Entries Tagged 'Miscellaneous' ↓

It was an interesting, to say the least, four weeks to start the NFL season.

Here’s the good, the bad, the ugly, and the eye-catching, from the first month of the season.

Who’s been the best of the best thus far? The Cowboys are in the mix for the best team thus far, but just miss out, slotting in behind the Patriots, who have absolutely beaten up and beaten down their first four opponents, three of whom are supposed to be playoff-caliber.

Elite Eight

1. Patriots
2. Cowboys
3. Colts
4. Packers
5. Steelers
6. Seahawks
7. Lions
8. Buccaneers

Top Headlines

1. The way the NFC North has played out: After four weeks, the Packers (4-0) and Lions (3-1) are atop the division standings, while the Bears are last in the division at 1-3.

2. The number of supposed contenders that have struggled: The Bears, Chargers, and Eagles are all 1-3, while the Saints are 0-3. The main reasons for each team’s slow start is the subpar play from each team’s supposed strength (Bears’ defense has struggled, and Chargers and Saints have been off on offense).

The Broncos (2-2) have underperformed, and it‘s shown through in two straight losses, while the Ravens (2-2), 49ers (2-2), Panthers (2-2), Bengals (1-3), and Jets (1-3) haven’t performed as they were expected to at the start of the season.

3. The resurgence of Brett Favre: Most, including many Packers fans, have been ready for Favre to retire for a year or two and hand over the reins to Aaron Rodgers.

There was merit to those comments, after Favre’s numbers had declined in the last couple of seasons. But, coming into this season, there was the momentum of winning the last four games last season, and making a late run at a playoff berth.

Favre wasn’t too happy when the Packers couldn’t get Randy Moss in the offseason, and you couldn’t blame him if he had packed it in then, but instead, he’s come out and had a season reminiscent of his prime. By the end of the season, he will have ownership of most of the significant passing records - completions, touchdowns, wins as a starter, and yards. And, there’s also his consecutive games streak, which likely won’t end until he hangs it up, which may well not be for another year or two if he keeps this up.

4. The increased emphasis on offense: Defenses have been getting quite the workout so far. There have already been 27 games where there was at least one 300-yard passer, as opposed to 20 at this point last season (didn‘t reach 27 until Week 7). And, there have been seven games where a team had a 300-yard passer and 100-yard rusher, while there were only three at this point in 2006 (didn‘t get to seven until Week 10).

5. The improvement of last year’s bottom teams: The Lions are 3-1, and Jon Kitna’s suddenly not looking stupid for predicting 10 wins. The Browns are 2-2, and would be 3-1, if not for a blocked field goal against the Raiders, who are 2-2, and could be 3-1 or 4-0, if late-game situations had gone their way. There’s also the Bucs, who are 3-1 and leading the NFC South.

Monthly Awards

September MVP: There are four candidates that stand out. Tom Brady, Randy Moss, Brett Favre, and Tony Romo.

In the end, it comes down to Favre and Moss, who have made the biggest individual difference in their team’s success. You could say Brady more so than Moss, and be justified in it, but Moss is the leader of that new receiving corps that’s helped Brady to a 134.7 rating, 79.2 completion %, and 13 touchdowns in four games.

I’ll go with Favre, considering his and the Packers resurgence was very, very unexpected by pretty much 99% of the NFL world.

Offensive Player of the Month: Brady. Them’s some Playstation numbers there.

Defensive Player of the Month: I’m biased towards picking Anthony Henry, because of his league-leading four interceptions and twelve passes defended.

But, something has to be said for what Nick Barnett of Green Bay (35 tackles, two interceptions, five passes defended) and Barrett Ruud of Tampa Bay (40 tackles, three forced fumbles, and a pick) are doing to lead their teams. Ruud, a third-year ‘backer from Nebraska, is having a breakout year, while Barnett is getting his due as one of the premier linebackers in the league (on track to start his career with a fifth straight season with 100+ tackles).

Offensive Rookie of the Month: Adrian Peterson, Vikings - Peterson has three 100-yard games thus far and has 383 rushing yards through four games, and has proved to be a pretty capable receiver as well, with nine catches for 166 yards and a score.

Defensive Rookie of the Month: Patrick Willis, 49ers - It didn’t take the 11th overall pick long to show why he was so highly touted coming out of Ole Miss. In his debut, Willis recorded 11 tackles and forced a fumble. For the month, he finished tied for third in the league with 38 stops.

