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I started in the Cowboys blogging business before the term blog exited. My first campaign covering the team was in ‘95, when the won their last Super Bowl, so I have a nice stack of tapes with every game in that 19 game title drive.
And I look at them from time to time, to recall what a title team looks like.
When I do, I’m reminded that there are many ways to a championship. I say that because the defense on that ‘95 team was just not very good. Oh, it had talent, but it was very uneven and inconsistent. Dallas had two superstars in its secondary — Deion Sanders and Darren Woodson. It also had Larry Brown and James Washington, who were okay, but not very good.
The nickelback was often Bill Bates, whom 49ers OC Marc Trestman matched up with Jerry Rice in November. The results were not pretty.
Dallas signed Scott Case, the Webster’s definition of band-aid, to add depth to safety. Case was known as a big hitter, but he hit mostly air that year because he was too slow to slam flesh-and-blood receivers.
The Cowboys linebackers were awful that year. The Cowboys had signed former Oilers’ DC and LB coach Jim Eddy — the scapegoat of that epic ‘93 playoff fail versus Buffalo — to oversee them.
They jettisoned Eddy as soon as the season was over.
The Cowboys had a pass rush, but it lost a lot of juice when Charles Haley’s back gave out. He didn’t play in the playoffs, made a brief cameo in the Super Bowl, and then was done as a Dallas dominator. The Cowboys relied on Tony Tolbert’s creaky knees, which held up for a career year, and on manchild Leon Lett, who went nuts down the stretch; he blew up the Eagles line in the divisional playoffs and picked off a Brett Favre screen pass in the NFC Championship Game.
Beyond that, the ‘95 Cowboys defense was big plays and a lot of crossed fingers. It relied on its offense to carry it. When Troy Aikman went out five minutes into game five, the Cowboys offense sputtered with Wade Wilson at the controls and they lost their 4-0 record to a 1-3 Commanders team that riddled their Deion-deficient secondary.
That defense never recovered from the whipping the 49ers put on them in week ten, when Trestman spread the offense, threw traffic at Sanders and got Rice to run amok on the opposite side of the field against Dallas’ linebackers and safeties. The Cowboys won in Oakland the following week but held on in the 4th quarter when the ancient Vince Evans almost overcame a huge early Dallas lead. Woodson’s late pick prevented a 24 point Raiders rally.
Barry Switzer was crucified for going twice on 4th and 1 from his own 29 in the game fourteen loss to the Eagles. But he called this play twice because he didn’t trust his defense to stop the Eagles from driving for the game winner. And he was right to doubt them.
Rodney Hampton and his Giants mates ripped the Cowboys for 244 rushing yards the following week and the Cowboys used a controversial holding penalty against New York as the springboard for a late, game-winning field goal.
The D got a reprieve in the Philly playoff rematch; Darren Woodson knocked Rodney Peete out of the game early and Randall Cunningham, who had spent the entire week in Las Vegas to attend his child’s birth, was unprepared to step in. The Lett pick and Larry Brown’s late interception slowed Favre down just enough to let the offense outscore Green Bay. Dallas had no answer for TE Keith Jackson or Green Bay’s deep passing game, which roasted Brown to a crisp.
The Steelers controlled the clock and possession for the final 40 minutes of the Super Bowl. An ability to stop the Steelers inside the red zone and Larry Brown’s sure hands on two gimme picks kept the Steelers from ever catching up to an early 13-0 Dallas lead.
That team won on offense. The Triplets were in their prime. Jay Novacek’s back was healthy. The offensive line was dominating.
But don’t let a title cloud the fact that that team was one sided. It outscored people. The dominant overall performances from ‘92 and ‘93 were not in the cards.
This year’s Cowboys team reminds me a lot of that one. It has a turbo-charged offense and a so-so defense. There are some playmakers on the defensive side of the ball — Jay Ratliff, Demarcus Ware, Terence Newman and Ken Hamlin — and some youngsters who intrigue — Orlando Scandrick and Mike Jenkins. Bradie James and Zach Thomas appear when their linemen protect them, which is not often, but they’re there to keep opponents under control. Dominance is not in their vocabulary.
