Twitter: ESPN Sports Center ranks their all time Dallas Cowboys top 10

[Canada180]

Re- edited:
As a pure edge rusher, i'll take Dware over any edge rusher that we have ever had here. Even Charles Haley.
i think Dware should be a 1st ballot. He was a 20 sack type OLB edge rusher, and probably the most lethal explosive 1st step off the snap of anyone in the NFL that i can recall.
Ware will be HOF, Harvey won't even be a Ring of Honoree (per jerry)



yeh, maybe it's an overlook on Lilly, but again i feel more comfortable with guys i've actually seen play. Can't cram everyone in top 10.
BTW, where's Your top 10 list .. ?

LOL Fair enough. Its tough but Lilly should be there right with Randy white. And I love White.

 

[Nova]

Emmit #1? No way, and I love me some Emmit.

To be fair, he has arguably the greatest career of any Cowboy at their respective position.

He’s an all-time record holder, and if I’m not mistaken he’s the only Cowboy to receive an MVP.

 

[GhostOfPelluer]

The entire philosoohy behind a 3-4 defense is the mystery that surrounds the 4th pass rusher.

3-4 defenses effectively cause communication and blocking issues for an offense because a 3-4 disguises that 4th and sometimea 5th pass rusher.

A 3-4 defense cannot designate a particular player as the pass rusher. They can't even make a habit of using a specific player that is not a D-linrman.

If the offense knows who the 4th pass rusher is or even if they know who it usually is, then you don't have a 3-4. defense, you have a 4-3 defense playing out of position.

The 3-4 defense requires instinctive linebackers with a diverse skill set tjat includes defending the run from sideline to sideline, pass rushing ability as well as pass defending ability.

This is why Parcells preferred Spears to Ware in the draft. Spears was a 3-4 DE. Ware was a converted 4-3 DE who could ne fooled by misdirection. Sometimes he could overcome that with speed, sometimes he didn't.

Ware could never provide the impact of an elite LB in a 3-4 defense like Al Lewis and Lawrence Taylor. Yea, he did it a few times in the regular season, bur he was never consistant.

There is more than one philosophy with the 3-4. Yes, there is a base belief that you disguise who is rushing and who isn't. But when you have a freak pass rusher, you don't drop him into coverage - and Wade Phillips and other DCs wisely did not very often. Lewis (I think you meant Ray Lewis, who played an entirely different position) and Taylor aren't apples to apples comparisons to Ware. I'm not saying Ware was infallible, but he was an all-time great pass rusher and was better than solid against the run. I stand by my point that you cannot judge him, even a little, by INTs. Derrick Thomas had 1 INT in his career (11 seasons, one fewer than Ware). Kevin Greene had 5. Von Miller has 2. Even the gold standard, LT, had all of 9 in 13 seasons and he actually did drop into coverage a little more often. Terrell Suggs had 7 in 17 seasons(!). Those are his contemporaries and none had big INT numbers for a reason - they were rushing the passer 99% of the time.

 

[OmerV]

A player who played for the Cowboys is not a Cowboy....

The problem with those greatest lists is that people tend to put too many other factors in it just to hold players up or down because they like them or dont.

Sanders played 5 years for the falcons and 5 years for the boys. Those were his longest stints.

Sure he was a Cowboy, and he's certainly worthy of consideration, but in my mind guys who's careers were built either entirely or mostly on the Cowboys get the priority as long as they were highly talented and accomplished as well. Like longevity matters in HOF voting, I feel that applies here, and that it's not unreasonable to factor in the years contributing to the Cowboys along with talent. I certainly think short time status calls into question your notion that it's ridiculous to leave Deion off this list.

A reasonable person could certainly consider Stabauch, Lilly, Howley, White, Hayes, Harris, Renfro, Wright, Aikman, Emmitt, Irvin, Allen, Woodson, Ware and Witten to be above Deion. Even Zach Martin and Tyron Smith - people may not think of them because they are still playing and have time left in their careers, but both have played for the Cowboys longer than Deion, and both have consistently been at least Pro-Bowl, and often All-Pro, throughout their careers.

Not that a reasonable person couldn't put Deion above some of those, but, again, it's not ridiculous for a person to put all or any of those ahead of Deion.

 

[kskboys]

Ware was a great player, but he had a tendency to disappear at the biggest moments. Aikman was at his best in the biggest moments.

This is the biggest BS media spew ever repeated. Shame.

 

[crashintonickdm]

Emmitt was the master of getting 3rd and 4/5.

Cowboys could call running plays in that situation because of 22.

 

[MikeB80]

Making a top 10 is impossible. If I did make one Emmitt Smith would be number 1 though. The rest is all debatable. Number 1 is not.

 

[Runwildboys]

Emmitt was the master of getting 3rd and 4/5.

Cowboys could call running plays in that situation because of 22.

And 48, plowing the road.

 

[mldardy]

Not an act. Roger Staubach is the greatest player in the history of the Dallas Cowboys

Well says you. Some say like me and others say it's Emmitt.

 

[Bigtex67]

How Dexter Coakley didn't make this list is beyond me.

