The Good Ones Who Couldn't

[rcaldw]

Wow.


Just... wow.


Sorry, but LaFleur on his best day (and UNinjured) couldn't hold Witten's jock.


The dude wasn't hurt throughout his entire career. He was a JAG. Plain and simple. And the only reason he reached that height was cuz he was a solid blocker.

Part true and part false. I agree with you that he wasn't as good as Witten. You are just wrong when you say he wasn't hurt throughout his career. Just as he started "getting it" is when his back became an issue. Thus my putting him on my list. And I'll say again, he DID catch 35 passes his 3rd year for 7 TD's and that is when his back problems started. He was out of football after the next year.

 

[Vtwin]

When I was young I remember reading Sports Illustrated before the draft and there was a picture of Troy working out and throwing passes with Tony Gonzalez. He was way gone before our pick, but that could've been a franchise-saving pick. LaFleur was very mediocre. Never showed any signs of, yeah thats a 1st round TE.

We needed (Troy wanted) a TE to replace Novacek. Troy handpicked Lafleur to be his next security blanket.

 

[Vtwin]

Six pages and nobody has mentioned RW 31/38!?

 

[JakeCamp12]

So he has done well. Some people seem to think he could be another TO, or Harrison or the like. He will never be more then a very good #1. Never great or HOF or anything even really close to that. Never as good as Glenn, or really close to him.

I don't think I compared him to Glenn, who is close to a HOF if not one...but compared to the WRs this team has drafted and tried to develop after Irvin, he had true talent and great hands....with a better head, he could have been a great player....

 

[JakeCamp12]

Hey Rack...why are you so salty on LaFluer? Do you still own one of his jerseys?

How is the car coming?

 

[rcaldw]

We needed (Troy wanted) a TE to replace Novacek. Troy handpicked Lafleur to be his next security blanket.

Can I just say, though, that this has been told a little bit incorrectly over the years? People say that Troy picked Lafleur over Gonzalez. Aikman says that isn't true. It was knowing that we weren't going to be able to get Gonzalez that brought Aikman to Lafleur. Everyone knew that Gonzalez was better, including Aikman.

 

[rcaldw]

Six pages and nobody has mentioned RW 31/38!?

I think you raise a good question here. Do you think Roy Williams Safety fits into the category we are discussing?

 

[DavyBaby]

This is pretty obscure, but a lot of dallas players and coaches were predicting big things for Mike Lucky (TE) during traning camp in 2000 before he got hurt in the last preseason game. He ripped his anterior cruciate, posterior cruciate and medial collateral ligaments. -- Never fully came back from that injury.


Just a thought

see: "Young tight end's improvement might be stroke of luck for team." The Dallas Morning News - July 30, 2000

 

[Scranton Tiger]

I think you raise a good question here. Do you think Roy Williams Safety fits into the category we are discussing?

Just because Williams' play has slipped some last year and this before he was hurt doesn't mean he has underachieved. He was outstanding his first five years. Was still pretty decent last season. Don't blame him because he can't cover WRs deep down field. Blame the coaches for putting him in those situations. He's not a corner, he's a strong safety. Even then, he seems to end up in the right place alot more often than he doesn't. Roy has come up with some pretty big game changing picks in his time with Dallas. JMO

 

[Vtwin]

Can I just say, though, that this has been told a little bit incorrectly over the years? People say that Troy picked Lafleur over Gonzalez. Aikman says that isn't true. It was knowing that we weren't going to be able to get Gonzalez that brought Aikman to Lafleur. Everyone knew that Gonzalez was better, including Aikman.

Agreed.

Troy still picked Lafleur as his choice for best TE available though. Unfortunately TE was rapidly becoming the least of our problems by that point.

 

[Biggems]

The other "Woody".

[youtube]MmnAu5pUg8A[/youtube]

This is one of the greatest KO returns I have ever seen. It looked more like a vintage Barry Sanders run, than a KR.


IMO, you have to have Danny White, Erik Williams, Kevin Smith, Leon Lett and Greg Ellis on this list.

