TE or RB: which is the greater Cowboy tradition?

[burmafrd]

Don Perkins. Walt Garrison. Calvin Hill. Duane Thomas. Robert Newhouse. TD. Herschel. Emmitt. Maybe JJ.
Ditka. Dupree.Cosbie.Novacek.Witten.Campbell.

Its hard to really make a choice there; sure, there are 2 HOF in RB vs only one in the TE- but Novacek SHOULD be in there. Dupree was close. Cosbie was very under rated. Overall, I guess I have to give it to the RB's.

[ABQCOWBOY]

Originally Posted by burmafrd

Don Perkins. Walt Garrison. Calvin Hill. Duane Thomas. Robert Newhouse. TD. Herschel. Emmitt. Maybe JJ.
Ditka. Dupree.Cosbie.Novacek.Witten.Campbell.

Its hard to really make a choice there; sure, there are 2 HOF in RB vs only one in the TE- but Novacek SHOULD be in there. Dupree was close. Cosbie was very under rated. Overall, I guess I have to give it to the RB's.

First of all, I can not even believe this is a question.

Secondly, Jackie Smith also played for Dallas and he is also in the HOF. For the most part, all of those RBs were drafted by us. Not so with the TEs.

Ditka was really a Bear. Novacek started as a Cardinal. If you really want to ask this question, IMO, you should ask it with RBs and QBs.

[jksmith269]

Originally Posted by ABQCOWBOY

First of all, I can not even believe this is a question.

Secondly, Jackie Smith also played for Dallas and he is also in the HOF. For the most part, all of those RBs were drafted by us. Not so with the TEs.

Ditka was really a Bear. Novacek started as a Cardinal. If you really want to ask this question, IMO, you should ask it with RBs and QBs.

That would be too hard to answer IMO does E and TD compare to Troy, Roger, and Don? Man that would be a hard choice. but a good RB will always open up your passing game where IMO a good qb doesn't always open up your running game. So I'd prob still go wiith Emmitt and TD.

[ABQCOWBOY]

Originally Posted by jksmith269

That would be too hard to answer IMO does E and TD compare to Troy, Roger, and Don? Man that would be a hard choice. but a good RB will always open up your passing game where IMO a good qb doesn't always open up your running game. So I'd prob still go wiith Emmitt and TD.

I agree, that would not be an easy call. Well, to me, QBs are the hardest position to fill. While I can see your line of reasoning, I just think that the NFL is a QB driven league. I personally believe that RBs can change and a team can continue to be succesful, assuming you replace with talent. Not so with QBs. Talented QBs can come in and follow a great QB but they hardly ever succeed. Seems like at least one guy has to die by the sword, regardless, before a new QB can come in and have success. Also, it takes longer to develope a good QB. I'd have to go with QB but again, I'd understand anybody who looked at it differently.

[blindzebra]

Originally Posted by jksmith269

That would be too hard to answer IMO does E and TD compare to Troy, Roger, and Don? Man that would be a hard choice. but a good RB will always open up your passing game where IMO a good qb doesn't always open up your running game. So I'd prob still go wiith Emmitt and TD.

Not really.

The Cowboys of the 70's and 80's were never Tony's team. It was Roger's and then you had the man in the hat and several players on defense that all overshadowed Dorsett.

Emmitt was the 90's Cowboys. He shared the spotlight with Troy, Michael, Jerry, Jimmy, Haley and Deion but there was never any doubt who was centerstage, and the heart and soul of those teams.

[ABQCOWBOY]

Originally Posted by blindzebra

Not really.

The Cowboys of the 70's and 80's were never Tony's team. It was Roger's and then you had the man in the hat and several players on defense that all overshadowed Dorsett.

Emmitt was the 90's Cowboys. He shared the spotlight with Troy, Michael, Jerry, Jimmy, Haley and Deion but there was never any doubt who was centerstage, and the heart and soul of those teams.

So.... Michael then?

LOL

[CactusCowboy]

Gotta be RB by a mile........

[ABQCOWBOY]

Originally Posted by CactusCowboy

Gotta be RB by a mile........

compared to TEs or compared to QBs?

[Ashwynn]

Originally Posted by ABQCOWBOY

First of all, I can not even believe this is a question.

Secondly, Jackie Smith also played for Dallas and he is also in the HOF. For the most part, all of those RBs were drafted by us. Not so with the TEs.

Ditka was really a Bear. Novacek started as a Cardinal. If you really want to ask this question, IMO, you should ask it with RBs and QBs.

Good reply, I would have to say TE would be one of our poorest positions as far as tradition goes. As you said, all our good ones, Witten excepted, were imports. All our RBs were homes grown and damn good.(out of the good ones, Hill, Henderson, Dorsett, Smith, Jones).

We are rich in RB, QB, WR and Dline tradition. And in that order I think.

[dargonking999]

Originally Posted by Ashwynn

Good reply, I would have to say TE would be one of our poorest positions as far as tradition goes. As you said, all our good ones, Witten excepted, were imports. All our RBs were homes grown and damn good.(out of the good ones, Hill, Henderson, Dorsett, Smith, Jones).

