espnDallas: Top 10 Cowboys of The Decade

[Maikeru-sama]

No way.

RW31 was the most feared safety in the league for a while. Newman was appreciated here as a great cover guy but never developed enough to scare defenses.

I'd be tempted to bump Glover for TNew. Glover wasn't here long, averaged just over 2/3's the sacks of Ratliff and was paid quite handsomely during his short tenure here.

I agree. Roy Williams was an absolute beast and was the face of the franchise for quite some time.

I disagree on La'Roi Glover. The guy was an absolute beast but the Cowboys were transitioning to a 3-4 and that was going to be a problem for him.

As far as longevity, I would not have a problem with Terence Newman replacing La'Roi Glover.

 

[pancakeman]

No way.

RW31 was the most feared safety in the league for a while. Newman was appreciated here as a great cover guy but never developed enough to scare defenses.

I guess it depends on how you score this sort of thing. At his top, Williams was certainly more elite than Newman. But at another point, he was a weak link in the defense, in the eyes of many. Would you disagree with that, or would you say it's true but doesn't lower his score enough to knock him off the list, or would you say it's true but this list is about top players at their best, not necessarily their Cowboys-career-long contributions taken together?

 

[tyke1doe]

Tony should be number 3.

Tony should be No. 1.

This franchise wouldn't be where it is today without Tony Romo. And that's with DeMarcus Ware.

And, remember, before Tony took over as quarterback, Witten was a glorified offensive lineman who blocked for Bledslow.

Witten is a great player, but he owes a huge debt to Tony Romo.

 

[BAT]

Romo is top 3. Flo is top 5. Roy Williams should be #4, he was flat out dominant early in his career.

LaRoi Glover needs to be much higher on this list_flipflop Ellis w/Glover and the list becomes more accurate. Many forget that he was the best defensive player on the Cowboys for a while.

And I love Woody, but LA was more productive and more acclaimed THIS decade. Previous decade too actually.

 

[joseephuss]

Greg Ellis better than Larry Allen

Yeah right.

It is not about Ellis being better than Allen, it is about being better this decade. Larry was in Dallas for 6 years this decade and Ellis was in Dallas for 9 seasons this decade. That alone give Ellis the edge and Larry's last two years were not that good while Ellis was pretty consistent all 9 years he was in Dallas.

 

[joseephuss]

Tony should be No. 1.

This franchise wouldn't be where it is today without Tony Romo. And that's with DeMarcus Ware.

And, remember, before Tony took over as quarterback, Witten was a glorified offensive lineman who blocked for Bledslow.

Witten is a great player, but he owes a huge debt to Tony Romo.

Witten lit it up with Vinny at QB. That just shows how terrible at decision making Bledsoe was for ignoring Witten at the tight end position.

 

[BAT]

It is not about Ellis being better than Allen, it is about being better this decade. Larry was in Dallas for 6 years this decade and Ellis was in Dallas for 9 seasons this decade. That alone give Ellis the edge and Larry's last two years were not that good while Ellis was pretty consistent all 9 years he was in Dallas.

All decade and all consistent are not the same. Larry Allen may have been overrated towards the end of his career, but he was the better more dominant player. And length of career has minimal bearing on this honor, it is dependent on what you did & how dominant you were doing it, not how long you played on a team. Ellis had one pro bowl year, Larry Allen had SIX times that many (and I am just counting his pro bowl honors during 2K decade). Even if you begrudge his last 2 trips to the pro bowl, LA was clearly the more dominant player. CLEARLY.

 

[JPostSam]

what?!

how did they leave tank johnson and bobby carpenter off this list?!

 

[LeonDixson]

I'd move Woodson higher on the list. Maybe switch places with Roy Williams.

 

[Vintage]

I realize Larry had some fall off in the 2000s.. but seriously?

Behind Ellis?

ghey.

 

[dadymat]

1-Romo
2-Ware
3-Witten
4-LA
5-D Wood
6-Flozell
7-T.O. this pains me to say
8-Ellis
9-Roy
10-T New

 

[fgoodwin]

And, remember, before Tony took over as quarterback, Witten was a glorified offensive lineman who blocked for Bledslow.

Witten is a great player, but he owes a huge debt to Tony Romo.

I like your assessment of Romo, but I think you should give Bledsoe more credit; Witten has made the Pro Bowl every year since 2004; here are his numbers with Bledsoe throwing to him (of course half of his '06 numbers result from Romo):

Year / rec / yds / avg / TDs / Longest / Rec per gm / Yds per gm

2004 87 980 11.3 6 42 5.4 61.3
2005 66 757 11.5 6 34 4.1 47.3
2006 64 754 11.8 1 42 4.0 47.1

'04 was Witten's 2nd best season so far, behind only his monster '07 season:

2007 96 1145 11.9 7 53 6.0 71.6
2008 81 952 11.8 4 42 5.1 59.5

 

[johnny utah]

No way Roy should be so high up.
Of course T.O made plays and put up huge numbers but by the way Tony is playing turnover free ball now and looking so much more comfortable without him he shouldn't be anywhere near this list with his drama.

