He would've been an all-time great, but for

[DFWJC]

Randy Gregory

 

[DFWJC]

Randy Gregory

Matt Johnson

 

[Screw The Hall]

Did anybody say 'Quincy Carter' yet?

Too obvious.

 

[DFWJC]

The tragic flaw for this player was the front office (Jerry Jones) failure to recognize a talented player they actually drafted, and subsequently waived quickly in 2 years.

The player that got away, and still was an all-time great.
But for his leg injury, emergency appendectomy (in which a preseason hit was a contributing factor), & Jerry Jones denying him his salary claiming that the appendectomy was a non-football condition, this player could have been a valuate asset for the Boys.

Jimmy Smith.

Good one.
That guy was outstanding

But he DID have great career
Dude had more career yards than Mike Irvin
Cant imagi e thise two paired up.

 

[BAT]

Todd Christiansen
Brian Waters
Randy Moss

Cowboys let them go/refused to draft at last minute and they went on to be all time greats on other teams.

Harvey Martin
Chuck Howley
Cliff Harris
Darren Woodson

They ARE all time greats, just not recognized as such yet.

 

[Screw The Hall]

If not for "the trade" Hershel Walker probably has a jacket.

 

[Ranching]

If it wasn't for not winning more playoff games........Tony Romo.
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" an NFC championship game.......Danny White.

 

[Vanilla2]

That running back that Parcells ruined.

#21.

I can't remember his name.

I think he could've been special

 

[xwalker]

As is my norm for longer than I care to admit, I often get caught up in watching massive quantities of nostalgic Cowboys footage during the offseason, whether it be old games OR highlight reels from NFL films, etc. I am sure many of you can relate.

This week, I rewatched for the umpteenth time The Great Wall of Dallas - by far one of the best segments of that SB era as it captured the essence of the team's success and the 90's dynasty's true identity...and frankly their style of play gives hope for our current squad's potential success (i.e., multiple championships on the back of the the NFL's best offensive line). I LOVE ME SOME SMASH MOUTH FOOTBALL!!!

During the segment, Michael Irvin commented on Erik Williams and the auto accident he suffered after the 93 SB season which likely robbed us of a 3rd straight SB the following season...anyone remembering that 94 NFC championship game should recall the beating Troy took due to a woefully depleted Oline not only missing Big E but also suffering from a Larry Allen injury that SF exploited throughout the contest - it thwarted our comeback in my view. That accident also ended Big E's dominance as the game's best tackle - he was never the same player after that incident. As an aside, that's another unfortunate similarity between that 90's team and today's...knuckleheads doing stupid off-field BS...although the 90's team was arguably much worse.

Mike went on to state that, BUT FOR his injury, Erik Williams would have gone down as one of the greatest offensive linemen to ever play and a certain first ballot HOF'er...I certainly agree with that assessment.

Which leads me to my question: what other Cowboy players most stand out to you in that category (i.e., potential all-time great but for an injury, off-field issue, tragic flaw, etc) and why?

To get the discussion flowing...these players also come to mind for me:

1) Duane Thomas
2) Hollywood Henderson

If not for the accident:
1. EW likely in the HOF before LA.

2. Dallas likely wins the Super Bowl in 94.

3. Tyron still not considered as good as EW in terms of Cowboys OTs.

I've always blamed the loss on not having EW. I've always blamed the car crash on not having Jimmy to keep those guys in control. They somehow partied but did it within some boundaries when Jimmy was here. Once he was gone all heck broke loose.

 

[JBS]

Justin Beriault

 

[GORICO]

Randy Gregory---- And the book is not closed on him yet...i still believe his career is not over and not over in Dallas....I think he makes his way back on the club next
year...but if not for his weed smoking he would have been coming on strong now...he got a sack against Philly last year..one of the two games he got to play and he
was not even in shape to really play yet...yes Erik Williams is one of the big ones too...

 

[Vanilla2]

That running back that Parcells ruined.

#21.

I can't remember his name.

I think he could've been special

Julius Jones

 

[Yakuza Rich]

Felix Jones comes to mind. Maybe not an all-time great, but a very dynamic Westbrook type of player. Get him 8-10 carries 5-10 catches, let him do returns and he could have been a very tough player to defend. Something tells me if he was with Belichick he would be used in this fashion and be a headache for teams. Instead, we forgot to use him at random times...particularly when the offense was struggling, then we would overuse him and then we tried to bulk him up and make him a starter taking away his return ability and sapping his quickness.

Well played.

I think Woody Dantzler could have been an all time great returner. I think it was logical to think he could play RB, but it didn't pan out. Then he went to the Falcons to play, of all things...safety. And there were people here that wanted Dan Reeves to join the Cowboys' front office.

I would also add Al Johnson to the mix. He was looking like a great center in camp, but had microfracture surgery and was never the same. He was another Wisconsin center that has had so much success in the NFL.

In reality, it's probably hard to miss out on a great player. But, it's more about players that didn't meet their potential. Good players that had every right to be great. Marginal players that had every right to be very good. Busts that could have been very productive starters.





YR

 

[Ranching]

Julius Jones

Julius, Julius Joooones, Julius Jones, Julius Jones, Julius Jones, he had a thing....going on. I remember singing that when he had a huge game back then. Lol

 

[dallasdave]

Randy Gregory

 

[Swanny]

I know it's not a former Cowboy but I really think Marcus Lattimore would have been an all time great RB if it wasn't for that horrific knee injury

 

[visionary]

Romo would be known as an all time great but for Garrett

 

[Swanny]

Is it fair to say Roger Staubach is underappreciated in all time QB ranking because of his Military duties? I wasn't alive then but it seems like if he played straight out of college he would be the best QB ever to play this game. Because of it he is a top 10 all time by some. I know he's the face of the Cowboys and always should be but I feel like he is underappreciated still.

 

[robbieruff]

If not for the accident:
1. EW likely in the HOF before LA.

2. Dallas likely wins the Super Bowl in 94.

3. Tyron still not considered as good as EW in terms of Cowboys OTs.

I've always blamed the loss on not having EW. I've always blamed the car crash on not having Jimmy to keep those guys in control. They somehow partied but did it within some boundaries when Jimmy was here. Once he was gone all heck broke loose.

Indeed...in the "A Football Life" on Jimmy Johnson (watched it as well recently...yeah, I miss football...lol), both Troy and Michael discussed winning a minimum of 5 SB's had he stayed...Big E was one of the first casualties of that debacle. Couldn't agree more with your other points.

 

[robbieruff]

If it wasn't for not winning more playoff games........Tony Romo.
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" an NFC championship game.......Danny White.

In my view, both were bitten by somewhat self-inflicted wounds but neither received any favors in terms of the quality of our drafting during their tenures.