Danny just couldn't win the big game and that will always be his stigma. He also had that wrist/hand injury that basically ended his career early. Imagine if he had been able to stay healthy and SF doesn't leapfrog us to get Jerry Rice.......WHOA what a combo that would have been, especially with Herschel and TD in the backfield.

Erik Williams was the best RT I have ever seen. The entire media and league creams itself over the mere mention of Reggie White and his greatness. Williams treated White like an altar boy everytime they met. Williams was so dominant that the NFL had to make a rule just to contain him. Then he got stupid while living the fast life and wrecked his ride. He never fully recovered from his injuries. He could have been a HOFer easy and helped us win more SBs....but oh well.

Kevin Smith was the most underrated CB in the early 90s. He never got his deserved props from the media. Unfortunately, he had the injury and it pretty much ruined him. When he came back, he wasn't the same. The refs attacked him with PI and illegal contact calls.

Leon Lett was great. He was Warren Sapp before Warren Sapp. The Cat was absolutely disruptive and could have been a HOFer. He was unblockable when he didn't want to be blocked. Unfortunately he was a bonehead. When we think of Dallas and Thanksgiving, we think of Leon Lett first. When we think of the 92 SB, we think of Leon Lett. If I am not mistaken, he also got into drugs and that ruined his career. It is sad, cause he sure was a beast.

Greg Ellis was having a monster year, until he broke his leg. He comes back and is solid, but not spectacular. He continues to hold down the fort on his side of the line. Then he gets injured again. He comes back once again. He has flourished greatly under Wade and the 3-4. Just think how awesome would have been had he been in Wade's system his entire career.

 

[rcaldw]

This is pretty obscure, but a lot of dallas players and coaches were predicting big things for Mike Lucky (TE) during traning camp in 2000 before he got hurt in the last preseason game. He ripped his anterior cruciate, posterior cruciate and medial collateral ligaments. -- Never fully came back from that injury.


Just a thought

see: "Young tight end's improvement might be stroke of luck for team." The Dallas Morning News - July 30, 2000

Wow, good job.

 

[Scranton Tiger]

Greg Ellis was having a monster year, until he broke his leg. He comes back and is solid, but not spectacular. He continues to hold down the fort on his side of the line. Then he gets injured again. He comes back once again. He has flourished greatly under Wade and the 3-4. Just think how awesome would have been had he been in Wade's system his entire career.

Imagine how great he could be/could have been if he didn't find something to ***** about EVERY training camp. Someone is always out to get him whether it was Parcells, Wade, Jerreh, Anthony Spencer, etc. Someone is always trying to run him out of Dallas (Sarcasm). The single most paranoid player I think the Cowboys have ever had.

 

[Vtwin]

I think you raise a good question here. Do you think Roy Williams Safety fits into the category we are discussing?

It's clear to me that the story of RW has two chapters up until now.

Old Roy who hit everything and everything and had any receiver running across the middle thinking hard about his career choice.

New Roy who seems to have forgotten how to wrap up and who always leads with the same shoulder and seems tentative in doing so. We won't even talk about his coverage issues.

It might be early to say for sure but I'm willing to step out on the limb and say that if RW's career with the Cowboys ends this year he would have to be considered near the top of the list. His draft position and contract should bring us a team leader and top tier player at his position. Currently, even after a very encouraging start, we have none of that from RW.

The fact that this defense is playing as well as it has in many years without him doesn't help his case any.

What caused this turn-around is curious because it seemed to happen almost overnight. Injury? Philosophical shift in attitude? Loss of hunger after the payday?

I don't know.

 

[links18]

This is pretty obscure, but a lot of dallas players and coaches were predicting big things for Mike Lucky (TE) during traning camp in 2000 before he got hurt in the last preseason game. He ripped his anterior cruciate, posterior cruciate and medial collateral ligaments. -- Never fully came back from that injury.


Just a thought

see: "Young tight end's improvement might be stroke of luck for team." The Dallas Morning News - July 30, 2000

I remember Emmitt talking up Mike Lucky in an interview once....