What if Rice was a Cowboy?

[LatinMind]

Hardly. Moss was on a pretty solid Minny team and they couldn't get a Super Bowl win.

They didnt have the team Dallas had either.

 

[LatinMind]

It's my single worst Cowboys moment.

I have 5

1. When Walker was traded. Was the reason why i started really watching football every sunday. But it led to a dynasty
2. Moss passed in draft
3. Larry Allen not allowed to use gym at VR because of Parcells
4. seeing Emmitt in a AZ uniform
5. Dallas trading up for Lawrence instead of Carr << still mad about that. lol

 

[Tenkamenin]

Like I said Galloway's only comparison to Moss was speed and he did make a lot of big plays in Seattle which again is why Jerry overpaid with two 1's to get him. Even with Moss's height, hands and leaping ability he still needed a solid QB to be productive and the Cowboys had no QB from 2000 to 2006. Aikman was already coming down by 99 and so was the team. The Cowboys were 8-8 in 99 and went 5-11 the next 3 seasons.

Agreed, but let's not forget Moss was catching passes from George and Cunningham. QB play didn't have to be that great, a veteran scrub would do.

 

[KJJ]

Agreed, but let's not forget Moss was catching passes from George and Cunningham. QB play didn't have to be that great, a veteran scrub would do.

Jeff George only started 10 games for Minn in 99. Most of Mosses success with the Vikings came with Cunningham and Culpepper who had some very productive seasons in Minn. Cunningham was in major decline when he arrived in Dallas and Moss would not have had success on those Cowboy teams that were declining and had serious issues at QB once Aikman was lost and released after the 2000 season.

 

[mattjames2010]

They didnt have the team Dallas had either.

Moss was drafted in 98. Our team was on a decline then. Irving was aging, Aikmen wasn't the same and injuries were piling up. We needed more than just Moss.

 

[KJJ]

It was the strong arms QBs who had the most success with Moss during his prime years they were able to take advantage of his deep speed.

 

[KJJ]

Someone thinks the Cowboys would have won 2-3 more championships with Randy Moss when he never won a single championship with any of the real good teams he played for. I'm sorry but I don't care how great a WR is they're not going to turn a declining team into a championship team.

 

[Risen Star]

He'd be the same great receiver but wouldn't have put up the numbers he did in San Francisco with an offense tailor made for his skills.

People forget we didn't always have an offensive staff so adept at getting the most out of their talent.

 

[LittleBoyBlue]

SF Just imagine an offense with Aikman, Emmitt, Irvin, Rice, Novacek....and then in the late 90s......Aikman, Emmitt, Irvin, Rice, and Moss.........

Absolutely absurd.

1 extra SB title (probably locks up the four straight SB wins of the 90s)
Mayyyyyyybe... 5 SBs in a row.

randy moss still gets me mad. 2-3 more titles if u ask me wouldve been in dallas.

Moss... I'm not so sure. Maybe 1 title. He came along too late.

 

[perrykemp]

randy moss still gets me mad. 2-3 more titles if u ask me wouldve been in dallas.

You sure?

Randy Moss never won a title anywhere -- including the 16-0 Patriots.

 

[Tenkamenin]

Jeff George only started 10 games for Minn in 99. Most of Mosses success with the Vikings came with Cunningham and Culpepper who had some very productive seasons in Minn. Cunningham was in major decline when he arrived in Dallas and Moss would not have had success on those Cowboy teams that were declining and had serious issues at QB once Aikman was lost and released after the 2000 season.

Cunningham wasn't very good in Minnesota either, the difference was he had a freakish receiver named Moss. I agree the QB situation was awful, I'm guessing our strategy would've been different had Moss been around.

 

[gimmesix]

If we could just find a way for Dallas to magically hit on the best player in every round every year we wouldn't have to go through these what if scenarios.

As an example, I went back and looked at the 2010 draft.

We could have still gotten Dez and hit the jackpot with the right choices after him

First round (24): WR Dez Bryant

Second round (55): DT Geno Atkins (120th pick)

Fourth round (126): S Kam Chancellor (133) or DE Greg Hardy (175)

Fifth round (179): WR Antonio Brown (195) or RB James Starks (193)

Sixth round (196): DT Kyle Williams (134) or WR Victor Cruz (UDFA)

Seventh round (234): Cruz (UDFA) or RB LeGarrette Blount (UDFA)

Imagine a receiving corps consisting of Bryant, Brown and Cruz, or having Atkins, Hardy and Williams to attack with as part of the front seven.

 

[noshame]

Us getting Rice would have been great for one reason, I wouldn't have had to listen Al Michaels say JEEEERRRRY RICE every time he made a play, because if he was a Cowboy, Al wouldn't have said squat.