It may seem heretical to compare this offense to that one, but this year’s model has a greater margin for error. It has far more tools at its disposal. The ‘95 line was far more consistent, but turn your attention to the skill positions. Emmitt Smith took over 90% of the carries that year because Sherman Williams was his backup.
This year’s team has Felix Jones. That’s no contest.
That offense had Michael Irvin, in the middle of his career year.
It also had Kevin Williams opposite him and Corey Fleming as the 3rd receiving option.
Kevin Williams might be the 5th best receiver on this team. He can’t compete with Roy Williams or Patrick Crayton and I’d take Miles Austin’s future over Williams’ past.
Fleming? Sam Hurd is better than him. And by that I mean Sam Hurd today, rehabbing in a walking boot, is better than Corey Fleming.
The ‘95 Cowboys offense was a blunt instrument, relentless and steady. This year’s team is more like an exotic sports car, flashy, but prone to breakdowns. But it also has more horsepower under its hood.
Don’t misunderstand me. I’m not saying this year’s team will get on a roll. It may lay down in Washington ten days from now and fade quietly away. If it does right the season, it will proceed as the ‘95 team did, scoring in bunches and counting on the defense to hold the bad guys at 20 points.
It will not win the way the ‘92 team did and it will not win the way the ‘07 Giants did. They got their turnovers under control and rode the defense — Eli’s guys scored 20, 21, 23 and 17 points in their title run. Nobody will ever compare that offense with the ’80s 49ers or the ’90s Cowboys.
I’m sure the team knows this. Get ready for the return of down-the-field passing, to T.O. and Roy Williams. Get ready for heavier doses of Felix. Get ready for Tony Romo to do his Joe Namath impersonation. Get ready for Jason Garrett to channel his inner Sid Gillman. He’s calling deep and Romo will throw deep — a lot.
This is how it has to be. Expecting the Cowboys to win any other way will bend your mind out of shape.
Adjust your expectations accordingly. Your nervous system will thank you.
And I look at them from time to time, to recall what a title team looks like.
When I do, I’m reminded that there are many ways to a championship. I say that because the defense on that ‘95 team was just not very good. Oh, it had talent, but it was very uneven and inconsistent. Dallas had two superstars in its secondary — Deion Sanders and Darren Woodson. It also had Larry Brown and James Washington, who were okay, but not very good.
The nickelback was often Bill Bates, whom 49ers OC Marc Trestman matched up with Jerry Rice in November. The results were not pretty.
Dallas signed Scott Case, the Webster’s definition of band-aid, to add depth to safety. Case was known as a big hitter, but he hit mostly air that year because he was too slow to slam flesh-and-blood receivers.
The Cowboys linebackers were awful that year. The Cowboys had signed former Oilers’ DC and LB coach Jim Eddy — the scapegoat of that epic ‘93 playoff fail versus Buffalo — to oversee them.
They jettisoned Eddy as soon as the season was over.
The Cowboys had a pass rush, but it lost a lot of juice when Charles Haley’s back gave out. He didn’t play in the playoffs, made a brief cameo in the Super Bowl, and then was done as a Dallas dominator. The Cowboys relied on Tony Tolbert’s creaky knees, which held up for a career year, and on manchild Leon Lett, who went nuts down the stretch; he blew up the Eagles line in the divisional playoffs and picked off a Brett Favre screen pass in the NFC Championship Game.
Beyond that, the ‘95 Cowboys defense was big plays and a lot of crossed fingers. It relied on its offense to carry it. When Troy Aikman went out five minutes into game five, the Cowboys offense sputtered with Wade Wilson at the controls and they lost their 4-0 record to a 1-3 Commanders team that riddled their Deion-deficient secondary.
That defense never recovered from the whipping the 49ers put on them in week ten, when Trestman spread the offense, threw traffic at Sanders and got Rice to run amok on the opposite side of the field against Dallas’ linebackers and safeties. The Cowboys won in Oakland the following week but held on in the 4th quarter when the ancient Vince Evans almost overcame a huge early Dallas lead. Woodson’s late pick prevented a 24 point Raiders rally.
