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We should wait until at least February 5.
By then we will know if the Cowboys won the Super Bowl, reached the Super Bowl or (let's say) surrendered six sacks in a playoff loss, making this December opinion look like premature adulation. We'll also know how many major awards Dak Prescott and Ezekiel Elliott split between them.
At the very least, we should wait until New Year's Day. By then we will know what rookie records Prescott and Elliott set, whether Elliott won the rushing title and by what margin, whether the Cowboys finished 15-1 or a disappointing 13-3, and whether Tyron Smith, Travis Frederick and Zack Martin all earned first-team All-Pro status or settled for a trio of NFC Pro Bowl berths.
So we're really jumping the gun here by mentioning the 2016 Cowboys among the great lines of history. But let's say Elliott breaks Eric Dickerson's rookie rushing record, Prescott wins Rookie of the Year and the Cowboys reach the NFC Championship Game before perhaps falling short in some offensive shootout.
Then it may be time to declare the Cowboys offensive line the greatest in history.
Now, before fans in Washington don their pig snouts and granny dresses to compose the angriest comment posts in history, we should take a moment to ask a simple question: What makes an offensive line great?
Super Bowls: Of course. But great lines don't always win Super Bowls, and Super Bowl winners don't always have great lines.
Pro Bowl Berths and All-Pro selections: The Cowboys line has already collected seven Pro Bowl berths and two first-team All-Pro selections since Smith arrived in 2011. Those numbers will grow to 10 and at least three in a few weeks. But you cannot judge lines by Pro Bowl selections alone, because balloting is often more about reputation than performance, especially for older players.
Offensive statistics: Great lines generate thousands of rushing yards, high yards-per-rush figures, low sack totals and awards for their quarterbacks and running backs. But be careful: Under this criterion, Peyton Manning and Jim Brown's offensive lines were the best in history. Great skill-position players can make their lines look better, as well as vice versa.
Offensive statistics by different sets of skill-position players: Bingo. A great offensive line should make multiple quarterbacks and running backs look good, not just established superstars. This is what qualifies the Cowboys line for a spot among the best ever.
As soon as the Smith-Frederick-Martin nucleus came together in 2014, DeMarco Murray won the NFL rushing title and Offensive Player of the Year honors. Tony Romo led the NFL in completion percentage, touchdown percentage and quarterback rating; he had not led the NFL in any positive categories since 2006 before that. The Cowboys won 12 games after four years mired around .500 and came within some controversial calls of reaching the NFC Championship Game.
Murray left, and Romo got hurt last year. The Cowboys tanked due to incompetent quarterbacking and mediocre defense. Cowboys haters along the I-95 corridor whispered that the offensive line was overrated.
Nonsense. Darren McFadden, after three straight years of averaging 3.3-3.4 yards per carry in Oakland, rushed for 1,089 yards and 4.6 yards per carry. The offensive line was great. Protecting Brandon Weeden and Joseph Randle is just a thankless task.
So the Cowboys drafted a blue-chip rookie running back and what appeared to be your basic mid-round SEC quarterback, and wouldn't you know it, both are on a path toward obliterating the record books. Surprising, award-winning seasons just seem to keep happening in Dallas for some reason.
It's because the Cowboys offensive line is one of the best in history, folks. And we'll learn in the weeks to come whether it really ranks among these all-time lines:
The Hogs (Washington Commanders, 1981-1992)
Members: Jeff Bostic, Russ Grimm, Joe Jacoby, Mark May and George Starke, and later Mark Schlereth, Jim Lachey and others.
Super Bowls: Three wins, one loss.
Pro Bowls/All-Pro selections: Ten and five for the original Hogs. Thirteen and eight with Lachey and Stink included.
Other accomplishments: Joe Theismann MVP award and Offensive Player of the Year award (1983).
Notes: The Hogs are really two separate lines—the original five from the early 1980s and a later group (still featuring Jacoby and Bostic) that led the Commanders to their third Super Bowl win in 1992.
The greatest claim to fame of those Washington lines (besides the catchy nickname) is that the team could change quarterbacks (Theismann, Jay Schroeder, Doug Williams, Mark Rypien) and running backs (John Riggins, George Rogers, Timmy Smith in the Super Bowl, Earnest Byner) and still compete at a championship level. Sound familiar? That's the exact argument we are making about the Cowboys line.
