Harper averaged 20 ypc

[LocimusPrime]

Oh and happy bday Alvin!

 

[BotchedLobotomy]

He should have stayed with the Cowboys where he belonged. Harper's career was 75% Aikman / 25% Harper

 

[PA Cowboy Fan]

I loved Alvin when he was with the Cowboys. He and Irvin made a great team. He should have stayed.

 

[LocimusPrime]

 

[AbeBeta]

124 career receptions in Dallas

Yet people talk about him like he was awesome.

He was OK

 

[thisiscowboyscountry]

We often complain about Williams, but he was a 3rd round pick that has out produced Alvin Harper in his first 4 seasons. Harper was the 12th overall pick in the 91 draft and produced a whopping 124 catches and 18 tds. Harper had some memorable plays with the Cowboys, but I largerly consider him one of the most overrated players in Cowboys history. For such a high draft pick we should have gotten a lot more, but he was pretty one dimensional outside of his speed.

 

[conner01]

He should have stayed with the Cowboys where he belonged. Harper's career was 75% Aikman / 25% Harper

A big part of his success goes to the wr on the other side and the run game too
He was in the right place at the right time and had the perfect skill set to fit in the offense
He was never an elite player but he fit well and made some nice plays because of those around hin

 

[Super_Kazuya]

Different game they played then... but Harper was definitely a YPC machine. He falls just short of meeting the minimum number of catches, otherwise he would be top 25 in NFL history. Even then, since 1991 (Harper's first season) no NFL receiver has since caught more career passes than him with a greater career YPC. Desean Jackson and a few others have come close.

 

[Plankton]

In his last game as a Cowboy, Harper went 1 catch for 14 yards. When they needed him the most, he was nowhere to be found.

As a point of reference, Michael Irvin went 12 catches for 192 yards and 2 TDs in the same game - when largely being double teamed by Eric Davis and a safety.

 

[links18]

Harper was a weapon; so pissed to see him go to Tampa Bay and have to deal with the likes of Kevin Williams, Stepfret Williams, Anthony Miller, Billy Davis and Ernie Mills at the #2 spot for the next like 6 years.

 

[links18]

In his last game as a Cowboy, Harper went 1 catch for 14 yards. When they needed him the most, he was nowhere to be found.

As a point of reference, Michael Irvin went 12 catches for 192 yards and 2 TDs in the same game - when largely being double teamed by Eric Davis and a safety.

That's when SF played mind games with him and put Deion on him to start the game.

 

[JJHLH1]

My all-time favorite Cowboys play was Aikman's slant to Harper against San Francisco in the 1993 NFC Championship game.

 

[Plankton]

That's when SF played mind games with him and put Deion on him to start the game.

They didn't play mind games - they put their best cover guy on him, and he disappeared. Harper's career largely ended in that game. He went 46 for 633 in Tampa the next year, and was a non-entity from that point.

 

[links18]

They didn't play mind games - they put their best cover guy on him, and he disappeared. Harper's career largely ended in that game. He went 46 for 633 in Tampa the next year, and was a non-entity from that point.

What you write is true, but its also true that our offense wasn't quite the same after Harper left. We spent the rest of the 90s chasing a #2 receiver and it never quite panned out.

 

[Bullflop]

What you write is true, but its also true that our offense wasn't quite the same after Harper left. We spent the rest of the 90s chasing a #2 receiver and it never quite panned out.

That's true. Whoever played opposite Michael Irvin wasn't about to have very many passes thrown his way.

Harper was something of an enigma. He tended to drop the easy passes and easily caught the tough ones.

 

[MarkP88]

Airman to Harper in the '92 NFC Championship Game is probably my favorite post-Staubach era play. I still get chills watching the replay.

 

[robbieruff]

He should have stayed with the Cowboys where he belonged. Harper's career was 75% Aikman / 25% Harper

Don't forget the 50% Irvin. Yeah. I know. More than 100% but work with me here.

 

[robbieruff]

Airman to Harper in the '92 NFC Championship Game is probably my favorite post-Staubach era play. I still get chills watching the replay.

I was at the Stick when it happened. Near that endzone side of the field. I literally almost passed out!

 

[AbeBeta]

What you write is true, but its also true that our offense wasn't quite the same after Harper left. We spent the rest of the 90s chasing a #2 receiver and it never quite panned out.

Right. That had nothing to do with crap coaching, 22 in decline, OL attrition, or any other factors.

We only win ONE Superbowl after he left! Losing Harper destroyed this team.

 

[rpntex]

124 career receptions in Dallas

Yet people talk about him like he was awesome.

He was OK

In all fairness, he was the #4 option in that Dallas offense, behind Irvin, Novacek, and Emmit. The fact that he still averaged 40 receptions per season is kind of remarkable, considering that Troy only averaged around 20–25 pass attempts per game.

it's really similar to Terrance Williams' situation now. He's not the #2 option, but people have the expectations of a #2 WR for him.

Harper, like Williams, was in an ideal complementary receiver to Michael Irvin.