Greatest Ever: Dallas Cowboy

[Megatron]

This is a new thread series that I am starting, where we will look at teams and try to pick out their best player ever. Some teams will, more then likely, be easy due to either a) that player being an icon in the sport (i.e. Michael Jordan) or b) the team hasn't had much success (Montreal Expos/Washington Nationals). However, there will be certain teams where there really isn't a wrong answer, just multiple ones that you could make cases for. Also, this won't be regulated to just the NFL (although many of the first few many be NFL), I will eventually get to the other big 4 sports and the 2 big college ones.

And just to note, these players are being nominated based on their time spent with the team. So no Brett Favre is the greatest Jet after only one season, or Ty Cobb is the greatest Athletic after two seasons. No, these players are being voted on based on their tenure WITH the team, not as a summation of their career.

Now that I got that out of the way, let's start with the team they call 'America's team', and the pretty much undisputed most popular NFL team, the Dallas Cowboys. There's a lot of choices for the Cowboys, due to their rich history. Here are some of the guys that I believe are in the discussion for greatest Cowboy (in alphabetical order).

Troy Aikman - The signal caller of the team that won 3 titles in 4 years in the early to mid 90's, Aikman was a 6 time pro bowler in his 12 year career and was inducted into the Hall of Fame his first year eligible. Along with being a 3 time champion, Aikman won the Super Bowl MVP in XXVIII. Not only that, but he had 90 wins in the 90s, which was the most in a decade until Peyton Manning (and Tom Brady) passed him in the most recent decade.

Michael Irvin - The former Miami Hurricane was apart of the triplets with Aikman and Smith and was their dynamic Wide Receiver for 12 seasons. He was a 5 time pro bowler along with 3 time all pro (1 1st and 2 2nd), who has the third most 100 yard games, behind only the great Jerry Rice and Don Maynard. His main period of dominance was between 1991 and 1998, where he had 1,000 yard seasons every year but once. Not only was he productive on the field, but he was one of their more vocal leaders.

Bob Lilly - He played DE/DT for the Cowboys for his entire 14 year career, and was their first overall pick in team history. Lilly did his best in living up to the billing, as he was a pro bowler in 11 of those 14 years, 9 time all pro (7 1st and 2 2nd). He was named to both the All 60s and 70s team, and was apart of the 75th anniversary team of the NFL. He actually was the highest rated Cowboy by the Sporting News and was named to the HOF in his first year of eligibility. He also was the anchor to their great defense of the 60s and is undoubtedly on of the first great players of the merger era.

Emmitt Smith - The all-time rushing king spent his best seasons wearing the Cowboys uni, earning 8 pro bowl selections and 5 all pro selections (4 1st and 1 2nd). Smith is the holder of numerous records, including the most 100 yard rushing games and most career rushing touchdowns. He was named to the all-decade team of the 90s, and was the AP NFL MVP in 1993, and offensive player of the year in 1990. Smith was also the highest rated player of the triplets, being named the 28th best player by NFL.com

Roger Staubach - This Cowboy was one of the top QB's of the 70s, earning 6 pro bowls and 5 all nfc selections during that span. He was also named to the all 70s team, and was the quarterback of their first two Super Bowl winning teams. He was named the Super Bowl MVP of VI, and would've had an even more productive career had he not spent some of his earlier years in the Navy. He also was named the top Dallas Cowboy ever last year by the Dallas Morning News.

And even with those 5, there's still a handful of worthy candidates I left out (Tony Dorsett, Randy White, Bob Hayes). As for my selection, I have to go with Staubach. While Lilly was their first HOF, Staubach was the first recognizable name of the Cowboys and was the guy of the first 2 Super Bowl teams.

Agree with my selection of Staubach as the Greatest Cowboy ever? Or am I dead wrong?

 

[Big Sexy]

Staubach was tremendous but it's always hard to judge quarterbacks from the 60's and 70's with how different the game was. He was a great talent and leader but he would be second on my list. Emmit Smith to me is overrated by many and was the biggest product of the talent the Cowboys had in the 90's. That Dallas O line had a lot of beef and the passing attack also opened things up. With that said I have Emmit at 3 and Aikman at 4.

