Jan 1994, The Perfect Half

[Royal Laegotti]

My favorite play was when Emmitt scored on a short pass, basically walking into the endzone completely untouched.

Brad Sham called it "the parting of the red sea."

 

[yimyammer]

I was at that game and I don't remember a louder, more into the game crowd. Everyone (at least as far as I could see--I was around the 50, 25 rows up) stood up the entire game.

There was so much pent up hate toward the Niners for having to watch "the catch" all those years that even beating them the year before hadn't quenched our thirst for revenge.

 

[panchucko]

Emmitt, that is why Troy doesn't own all of the Cowboys passing records, it wasn't because he couldn't, it was because he didn't have to.

 

[dbair1967]

My favorite play was when Emmitt scored on a short pass, basically walking into the endzone completely untouched.

That was sweet.

Norval could draw up some pass plays. There were several sweet play designs to uncover Emmitt in that game (and the yr before when we beat them too)

 

[Brian_C82]

The only downside of that 90's team was that the Super Bowls they played in were downright boring. The NFC Championship Game was the last real game of the season.

 

[dbair1967]

More thoughts:

1) What a difference in attitudes Jimmy Johnson had towards special teams compared to this regime's. Johnson would specifically sign guys that were only good at special teams (once our roster got loaded). Guys like Joe Fishback, Elvis Patterson and Matt Vanderbeek basically had no other roles other than special teams. Of course we still had Bill Bates and Kenny Gant was probably the best special teams ace in the league too. Look what a difference in coverage though. Rarely did the other team get beyond the 20-25 yd line, even with 500 yr old Eddie Murray doing the kickoffs. (Not knocking Murray, he was freaking amazing that yr on field goals).

2) One thing that stands out on defense is the tackling. That team didnt miss tackles. It just didnt happen. Our CB's and safeties were all tremendous tacklers in the open field.

3) One of my favorite plays from those years happened in that game, and it rarely gets mentioned. Ricky Watters caught an outlet pass and Dixon Edwards came up and just destroyed him, knocking him a good 7-8 yds backwards. Next week in Atlanta we were hanging out at the team hotel and met Edwards, who was a great guy. We caught him off guard by yelling "great hit on Watters!!!"...he couldnt believe it (that anyone remembered, because we had so many great players). I got my mini helmet signed that night by several guys, including Edwards, Darrin Smith and Larry Brown.

4) We were a couple of tips of the ball or bounces another way from beating the Niners by 5 or 6 tds in that game. And the last Niners TD should have never happened, Brown got called for an awful 15yd penalty for hitting Steve Young after he was down, but Young didnt slide. We nearly got 2 or 3 other picks on him that day too.

What a team that was. They dont make em like the 92-93 Cowboys anymore, and never will.

 

[dbair1967]

The only downside of that 90's team was that the Super Bowls they played in were downright boring. The NFC Championship Game was the last real game of the season.

I had no problem with the way those Super Bowls played out.

When your a fan of the team that wins, the more you win by the merrier.

 

[Apollo Creed]

Just got done reading the Pearlman book. With all that said.

Jimmy didn't want Troy Aikman.
Thought Emmitt was pretty ordinary and wanted a more flashy back.
And wanted to cut Michael Irvin.

Any validity to those claims?

 

[dbair1967]

Just got done reading the Pearlman book. With all that said.

Jimmy didn't want Troy Aikman.
Thought Emmitt was pretty ordinary and wanted a more flashy back.
And wanted to cut Michael Irvin.

Any validity to those claims?

No, no and no.

The Aikman thing is total b/s, he traded up to get Emmitt because he couldnt believe how damn lucky we were to see him still on the board (although admittedly, he was looking for a way to deal up for James rancis or Lamar Lathon when the day started).

It was thought that Johnson drafted Alexander Wright and then Alvin Harper with the idea they'd be the starters, but Irvin showed up for TC in 1991 in tremendous shape, really clicked with Norv Turners offense and stayed healthy, which was really all he was lacking. He had major knee injuries each of his first two rys, and JJ didnt know how he'd recover.

 

[MONT17]

hope u didnt pay for that book...

 

[bbgun]

I also seem to recall a very iffy "late hit" on Jerry Rice, in the 3rd quarter I think.

 

[RoadRunner]

Emmitt, that is why Troy doesn't own all of the Cowboys passing records, it wasn't because he couldn't, it was because he didn't have to.

Jimmy said that Troy could easily have put up Dan Marino type numbers in his prime, but the style that Dallas used at the time was to wear teams out with Emmitt supplemented with a high precision, but conservative passing attack.

 

[Rack]

If Erik Williams didn't get injured in a car accident, he could have gone down as one of the greatest left tackles EVER.

Any tackle who could manhandle Reggie White has to be considered among the elite ever to play the game.

That would have been an absolutely amazing accomplishment... considering he was a RIGHT tackle, not a left tackle.


"He's so good, he's the best ever at a position he never played"

 

[Rack]

That level of concussion would have players out 4-6 weeks now and not even remotely thinking of playing.

He shows up days later and plays, and played pretty good considering he played the game in a fog.

I said it a few weeks ago and I'll say it again. If somehow Troy Aikman in his prime was QB'ing THIS Dallas team, we'd be getting ready to polish off trophy #6.

