves. And that doesn't mean just spending lavishly in free agency. More so, that means allowing high-priced veterans past their prime to walk - Drew Bledsoe, Damian Woody, Lawyer Milloy - which keeps the cap fluid and prevents having to eat bonus money in the end.
They've also been able to do this without an expensive star system in place. Who knew of Tom Brady four years ago? The Pats spent little money there at the league's most important position, and at running back and at wide receiver, too, positions normally a drain on a team's cap.
And let's not kid ourselves. They've done this with coaching. Bill Belichick has, well, let former Cowboys head coach Jimmy Johnson explain.
"Coaching is more important today than it's ever been in the NFL, and these are the two best coaches in the game," said Johnson, normally not one who dabbles in hyperbole. "What Belichick has accomplished in the past four or five years is the best coaching job in the history of the NFL."
So factoring in the difficulty to maintain consistency in this era, what the Patriots are doing - again if they can win Sunday - might be the most dominating performance in the history of the NFL.
Aikman, Johnson's partner in dominance, would agree.
"I think it's more meaningful than what we accomplished," "said Aikman, who will be calling Sunday's game in the Fox three-man booth. "Now the cynics would say, how good is (this accomplishment) when teams regularly go from first to worst.
"But the Patriots, they are doing this when no one else is having that consistency. What New England has been able to do is outstanding, and I can see where they could maintain this for years."
Now don't misunderstand all this. We are not talking about the Patriots being a better team than what the Cowboys were during their string. And we're not saying the Patriots could beat the Cowboys of those days.
In fact, Aikman and Johnson basically said don't even go there.
"You know the answer . . . the Cowboys would win," Johnson said.
But what we are talking here is the accomplishment, and just where the Patriots' place in the history of the NFL should be if indeed they can beat Philadelphia to stretch their run to three Super Bowls in four years.
Dynasty?
"We were considered a dynasty for winning three out of four Super Bowls, so why wouldn't (the Patriots) be?" Aikman said. "And It's harder today to win consistently.
"And hey, I don't think the Patriots are going away regardless if they win this game."
Because that succession of prominent and powerful people in this Patriots family doesn't seem likely to be broken any time soon.
Let's talk again late Sunday night.
MICK SHOTS
More Maurice Carthon: When Romeo Crennel interviewed for the Cleveland job, he put together a list of assistants he'd like to hire, and the Cowboys' offensive coordinator/running backs coach was on that list. And after the Cowboys first balked at allowing Carthon to make a lateral move to the Browns, seems as though they have changed their minds. So if Crennel gets the job, and it seems he will, chances are Carthon will be gone. And remember, Crennel was on Bill Parcells' Giants staff when Carthon was there as a player.
More Browns fallout: Dave Campo, technically still the Browns' defensive coordinator, apparently is in line for the secondary job here in Jacksonville. But he hasn't been released from his Cleveland contract. But if he's fired, then the Browns would be responsible for his contract, or the difference between his next contract if less, which financially would make Campo qualify stepping down to secondary coach pay with the Jags. And he needs one more year in the NFL before he is eligible to fully retire.
Hey, it's not every day you're in the same room with Paul McCartney. OK, so it was nearly a ballroom, but there was the famous Beattle, on center stage talking about his halftime performance coming up here at halftime of Super Bowl XXXIX. How big of a generation gap is out there for Sir Paul. One young lady in the audience asked "what band will be play with?" What band? Wonder if she thought the Beattles were making a comeback. Er, in her case . . .naw, she was so young she probably didn't even know McCartney play in Wings.
This might not be fair, but I think it's accurate. Donovan McNabb will decide this game, one way or another. McNabb must be at his best for the Eagles to win this game, and if he is, that will cancel out whatever the Patriots offense manages to do. Even Johnson said McNabb must pull the ball down and threaten the Patriots with his legs, too, if the Eagles are to having any chance of dethroning the champs.
And the score . . . Patriots do it again, 27-24, but a lot closer and a lot more competitive game than most are giving the Eagles any chance of playing.