Video: MNF 1996 Green Bay Packers

[plymkr]

OJ Santiago was the player I believe.

Yeah, that's him. I couldn't get his name, I just knew he was a waste of a 4th round pick.

I forgot that we beat the 49ers the week before or earlier in the season. That season was weird. We were declining but we beat the packers and the Patriots without scoring a TD in either game and both of those teams went to the super bowl. We beat the niners, thanks to Elvis Grback, or however you spell his name.

Looking back now, I think I am happy we lost to Carolina in the playoffs instead of the Packers. The Packers lost to their most hated rivals in the regular season but went on to win the super bowl. It still bothers Packer fans to this day that they did not beat Dallas in that super bowl season.

Ahh, the memories. I'm so glad Switzer is not our coach.

 

[plymkr]

That team was toast. I can't imagine the frustration Aikman felt from being a part of that train wreck.

He didn't look like he was having any fun. That game was a huge NFC swing game and you could not tell we won by the look on his face. It was almost like he was emotionally relieved after the games were done in '95, 96 and 97. Like a person who has a stressful job and then when the presentation or whatever is over it's on to the next project, no joy in what he was doing. Or at least no outward showing of joy. I remember even after we won the super bowl the year before Aikman seemed happier the season was over than winning the super bowl.

You can say one thing about Romo, he is a lot funner to watch than Aikman was, not saying Romo is better because they are two different types of QB's but Romo has been more entertaining.

 

[windward]

In fairness, the Packers were starting street-level free agents at wide receiver in that game. Moose admitted, if the Cowboys had beaten the Panthers, they would've gotten destroyed in Green Bay.

Without Irvin and Deion? Sure.

If those guys were playing, Dallas would have had a real chance of beating Green Bay in Lambeau.

 

[Gameover]

In fairness, the Packers were starting street-level free agents at wide receiver in that game. Moose admitted, if the Cowboys had beaten the Panthers, they would've gotten destroyed in Green Bay.

They barely beat Carolina. If the Pats could've stopped Howard they could've won the SB.

 

[Gameover]

5. Irvin hugging Switzer repeatedly after the brawl and cradling his head is just not something a real head coach tolerates. The team was done.

Moronic.

There was no brawl btw. Not 1 punch thrown much less a brawl.

The crap about Barry losing the the team is moronic as well. He lost his team all the way to a divisional playoff game loss?

http://www.footballoutsiders.com/stats/teameff1996

 

[Gameover]

We definitely would have. Brooks, Rison, and Freeman would have shredded our secondary and we didn't have the offense to match it. It's hard to score touchdowns with Kevin Williams and Eric Bjornson as your starters.

Cowboys defense was better in 96 than it was in 95.

 

[J_Allen]

8. The decline of Kevin Smith cb. He was never the same after his injury.

No he wasn't. Freak injury.

Notice the car accident didn't happen to Williams until after Jimmy left. That one was preventable. Barry just let the players run wild.

He didn't look like he was having any fun. That game was a huge NFC swing game and you could not tell we won by the look on his face. It was almost like he was emotionally relieved after the games were done in '95, 96 and 97. Like a person who has a stressful job and then when the presentation or whatever is over it's on to the next project, no joy in what he was doing. Or at least no outward showing of joy. I remember even after we won the super bowl the year before Aikman seemed happier the season was over than winning the super bowl.

You can say one thing about Romo, he is a lot funner to watch than Aikman was, not saying Romo is better because they are two different types of QB's but Romo has been more entertaining.

That's a good analogy. Aikman was indeed a perfectionist. He said the attention to detail wasn't there after Barry took over. He never seemed happy with Barry, and I don't blame him.

 

[chagus]

I would like @chagus right this second were he/she to post in this thread for his impeccable respect to yours truly

You're welcome.

 

[tyke1doe]

5. Irvin hugging Switzer repeatedly after the brawl and cradling his head is just not something a real head coach tolerates. The team was done.

Irvin was cradling Switzer's head?

 

[tyke1doe]

It was incredible how poorly we drafted. I have to wonder what a real head coach would have done with this team. Gailey briefly brought us back to life but it was short lived. I firmly believe the nail in the coffin was signing Deion. The locker room chemistry and discipline went right out the window. Not to mention all the players we couldn't sign.

The nail in the coffin was losing Jimmy Johnson. I don't think the Niners would have beaten the Cowboys even with Deion in San Francisco.

The Cowboys became an undisciplined squad after Jimmy left. On talent alone, they should have beaten the Niners in Candlestick Park during the 95 NFC Championship Game. But they had three turnovers on the opening three series and that proved too much to overcome - though they almost did.

 

[tyke1doe]

Who cares what they think. There's nothing wrong with looking back and reliving memories, seeing old players, and dissecting how the team functioned back then. This isn't a Super Bowl 30 thread.

It's the offseason. There's not much to talk about and you're here trying to hijack threads and worry about other teams fans.