The Original Ploughboys (Dallas Cowboys, 1992-1995)
Members: Larry Allen, Nate Newton, Mark Stepnoski, Mark Tuinei and Erik Williams.
Super Bowls: Three appearances, three wins.
Pro Bowls/All-Pro selections: Twenty-five and 10.
Other accomplishments: Emmitt Smith MVP award (1993), four Smith rushing titles. Troy Aikman got sacked just 14 times in back-to-back seasons in 1994 and 1995, which is downright remarkable.
Notes: The five-man line listed above never really played together. Allen joined the others in 1994 when Williams was injured for most of the season, then Stepnoski left the following year. So adding him in is like retroactively adding La'el Collins in 2014 and this season if Collins goes on to a Hall of Fame career.
Also, Smith was Rookie of the Year before the nucleus of the line formed, and we never really saw how this line would look without Aikman, Emmitt, Michael Irvin, a great defense, and so on.
Shanahan's Inglorious Cut-Blockers (Denver Broncos, 1996-2005 or so)
Members: Brian Habib, Tony Jones, Dan Neil, Tom Nalen, Mark Schlereth, Gary Zimmerman and many others.
Super Bowls: Two appearances, two wins.
Pro Bowls/All Pro Selections: Ten and three.
Other accomplishments: Terrell Davis MVP award (1998), Offensive Player of the Year awards in 1996 and 1998, a rushing title and 2,000-yard season in 1998. Mike Anderson Rookie of the Year award in 2000.
Notes: Besides helping John Elway win two Super Bowls and making Davis the NFL's most dominating player for three years, this line's claim to fame was the ability to plug in multiple running backs and generate 1,000-yard seasons. Just like the Cowboys line, except with Olandis Gary instead of Darren McFadden!
This line consisted mostly of aging veterans and replaceable parts who were coached up by zone-blocking guru Alex Gibbs. The current Cowboys would blow them off the line of scrimmage.
Upshaw's Army (Oakland Raiders, 1967-1980)
Members: Jim Otto, Art Shell and Gene Upshaw, later Dave Dalby and many others.
Super Bowls: Two wins with Shell and Upshaw, one loss with Otto and Upshaw.
Pro Bowls/All-Pro selections: Twenty-eight and 17.
Other accomplishments: Being the 1970s Raiders.
Notes: Otto, Shell and Upshaw were only together as starters from 1970 through 1974. Otto and Upshaw joined Wayne Hawkins on the great AFL/Super Bowl II lines before Shell arrived. Dalby replaced Otto by the time Ken Stabler had most of his signature seasons. Upshaw was no longer a Pro Bowler (though Shell still was) when Jim Plunkett led the Raiders to Super Bowl XV, and all were gone but Darby when Marcus Allen arrived for Super Bowl XVIII.
So this is another case like the Hogs. More than a decade of great lines compressed by memory into one outstanding unit that only existed for a few seasons. While Otto, Shell and Upshaw were together, the Raiders transitioned from Daryle Lamonica to Stabler and switched out many other skill-position stars, finishing seasons with records like 10-3-1. Sounds a little like what the Cowboys have been doing.
We could move on to other great lines like the 1960s Packers, but you get the idea. What we consider the "great offensive lines" of the past are often many different collections of players scattered across a decade. If you search for their nucleus seasons—the 1996-98 Broncos, 1992-95 Cowboys and so on—the current Cowboys stack up exceptionally well.
OK, if you have a time machine and can only select one offensive line from any year in history (not some mix and match of 1983 Grimm with 1992 Lachey) you should probably grab the 1972 Raiders. Then maybe the 1962 Packers, 1992 Commanders, 1994 Cowboys or one of the early-1970s Dolphins lines.
The current Cowboys don't have all of those ceremonial late-career Pro Bowl berths, but none of the Big Three are older than 26 yet, so give them time. They are likely to stick together for as long as the famous lines above did.
Smith's long-term contract is team friendly, Frederick has a long-term deal and Martin will eventually be lavished with freed-up Romobucks. These Cowboys don't have any rings yet, but the way this playoff race is progressing, they may not need Vince Lombardi, Al Davis, Elway, The Triplets or anyone else to make them great. Jason Garrett and some rookies will do.
Then check back in early February to see if the Cowboys offensive line belongs even further up the list.
Mike Tanier covers the NFL for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Twitter @MikeTanier.
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