2021 season countdown thread

[Doomsday101]

Rayfield Wright has to be one of THE most underrated Cowboys of all time. He’s in the ROH and HOF, but I would bet 80% of our fan base knows little to nothing about him.

true but then some here were not even born when he played.

 

[Hagman]

 

[Hagman]

You remember that Marco Rivera spent most of his career with the Packers. The guy had played in 106 consecutive games for them so Jerry goes and signs him as a free agent for $20 million with a $9 million signing bonus, which in typical Jerry fashion was the highest contract (tied) given to a player ever at that position at the time. And of course he injures himself during an off-season workout. He gets hurt at various times the next two years either at the end of the season—misses the last two games in 2005–or in the playoff loss to Seattle in 2006. Maybe some of you have better memories of him than I do but I just remember him as another grossly over paid free agent by Jerry that never gave the team anything approaching his contract value.

 

[Hagman]

But this thread should focus on the greatness of each player to wear a number and so here are some things in praise of John Fitzgerald. He’s another one of those players who started out at one position, heck on the other side of the ball, and Tom Landry turned him into something good if not great at a completely different position. He spent two years as a defensive lineman before Landry decided oh hey this guy is going to be a center. He never made the pro bowl but he was a key to taking the Cowboys in that era to three Super Bowls. He also was the center when Landry decided to bring back the shot gun formation, and even though no center in the game at the time had any experience handling that kind of a snap John handled it well And so if for no other reason then keeping Roger Staubach upright and healthy, here’s to you big John.

 

[Bobhaze]

John Fitzgerald days to season opener!

 

[maryquality]

61 days......#61 Nate Newton!!

 

[Jake]

61 days to Tampa Bay.

For me, #61 immediately brings to mind two guards from different SB eras - Nate Newton and Blaine Nye.

Newton was an unlikely All-Pro, overweight and undrafted out of Florida A&M he originally signed with the Commanders. Trying to make "the Hogs" was an uphill battle, and thankfully they cut him. He played two years for the Tampa Bay Bandits of the USFL before the league folded then signed with the Cowboys. After 2 years the Cowboys considered waiving him because he couldn't keep his playing weight. Fortunately, they kept him around until Jimmy arrived. Johnson forced him to get into shape after betting he could beat Nate in a foot race (Jimmy won), and it turned Newton's career around.

Nye, like a number of Cowboy linemen over the years, was drafted as a defensive tackle out of Stanford. After being converted to guard, Nye became a Pro Bowler and a SB champion. He was also a founding member of the Zero Club.

 

[Hagman]

Certainly Nate Newton is the #1 Cowboy to wear 61, but my favorite is Blaine Nye. He's another one of our great players who never got the recognition that he deserved and I bet is largely forgotten by fans today. But he was a darn fine guard.

He was another one of those guys who Landry switched positions (and squads) because he saw something in him. Blaine was drafted as a defensive lineman in 1968, playing mostly on special teams, but began to excel when shifted to the offensive line. Of course Tex Schramm was a miserable tightwad when it came to paying players, and as Nye explained about being drafted:

Nye's business skills proved more beneficial to his football career. Disdaining agents after his rookie year, he prepared for salary negotiations by constructing graphs of Cowboy salary patterns. He shrewdly outbluffed Cowboy executive Gil Brandt by threatening to sign with Portland of the World Football League. "I told him, 'This is the deal, or I sign with Portland,' and hung up. But then I remembered I had better make plane reservations to Portland, because Brandt would check on that. I got a very good contract that year."

Nye is partly to blame for his lack of recognition, belonging to the "Zero Club" that swore off publicity and attention (My gosh, can you imagine such a thing with today's Cowboys?) But he was a brilliant player. He earned his Bachelor's in Physics from Stanford, and while with the Cowboys earned two Masters' degrees--one in Physics and an M.B.A. After he retired he returned to Stanford to get a doctorate in Finance.

As Blaine said in an article: "How did his teammates react to a man in their midst with two master's degrees? "I think it's fair to say that no one gave a bleep," Nye says. "There were some other highly educated guys on the team, Calvin Hill from Yale and several others from Stanford. I was considered just another one of the subhumans on the offensive line."

His most famous quote was after rookie Clint Longley's miracle comeback win against the Commanders:

• After Clint Longley's famous comeback win over the Washington Commanders on Thanksgiving Day in 1974, a reporter asked him what the game meant, his answer was "This game represents the triumph of the uncluttered mind."

https://vault.si.com/vault/1990/11/...rtes-blaine-nye-was-always-a-standout-student

 

[Hagman]

I was reading and reminiscing about Blaine Nye yesterday on the Internet and of course now I can’t find a link to the article. Anyway the article reminded us that he played in three Super Bowls, and Blaine said that one of the reasons for this was that Landry reevaluated every player every year from scratch and that not even Bob Lilly could feel safe as a starter based on what he did last year. I think that one of the problems with today’s team is that there is a much greater sense of entitlement.

 

[Hagman]

The Following Players Have All Worn 61 For The Dallas Cowboys:

• Jim Cooper, OT
• Kelvin Garmon, OG
• Allen Green, K/P
• Bill Nagy, OG
• Nate Newton, OG
• Blaine Nye, OG
• Duane Putnam, OG
• John Wetzel, OT
• 
  
• https://www.___GET_REAL_URL___/s/insidethestar.com/newtons-law-nate-newton-owns-61/amp/

 

[Bobhaze]

61 days to Tampa Bay.

For me, #61 immediately brings to mind two guards from different SB eras - Nate Newton and Blaine Nye.

