Shake_Tiller
Well-Known Member
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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)
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)