 

[Biggems]

What we could have had in the mid to late 90s had we simply stayed pat and not traded out of our spot

1995
1 - LB Derrick Brooks
2 - RB Curtis Martin
3 - S Sam Shade
The rest of the draft was pretty much garbage

1996
1 - DE Tony Brackens
2 - S Brian Dawkins
3 - LB Donnie Edwards
3c - OT Jon Runyan
3c - CB Juran Bolden
4 - WR Joe Horn
5 - DT La'Roi Glover
5c - S Anthony Dorsett
6 - OG Marco Rivera
6c - CB Wendell Davis
7 - TE Jay Riemersma

1997
1 - DT Trevor Pryce
2 - CB Ronde Barber
3 - LB Bertrand Berry or LB Mike Vrabel
3c - DT Seth Payne
4 - DE Ndukwe Kalu
4c - FB Nicky Sualua
4c - C Jeff Mitchell
5 - CB Al Harris
6 - WR Isaac Byrd
7 - RB Priest Holmes

1998
1 - WR Randy Moss
2 - OT Flozell Adams
3 - LB Jeremiah Trotter
4 - DT Michael Myers
5 - OT Oliver Ross
6 - C Matt Birk
6c - S Izell Reese
7 - OG Chris Liwienksi
7c - S Pat Tillman
7c - FB Robert Thomas
7c - K Phil Dawson

Basically all we would need is a QB to replace Troy and a top tier TE

 

[KJJ]

Cunningham wasn't very good in Minnesota either, the difference was he had a freakish receiver named Moss. I agree the QB situation was awful, I'm guessing our strategy would've been different had Moss been around.

Cunningham was very good in Minn in 98 having 34 TD's and a passer rating of 106.0. Moss was part of his success but Cunningham also had a future HOF receiver in Chris Carter who put up over 1000 yards along with Moss that season. He also had a another excellent receiver in Jake Reed and Robert Smith at RB who put up almost 1200 yards rushing so Minn was loaded offensively that season. They ranked #2 in total offense and #1 in passing. Defensively they ranked 13th in total defense and had close to 40 sacks. They didn't go 15-1 all because of Randy Moss that was a very talented team that was more talented than the Cowboys who were clearly in decline.

While Aikman was showing signs of decay Irvin was only a year away from being retired. Although Moss was a great deep threat he wasn't the physical over the middle receiver that Irvin was. Irvin was dependable making the tough catches in traffic that moved the chains and that wasn't Mosses game. That wasn't Joey Galloways game either which is why when Parcells arrived he swapped Galloway for Keyshawn who was a big bodied possession receiver who could move the chains and make the tough catches in traffic.

We didn't have the QB situation to take advantage of a speed receiver. Galloway never had a 1000 yard season with the Cowboys but he had 3 of them in Tampa including a 1200 yard season. Many Cowboy FANS thought Galloway sucked because he didn't produce but he didn't suck the Cowboys and their QB situation is what sucked. Although Galloway wasn't Randy Moss he can be used as a barometer for how Mosses career might have gone in Dallas especially when you look at how Mosses stint in Oakland went without a solid QB.

 

[LatinMind]

You sure?

Randy Moss never won a title anywhere -- including the 16-0 Patriots.

yes

 

[KJJ]

yes

How can you be sure the Cowboys would have won 2-3 more titles with Moss based on the team the Cowboys had at the time? Are you serious??? LOL Do you not realize the Cowboys were in decline by then? They had slipped to 6-10 by 97 and although they rebounded to 10-6 in 98 they were one and done in the playoffs losing at home to Jake Plummer and the Cardinals. By the time Moss came into the league in 98 the Cowboys day had come and gone the team hadn't won a playoff game since 96. The teams corp players were all aging and free agency had riddled the Cowboys with some holes. They still had a HOF receiver in Irvin and added some great speed with Rocket but the Cowboys were in decline.

They were no longer receiving solid coaching and by Mosses prime years in Minn the Cowboys were going 5-11 every year and there's no way Randy Moss would have brought titles back to Dallas with those teams that had issues at OB and on the OL. The Raiders went 4-12 during both seasons Moss was in Oakland because they had a bad team and a bad QB situation. Moss was back looking like an elite receiver in 07 with Tom Brady and the Pats because he had a great QB and team around him. Just like all receivers Moss needed a QB and a solid team around him to be successful.

 

[skinsscalper]

SF leap frogged us in the draft to select Rice. What if they didn't? It is common knowledge he would have been our pick.

How do you think his career would have gone? How do you feel it would have affected the Niners? Would we have still drafted Irvin a few years later? If not, what if he would have been drafted by the Niners?

Just imagine an offense with Aikman, Emmitt, Irvin, Rice, Novacek....and then in the late 90s......Aikman, Emmitt, Irvin, Rice, and Moss.........

Absolutely absurd.

Drafting Rice forever changes the fate of this team. Not only do we not draft Irvin but we never have a shot at Aikman, Emmitt, or a whole other plethora of players from those early 90's teams(and you can forget about Moss altogether) hence we never win 3 Super Bowls in three years.

You can have Rice. I'll take our team exactly the way it was.

 

[StarBoyz83]

Would he still have cheated and tainted his legacy in dallas?

 

[Reverend Conehead]

The team almost picked Joe Montana also. He was our highest rated player on the draft board, but the team already had Staubach, White, and Glenn Carano, and they didn't know yet that Staubach was going to retire. Landry liked Montana, but thought he would just end up cutting him because we were so solid at QB. If Staubach had already retired or if White had been stinking up the place, we would have drafted Montana. Montana to Rice was nearly a Cowboys combination. Oh, what could have been. No, if we already had Rice, I don't believe the team would have drafted Irvin.