October Predictions

Of the good surprises, which will still be going at the end of October? The Packers (underperforming run game), Lions (defense), and Bucs (key injuries on offense) all have flaws that could slow them down in the next month.

The Packers face Chicago and Washington at home and go to Denver at the end of the month. The Packers’ defense should have success against the Redskins and Bears, teams whose offenses aren’t exactly burning up the stat sheets, while the offense should continue to do well, if a) Favre’s arm doesn’t fall off, and b) if the run game can finally, finally get going.

As for the Bucs, they go to Indy on Sunday, then face Tennessee, and finish out the month with games against Detroit and Jacksonville.

From the looks of it, Green Bay should probably be 6-1, the Lions 4-3 or 5-2, and the Bucs 5-3, at best.

Of the contenders who have started poorly, which one is going to have the ship righted by the end of the month? San Diego has the talent on offense and defense to turn it around in a hurry. And, if they can knock off Denver on the road on Sunday, they should win home games against Oakland and Minnesota. A 4-3 record won’t be pretty, but it would more than likely be enough to lead the AFC West.

Which is most likely to hit rock bottom? If the Bengals don’t start playing some defense soon, they’ll be staring at memories of the 90s. With the issues the Bears have on offense, and now on defense (injuries, and not just playing up to par), they need to turn it around quickly to avoid the NFC North cellar.

How will the division races be playing out at the end of the month? AFC East - Patriots will be on the way to clinching by Thanksgiving. AFC North - Steelers will still be on top. AFC South - The Titans, Jaguars, and Texans will all be chasing the Colts, who will be chasing another title. AFC West - This one is a tough call. There are four flawed teams in this division, but it looks like the Broncos are the least flawed.

NFC East - Dallas should be at least two games ahead, if not more. NFC North - If the Packers can take advantage of two winnable home games, they’ll have a solid edge in the division when November starts. NFC South - It all depends on how long Jake Delhomme is out. If he comes back quickly, the Panthers will be just fine. But, if not, the Bucs will pick up enough wins to keep the division lead. NFC West - This one is the Seahawks’ to lose, now that Alex Smith looks to be out for an extended period of time. But, watch out for the Cardinals, if they don’t trip themselves up like they always seem to do, one way or another.

And if they do, well, they are who we thought they were.

It’s been a winning start for Joe Gibbs and the Redskins, who have won two of their first three games in ‘07.

That start, however, could be even better if not for a Giant comeback in the second half in Week 3, when Washington let a 17-3 halftime lead slip.

But, as it stands right now, the ‘Skins are in second in the NFC East. Can they keep it up?

Washington Redskins

So Far…: Washington is 2-1. They opened with a 16-13 overtime win over Miami, then defeated the Eagles 20-12 in Philadelphia. In Week 3, they were up by two touchdowns at the half against the Giants, but ended up losing 24-17.

What’s Gone Right: Minus the second half against the Giants, the defense has played well, which has put them in position for three victories.

What’s Gone Wrong: The Redskins’ injury list is one of the longest in the NFL. From Santana Moss, Clinton Portis, Fred Smoot, and multiple members of their offensive line (including Jon Jansen, who is on IR with a broken ankle), the medical staff has had their hands full.

How October Shapes Up: October is going to be a make-or-break month for the Redskins’ ambitions. There are home games against Detroit and Arizona, then road games at current unbeaten teams Green Bay and New England. Coming out of the month with a winning record would be a huge plus.

Grades

Performance: The Redskins should be pretty pleased, overall, about being 2-1 with a win in Philadelphia. However, the fact that they let a third straight win get away isn’t something to be happy about.

It won’t take long for us to see how good (or bad) the Redskins really are, with the schedule they face this month. Will their flaws trip them up, or will they rise above the mess below Dallas in the East and make a serious run at a playoff berth?

For now, Washington gets a B, but if 10 unbeaten quarters were 12, they would have an A or A-.

Grade: B

Offense: The Redskins have scored five touchdowns in three games, with three of them coming from Portis (227 rushing yards). Campbell is completing only 52% of his passes. There’ve been several missed opportunities so far, when mistakes or failure to move the ball well have cost Washington.

