CFZ The interesting similarities between Don Meredith and Dak Prescott

[Blast From The Past]

Even though it was before my time how we lost to the Colts in SB V still amazes me.
What a gift we gave them that day....we literally fumbled the game away!

A very unreliable kicker hit the winning fg. So many things went wrong that day

 

[Bobhaze]

Cowboys were also only a 7 year old franchise at that point, the team was put together with lots of scrubs not long removed.

Those ‘66-‘68 teams had 5 Hall of Famers on it:

• Bob Lily
• Bob Hayes
• Mel Renfro
• Chuck Howley
• Rayfield Wright

Plus Ring of Honor members Don Perkins and Don Meredith. They had some All Pro team members in those years too who aren’t in the HOF like T Ralph Neely, TE Frank Clark and DEs Willie Townes and George Andrie.

Those teams had a load of talent.

 

[Bobhaze]

One small correction, Bob.

Cooper Rush is 5-1 the past 3 years.

Thanks MC. I will correct that.

 

[jgboys1]

He would often jump in the air while throwing to get his throws over the outstretched hands of the DL rushers. Landry hated that move and finally forced him to stop.

I remember it. It almost looked like a skyhook in basketball.

 

[Motorola]

That doesn't change the fact he was a much better actor than Prescott. I caught all his episodes on the $6 million man in the 70s.

The very last thing Prescott needs to do is foray into being on tv.
HECK - I don't think he can cut the mustard on doing a studio gig \ analyst on league game broadcasts.

 

[rags747]

Those ‘66-‘68 teams had 5 Hall of Famers on it:

• Bob Lily
• Bob Hayes
• Mel Renfro
• Chuck Howley
• Rayfield Wright

Plus Ring of Honor members Don Perkins and Don Meredith. They had some All Pro team members in those years too who aren’t in the HOF like T Ralph Neely, TE Frank Clark and DEs Willie Townes and George Andrie.

Those teams had a load of talent.

U missed my point, I said that they were only a 7 year old franchise that was put together in 1960 with loads of scrubs. In the Championship games they were a very young franchise that came along pretty dam quickly. They probably had better talent than those GB teams or at least dam close but they were still green behind the ears unlike the Packers They had not yet learned how to win.

 

[CowboyStar88]

That settles it Dak is the best QB ever! Best this franchise has ever seen! SMH the love affair with a guy who can’t win in the playoffs and struggles against teams with winning records. Cringe.

 

[Brax]

In January of 1969, at the age of 31, Don Meredith, the Dallas Cowboys’ first “star” QB shocked the sports world by announcing his retirement. I was 10 years old at the time and remember being shocked that Meredith did that. But much like the current Cowboys QB, Meredith had become unpopular with fans for not getting it done in the playoffs and after numerous injuries he felt his time was up.

In fact, I find it very interesting how similar the situation is today in 2024 to what happened after the Cowboys 1968 early exit from the playoffs

Don Meredith had led those 60s Cowboys from expansion team awful to making the playoffs 3 straight years including two heartbreaking losses to GB in the conference championship games in 1966 at the Cotton Bowl and in the Ice Bowl at Lambeau in 1967. Meredith’s last playoff game in 1968 ended in an embarrassing 31-20 loss to the browns in the first round.

Despite having a very good regular season record as a starter, Meredith ended up 1-3 in the playoffs, his one playoff win being a first round win against the Browns in ‘67 at the Cotton Bowl. In 1968, the Cowboys were 12-2, division winners, had made the playoffs 3 straight years, and looked like they were primed to go to another conference championship game. Then disaster struck in the first round and Meredith became the most polarizing guy wearing a star on his helmet.

Sound familiar?

Look at the similarities between Dak and Don Meredith:

• In 2023, Dak was second team All Pro. In Meredith’s last season in ‘68, he was second team All Pro.
• Meredith led the Cowboys to three straight playoff appearances - 1966, ‘67 and ‘68. But they only won one playoff game in those 3 years. Dak has led the Cowboys to the playoffs 3 straight years, winning only one wild card game in the 2022 season.
• Dak has been an overall excellent QB in the regular season the last 3 seasons, going 31-14 (Cooper Rush was 5-1 in that period when Dak was hurt). Meredith was 26-9 his last 3 seasons as a starter, but again 1-3 in the playoffs.

I don’t think Dak will do what Meredith did at the end of the 1968 season and announce his retirement. There’s too much money on the table for him compared to DM’s day. But if I were in Dak’s shoes, I would want to be traded. Meredith realized that despite it certainly not being all on him that those late 60s Cowboys couldn’t get it done, he did realize that the target on his back would only get larger.

Once the fan base turns on a QB, it becomes extremely difficult for that QB to push the restart button every season. I am NOT one of those that think all we need is a new QB and things will be rosy again. Dak is not as bad as way too many here think. But I do believe like Don Meredith came to realize, sometimes your period as QB of the Cowboys runs out. If I was #4 I would be looking for a new address.