 

[Jon88]

1-Romo
2-Ware
3-Witten
4-LA
5-D Wood
6-Flozell
7-T.O. this pains me to say
8-Ellis
9-Roy
10-T New

That's more like it.

And Ellis never proved to be a better pick than Moss as the writer says.

 

[WoodysGirl]

Top 10 Cowboys of the decade
December, 22, 2009 Dec 222:52PM ET
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By Matt Mosley

The folks at ESPNDallas.com are allowing you to vote on the top 10 Cowboys of this decade. And before you start, remember that some of the top names that will come to mind -- Larry Allen and Darren Woodson -- actually peaked in the 1990s. Emmitt Smith was gone before the '03 season began and All-Pro Safety Darren Woodson suffered a back injury heading into the '04 season.

Here's the top 10 list that ESPNDallas.com compiled, which is complemented by a stunning slideshow. I was not consulted on this list and that gives me full license to poke holes in it. Outside linebacker DeMarcus Ware topped the list. He's only in his fifth season, but he's emerged as one of the most dynamic pass-rushers in the league. The secret panel gave Bill Parcells the seal of approval by ranking Jason Witten, Flozell Adams and Tony Romo Nos. 2-4. Romo and Witten were in the same rookie class of '03. I guess you can reward Adams for his longevity, but I only recall him being truly dominant for one entire season ('03). He's certainly one of the most talented offensive tackles of the past two decades but there's a feeling that he's never risen to his immense potential.

I would move Romo and defensive end Greg Ellis in front of Adams. The ESPNDallas.com panel currently has Ellis at No. 7. They have Roy Williams at No. 5 and I think that's entirely too high. He was a Pro Bowl worthy safety in his rookie season in '02 and '03 but he never truly recovered from the loss of Woodson. Williams was once one of the most feared defensive players in the game, but that flame went out out pretty quickly.

This might surprise some of you, but I'd actually move T.O. up a spot to No. 5 after I dropped Williams out of the top 10. And I've already moved Jay Ratliff ahead of La'Roi Glover in terms of players of the decade. Glover was a nice player, but he was starting to wind down his career in this decade.

The fact that we're leaning toward a lot of the players Parcells drafted speaks to the fact that he didn't inherit a lot of talent. Larry Allen was obviously on the downside of his career, although he was still dominant at times. Dexter Coakley and Dat Nguyen were really solid players at linebacker but it didn't take Parcells too long to look for bigger players. The one player that ESPNDallas.com should've considered is Andre Gurode. His career nearly flamed out while playing guard but he he became a Pro Bowler at center. I think his name should've been in the mix.

Am I leaving anyone out? Terry Glenn do anything for you guys? And I could make a legitimate argument for Mat McBriar to be in the top 10. He's the best Cowboys punter since Danny White in my opinion.

http://espn.go.com/blog/nfceast/post/_/id/8791/top-10-cowboys-of-the-decade

 

[Eskimo]

I wonder if Ware makes the All-Decade Team.

Can anyone name some candidates at OLB who could be considered better players than him from the last decade?

I feel bad for Ware. He probably was defensive player of the year the last two years but still no recognition for being the best in the league. Then this year playing with a broken foot, a broken wrist and a sprained neck against the 14-0 Saints he comes up with his best game of the year in part-time duty.

 

[cowboyeric8]

Where the heck is Dexter Coakley?

 

[BAT]

1-Romo
2-Ware
3-Witten
4-LA
5-D Wood
6-Flozell
7-T.O. this pains me to say
8-Ellis
9-Roy
10-T New

1-Ware
2-Romo
3-Witten
4-Roy
5-LA
6-T.O.
7-Flo
8-Glover
9-Rat
10-Ellis

*I love Woody, but he doesn't deserve 2K all-decade status, play not dominant enough. Definitely deserving for the 90's though.

**Also tempted to remove Ellis from the list entirely and replace him w/Gurode (even tho I have been one of his biggest critics).

***If Austin has a similar year next year_he pushes his way onto the list.

 

[Jon88]

Where the heck is Dexter Coakley?

He was good but not that good.

 

[dadymat]

1-Ware
2-Romo
3-Witten
4-Roy
5-LA
6-T.O.
7-Flo
8-Glover
9-Rat
10-Ellis

*I love Woody, but he doesn't deserve 2K all-decade status, play not dominant enough. Definitely deserving for the 90's though.

**Also tempted to remove Ellis from the list entirely and replace him w/Gurode (even tho I have been one of his biggest critics).

***If Austin has a similar year next year_he pushes his way onto the list.

i dont hate your list.....but Roy #4 is just silly.....he was punishing hitter for a few years other than that.... not much ...