Just from his leadership alone, really. The passing would be icing on the cake.

But Aikman was a leader. He wasn't "THE" leader of those teams (that was Irvin) but that team had a few of them.

The current team has none.

Tis true.

Looking around the league right now, there's nobody that can throw like Troy did. Not Brady, not Manning, nobody. Nobody has/had that combination of accuracy and arm strength.

That Matt Ryan kid is the closest I've seen to "The next Aikman". Obviously I'm not saying he's in Aikman's class (or ever will be) just that I've seen him complete some passes that really made me think of Aikman. Most QBs nowadays won't even attempt a pass unless the reciever is wide freakin' open. Aikman was so accurate the coverage didn't matter. I've seen Ryan attempt (and complete) a few of thsoe passes this year.

I hope he goes in the tank and turns into a huge bust though cuz I hate the Falcons.

Just got done reading the Pearlman book. With all that said.

Jimmy didn't want Troy Aikman.
Thought Emmitt was pretty ordinary and wanted a more flashy back.
And wanted to cut Michael Irvin.

Any validity to those claims?

Yeah I just read that part. Seemed like a bunch of BS to me.

Jimmy MAY have "Favored" Walsh more (at a certain point in time) but only cuz he was more familiar with him.

Jimmy tried to recruit Emmitt to play for him in Miami, so I'd say he didn't think Emmitt was "ordinary".

And there's no way in hell Jimmy ever wanted to cut Irvin.


Pearlman's book is entertaining (so far) but there's some obvious BS in the book as well.

 

[Aikbach]

I'd like to go back and watch it as the poster suggests, do you have a link or download available?

 

[Aikbach]

This nostalgia is killing me. Now I must break out the DVDs (of games transferred from VHS tape, the format I recorded them on originally).

This game was so special. I had friends of mine that were fans of other teams tell me that they had been just waiting for someone to humiliate the 49ers as they had it coming.

Can you please upload that game for us?

 

[Don Corleone]

Aikman had 3 or 4 big scrambles in the first half alone, and had excellent speed. Also, the distance he cleared on his dropbacks was amazing. Madden even mentions it during this telecast.

I mentioned the same thing a couple of weeks ago when I rewatched the 1992 NFC Champ game. Aikman would survey the field perfectly while dropping back, and boom, the ball was gone when the dropback was completed. None of this standing tall in the pocket, surveying, patting the ball, scrambling around. Drop back to pass and the ball is gone.

Right tackle.

The lack of a two-week buffer before the Super Bowl no doubt contributed to Troy's so-so performance in that game.

Well, yes, but having your contact lenses in backwards doesn't help either. By all accounts, Aikman played the first half of SB 28 with his left contact in his right eye, and vice versa.

 

[RoadRunner]

Can you please upload that game for us?

I don't have the software to pull the video from the DVD. I recorded it from VHS to DVD using a DVD recorder.

Also, I am concerned that I could get in trouble with copyright laws regarding making it publicly available.

You might try ebay though as some game tapes are there for auction from time to time.

 

[Apollo Creed]

Just from his leadership alone, really. The passing would be icing on the cake.

But Aikman was a leader. He wasn't "THE" leader of those teams (that was Irvin) but that team had a few of them.

The current team has none.



That Matt Ryan kid is the closest I've seen to "The next Aikman". Obviously I'm not saying he's in Aikman's class (or ever will be) just that I've seen him complete some passes that really made me think of Aikman. Most QBs nowadays won't even attempt a pass unless the reciever is wide freakin' open. Aikman was so accurate the coverage didn't matter. I've seen Ryan attempt (and complete) a few of thsoe passes this year.

I hope he goes in the tank and turns into a huge bust though cuz I hate the Falcons.




Yeah I just read that part. Seemed like a bunch of BS to me.

Jimmy MAY have "Favored" Walsh more (at a certain point in time) but only cuz he was more familiar with him.

Jimmy tried to recruit Emmitt to play for him in Miami, so I'd say he didn't think Emmitt was "ordinary".

And there's no way in hell Jimmy ever wanted to cut Irvin.


Pearlman's book is entertaining (so far) but there's some obvious BS in the book as well.

Yeah several things have made me scratch my head, I love the Stepnowski quotes though.

Pearlman really makes Emmitt out to be selfish this book, like really obnoxiously selfish. No wonder Emmitt disrespected the **** out of him on Outside the Lines. So far this book is 25% fact and 75 % fiction.

Glad someone bought it for me for Christmas, wouldn't have bought it with my own dough. Especially at $25.00.

 

[Royal Laegotti]

I also seem to recall a very iffy "late hit" on Jerry Rice, in the 3rd quarter I think.

I remember a play in the 1st half where Rice ran a deep route, had the ball in his hands and Larry Brown comes up as the ball gets in Rice's hands and he swats it out and slams Rice to the ground.

Another great play I remember is on a pass from Young it may have been to John Taylor. The pass was deflected in the secondary and goes right into Thomas Everetts hands for the interception. Just before the camera begins to move to follow Everetts return someone, Washington I think, comes and hammers Taylor in the back so hard his face is the first thing that hits the ground, I absolutely loved that. I miss having smart and physical safties like them.

Jimmy and that coaching staff could take oridnary players and turn them into playmakers. Ahhh! The glory days!