Shake_Tiller
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The Ice Bowl is the first football game I recall in any meaningful detail. The inevitability of the Packers’ winning drive to a QB sneak and a touchdown still pains me. In those days, the emotions following the loss of a game were deepest in a child, I think. Things seem different now. There wasn’t any Madden Football then.
I lived through the Dave Manders fumble recovery that wasn’t (at least in the eyes of the officials), the result of which was a crushing loss in the Cowboys’ first Super Bowl appearance, when the phrase “Next Year’s Champions” conjured its deepest shame. Those who cringe now at the divisional playoff losses must realize how much pressure was on Tom Landry when the “big game” losses were piled to the point a book would even be written called “Next Year’s Champions.” And yet it was.
I lived through the interference call against Benny Barnes that went a long way in deciding Super Bowl XIII. There was the “no call” on Deion’s arm bar of Irvin in the 1994 NFC championship. And of course there was the Dez Bryant catch that wasn’t.
There also is this interesting fact – twice in Super Bowl games (Miami in Super Bowl VI and Pittsburgh in Super Bowl X) the Cowboys’ opponent was not penalized a single time. Buffalo was penalized once against Dallas in Super Bowl XXVIII. In both of the former two games, the Cowboys were penalized minimally (two penalties against Dallas in SB VI, three in SB X). But it is still rather striking that zero penalties were called against Dallas opponents in two different Super Bowls, and that collectively, in three Super Bowls, opponents were flagged a single time.
Beyond that, the Cowboys are tied for the dubious honor of being called for the most penalties in a Super Bowl (12 versus Denver in SB XII) and were penalized 10 times versus Baltimore in SB V. Thus Dallas has the distinction of holding two of the top 5 positions in “most penalties” in a SB.
If you prefer a yardage scale, the Cowboys hold the unfortunate record for penalty yards in a SB (133 yards versus Baltimore in SB V).
Thus it has always amused me when fans of other teams claim the Cowboys enjoy the benefit of biased officiating. If the league’s officials favor the Cowboys – or ever have – they have an odd way of demonstrating their love.
I also find it interesting that these heavily penalized Cowboys teams were coached by Landry, one of the game’s great detail guys. Perhaps we should recall these facts before blaming the current coaches for penalties the Cowboys have committed in recent “big games.”
Of course, the Cowboys have also benefited from controversial calls and “no calls.” Vikings and Lions fans will stand up to make their case. But Dallas certainly has evidence available to support a claim that the officials have done the franchise few favors.
From a 1993 article in the Baltimore Sun – “The ball came right to me," Manders recalled in an interview. "I was all by myself in this little space. Nobody was even around me so there was no judgment call about whether one player had more of the ball than the other guy.
"Billy Ray Smith [Colts veteran defensive tackle] jumped on my back and started yelling, 'I've got the ball; I've got the ball.' Without hesitation, [official] Jack Fette turned and signaled, 'First down, Baltimore.'
"I handed Fette the ball. Craig Morton and I argued, but he told us, 'One more word and you two are out of the game.' "
I lived through the Dave Manders fumble recovery that wasn’t (at least in the eyes of the officials), the result of which was a crushing loss in the Cowboys’ first Super Bowl appearance, when the phrase “Next Year’s Champions” conjured its deepest shame. Those who cringe now at the divisional playoff losses must realize how much pressure was on Tom Landry when the “big game” losses were piled to the point a book would even be written called “Next Year’s Champions.” And yet it was.
I lived through the interference call against Benny Barnes that went a long way in deciding Super Bowl XIII. There was the “no call” on Deion’s arm bar of Irvin in the 1994 NFC championship. And of course there was the Dez Bryant catch that wasn’t.
There also is this interesting fact – twice in Super Bowl games (Miami in Super Bowl VI and Pittsburgh in Super Bowl X) the Cowboys’ opponent was not penalized a single time. Buffalo was penalized once against Dallas in Super Bowl XXVIII. In both of the former two games, the Cowboys were penalized minimally (two penalties against Dallas in SB VI, three in SB X). But it is still rather striking that zero penalties were called against Dallas opponents in two different Super Bowls, and that collectively, in three Super Bowls, opponents were flagged a single time.
Beyond that, the Cowboys are tied for the dubious honor of being called for the most penalties in a Super Bowl (12 versus Denver in SB XII) and were penalized 10 times versus Baltimore in SB V. Thus Dallas has the distinction of holding two of the top 5 positions in “most penalties” in a SB.
If you prefer a yardage scale, the Cowboys hold the unfortunate record for penalty yards in a SB (133 yards versus Baltimore in SB V).
Thus it has always amused me when fans of other teams claim the Cowboys enjoy the benefit of biased officiating. If the league’s officials favor the Cowboys – or ever have – they have an odd way of demonstrating their love.
I also find it interesting that these heavily penalized Cowboys teams were coached by Landry, one of the game’s great detail guys. Perhaps we should recall these facts before blaming the current coaches for penalties the Cowboys have committed in recent “big games.”
Of course, the Cowboys have also benefited from controversial calls and “no calls.” Vikings and Lions fans will stand up to make their case. But Dallas certainly has evidence available to support a claim that the officials have done the franchise few favors.
From a 1993 article in the Baltimore Sun – “The ball came right to me," Manders recalled in an interview. "I was all by myself in this little space. Nobody was even around me so there was no judgment call about whether one player had more of the ball than the other guy.
"Billy Ray Smith [Colts veteran defensive tackle] jumped on my back and started yelling, 'I've got the ball; I've got the ball.' Without hesitation, [official] Jack Fette turned and signaled, 'First down, Baltimore.'
"I handed Fette the ball. Craig Morton and I argued, but he told us, 'One more word and you two are out of the game.' "