I was thinking Bobbie Carpenter....

 

[plasticman]

You mean impact ?

Like coming from the reigning SB champ just to make his new team the SB champs ?

Sanders didn't "make" the Cowboys become champs.Had Sanders not been signed to that record contract, there would have been 4-5 players better than the starters on that team.

Sanders had nothing to do with the Cowboys ranked #1 in rushing TD's that season. He had nothing to do with the Cowboys throwing the least INT's in the league with the highest average yards per pass attempt in the league. Sanders was not responsible for the Cowboy offense averaging 29 points a game.

That season Sanders played a little receiver, with 2 receptions, equal to the number of INT's that season, the lowest number in his career up to that point. I will give him partial credit for the INT's of others by eliminating an option and forcing QB's to take more risks.gain, I'm not saying Sanders wasn't a valuyable assett but we are talking about a team that won two of the previous three SB's without him. There were four players on that team that contributed far more than he did.

From the first game Sanders played as a rookie until the last game of his career, Sanders was terrible defending the run. He did not tackle. Unless it was a critical play, Sanders was like a kicker, he would get out of the way.

Again, I'm not saying Sanders wasn't a great player. Yes, he was elite. However, he was not one of the best ten players the Cowboys ever had. Also, when we talk about the best players for a team, it should be in context to his contributions to that specific team.

Mel Renfro was Deion Sanders before there ever was a Deion Sanders.

Renfro holds the Cowboy record for INT's. In his rookie season he led the league in kickoff returns and punt returns. He returned at least one for a TD in his first three seasons. In 1966 he also played some RB, averaging 6.5 yards a carry. Mel Renfro was one of the first true shutdown corners in NFL history. ....and he could tackle.

Renfro participated in four SB's and six conference championship games. He earned 2 rings. In 1970, the Cowboys first SB appearance, Renfro had an INT in each of the three playoff games. Renfro started in 21 playoff games.

 

[BourbonBalz]

This is the biggest BS media spew ever repeated. Shame.

The media had nothing to do with it. He did fade at times. I know because I watch every single game. Still a great player.

 

[Aviano90]

This is the biggest BS media spew ever repeated. Shame.

Yeah I remember people kept saying he didn’t get 4th quarter sacks or if he did the other team would convert anyway. I went back and tracked his sacks and the result of the drive once when we were on the old board (the good one) and found it was BS. Another eye ball test failure, like most of the other eye ball test observations.

 

[kskboys]

The media had nothing to do with it. He did fade at times. I know because I watch every single game. Still a great player.

Yes, but what you're failing to take into account is the horrific job of putting players around him, and the fact that he played more snaps than any other D player in the NFL for years. Your statement is severely lacking in substance.

 

[mahoneybill]

MY top 10 All time Cowboys list:

1 Emmitt Smith
2 Michael Irvin
3 Larry Allen
4 Randy White
5 Roger Staubach
6 Bob Hayes
7 Demarcus Ware
8 Tony Dorsett
9 Erik Williams
10 Troy Aikman

i have to take my Cowboys list just as the Ring of Honor and the only reasons why i'm hesitant to add Deion Sanders and Charles Haley
as such is because they are not Grass Root Cowboys - they did not origin as Cowboys.

if i went further Rayfield Wright, Darren Woodson and Tony Romo would have been next ups.

Nice add with Bob Hayes. He changed how defenses play football as a true track star who could play football. Today we have speedsters, but not any in his combo class of athlete ( Olympic Gold medalist , world record holder ,and Super Bowl winner )

 

[BourbonBalz]

Yes, but what you're failing to take into account is the horrific job of putting players around him, and the fact that he played more snaps than any other D player in the NFL for years. Your statement is severely lacking in substance.

LOL. Excuse machine in action. We actually had a considerable amount of talent on many of Ware’s teams. Don’t get your panties in a wad. As I said, Ware was a great player, but he did disappear at times (most players do). My entire post was directed to another saying Ware was a better DE/OLB than Aikman was a QB. That was a ridiculous statement IMO.

 

[CooterBrown]

There’s a severe inaccuracy in your post. Harvey Martin had more than 15 sacks numerous times. It was not an official stat during part of his career. He had 23 sacks in 1977 alone. Still a team record.

And in 1977, they only played 14 games. He had 23 sacks in 14 games. At that pace he would have had over 26 sacks in a 16 game season. That, and the wreath to the Commanders locker room was enough to make him one of my favorites at the time.

 

[LatinMind]

Any list that does not have Roger Staubach at number one is just wrong

As is any list that does not have Mel Renfro

Emmitt is the greatest cowboy ever. Rightfully so

 

[OmerV]

Emmitt is the greatest cowboy ever. Rightfully so

To me it's Roger, but I think reasonable people could go with Emmitt or Lilly as well.

 

[BigD_95]

I’m good with Emmitt being #1

I actually think Larry Allen should be #2 on the list. He is the greatest O-linemen not only for Cowboys but to play in the NFL.

those make the most sense at the top because E. Smith is the greatest all around RB to play the game and has the rings and stats to go along with it.