1 big difference Landry had 2 very good QBs behind Don, one good enough to get the team to a SB the other good enough to win it. That has not happened Daks entire career and in fact the GM has ensured that there is not one to compete with Dak. Jerry has placed all his bets on Dak and unfortunately that will continue when he extends Dak, sad but I would be totally shocked if he did anything else as Jerry just will not admit a mistake.

 

[DuncanIso]

In January of 1969, at the age of 31, Don Meredith, the Dallas Cowboys’ first “star” QB shocked the sports world by announcing his retirement. I was 10 years old at the time and remember being shocked that Meredith did that. But much like the current Cowboys QB, Meredith had become unpopular with fans for not getting it done in the playoffs and after numerous injuries he felt his time was up.

In fact, I find it very interesting how similar the situation is today in 2024 to what happened after the Cowboys 1968 early exit from the playoffs

Don Meredith had led those 60s Cowboys from expansion team awful to making the playoffs 3 straight years including two heartbreaking losses to GB in the conference championship games in 1966 at the Cotton Bowl and in the Ice Bowl at Lambeau in 1967. Meredith’s last playoff game in 1968 ended in an embarrassing 31-20 loss to the browns in the first round.

Despite having a very good regular season record as a starter, Meredith ended up 1-3 in the playoffs, his one playoff win being a first round win against the Browns in ‘67 at the Cotton Bowl. In 1968, the Cowboys were 12-2, division winners, had made the playoffs 3 straight years, and looked like they were primed to go to another conference championship game. Then disaster struck in the first round and Meredith became the most polarizing guy wearing a star on his helmet.

Sound familiar?

Look at the similarities between Dak and Don Meredith:

• In 2023, Dak was second team All Pro. In Meredith’s last season in ‘68, he was second team All Pro.
• Meredith led the Cowboys to three straight playoff appearances - 1966, ‘67 and ‘68. But they only won one playoff game in those 3 years. Dak has led the Cowboys to the playoffs 3 straight years, winning only one wild card game in the 2022 season.
• Dak has been an overall excellent QB in the regular season the last 3 seasons, going 31-14 (Cooper Rush was 5-1 in that period when Dak was hurt). Meredith was 26-9 his last 3 seasons as a starter, but again 1-3 in the playoffs.

I don’t think Dak will do what Meredith did at the end of the 1968 season and announce his retirement. There’s too much money on the table for him compared to DM’s day. But if I were in Dak’s shoes, I would want to be traded. Meredith realized that despite it certainly not being all on him that those late 60s Cowboys couldn’t get it done, he did realize that the target on his back would only get larger.

Once the fan base turns on a QB, it becomes extremely difficult for that QB to push the restart button every season. I am NOT one of those that think all we need is a new QB and things will be rosy again. Dak is not as bad as way too many here think. But I do believe like Don Meredith came to realize, sometimes your period as QB of the Cowboys runs out. If I was #4 I would be looking for a new address.

Good stuff man.

 

[RoboQB]

A bit before my time but the historian in me says that
if Dandy Don were to stumble onto the stacked rosters
Dak has had, he would've won three Super Bowls and
the trophy would be named after Landry, not Lombardi.
(Yes, I'm aware there was talent on Meredith's team.)

 

[RS12]

So lets break this down. Meredith three losses in the playoffs. 1966 lose by a TD when Pettis Norman couldn't make it into the end zone last minute. 1967 Ice Bowl loss last second. 1968 lead Cleveland 10 to 3 at half. Played the game with a collapsed lung IIRC. He didn't NOT show up in any of these games.

 

[LACowboysFan1]

with Dak there is no middle ground.

Nonsense. I for one have consistently said that while Dak was a very good qb he has issues that will very possibly prevent Dallas from winning a SB with him at qb. That's while he's not "elite" (whatever that means to somebody) he's not "trash", either.

And there are many others who have said essentially the same thing. Not saying there aren't people here who hold the extreme view of Dak (at either end of the spectrum), many of those say those things just to get a rise out of other posters. All in good fun, you understand, for the most part.

And don't believe everything you read or hear here or elsewhere. Myself, I'm pretty well convinced Stephen A. Smith is secretly a Cowboys fan, but he'd catch so much grief for saying so that he leads people to believe the opposite is true. But that's just my thoughts.

This should be a place for discussion and opinion posting, we're not having one whit of influence on Jerry Jones or the NFL or the rules or the results of any part of the NFL. Life's too short to take places like this so seriously....

 

[LACowboysFan1]

Meredith was one tough hombre.

He played with pneumonia, broken ribs and sprained knees. Unlike some NFL quarterbacks today who get a hangnail and sit out 2 games....