Injuries on offense haven’t helped much, but some points are going to have to be scored this month, because each of their four October opponents have very dangerous offenses.
Grade: C-

Defense: As I said, minus a second half in which they allowed the Giants to gain 208 yards and score 21 points, the defense has played very well, limiting their opponents to only 33 points in the previous ten quarters.

However, they’re going to need a little help from the offense so that they don’t have be on the field so much, because that’s just a recipe for disaster.

Grade: B

Special Teams

Former Cowboy Shaun Suisham has made six of seven field goals, including the game-winner in overtime against the Dolphins.

Punter Derrick Frost is averaging 45.9 yards per kick thus far.

As for the return game, Rock Cartwright is averaging 26.7 yards per kick return. The coverage team really hasn’t gotten burned for a huge return, which is always a good thing.

Grade: B

Brandon from Connecticut correctly answered the trivia question, so he is the lucky winner of a new copy of Madden NFL 08.

There’s still a t-shirt or cap up for grabs for the next person who sends me a correct answer.

Check out the post entitled “Thursday Trivia….” to see the question, and where to reply to (emg03e@gmail.com).

The Cowboys have had a carousel of quarterbacks between Troy Aikman and Tony Romo, nine to be exact.

Who are they, and how many games did each one start as a Cowboy?

Whoever gets it right first will win a copy of Madden NFL 2008 for the video game console of their choice. The next person who gets it right, or comes the closest, will win a T-shirt or cap (whichever they prefer) from the Cowboys Pro Shop.

There will be (at least) one contest each month during the season, and at the end of the season, the winners from each contest will be entered into a drawing for the grand prize (which will be revealed in due time).

Send your answers to emg03e@gmail.com.

I’ve been doing this blog for a little over a month now, and I’ve steadily been trying to tweak and improve the blog to make it as good of a Cowboys resource as possible. I still have a long way to go, but there are a few things that I’m going to be doing from here on out that I think will help improve the blog. I’m not changing things completely, because I’m still going to be doing a lot of the same things I’m doing already, but I’m just improving on some things and bringing in some new features and a little more organization and structure to the blog.

One of the important parts of the blog is the news content, and I’m going to revamp it a little, to include regular roundups from around the country, on both Cowboys and NFL news. I do a little bit of that already, but I’m going to increase the regularity and amount of it.

Also, I’m going to make changes to my pre-game and in-game reports. I haven’t really done a great deal in the way of pre-game reports thus far, so what I’ll be doing from here is in-depth previews and analysis of the matchups on both sides of the ball. And, when it comes to in-game reports, I’m going to make them a little more organized and a little less rambling. That’ll include timestamps, stats, drive summaries, and more. I won’t be taking away any of the analysis, opinions, and side comments, but I’m just going to clean things up a little. The post-game reports will stay much the same, though I’m sure there’ll be a little refining.

And, while I’m open when it comes to when I post different things, certain features are going to be scheduled for certain days or times of the week. That includes weekly ‘Hub Headliners’ features that will run on Mondays-Wednesdays.

I will continue to do the weekly league previews and reviews, and during the regular season, some of the things that will be included will be fantasy notes, individual and team awards, and more, including posting of the standings (including the weekly Cleveland Browns report, har har har).

Now, as far as upcoming content:

In the days leading up to the season opener, I’m going to be doing a series of previews. There’ll be one on the NFC East (I haven’t determined whether or not I’ll do both individual team previews and a complete NFC East preview, or condense them into one), an NFL preview, and of course, a Cowboys preseason review and season preview (from schedule, to expectations, and so on). The NFL preview will be over a few days, because I’ll take a look at predictions, the schedule, storylines, and more.

The premise is going to be the same no matter what - I’m always going to do my best to keep the readers up-to-date on everything Cowboys (and NFL), provide a little history, to make you think, and to have some fun while doing it. Like I said, there’s still a ways to go, but I’m working hard to make this a valuable resource for Cowboys and NFL fans everywhere.

And, I’ll keep everyone posted on any site updates or changes. And, I’m open to suggestions as well, on what could make the blog better, or what you all would like to see. Feedback is always appreciated, and it helps me with making the site be the best it can be.

Keep reading, take care, and go Cowboys!

- Eddie Griffin
CowboysHub.com

He doesn’t show up in the highlights, box scores, or game recaps every week. He’s not a face you’d recognize on the sidelines. If most people were asked who he was, they probably wouldn’t know. But, if they were told all of his responsibilities, they’d more than likely think he was pretty important.

And he is. He’s a part of every play, every touchdown, every kick. He’s got a big part in every forced fumble, sack, broken tackle, and big play. If Dallas has a big year on defense, he’s going to deserve a lot of credit for what he does, but he may instantly get it from many outside of the locker room. And if they have a big year on offense, he’s going to deserve the same amount of credit.

Who is he? None other than strength and conditioning coach Joe Juraszek.

If the offensive line is keeping hungry defensive linemen off of Tony Romo and the running backs, he‘s a part of it. If Marcus Spears is bursting past a helpless offensive lineman to lay a hit on a quarterback, he’s a part of it.

He’s gotten a lot of praise for what he’s done to help the defense slim down, tone up, and beef up for the first season in the Wade Phillips version of the 3-4, where speed, size, and strength are the keys to a dominant, aggressive defense, instead of just being big, big, and big.

The starting defensive line has already experienced a great change, with Jason Ferguson, Chris Canty, and Spears all shaping up for the new defense. Ferguson and Canty haven’t had to do as much shedding weight as they have beefing and toning up, while Spears has been busying shedding pounds off of what was a 315-pound frame.

All of the linebackers have worked on getting themselves in tip-top shape, from the starters to the backups. The linebacking corps has the potential to be one of the best in the league, and with slimmer, faster bodies, they’ll be able to rack up the tackles and sacks.

Even Roy Williams is getting his weight down in order to optimize his effectiveness in both pass rushing and pass coverage.

And, the offensive line, one of the biggest in the NFL, isn’t just a bunch of buffet blitzers. He’s in charge of making sure those guys can hold their own on every down, every game. If there’s one group that needs more than anything to not just be strong but be in the right shape, it’s the O-line. Lineman have been getting bigger in recent years, and for some, the weights are spiraling out of control. That’s something that Juraszek has to make sure doesn’t happen to his line, and he has.

He’s not only responsible for keeping people fit, he’s also responsible for helping players return from injury.

He may well never be a head coach, but he’s as important as one.

And, he’s been the one constant, besides anyone in the front office, through the end of the Barry Switzer days, through Chan Gailey’s short tenure, the woeful Dave Campo era, on to the Bill Parcells days, and now to the new Wade Phillips’ regime. In a day where you more often than not see people come and go just like that, Juraszek has been around for a decade, and seen it all. And, while he’s tailored his programs to each coach’s needs and wants, he’s always kept the players’ individual needs in mind first and foremost. That’s why you don’t have to worry too much when the injury bug hits like it has in the preseason, because Juraszek is doing all he can to ensure the players return to full strength as quickly as possible.

The preseason is a time when Juraszek is most important, not only because he’s helping the players get themselves in shape for the grueling 16-game season, when their bodies will be susceptible to wear and tear, but also because he has to make sure the players’ bodies are in shape to stand up to the blazing heat during the Valley Ranch portion of camp. After the deaths of Korey Stringer and Thomas Herrion and so many other deaths on the college and high school level related to the summer weather or health-related issues, having the players well-conditioned has been made all the more necessary, not just for the sake of their livelihoods, but their lives.

So, all in all, if Dallas has a big year, thank Joe Juraszek. You may not be able to have him on your fantasy team, but he is certainly worth a lot of points every week.

With Barry Bonds breaking Hank Aaron’s home run record last night (don’t get me started on that one), I thought I’d take a look at the NFL record book, and see which records are within reach, and which ones might be a liiiiiiittle harder to get to.

Passing

Dan Marino holds the NFL records for yards in a season (5,084 - 1984) and career (61,361), and for career touchdowns (420). Brett Favre is in reach of the career yardage and touchdown records, and will break the TD record with his seventh TD toss this season. It doesn’t seem likely that Favre’s hold on the records will stay for long though, because Peyton Manning is on pace to break both. In ten seasons so far, Manning has averaged nearly 3,760 yards and 28 touchdowns a season, and it’s hard to see him slowing down anytime soon.

It will be pretty difficult for anyone to top Marino’s 5,084 yards, however. Kurt Warner and Daunte Culpepper have both threatened the mark but came up short. More balanced offenses mean less chances. Culpepper didn’t have much of a running game when he threw for over 4,700 yards in 2004, but Warner had Marshall Faulk in his backfield when the Rams were the Greatest Show on Turf. And, the current Greatest Show on Turf, the reigning Super Bowl champion Colts, have a quality rushing attack that both helps and hurts Manning’s numbers.

The one record that might be out of reach is the single-game yardage record. Norm Van Brocklin threw for 554 yards in a game against the New York Yankees in 1951 (and hit four home runs as well), and no one has been able to touch his record. Boomer Esiason was the last person to come close to it, throwing for 522 yards in November 1996 against the Redskins. It’s also hard to fathom someone throwing for seven touchdowns in a game anytime soon as well. That hasn’t been done since 1969, when Joe Kapp did it. But, if anyone’s going to do it in the current crop of NFL QBs, it’ll be Manning, who came close with six against Detroit on Thanksgiving Day in 2004. He very well could have gotten a seventh, but he was taken out of the game in the fourth as Tony Dungy called off the dogs.

Rushing

For a time, the most important rushing record, and possibly the most important NFL record, was the career rushing yardage record. Walter Payton held it from the end of his career until Emmitt surpassed him against the Seahawks in 2002. Smith retired with 18,355 yards rushing, 1,629 more than Payton’s 16,726. Barry Sanders could have hit the 20,000 mark had he not abruptly retired before the 2000 season, when he was less than 1,500 yards away from breaking the record.

Curtis Martin (4th at 14,101) recently retired, and so did Jerome Bettis (5th at 13,653), Marshall Faulk (9th at 12,279), and Tiki Barber (17th at 10,449). Martin played for only 11 seasons, and had injuries not forced him to leave the game, would have come close to Emmitt’s mark.

The two players right now that could potentially make a run at the mark are Edgerrin James and LaDainian Tomlinson. James is at 10,385 through eight seasons, and if his body can continue to hold up to 350 carries a season behind an average offensive line in Arizona, has a shot. But, Tomlinson looks like he could obliterate the yardage and touchdown records, after already claiming the single-season touchdown mark. The Chargers star has run for 9,176 yards and 100 touchdowns in only six seasons in the NFL. At his current pace, it might take him only another six seasons to pass Emmitt in yards and only three or four more to pass his mark of 164 touchdowns. And, just like Manning, it doesn’t seem like he’ll be slowing down anytime soon.

Will we see anyone run for more than 300 yards in a game? Jamal Lewis ran for 295 against the team he now plays for, but 300 has thus far been out of reach. Once again, this one goes back to Tomlinson. He owns the NCAA single-game yardage record at 406, so it’s more than possible that he could do it someday.

Long-term durability is the main concern here. When you’ve got next week and next year to think about, unless you have a Madden-esque performance and do it in 25 carries, the risk might not be worth the reward.

Receiving

Jerry Rice holds the records for receptions (1,549), receiving yards (22,895), and for receiving (197) and overall touchdowns (208). Rice rewrote the record book in 20 seasons, which is a number you don’t see often at all. He has quite the foothold on all of those records, with the closest competitors all miles away (literally!).

I don’t know if anyone will break his receiving touchdown record (L.T. has a real shot at breaking the overall TD mark), but Peyton Manning’s main man, Marvin Harrison, might replace him at the top of the heap in receptions and yards by the time he’s done. Harrison has quietly made his way up the record books, and has put together totals of 1,022 catches, 13,697 yards, and 122 touchdowns in twelve seasons. The only thing that could hurt him is that he’s already going to be 35 two weeks before the season starts, and also that Reggie Wayne is going to prevent him from getting 143 catches again. But, like Rice, I can see him being productive even as he gets older, so he has a chance.

Anquan Boldin of the Cardinals has 342 receptions through his first four seasons, so he’s got a good chance to at least hit Cris Carter (currently #2) at 1,101. Randy Moss has slowed down in the last three seasons, but he was on a blistering pace in his first several seasons. Now that he’s going to have Tom Brady throwing it to him, he might be able to return to his old form and at least get over 1,000 catches and 150+ TDs

Breaking receiving records is a lot more difficult when you have a team with multiple guys that you have to get the ball to. That’s the case with Boldin and Larry Fitzgerald, Harrison with Wayne, and others.

Defense and Team

The current season sack record is held by Michael Strahan, at 22.5*. Whether or not Brett Favre took a dive so that Strahan could get the record in 2001 may always be debated, but the record is Strahan’s until someone else breaks it.

The career record belongs to Bruce Smith, who is the only player to reach the 200 sack mark.

If anyone could reach either of those records, it would likely be San Diego’s Shawne Merriman. Merriman has 28.5 sacks in his first two seasons, and had 17 last season despite missing four games. Had he played all 16 games, he would have at least equaled Strahan’s mark, if he kept up his average of nearly a sack and a half a game.

The career interception record is held by Paul Krause at 81. That record looks like it’ll stand for a good while longer. Rod Woodson came within 10 of tying the mark before he retired. Ed Reed of the Ravens has 27 picks in five seasons, but he might have to start getting seven picks or more regularly to have a real chance.

Eighteen players have had four inteceptions in a game, but only three have done it since 1978, with Deltha O’Neal (then with Denver) being the most recent to accomplish the feat, against K.C. in 2001. It’d be hard to imagine someone getting five interceptions in a game, but that’s what Madden is for.

As far as team records go, the one that stands out is the one that’s going to be hardest to get to. The ‘72 Miami Dolphins are still the only team in the current era to go through their regular season and playoffs undefeated. Four teams (the ‘84 49ers, ‘85 Bears, ‘98 Vikings, and ‘04 Steelers) have all gone 15-1, but that’s the closest anyone has come. Seventeen teams have gone 14-2 since the NFL went to a 16-game schedule, the most recent being San Diego last season. Denver in 1998 and Indianapolis in 2005 both started 13-0 before finishing 14-2, but that’s the closest someone has come to threatening the Dolphins’ 17-0 mark in recent years.

Out of all of the records in the book, that one might stand the longest. But, watch and see, now that I said that, someone’s going to go undefeated this season. And, if it does happen, let’s hope it’s the boys in Big D.

There’ve been some great quarterbacks in Dallas history, from Meredith to Aikman (and hopefully Romo soon), and part of the reason why they were so good is that they had some good targets to throw to.

From Bullet Bob to ‘The Playmaker,’ Dallas has been home to some explosive receivers.

1960s

In the first few years in Cowboys history were rather unforgettable, as Dallas was a woeful 25-53-4 from 1960-65. But, during that time, Don Meredith emerged as a star at quarterback, and the Cowboys had their first star at receiver in Frank Clarke. Clarke played for the Browns from 1957-59, and made only 10 catches in his brief Browns career before moving to Dallas for their expansion season. He made only nine catches in his first season, but those nine catches were for a 32.2 yard average and three scores.

But, he took off in 1961, and from ‘61-64 was one of the NFL’s top receivers. In each of those seasons, he finished among the league leaders in at least one of the main receiving categories. In ‘61, he caught 41 passes for 919 yards (8th) and nine touchdowns (6th). In ‘62, he had his best season, catching 47 passes for 1,043 yards and a league-leading 14 touchdowns. In ‘63, Don Meredith’s first full year as a starter, his numbers dropped to 43-833, but he still finished fourth in the league with 10 TD catches. In 1964, his numbers went back up, as he caught a career-best 65 passes for 973 yards and five TDs.

His numbers dipped the next year due to the emergence of a rookie from Florida A&M named Bob Hayes, but he still caught 41 passes for 682 yards and four TDs. He would finish out his Dallas and NFL career in 1967, having caught 291 passes in his career for 5,426 yards and 50 touchdowns.

Where Clarke left off, Hayes picked up and sped off. Hayes came into Dallas with the lofty distinction as the world’s fastest man, having won two gold medals in the 1964 Tokyo Olympics, including one in the 100-meter dash, where he tied the world record at the time. Hayes put that speed to great use in his rookie year and immediately became one of the league’s top receivers, after hauling in 46 passes for 1,003 yards and a league-leading 12 TDs. He topped those marks in his second season, catching 64 passes for 1,232 yards and 13 touchdowns. Those marks were fourth, second, and first in the league. Hayes made the Pro Bowl in each of his first three seasons, and would reach double-digits in touchdowns three more times in his Cowboys career, which lasted until 1974. He played his final season with San Francisco in 1975, and finished his illustrious career with 371 catches for 7,414 yards and 71 touchdowns, a Cowboy record that still stands today.

1970s

When you think of Cowboys receivers in the 70s, one name stands above the rest: Drew Pearson. Pearson was the go-to guy on the teams that went to three Super Bowls in four years from 1975-78. Pearson broke Hayes’ catch and yardage records in his 11-year career (1973-83), totalling 489 receptions for 7,822 yards, and 48 touchdowns. He had two 1,000 yard seasons (1974, 1979) and made three Pro Bowl appearances (1974, 1976, 1977). He also led the NFL in receiving yards in 1977, with 870.

But, he’s most remembered for his clutch catches, most notably his game-winning touchdown catch against Minnesota in a 1975 NFC Divisional playoff game. His 50-yard catch and run from Roger Staubach in the final seconds carried Dallas to a 17-14 win and was one of the most memorable plays in NFL history, not only because Pearson set off a controversy with an apparent pushoff that wasn’t called but also because it was when the term ‘Hail Mary’ was coined.

1980s

As Pearson’s career wound down, Tony Hill emerged as the new go-to guy at the end of the 70s and into the 80s. Hill, the Cowboys’ third-round pick in 1977, led the team in receiving yards eight straight seasons from 1978-85. His best seasons were 1979, 1980, and 1985, when he went over 1,000 yards each season. 1985 was his next to last season, but his best as well, as he caught a career-best 74 passes for 1,113 yards and seven TDs. He broke Pearson’s yardage record late in his final season in 1986, and finished with 7,988 yards receiving. He came up just short of Pearson’s receptions mark, hauling in 479 passes. And, he finished his career in second in touchdowns, just ahead of Clarke and Pearson with 51. In his 10 seasons, he went to the Pro Bowl three times (1978, 1979, 1985), and was also a solid postseason performer, with 46 catches, 618 yards, and four TDs in 13 playoff games.

1990s

Without a doubt, the main man in the 90s was Michael Irvin. He was Troy Aikman’s go-to guy on three championship teams, and obliterated the previous marks for catches and receiving yards. In twelve seasons, he caught 750 passes for 11,904 yards. He finished his career in second behind Hayes in touchdowns with 65. In his career, he had seven 1,000 yard seasons, made five Pro Bowls, and was one of the NFL’s most unstoppable receivers from 1991-95.

Of the stars from the first four decades, only Irvin is in the Hall of Fame, though the late Bullet Bob is certainly worthy of a bust. His numbers may not have been spectacular, but there’s no getting around how great he was from 1965-71, when he was unquestionably one of the league’s top pass-catchers and reached double digits in touchdowns five times in that seven-season span. And, Pearson has yet to be inducted into the Cowboys’ Ring of Honor, which is baffling given how pivotal a part of Dallas history he is. Hopefull he’ll get his due soon, because he deserves it.

The current decade has seen a revolving door of receivers in Dallas. Antonio Bryant was drafted in 2001 with the hopes that he would become a star, but after an unsuccessful three-year stint, he departed to Cleveland.

They haven’t had any trouble luring some of the NFL’s top and most headline-grabbing names in, but it’s been a mixed bag of results. Joey Galloway didn’t go over 1,000 yards in his four (minus one injury-shortened season) years in Dallas, and was traded to Tampa for Keyshawn Johnson in 2004. Galloway has gone for 1,000 yards in his last two seasons, while Johnson didn’t go over 1,000 in his two as a Cowboy.

But, things have turned for the better in the last couple of seasons. Terry Glenn came in 2003, after a bitter end to his career in New England and a one-year stint in Green Bay. Glenn suffered an ACL tear in his second season, but has come back strong and rejuvenated his career with two straight 1,000+ yard seasons.

Terrell Owens came on board last season, and despite the controversy surrounding him coming in, and the ones that arose during the season, gave the Cowboys only their second 1,000+ yard receiving duo in their history (Michael Irvin and Rocket Ismail were the first, with 1,057 and 1,097 in 1998).

Glenn and Owens are getting older, but there’s no doubt both have plenty of catches left in them, and by the time they’re done as Cowboys, both have the chance to become two of the top receivers in Cowboys history.

Who will follow them? It could be Patrick Crayton, who could have his chance to shine in a few more seasons when Glenn and Owens are done. Or Sam Hurd, who’s still developing his skills in only his second season, but has great potential.

Or will Dallas get their star of the next decade through the draft as soon as next season, and build up the next Hayes, Pearson, Hill, or Irvin? Or will the recent trend be followed, and acquire him (or them) through free agency or trades, as with Glenn and Owens?

But, no matter who he is, he certainly has some lofty expectations to live up to, without a doubt.