Barry Switzer was crucified for going twice on 4th and 1 from his own 29 in the game fourteen loss to the Eagles. But he called this play twice because he didn’t trust his defense to stop the Eagles from driving for the game winner. And he was right to doubt them.
Rodney Hampton and his Giants mates ripped the Cowboys for 244 rushing yards the following week and the Cowboys used a controversial holding penalty against New York as the springboard for a late, game-winning field goal.
The D got a reprieve in the Philly playoff rematch; Darren Woodson knocked Rodney Peete out of the game early and Randall Cunningham, who had spent the entire week in Las Vegas to attend his child’s birth, was unprepared to step in. The Lett pick and Larry Brown’s late interception slowed Favre down just enough to let the offense outscore Green Bay. Dallas had no answer for TE Keith Jackson or Green Bay’s deep passing game, which roasted Brown to a crisp.
The Steelers controlled the clock and possession for the final 40 minutes of the Super Bowl. An ability to stop the Steelers inside the red zone and Larry Brown’s sure hands on two gimme picks kept the Steelers from ever catching up to an early 13-0 Dallas lead.
That team won on offense. The Triplets were in their prime. Jay Novacek’s back was healthy. The offensive line was dominating.
But don’t let a title cloud the fact that that team was one sided. It outscored people. The dominant overall performances from ‘92 and ‘93 were not in the cards.
This year’s Cowboys team reminds me a lot of that one. It has a turbo-charged offense and a so-so defense. There are some playmakers on the defensive side of the ball — Jay Ratliff, Demarcus Ware, Terence Newman and Ken Hamlin — and some youngsters who intrigue — Orlando Scandrick and Mike Jenkins. Bradie James and Zach Thomas appear when their linemen protect them, which is not often, but they’re there to keep opponents under control. Dominance is not in their vocabulary.
It may seem heretical to compare this offense to that one, but this year’s model has a greater margin for error. It has far more tools at its disposal. The ‘95 line was far more consistent, but turn your attention to the skill positions. Emmitt Smith took over 90% of the carries that year because Sherman Williams was his backup.
This year’s team has Felix Jones. That’s no contest.
That offense had Michael Irvin, in the middle of his career year.
It also had Kevin Williams opposite him and Corey Fleming as the 3rd receiving option.
Kevin Williams might be the 5th best receiver on this team. He can’t compete with Roy Williams or Patrick Crayton and I’d take Miles Austin’s future over Williams’ past.
Fleming? Sam Hurd is better than him. And by that I mean Sam Hurd today, rehabbing in a walking boot, is better than Corey Fleming.
The ‘95 Cowboys offense was a blunt instrument, relentless and steady. This year’s team is more like an exotic sports car, flashy, but prone to breakdowns. But it also has more horsepower under its hood.
Don’t misunderstand me. I’m not saying this year’s team will get on a roll. It may lay down in Washington ten days from now and fade quietly away. If it does right the season, it will proceed as the ‘95 team did, scoring in bunches and counting on the defense to hold the bad guys at 20 points.
It will not win the way the ‘92 team did and it will not win the way the ‘07 Giants did. They got their turnovers under control and rode the defense — Eli’s guys scored 20, 21, 23 and 17 points in their title run. Nobody will ever compare that offense with the ’80s 49ers or the ’90s Cowboys.
I’m sure the team knows this. Get ready for the return of down-the-field passing, to T.O. and Roy Williams. Get ready for heavier doses of Felix. Get ready for Tony Romo to do his Joe Namath impersonation. Get ready for Jason Garrett to channel his inner Sid Gillman. He’s calling deep and Romo will throw deep — a lot.
This is how it has to be. Expecting the Cowboys to win any other way will bend your mind out of shape.
Adjust your expectations accordingly. Your nervous system will thank you.
.... that cant be right....the super bowl Cowboys of the 90's NEVER made mistakes......