My number one greatest Cowboy player of all time is Michael Irvin. Not just because of his talent on the field but also because of his vocal leadership. Irvin had his career cut short a good 3-5 years at least because of his neck injury but at his peak I'd say he was the best in the game outside of Jerry Rice. I'd also say Irvin helped out Aikman more then Aikman helped out Irvin and "The Playmaker" didn't have the luxury of a good number two target for a lot of his career to take some pressure off of him (Alvin Harper was good for a couple years but didn't last long in Dallas). The accolades and recognition usually go to the other two parts of that Dallas three headed monster from the 90's but to me Michael Irvin was the greatest Cowboy player of all time.

 

[Theo Mays]

When I think of the Cowboys, two people come to mind. Those people being Tom Landry and Emmitt Smith. Considering Landry was a non-player I'd have to take him out of consideration and that leaves me with Emmitt Smith. Smith is one of the greatest RB in the history of the game and the all time leading rush in the NFL's history. And of course he did a majority of that with the Dallas Cowboys. He was always a threat behind Aikman and while he wasn't the fastest of the bunch, he had a great mindset for the game, great determination, and great heart. He kept himself healthy and was always there when Dallas needed a big play. That is why I'm going with Emmitt Smith for the greatest Dallas Cowboy.

 

[Nas pins jay-z]

I'm going with emmitt who happens to be my all-time favorite player. He holds every major rushing record. I'm not just talking cowboys, but nfl records. His durability was amazing. He also was a great blocking back and had excellent catching hands. His vision was superb. And for those saying anyone could run behind that line, let me ask two questions. What happened the two games he held out? What happened when he came back?

 

[Big Sexy]

I'm going with emmitt who happens to be my all-time favorite player. He holds every major rushing record. I'm not just talking cowboys, but nfl records. His durability was amazing. He also was a great blocking back and had excellent catching hands. His vision was superb. And for those saying anyone could run behind that line, let me ask two questions. What happened the two games he held out? What happened when he came back?

Emmitt Smith is a top 5 running back all time but certainly not the best regardless of records. You put Barry Sanders on the Cowboys and Smith on the Lions what do you think happens? When they were both in the league together Barry was definitely superior he just retired earlier. The Cowboys needed a great running back to succeed but it didn't have to be Smith.

As far as the Smith hold out goes obviously the Cowboys struggled without him. He was a great back and the offense was not nearly as effective without a running game. Any talented back could have run behind that O Line, the problem was they didn't have a talented backup. There back up was rookie Derrick Lassic. You want to know how his career ended up? He was out of the league after that 1993 season.

We disagree, however, you have a great username so I'm going to rep you.

 

[Nas pins jay-z]

Barry was a beast. Even though emmitt is my favorite player, I have to admit sanders was the better player. He would've shattered the record. Especially behind that o-line. The thing about emmitt I liked was he was more than just a rusher. The blocking, receiving, being protective of the ball made him a great all around back.

 

[Big Sexy]

Barry was a beast. Even though emmitt is my favorite player, I have to admit sanders was the better player. He would've shattered the record. Especially behind that o-line. The thing about emmitt I liked was he was more than just a rusher. The blocking, receiving, being protective of the ball made him a great all around back.

Emmit was definitely a complete back and like I said certainly top 5. This question is tough for a couple reasons. It's hard to define the term "Best" in this situation. If by "best" you look at who was the most important to the team winning then when it comes to the 90's Cowboys that would be Troy Aikman. It's not because he was a greater player then the other two triplets it's because quarterback is the most important position to a team winning. Running backs and receivers don't win Super Bowls. You either need a great qb or a dominant defense.

If by "best" you mean most accomplished then that is Emmit Smith. He was around the longest and that allowed him to set all of the records that he did.

For me I looked at "best" as a combination of things and I think Michael Irvin had that overall combination. He to me was the most talented of the triplets and he was also the emotional leader of that team. Not to mention he had his fair share of accomplishments as well.

 

[Rasha]

Just throwing this out there; if a guy was the greatest player ever at his position, shouldn't get get an argument for best ever on that team? I'm speaking, of course, about Larry Allen. Easily the best guard and maybe the best offensive lineman in NFL history, L.A. deserves a place in this discussion.

Based on the guys the OP listed, I'd have to agree with Staubach. I know he had one less championship than Aikman or Emmitt but when you consider the time he lost in the Navy that's a major factor. He was also a revolutionary player as an athletic QB and became a Cowboys legend despite how much Landry hated his unorthodox methods.