We are rich in RB, QB, WR and Dline tradition. And in that order I think.

yea but since the 2000's came around we've lost that tradition,lets hope Spears, Ware, Jones, and Henson can revive it

[burmafrd]

I really don't care if we get someone by drafting them or by trade or whatever.
What matters is they are here wearing the Star.
I forgot about Jackie. What a terrible shame- the man was one of the greatest TE's to ever play and all that too many remember about him is that he dropped a TD pass in the SB. And it also showed what class Roger had- he has too this day said it was not a good pass. But he hit Jackie in the hands as he was falling backwards in the end zone. I always thought it was just a case of such a relatively easy catch that Jackie had done so many times- and he just dropped it.
BUt I still say that TE is a great tradition in the Boys- we have had many great ones.

[zagnut]

In my eyes, the only "position" that's comparable to our run of RBs is the Head Coach, mostly on the strength of Landry. If Julius can stay healthy though, he might put any comparison out of reach.

QBs vs TE: Great legacy of TEs but most of them caught on here as they were sliding toward retirement. Novacek was a complete surprise. Witten might have a chance to end up being the best of them all given Parcells affection for the position.

QBs vs RBs: As much as I love Aikman and appreciate what I've heard of Staubach, neither are on the list of top-15 all-time QBs. Both TD and Emmitt are among the top-15, with Emmitt being among the top-5.

[Future]

Originally Posted by ABQCOWBOY

compared to TEs or compared to QBs?

Either...Too many bad QBs

And too many great RBs

[THUMPER]

RB Legacy:

Don Perkins - Was #6 all-time in rushing yards when he retired, 6-times in the Pro-Bowl in his 8 seasons.

Calvin Hill - Our first 1000-yard rusher, went to 2 Pro-Bowls.

Robert Newhouse - Never went to a Pro-Bowl but was a solid player for us at FB & RB for 12 years.

Tony Dorsett - Retired as the #2 rusher all-time behind Payton, only 4 Pro-Bowls in his 11 seasons with us, should have been more but there were a lot of good RBs in the NFC in those days. A top-10 All-time RB in anyone's book.

Herschel Walker - Only played a few years with us but had a HUGE year in 1988 even though the team went 3-13. Very versatile player, led the team in special teams tackles one year late in his career.

Emmitt Smith - The All-time leader in Rushing yards, Carries, Rushing TDs, and 1000-yard seasons, 2nd in total TDs. Considered by just about everyone to be one of the top-5 RBs ever to play the game, and by some to be the greatest ever.


TE Legacy:

Pettis Norman - A good player but not exceptional.

Frank Clarke - Moved from Flanker to TE later in his career, an outstanding receiver and tough to bring down.

Mike Ditka - Had a few good years with us but nothing like he was early in his career with the Bears.

Jean Fuggett - Played a couple of years for us, decent player but nothing special.

Billy Joe DuPree - Outstanding receiver, played great in big games, selected to 3 Pro-Bowls from 76-78. Could have been a better blocker at times but he made some big blocks too.

Jay Saldi - Was a nice backup to DuPree.

Jackie Smith - Only played one season for Dallas after a HoF career with the Cards. We could have done without it as his only contribution was 3 receptions in a playoff game against the Falcons. His dropped pass in the endzone in the SB was the difference in the score.

Doug Cosbie - Tall, sure-handed receiver, was a solid performer for us for 10 seasons. Selected to 3 Pro-bowls.

Jay Novacek - Picked up as a "Plan-B" free agent in 1990 and immediately became Aikman's security blanket. A former college QB, Jay understood the game and knew where Troy needed him to be. Aikman paid him a HUGE compliment one time after he just tossed a pass over a bunch of on-rushing linemen, saying I, "Even though I couldn't see him, I KNEW Jay would be there". 5 consecutive Pro-Bowl appearances from 91-95, Novacek should be considered for the HoF. Easily the best TE of the 90s.

Eric Bjornson - Jerry thought he was getting another Novacek by drafting a former QB but Bjornson never came close to having Jay's talent. Not a bad player but not Jay Novacek.

David LaFleur - A HUGE TE at 6'7" 270+, the idea was to find an Eric Green type of TE but LaFleur had a bad back coming out of college and it never completely healed and he had a short and un-productive career.

Dan Campbell - Excellent blocker, reliable receiver. Injuries took him out of the lineup last year and it really cost us on offense.

Jason Witten - Outstanding young TE with great hands. Pro-bowler in his 2nd season he looks to be one of the best TEs in the league this year and will only get better.


Well, that's my breakdown of our RB & TE legacy. Our RBs have been by far the more notable group but we have had some pretty good TEs too.

Comments?

[Dale]

In the TEs-vs-RBs comparison, I think Dorsett and Smith carry the running backs alone. When you throw in the "star" factor of a guy like Walker who did so much on a number of levels despite his limited tenure here, on top of a lot of true and original Cowboys like Perkins, Garrison and Hill, it doesn't seem all that close to me -- much like ABQ originally said.