With all due respect, you took offense to his initial comment - which had nothing to do with other fans.

If you're going to start a thread, don't be so thin-skinned that you can't take a little criticism.

Just saying.

 

[tyke1doe]

Thanks for posting this game. I'm the type that likes to go back and watch old games like this. I appreciate it.

Watching this and especially the brawl at the end. Which I think Reggie White did over react a little. I mean if Bonoil has a shot to get a record, I would say let him try, it's not like we faked it and ran it in for a touchdown or something. But watching the brawl made me like Garrett a little more. I'm not a huge Garrett guy but one thing everyone could agree, I hope, is that Garrett has the team. Because I agree with you with Deion strutting off and Irvin holding Switzer's head and the blank look of Aikman. The fight was a symbolic microcosm of the Switzer Cowboys. Switzer had no control, Irvin was holding his head just as he and Deion symbolically held his hand through the media. Deion is strutting around cuz he shut down an injured receiving corps, Switzer was defensive and unclassy and the perfectionist/control freak Aikman shut off his emotions.

I liked Reggie White as a player and a man, but I agree with you. I thought he overreacted also. Boniol was going for a record. I can't sweat Switzer making that call.

Deion is strutting around cuz he shut down an injured receiving corps,

This comment made me

 

[tyke1doe]

Ahh, the memories. I'm so glad Switzer is not our coach.

Switzer was a joke but symbolic of why the Cowboys have never returned to glory. Jerry Jones wanted a puppet, a coach just happy to coach the Dallas Cowboys while Jerry interferes in the football side of the organization.

But what you get is coaches like Switzer and Campo and Phillips - guys who are nice but just can't instill that "something" you need to take your team to the next level.

Parcells got us back on track, but Jerry did to him the same thing he did to Switzer (but Switzer accepted it) by signing Terrell Owens and undermining everything Parcells was trying to accomplish with his "team" concept.

The lack of a strong coach who knows what he's doing and can tell Jerry "No" like Jimmy and Bill did was/is at the heart of why we are a very undisciplined team.

But I'm hoping that can change. You know the broken clock adage.

 

[tyke1doe]

No he wasn't. Freak injury.

Notice the car accident didn't happen to Williams until after Jimmy left. That one was preventable. Barry just let the players run wild.




That's a good analogy. Aikman was indeed a perfectionist. He said the attention to detail wasn't there after Barry took over. He never seemed happy with Barry, and I don't blame him.

I think he also said in so many words that Deion was a cancer to team discipline. Deion was super talented, and he could get away with being lazy. But the other guys who weren't as talented followed his example.

But I don't blame Deion in as much as I blame the coach and the owner. Switzer was just along for the ride. Jerry is the one who set the tone so the buck stops with him.

 

[Super_Kazuya]

On the bright side, this was better than the game we played against them the next season where they beat the tar out of us and had clearly surpassed us as a better, hungrier team. Ultimately this just ended up being one of their bumps in the road and IIRC might have been the last game they lost that year.

 

[plymkr]

Switzer was a joke but symbolic of why the Cowboys have never returned to glory. Jerry Jones wanted a puppet, a coach just happy to coach the Dallas Cowboys while Jerry interferes in the football side of the organization.

But what you get is coaches like Switzer and Campo and Phillips - guys who are nice but just can't instill that "something" you need to take your team to the next level.

Parcells got us back on track, but Jerry did to him the same thing he did to Switzer (but Switzer accepted it) by signing Terrell Owens and undermining everything Parcells was trying to accomplish with his "team" concept.

The lack of a strong coach who knows what he's doing and can tell Jerry "No" like Jimmy and Bill did was/is at the heart of why we are a very undisciplined team.

But I'm hoping that can change. You know the broken clock adage.

I couldn't agree more, well said.

 

[plymkr]

The nail in the coffin was losing Jimmy Johnson. I don't think the Niners would have beaten the Cowboys even with Deion in San Francisco.

The Cowboys became an undisciplined squad after Jimmy left. On talent alone, they should have beaten the Niners in Candlestick Park during the 95 NFC Championship Game. But they had three turnovers on the opening three series and that proved too much to overcome - though they almost did.

I still can't watch highlights of that game and it's been twenty years. That was probably the hardest loss for me to swallow as a fan. I hated the niners so much back then.

 

[tyke1doe]

I still can't watch highlights of that game and it's been twenty years. That was probably the hardest loss for me to swallow as a fan. I hated the niners so much back then.

I can't watch it either. That's "The Catch" material to me. I don't care how many times they play the 82 (I think) Cowboys vs. Niners championship game, I still can't watch it.

 

[J_Allen]

I still can't watch highlights of that game and it's been twenty years. That was probably the hardest loss for me to swallow as a fan. I hated the niners so much back then.

It still bugs me. It was just sad.

 

[Nav22]

I remember this game. The brawl started because we kicked a FG at the end just so Chris Boniol could tie the record for most FGs in a game.