Newton was an unlikely All-Pro, overweight and undrafted out of Florida A&M he originally signed with the Commanders. Trying to make "the Hogs" was an uphill battle, and thankfully they cut him. He played two years for the Tampa Bay Bandits of the USFL before the league folded then signed with the Cowboys. After 2 years the Cowboys considered waiving him because he couldn't keep his playing weight. Fortunately, they kept him around until Jimmy arrived. Johnson forced him to get into shape after betting he could beat Nate in a foot race (Jimmy won), and it turned Newton's career around.

Nye, like a number of Cowboy linemen over the years, was drafted as a defensive tackle out of Stanford. After being converted to guard, Nye became a Pro Bowler and a SB champion. He was also a founding member of the Zero Club.

Both true greats. Six SBs between them.

 

[Jake]

The Following Players Have All Worn 61 For The Dallas Cowboys:

• Jim Cooper, OT
• Kelvin Garmon, OG
• Allen Green, K/P
• Bill Nagy, OG
• Nate Newton, OG
• Blaine Nye, OG
• Duane Putnam, OG
• John Wetzel, OT
• 
  
• https://www.___GET_REAL_URL___/s/insidethestar.com/newtons-law-nate-newton-owns-61/amp/

I forgot about Jim Cooper but honestly don't remember those other guys. Cooper was a 6th round pick in 1977 who managed to have a 10-year career, entirely with the Cowboys. He became a starter in 1980 after Rayfield Wright retired and ended up starting 99 games in his career

The worst thing Cooper ever did was dislocate his ankle in a casino and miss half of the 1984 season. Phil Pozderac replaced him.

 

[Hagman]

T Minus 60
Here’s a list of all the players ever to have worn number 60 for the Dallas Cowboys. Not a lot of Hall of Fame candidates on the list but hey, they were a Dallas Cowboy

 

[Jake]

T Minus 60
Here’s a list of all the players ever to have worn number 60 for the Dallas Cowboys. Not a lot of Hall of Fame candidates on the list but hey, they were a Dallas Cowboy

The only guys on that list that I was able to recall off the top of my head were DT Don Smerek and C Derrick Kennard.

https://encrypted-tbn0.***NOT-ALLOWED***/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcSwtM-dXmC7dRj7iK11f-w1ognSvI9ivDHtxgFnuwVOsJ3WrnEnDTXLf-gI0-wyo-9023Q&usqp=CAU

https://encrypted-tbn0.***NOT-ALLOWED***/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQ38fC4jKNHq5qMM3ftoK6vwADVdBwwC4zonyixALy1IBwCjpmKuGqhlnbFFqAbhfB6V2Y&usqp=CAU

60 days to Tampa Bay.

 

[Bobhaze]

The only guys on that list that I was able to recall off the top of my head were DT Don Smerek and C Derrick Kennard.

https://encrypted-tbn0.***NOT-ALLOWED***/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcSwtM-dXmC7dRj7iK11f-w1ognSvI9ivDHtxgFnuwVOsJ3WrnEnDTXLf-gI0-wyo-9023Q&usqp=CAU

https://encrypted-tbn0.***NOT-ALLOWED***/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQ38fC4jKNHq5qMM3ftoK6vwADVdBwwC4zonyixALy1IBwCjpmKuGqhlnbFFqAbhfB6V2Y&usqp=CAU

60 days to Tampa Bay.

I nominate Derrick Kennard as the Cowboy with the largest backside in team history. Those pants had to be 10XL. You could use those pants to parachute off a plane and still land safely.

 

[xwalker]

I think people forget how much of the equation Allen was for the rings.

Only 1 ring for LA.

 

[Hagman]

I nominate Derrick Kennard as the Cowboy with the largest backside in team history. Those pants had to be 10XL. You could use those pants to parachute off a plane and still land safely.

Oh yeah that’s some beef right there. Maybe when the season starts we can start another thread “the 10 biggest backsides in Dallas Cowboys history. “Of course the biggest backside in team history is clearly Jerry Jones. (Ba ba bum. Thank you folks I’m here all week)

 

[Bobhaze]

Oh yeah that’s some beef right there. Maybe when the season starts we can start another thread “the 10 biggest backsides in Dallas Cowboys history. “Of course the biggest backside in team history is clearly Jerry Jones. (Ba ba bum. Thank you folks I’m here all week)

Kennard would have to be in a heat with Nate Newton for biggest backside to wear the Star. An epic battle that would be.

 

[Typhus]

Only 1 ring for LA.

My bad I thought he was there for 2 of them.

 

[Hagman]

https://www.___GET_REAL_URL___/s/insidethestar.com/nfl-great-lee-roy-caffey-takes-60/amp/
https://www.___GET_REAL_URL___/s/insidethestar.com/nfl-great-lee-roy-caffey-takes-60/amp/
A few years ago, Inside The Star proclaimed Lee Roy Caffey The greatest Dallas cowboy to wear number 60. The only problem is that his claim to fame was established with the Packers as part of those Lombardi championship teams, and he was part of the squad that won the first two Super Bowls for them. He spent a year with Dick Butkus on the Bears before ending his career in 1971 with the Cowboys. Landry really went all out to put some people on the team who knew how to win championships. That team included Packers Forrest Gregg, Herb Adderley and Caffey. I remember Gregg and Adderley having bigger roles on the team, especially Adderley. But oh well, for helping Next Year’s Champions finally bring home the big prize, here’s to Caffey.

Isaac Alarcon, this prize is yours next year for the taking. The eyes of Mexico are upon you.