Sports Then and Now

Happy 70th Birthday to American Hero and NFL All-Time Great Roger Staubach.

Sports Then and Now wants to wish a Happy 70th Birthday to one of our favorite athletes of all-time, “Captain Comeback” Roger Staubach.

Known for his late-game heroics, Staubach was one of the iconic figures of the NFL during the 1970s.

During his nine seasons as the starting quarterback for the Dallas Cowboys, Staubach seemed to always have the uncanny knack of making the big play needed to lift his team to victory. He led the Cowboys to 23 fourth quarter game-winning drives during his career, including 15 times with his team trailing.

The Cowboys reached the playoffs in eight of his nine seasons as the starting quarterback and advanced to the Super Bowl five times.

He was named MVP of Super Bowl VI and also led Dallas to the title in Super Bowl XII.

Staubach was a winner even before joining the Cowboys.

He spent three seasons at the Naval Academy and as a junior in 1963 won the Heisman Trophy while leading the Midshipmen to a 9-1 record and a number two national ranking. Read the rest of this entry →

The Dallas Cowboys and the New York Giants have experienced this before. Playing each other in New York in the regular season finale with the winner claiming the NFC East Championship. Almost 18 years ago to the day, the two teams played arguably the most significant game in the longtime series between the two bitter division rivals.

On Jan. 2, 1994, the teams met in the old Meadowlands stadium in New York

 in the 1993 regular season finale with the division title on the line. While the stature of that game was a bit bigger than what is on the line tonight in New York when the two teams meet to decide the division title in the regular season finale, tonight’s battle is easily the biggest game between the two teams since that fabled game in 1994. Back then, Dallas was the defending Super Bowl champions with “The Triplets” – Michael Irvin, Troy Aikman, and Emmitt Smith – all of who would later be enshrined in the pro football hall of fame. New York had Giants all time greats in Phil Simms and Lawrence Taylor.

Those marquee players are replaced by names today like Tony Romo, Jason Witten, Dez Bryant, DeMarcus Ware, and Jay Ratliff for the Cowboys. New York offers Eli Manning, Brandon Jacobs, Ahmad Bradshaw, Justin Tuck, and Osi Umenyiora. All good players, some even great. Overall, a notch below the cast for each team a generation ago and not a sure fire hall of famer among them.

While the stakes are high tonight with a division title and along with it the NFC’s final playoff berth on the line, there was even more at stake 18 years ago, at least for Dallas. A win meant home field advantage, a week off, and the top seed in the NFC playoffs. Both teams also entered the 1994 game at 11-4 while tonight’s game features teams stuck in mediocrity with identical 8-7 records. Still, a huge game is a huge game.

Emmitt Smith, who suffered a separated right shoulder just before halftime

Emmitt Smith sustained a separated right shoulder on this play after being tackled by the Giants' Greg Jackson (47) just before halftime on Jan. 2, 1994.

 in the 1994 game, played through it finishing with 168 yards on 32 carries. Smith also had 61 yards on 10 catches as the Cowboys won 16-13 in overtime following Eddie Murray’s 41-yard field goal. The game is memorable at least in Dallas lore as Smith cemented his legendary status as a warrior who could play with the burden of a significant injury and will his team to victory. To this day it is remembered as one of the top displays of courage and toughness in the history of sports.

Injury is also on the table again for the Cowboys in tonight’s game, this time entering it. Romo has a bruised right throwing hand which he suffered in last week’s 20-7 home loss to Philadelphia. While he has been dealing with swelling in the hand all week, he is scheduled to start Sunday night’s showdown. He will likely be wearing a protective wrap on his hand that leaves his fingers exposed to ensure a sure grip on the ball.

Playing hurt is nothing new to Romo who has displayed his own brand of toughness and courage this season. Next to Smith’s performance with his separated shoulder, Romo arguably comes up next in courageous performances while playing injured in Dallas annals.

Playing with a broken rib and a punctured lung suffered during the first half at San Francisco back in September this season, Romo returned to the game to lead the Cowboys to a 27-24 overtime win over the 49ers. Romo’s 77-yard connection to Jesse Holley in overtime set up a 19-yard field goal by rookie Dan Bailey to clinch it. Romo finished 20-for-33 for 345 yards and two touchdowns while compiling a 116.4 quarterback rating. One of the most clutch performances of his career, all while enduring severe pain that at times tested his ability to call out signals and after the game made it hard to talk during the postgame interview where he needed help to get up and off the podium.

Dallas tight end Jason Witten tries to escape Giants linebacker Michael Boley during the team's first meeting in Dallas back on Dec. 11 (Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images).

Romo continued to play, starting each and every game this season as trainers nursed his way back to health. It would be about midseason before both the rib and lung were totally healed.

By then Dallas was on a roll, playing its’ best ball of the season. A 34-7 loss at Philadelphia on Oct. 30 was followed by a four-game winning streak that put the Cowboys at 7-4 and in first place in the division. During that same time, the Giants were fading. Following a big 24-20 win at New England, New York was 6-2 at midseason. Four straight losses followed, three coming to 2011 division champions in San Francisco, New Orleans, and Green Bay. That put them at 6-6 heading into the first Dallas game.

Trailing by 12 points with 5:41 to play, the Giants scored 15 straight points to post a come-from behind win which saved their season. It was secured when New York’s Jason Pierre-Paul blocked Bailey’s potential game-tying field goal after a successful attempt just seconds earlier was nullified by an icing timeout called by Giants coach Tom Coughlin in the 37-34 win.

Since logging its’ fourth straight win with a 20-19 overtime win over Miami on Thanksgiving Day, the Cowboys have gone 1-3, the only win coming at Tampa Bay on Dec. 17. The loss to New York in the first meeting was significant for both teams as it tightened the race for the division title.

The outcome left both teams at 7-6 overall and 2-2 in the division. Each

Brandon Jacobs runs for a touchdown during the first half of the Giants' win in Dallas back in December (AP Photo/Sharon Ellman).

 team had three games to play with both facing two division opponents. However at the time, the Giants had the division lead by virtue of its’ head to head win over Dallas. It looked as if things would still come down to the final regular season game when the two met in New York.

That is exactly what has happened. There is no tomorrow. The winner wins the division and goes to the playoffs. The loser goes home and has a long offseason.

The only question is how will this game stack up to that memorable game from 1994? If history is any indication, it should be a dogfight. All the marbles are on the table and it is for anyone’s taking.

Four games into the season, Tony Romo is playing like a pendulum. Good in one game, bad in another. Romo has even played good and bad in the same game, some ending in victory and others in defeat.

The results of this swing game have left the Dallas Cowboys in mediocrity. The Cowboys are 2-2 after the first quarter of the season. Romo has thrown for 1,273 yards on the young season. His seven touchdown passes have been offset by five costly interceptions.

Tony Romo ponders the situation in a recent home loss to Detroit in which Dallas surrendered a 24-point lead.

A closer look at Romo’s play suggests that Dallas could easily be 4-0 and in first place in the NFC East Division or 0-4 and in last place in the division. That is how much the fortunes of an NFL team can be altered by the play of its’ quarterback. This concept is magnified when you are the quarterback of the Cowboys, a five-time Super Bowl Champion which has an NFL record tying eight trips to the big game among its’ legacy.

Like other glamour positions in professional sports, Romo occupies a catbirds seat. Playing quarterback for Dallas comes with more expectations than that of quarterbacking a lot of other NFL teams. Romo follows a Cowboys’ quarterback roll call that reads Eddie LeBaron, the late Don Meredith, Craig Morton, