Blogging The Boys
Cowboys legends new and old were well represented here.
There are a lot of ways to look at the last 25 years of Dallas Cowboys football, but unfortunately, the most common theme throughout this era is that it represents the vast majority of the franchise’s drought of not appearing in the NFC Championship game since 1996. Every fan and follower of the team may have a slightly different take on what part of this drought hits home the most, but one of them is undeniable. Over this time, the Cowboys have not gone without their share of great players and even coaches, but have seen entire Hall of Fame level careers come and go without the ultimate prize of playoff success.
This look back through recent Cowboys history was brought up again thanks to the work of ESPN’s Aaron Schatz and Seth Walder, who collectively put together their take on the NFL’s “All Quarter Century Team”. What makes their list stand out over the multitude of other similar ones that come and go without any fanfare is the level of detail involved. Distinctions were made for each offensive and defensive line position instead of lumping things together, special teams has its own category all the way down to long snappers. Coaches and coordinators are included, and even the ground rules on what constitutes an all quarter century player is laid out clearly.
Players are still eligible if they began their career in the 1990s, but only production beginning in the 2000 season was considered.
These decisions were made mostly on statistical output, focusing on peak seasons while still rewarding longevity. We relied heavily on FTN’s DYAR metric (defense-adjusted yards above replacement), which calculates a player’s value over the course of the season compared to a replacement-level baseline. Other advanced statistics were also taken into account.
This team includes 25 offensive players, 23 defensive players and five special teams players. For another wrinkle, we filled out a full “practice squad” with the players who just missed the cut and listed them in their respective position groups. We followed current NFL practice squad rules, which includes 17 players if one was brought in from the International Player Pathway Program. Finally, we also needed an elite coaching staff to get the most out of this quarter-century team, so we picked a head coach and three coordinators.
The Cowboys are represented in all facets of the team- offense, defense, and the coaching staff. Let’s take a closer look at who made the quarter century cut, as well as a few other interesting notes.
Teams: 49ers (1996-2003), Eagles (2004-05), Cowboys (2006-08), Bills (2009), Bengals (2010)
Résumé since 2000: 12,627 receiving yards, 123 receiving TDs, five-time All-Pro
In the 11 seasons Owens played in this quarter century, he recorded three second-place finishes in DYAR and one infamous driveway news conference. He led the league in receiving...
