Cowboy history: Biggest waste of talent (self inflicted)

[kskboys]

No doubt. Considering probably over 50% of first round picks at quarterback fall apart in the NFL, not bad for an undrafted rookie. If we get to biggest choke jobs in the postseason, we can start talking about Romo, but give the guy credit, he did a lot more than he was ever supposed to.

You're best off ignoring someone who puts Romo in this convo. For one, they lack comprehension of what the simple term "waste of talent" even means. So, that makes it a seriously not to bright comment, best ignored.

 

[Ranching]

Thinking about the sad case of Randy Gregory made me remember some of the other Cowboys players over time that were blessed with great talent but had personall issues that seriously damaged their careers and legacies. Here are some that come to mind:

Randy Gregory - we will never know how good he could have been
David Irvin - another pot casualty. Like Gregory we will never know how good he could have been, but he had great talent.
Duane Thomas - Huge talent with an even bigger chip on his shoulder. Didn't get along with anybody - teammates, coaches, media ...
Lance Rentzel - Star player with a beautiful celebrity wife and a predilection for flashing children.
Hollywood Henderson - a LB and one of the fastest players in the NFL. A true athletic freak. Serious cocaine habit derailed his career
Harvey Martin - Had a very good career anyway, but without the multitude of drugs might be discussed alongside guys like Bruce Smith, Deacon Jones etc ...

Jason Garrett

 

[JBond]

Dwayne Goodrich
Antonio Bryant
Derek Ross


Honorable mentions...
Quincy Carter
Joseph Randle

Bam!

That is a heck of list of modern era guys that *** it up.

 

[SteveTheCowboy]

No doubt. Considering probably over 50% of first round picks at quarterback fall apart in the NFL, not bad for an undrafted rookie. If we get to biggest choke jobs in the postseason, we can start talking about Romo, but give the guy credit, he did a lot more than he was ever supposed to.

Did you have a particular games or games in mind? I guess I have forgotten how epic his own choking decimated us.

 

[eromeopolk]

Was it the ducks, the low comp %, or the coke that impressed you?

He did ended the 5-11 season record trifecta and led the Cowboys to the playoffs.
His first TD was a game winning TD vs Commanders

 

[OmerV]

Jason Garrett

I wouldn't include Garrett because I think his issue was lack of talent to begin with. I don't think he had the ability to do more than he did either as a player or coach.

 

[G2]

Rolando Mclain.

 

[Zekeats]

Thinking about the sad case of Randy Gregory made me remember some of the other Cowboys players over time that were blessed with great talent but had personall issues that seriously damaged their careers and legacies. Here are some that come to mind:

Randy Gregory - we will never know how good he could have been
David Irvin - another pot casualty. Like Gregory we will never know how good he could have been, but he had great talent.
Duane Thomas - Huge talent with an even bigger chip on his shoulder. Didn't get along with anybody - teammates, coaches, media ...
Lance Rentzel - Star player with a beautiful celebrity wife and a predilection for flashing children.
Hollywood Henderson - a LB and one of the fastest players in the NFL. A true athletic freak. Serious cocaine habit derailed his career
Harvey Martin - Had a very good career anyway, but without the multitude of drugs might be discussed alongside guys like Bruce Smith, Deacon Jones etc ...

Taco

 

[DallasDW00ds0n]

Randy Gregory does not deserve to be on this list; he did too much damage to himself, he has to own it.

 

[kskboys]

He did ended the 5-11 season record trifecta and led the Cowboys to the playoffs.
His first TD was a game winning TD vs Football Team

No, he didn't lead the team to the playoffs. The #1 D in the NFL drug him to the playoffs.

Honestly, where are you getting this "He led" stuff from? I mean, it was blatantly obvious at the time that he was just along for the ride.

 

[OmerV]

Taco

I just view Taco as never having had the talent to be that good to begin with.

 

[quickccc]

Rolando McClain.

Rolando McClain was an Incredible physical specimen with combination of size (255 lbs) ..mobility, range and instincts.
At his best, he could physically stack up both the leading blocking FB and the RB in the same motion.

Was a solid interior blitzer, and could really bring a big wallop upon contact tackling, and he actually had a knack for dropping in pass lanes for jump INTs.

He didn't love football and being committed to it. Coasting in practice, not showing for practice, wouldn't practice thru minor nicks,
major substance issues with purple drinking, fines-suspensions, poorly conditioning,etc,
He just became a headache for teams he's been on,(Ravens, Raiders, Cowboys) and they wanted to do away with his distractions.