 

[LACowboysFan1]

yes and what does he get for that??
peanut salary, and never gets to play, and if he is closing a game, no passing lol. just hand offs.

Much as I think Dak is a very good quarterback, though probably not championship caliber, if he should leave and Rush takes over the team, he'd be able to win about as many games as Dak this year. Barring Mazi and Tolbert and Bass and Overshown, et al all of a sudden blossoming into Pro Bowlers, the team won't be able to do what it would take to win 12 games again.

Just my opinion, but Rush could be the all-time "bus driver", run a very conservative offense, make very few mistakes, just fall down or throw the ball away if the play isn't going as planned, etc. and still win 8-9 games....

 

[chuck520]

In January of 1969, at the age of 31, Don Meredith, the Dallas Cowboys’ first “star” QB shocked the sports world by announcing his retirement. I was 10 years old at the time and remember being shocked that Meredith did that. But much like the current Cowboys QB, Meredith had become unpopular with fans for not getting it done in the playoffs and after numerous injuries he felt his time was up.

In fact, I find it very interesting how similar the situation is today in 2024 to what happened after the Cowboys 1968 early exit from the playoffs

Don Meredith had led those 60s Cowboys from expansion team awful to making the playoffs 3 straight years including two heartbreaking losses to GB in the conference championship games in 1966 at the Cotton Bowl and in the Ice Bowl at Lambeau in 1967. Meredith’s last playoff game in 1968 ended in an embarrassing 31-20 loss to the browns in the first round.

Despite having a very good regular season record as a starter, Meredith ended up 1-3 in the playoffs, his one playoff win being a first round win against the Browns in ‘67 at the Cotton Bowl. In 1968, the Cowboys were 12-2, division winners, had made the playoffs 3 straight years, and looked like they were primed to go to another conference championship game. Then disaster struck in the first round and Meredith became the most polarizing guy wearing a star on his helmet.

Sound familiar?

Look at the similarities between Dak and Don Meredith:

• In 2023, Dak was second team All Pro. In Meredith’s last season in ‘68, he was second team All Pro.
• Meredith led the Cowboys to three straight playoff appearances - 1966, ‘67 and ‘68. But they only won one playoff game in those 3 years. Dak has led the Cowboys to the playoffs 3 straight years, winning only one wild card game in the 2022 season.
• Dak has been an overall excellent QB in the regular season the last 3 seasons, going 31-14 (Cooper Rush was 5-1 in that period when Dak was hurt). Meredith was 26-9 his last 3 seasons as a starter, but again 1-3 in the playoffs.

I don’t think Dak will do what Meredith did at the end of the 1968 season and announce his retirement. There’s too much money on the table for him compared to DM’s day. But if I were in Dak’s shoes, I would want to be traded. Meredith realized that despite it certainly not being all on him that those late 60s Cowboys couldn’t get it done, he did realize that the target on his back would only get larger.

Once the fan base turns on a QB, it becomes extremely difficult for that QB to push the restart button every season. I am NOT one of those that think all we need is a new QB and things will be rosy again. Dak is not as bad as way too many here think. But I do believe like Don Meredith came to realize, sometimes your period as QB of the Cowboys runs out. If I was #4 I would be looking for a new address.

Tradition of Cowboys fans turning on their QB's goes back to Meredith. He retired because the fans hated him so much after his poor playoff performance.
Danny White was the starter four straight seasons, 1980 1981 1982 1983, posted a 42-15 record, 4 straight playoffs, 3 straight NFC Championship games and he was benched in 1984 because he didnt win a Super Bowl.

 

[chuck520]

Much as I think Dak is a very good quarterback, though probably not championship caliber, if he should leave and Rush takes over the team, he'd be able to win about as many games as Dak this year. Barring Mazi and Tolbert and Bass and Overshown, et al all of a sudden blossoming into Pro Bowlers, the team won't be able to do what it would take to win 12 games again.

Just my opinion, but Rush could be the all-time "bus driver", run a very conservative offense, make very few mistakes, just fall down or throw the ball away if the play isn't going as planned, etc. and still win 8-9 games....

Theres no way Rush could win as many games as Dak, if he was that good he would be a starter somewhere else. Only Cowboys fans root against their team, every other fan base roots for their team.

 

[America's Cowboy]

In January of 1969, at the age of 31, Don Meredith, the Dallas Cowboys’ first “star” QB shocked the sports world by announcing his retirement. I was 10 years old at the time and remember being shocked that Meredith did that. But much like the current Cowboys QB, Meredith had become unpopular with fans for not getting it done in the playoffs and after numerous injuries he felt his time was up.

In fact, I find it very interesting how similar the situation is today in 2024 to what happened after the Cowboys 1968 early exit from the playoffs

Don Meredith had led those 60s Cowboys from expansion team awful to making the playoffs 3 straight years including two heartbreaking losses to GB in the conference championship games in 1966 at the Cotton Bowl and in the Ice Bowl at Lambeau in 1967. Meredith’s last playoff game in 1968 ended in an embarrassing 31-20 loss to the browns in the first round.

