Thomas82
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After Edgerrin James signed with the Cardinals, this was a hot topic being debated for a little while, by some of the media, and I definately had to hear a lot about it recently when I visited family in Indy, not long after the signing. I had an argument at work today with a life-long Colts fan about which trio was better between the Cowboys and Colts. There really is no argument and shouldn't be any comparison between them.
I would take the Cowboys Triplets any day. First off, those triplets won 3 Super Bowls and could have won more. The real difference is that the Cowboys would methodically march down the field on 10 play drives that would demoralize the other team, while the Colts run up and down the field. Both are unstoppable, but I feel that the Colts have been helped out slightly by the rule changes. With the Cowboys, Emmitt was the key to everything. Defenses couldn't stop him. They knew what was coming and STILL couldn't stop it. Aikman to Irvin was almost unfair in that situation. When it mattered the most you could always count on Michael Irvin to make that first down for you, or when you needed to milk the clock you could depend on Emmitt to get those tough yards. Now tell me you can say the same thing about the Colts triplets. I say the Original Triplets by a mile.
I just thought of an offense that would give the Colts a run for their money. This team would probably even beat them just because the league was more physical back then. The one offense that would rival the Colts instead of the Cowboys triplets is the 1995 Lions. They had the #1 offense that year. Scott Mitchell threw for over 4000 yards and more than 30 TDs, they had 2 receivers catch 100 passes and go over 1000 yards (Herman Moore 123 catches for 1686 yds & 14 TDs and Brett Perriman 108 catches for 1488 yds & 9TDs). They even had a 3rd receiver (Johnnie Morton) close in on 50 receptions and almost 600 yds. With all of this, Barry Sanders still managed to get enough touches to rush for 1500 yards and he scored 11 TDs. I think they would handle these Colts, especially since they had a better defense. If they went at it, the Lions probably wouldn't have to throw much because Barry Sanders would run circles around their defense. While the Colts could possibly put up decent numbers, the Lions defense is more capable of stopping the Colts than vice versa. For that reason, I don't think the Colts triplets even come close to the Cowboys.
One other thing I would like to hit on is, I understand people have their opinions, but I have to STRONGLY disagree with all the people (fans & media) who picked Peyton Manning at quarterback over Troy Aikman. First off, Troy Aikman got screwed out of a spot on the 1990s All-Decade Team. He was the winningest QB of ANY decade. One thing people don't consider about Troy Aikman is that he hardly ever got rattled during the playoffs. He rarely threw costly interceptions and he got the first downs when he needed to. (At one point he had the NFL record for career post-season completion percentage). Peyton Manning, like Brett Favre, throw a lot of interceptions, causing their teams to lose. It always seemed to me like Manning (even Favre sometimes), when the games had so much riding on them tends to lose his cool and start throwing back-breaking interceptions or make some other costly mistakes. This is why I would take Troy Aikman over Peyton Manning, Steve Young, Dan Marino, or Brett Favre.
Just remember the 1992 NFC Championship, when NOBODY gave the Cowboys a chance against a powerful 49ers team that went 14-2 and had all those weapons on offense that included Steve Young at QB and they even had Joe Montana coming off the bench!! They even had a strong defense. Who would you rather have as your quarterback in a hostile environment like that? Even the weather was bad that day. That's the intangible that separates Troy from the other QBs with better numbers. Everybody wants to look at his numbers and say he was average compared to Favre or Marino. But Troy Aikman led his team to victory when it mattered most. He was at his best when the stakes were the highest. That's just something that can't be measured in yards per-attempt, completion %, or QB rating.
We'll never know how statistically great Troy Aikman could have been because the Cowboys' offense was not built around him the way the Colts' offense is around Peyton Manning. The Cowboys' philosophy was entirely different. With a dominating defense and dominating running game, they would build leads in the first half and early 3rd quarter, then spent the rest of the game grinding the ball with Emmitt Smith. Troy Aikman knew his role and cared more about winning than personal glory. Who knows what he could have been in an offense that has 3 1000+ yard receivers and a 1500 yard RB? Given an equal number of attempts, Troy Aikman would have as many passing yards as Brett Favre. Their YPA averages are virtually the same. Manning's is only 0.5 yards better than Aikman's.
Also, Troy Aikman was not fortunate enough to play in an era where the rules so heavily favored the offense in general and handcuffed the defense, and the passing game in particular. The 1990s was a physical game in which receivers had to fight for every catch. DBs were allowed much more lattitude back then and it was literally a physical altercation every time the ball was thrown. What was ruled "incidental contact" 10 years ago would be blatant pass interference today. In the end it all comes down to championships. The Cowboys triplets have 3 and the Colts triplets have 0.
