Cowboys All-Star Honors

Shake_Tiller

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I've taken Pro Football Reference's all-time list of Dallas Cowboys appearances on the Pro Bowl and 1st Team All-Pro teams. I thought it provided a bit of a feel for players' value to the team (excluding their performances with other teams). I've included every player who made more than one Pro Bowl with the Cowboys or who didn't make a Pro Bowl but were named 1st Team All-Pro. Amazingly, two players fit the latter category -- Frank Clarke and Richie Cunningham.

I don't endorse the list as an accurate ranking of the best Cowboys by position. Factors could cause some players to be named (or not named) in a given year, such as talent at the position at the particular time, voter bias, etc. The Sixties, for instance, was the golden age of the MLB, no doubt impacting Jordan.

But I thought it was interesting to see how the voters saw the Cowboys contemporaneously. And a careful look probably exposes some bias. Staubach never made 1st Team All-Pro. Michael Irvin fares much worse than one would expect. I expect both of those were products of contemporaneous cultural bias.

But I like the fact the list is a reminder of some of the forgotten stars. Meredith made the Pro Bowl three times when it was much more difficult to make the team. He took Dallas to two NFL Championship games when the Super Bowl was a bit of an afterthought (the winner of the Packers/Cowboys tilts was going to beat the AFL champion.

Don Perkins, George Andrie, Cornell Greene and Ralph Neely are among players who have been sort of forgotten but were highly regarded in their time.

I randomly assigned one point for each Pro Bowl appearance and three points for each 1st Team All-Pro honor. That was arbitrary, and your results might vary. The Pro Bowl has become a bit of a joke in recent years, but at one time it was a huge honor.

The assigned points fell where they fell. Again, no endorsement.

QB
Aikman 6, 0 (6 points)
Staubach 6,0 (6 points)
Romo 4,0 (4 points)
Meredith 3,0 (3 points)
Prescott 2,0 (2 points)
RB
Smith 8,4 (20 points)
Dorsett 4,1 (7 points)
Hill 4,1 (7 points)
Elliott 3,1 (6 points)
Murray 2,1 (5 points)
Walker 2,0 (2 points)
FB
Perkins 6,1 (9 points)
Johnston 2,0 (2 points)
WR
Pearson 3,3 (15 points)
Hayes 3,2 (12 points)
Irvin 5,1 (8 points)
Bryant 3,1 (6 points)
Owens 1,1 (4 points)
Hill 3,0 (3 points)
Clarke 0,1 (3 points)
Austin 2,0 (2 points)
Cooper 2,0 (2 points)
TE
Witten 11,2 (17 points)
Novacek 5,1 (8 points)
Cosbie 3,0 (3 points)
DuPree 3,0 (3 points)
OT
Wright 6,3 (15 points)
Smith 7,2 (13 points)
Neely 2,3 (11 points)
Williams 4,2 (10 points)
Adams 5,0 (5 points)
Donovan 4,0 (4 points)
Davis 3,0 (3 points)
Tuinei 3,0 (3 points)
G
Allen 10,6 (28 points)
Martin 6,4 (18 points)
Newton 6,2 (12 points)
Niland 6,2 (12 points)
Scott 3,2 (9 points)
Nye 2,0 (2 points)
C
Frederick 5,1 (8 points)
Gurode 5,0 (5 points)
Stepnoski 3,0 (3 points)
Donaldson 2,0 (2 points)
DT
Lilly 11,7 (32 points)
White 9,7 (30 points)
Ratliff 4,1 (7 points)
Glover 4,0 (4 points)
Lett 2,0 (2 points)
DE
Andrie 5,1 (8 points)
Martin 4,1 (7 points)
Jones 3,1 (6 points)
Haley 2,1 (5 points)
Lawrence 2,0 (2 points)
LB
Howley 6,5 (21 points)
Ware 7,4 (19 points)
Jordan 5,1 (8 points)
Lee 2,1 (5 points)
Coakley 3,0 (3 points)
Bob Breunig 3,0 (3 points)
CB
Greene 5,3 (14 points)
Renfro 10,1 (13 points)
Sanders 4,3 (13 points)
Walls 4,1 (7 points)
Newman 2,0 (2 points)
S
Harris 6,3 (15 points)
Woodson 5,3 (14 points)
Williams 5,1 (8 points)
Waters 3,0 (3 points)
K
Septien 1,1 (4 points)
Herrera 1,1 (4 points)
Cunningham 0,1 (3 points)
P
Widby 1,1 (4 points)
McBriar 2,0 (2 points)
 

John813

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Zach Martin will break the top next year but I don't think anyone can match Lilly or White.

I feel like Martin is the type of guy who will retire "early" instead of playing till his mid 30's. Just a gut feeling.
 

Super_Kazuya

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Problem is I think once they put the Pro Bowl in front of the Super Bowl it really made the Pro Bowl fairly worthless for evaluating this kind of stuff, especially in hindsight without any reference. There's just too many of them.
 
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buybuydandavis

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Zach Martin will break the top next year but I don't think anyone can match Lilly or White.

I feel like Martin is the type of guy who will retire "early" instead of playing till his mid 30's. Just a gut feeling.

G is a position where an old man can last a long time. Strength is an old man's game. He just made All Pro at 29.

Maybe the Frederick retirement rubs off on him. But it wouldn't be til his mid 30s that I'd think he even *might* stop making pro bowls.
 

John813

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G is a position where an old man can last a long time. Strength is an old man's game. He just made All Pro at 29.

Maybe the Frederick retirement rubs off on him. But it wouldn't be til his mid 30s that I'd think he even *might* stop making pro bowls.

I agree. Just get the vibe he'll see his bank account one day and realize he has enough to live out his dreams without having to go through the punishment the NFL puts on his body.

I feel like more will retire earlier than expected after playing 8-9 years even if they still are considered good or great.
Like I said this is jmo and ain't basing it off any one thing.
 

buybuydandavis

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I agree. Just get the vibe he'll see his bank account one day and realize he has enough to live out his dreams without having to go through the punishment the NFL puts on his body.

I feel like more will retire earlier than expected after playing 8-9 years even if they still are considered good or great.
Like I said this is jmo and ain't basing it off any one thing.

The Frederick example may play. I do often wonder why guys with tens of millions in the bank don't just say "I'm good, cya" more often.
 

conner01

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The Frederick example may play. I do often wonder why guys with tens of millions in the bank don't just say "I'm good, cya" more often.
For some it’s the love of the game
It’s something they’ve dreamed of their whole life
The great ones it’s not just about the money
But some play too long when they are no longer capable of being what they were
 
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