Despite having a very good regular season record as a starter, Meredith ended up 1-3 in the playoffs, his one playoff win being a first round win against the Browns in ‘67 at the Cotton Bowl. In 1968, the Cowboys were 12-2, division winners, had made the playoffs 3 straight years, and looked like they were primed to go to another conference championship game. Then disaster struck in the first round and Meredith became the most polarizing guy wearing a star on his helmet.

Sound familiar?

Look at the similarities between Dak and Don Meredith:

• In 2023, Dak was second team All Pro. In Meredith’s last season in ‘68, he was second team All Pro.
• Meredith led the Cowboys to three straight playoff appearances - 1966, ‘67 and ‘68. But they only won one playoff game in those 3 years. Dak has led the Cowboys to the playoffs 3 straight years, winning only one wild card game in the 2022 season.
• Dak has been an overall excellent QB in the regular season the last 3 seasons, going 31-14 (Cooper Rush was 5-1 in that period when Dak was hurt). Meredith was 26-9 his last 3 seasons as a starter, but again 1-3 in the playoffs.

I don’t think Dak will do what Meredith did at the end of the 1968 season and announce his retirement. There’s too much money on the table for him compared to DM’s day. But if I were in Dak’s shoes, I would want to be traded. Meredith realized that despite it certainly not being all on him that those late 60s Cowboys couldn’t get it done, he did realize that the target on his back would only get larger.

Once the fan base turns on a QB, it becomes extremely difficult for that QB to push the restart button every season. I am NOT one of those that think all we need is a new QB and things will be rosy again. Dak is not as bad as way too many here think. But I do believe like Don Meredith came to realize, sometimes your period as QB of the Cowboys runs out. If I was #4 I would be looking for a new address.

This is funny, BH. Why didn't you plead for Romo to retire or get lost, especially since Romo kept playing up to the age of 36? That's 5 years longer than Dak and Meredith. Romo had just as bad as Dak in career playoff wins (2). Romo actually only had 1 playoff win by the time he turned 31. Meanwhile, Dak has won 2 playoff games, ahead by 5 years than Romo, so let's just wait until Dak turns 36 like Romo did. I bet Dak will end up with more than 2 playoff wins for the Cowboys by then.

 

[1942willys]

This is funny, BH. Why didn't you plead for Romo to retire or get lost, especially since Romo kept playing up to the age of 36? That's 5 years longer than Dak and Meredith. Romo had just as bad as Dak in career playoff wins (2). Romo actually only had 1 playoff win by the time he turned 31. Meanwhile, Dak has won 2 playoff games, ahead by 5 years than Romo, so let's just wait until Dak turns 36 like Romo did. I bet Dak will end up with more than 2 playoff wins for the Cowboys by then.

and be just as much a failure
And Dak has had consistent playoff caliber teams and still only has how many playoff wins?
Why should there be any real change?
By the way in typical Dak Bot mode, you did not mention Romo was did not start a full season until he was 26. So by 31 he had only five seasons as a starter. By the time he had 8 as Dak has he was 34.
Just thought I would remind you of a few facts you seem to want to hide from

 

[Bobhaze]

This is funny, BH. Why didn't you plead for Romo to retire or get lost, especially since Romo kept playing up to the age of 36? That's 5 years longer than Dak and Meredith. Romo had just as bad as Dak in career playoff wins (2). Romo actually only had 1 playoff win by the time he turned 31. Meanwhile, Dak has won 2 playoff games, ahead by 5 years than Romo, so let's just wait until Dak turns 36 like Romo did. I bet Dak will end up with more than 2 playoff wins for the Cowboys by then.

Well…the point of the OP had nothing to do with Romo. I was merely pointing out that are several striking similarities in the last 3 years of Don Meredith’s career and Dak’s last 3 years.

You are welcome to have your opinions about Romo or anyone else but when you said, “Why didn’t you plead for Romo to retire or get lost”…? Makes no sense to me at all based on the OP. I have no idea what Romo has to do with any of this. Help me understand what you mean.

 

[America's Cowboy]

and be just as much a failure
And Dak has had consistent playoff caliber teams and still only has how many playoff wins?
Why should there be any real change?
By the way in typical Dak Bot mode, you did not mention Romo was did not start a full season until he was 26. So by 31 he had only five seasons as a starter. By the time he had 8 as Dak has he was 34.
Just thought I would remind you of a few facts you seem to want to hide from

That's Romo's fault he wasn't good enough to become a starter until the age of 26. Pretty sad you don't realize and accept those facts. Nah, you Romoholics are all the same. Have been this way ever since Dak's performance kept Romo on the bench and eventually retired his Hollywood seeking ways.