Sorry for the real long post, it's just that I like to think before I post, get my facts straight, and be able to back it up.
I would take the Cowboys Triplets any day. First off, those triplets won 3 Super Bowls and could have won more. The real difference is that the Cowboys would methodically march down the field on 10 play drives that would demoralize the other team, while the Colts run up and down the field. Both are unstoppable, but I feel that the Colts have been helped out slightly by the rule changes. With the Cowboys, Emmitt was the key to everything. Defenses couldn't stop him. They knew what was coming and STILL couldn't stop it. Aikman to Irvin was almost unfair in that situation. When it mattered the most you could always count on Michael Irvin to make that first down for you, or when you needed to milk the clock you could depend on Emmitt to get those tough yards. Now tell me you can say the same thing about the Colts triplets. I say the Original Triplets by a mile.
I just thought of an offense that would give the Colts a run for their money. This team would probably even beat them just because the league was more physical back then. The one offense that would rival the Colts instead of the Cowboys triplets is the 1995 Lions. They had the #1 offense that year. Scott Mitchell threw for over 4000 yards and more than 30 TDs, they had 2 receivers catch 100 passes and go over 1000 yards (Herman Moore 123 catches for 1686 yds & 14 TDs and Brett Perriman 108 catches for 1488 yds & 9TDs). They even had a 3rd receiver (Johnnie Morton) close in on 50 receptions and almost 600 yds. With all of this, Barry Sanders still managed to get enough touches to rush for 1500 yards and he scored 11 TDs. I think they would handle these Colts, especially since they had a better defense. If they went at it, the Lions probably wouldn't have to throw much because Barry Sanders would run circles around their defense. While the Colts could possibly put up decent numbers, the Lions defense is more capable of stopping the Colts than vice versa. For that reason, I don't think the Colts triplets even come close to the Cowboys.
One other thing I would like to hit on is, I understand people have their opinions, but I have to STRONGLY disagree with all the people (fans & media) who picked Peyton Manning at quarterback over Troy Aikman. First off, Troy Aikman got screwed out of a spot on the 1990s All-Decade Team. He was the winningest QB of ANY decade. One thing people don't consider about Troy Aikman is that he hardly ever got rattled during the playoffs. He rarely threw costly interceptions and he got the first downs when he needed to. (At one point he had the NFL record for career post-season completion percentage). Peyton Manning, like Brett Favre, throw a lot of interceptions, causing their teams to lose. It always seemed to me like Manning (even Favre sometimes), when the games had so much riding on them tends to lose his cool and start throwing back-breaking interceptions or make some other costly mistakes. This is why I would take Troy Aikman over Peyton Manning, Steve Young, Dan Marino, or Brett Favre.
Just remember the 1992 NFC Championship, when NOBODY gave the Cowboys a chance against a powerful 49ers team that went 14-2 and had all those weapons on offense that included Steve Young at QB and they even had Joe Montana coming off the bench!! They even had a strong defense. Who would you rather have as your quarterback in a hostile environment like that? Even the weather was bad that day. That's the intangible that separates Troy from the other QBs with better numbers. Everybody wants to look at his numbers and say he was average compared to Favre or Marino. But Troy Aikman led his team to victory when it mattered most. He was at his best when the stakes were the highest. That's just something that can't be measured in yards per-attempt, completion %, or QB rating.
We'll never know how statistically great Troy Aikman could have been because the Cowboys' offense was not built around him the way the Colts' offense is around Peyton Manning. The Cowboys' philosophy was entirely different. With a dominating defense and dominating running game, they would build leads in the first half and early 3rd quarter, then spent the rest of the game grinding the ball with Emmitt Smith. Troy Aikman knew his role and cared more about winning than personal glory. Who knows what he could have been in an offense that has 3 1000+ yard receivers and a 1500 yard RB? Given an equal number of attempts, Troy Aikman would have as many passing yards as Brett Favre. Their YPA averages are virtually the same. Manning's is only 0.5 yards better than Aikman's.
Also, Troy Aikman was not fortunate enough to play in an era where the rules so heavily favored the offense in general and handcuffed the defense, and the passing game in particular. The 1990s was a physical game in which receivers had to fight for every catch. DBs were allowed much more lattitude back then and it was literally a physical altercation every time the ball was thrown. What was ruled "incidental contact" 10 years ago would be blatant pass interference today. In the end it all comes down to championships. The Cowboys triplets have 3 and the Colts triplets have 0.
Sorry for the real long post, it's just that I like to think before I post, get my facts straight, and be able to back it up.
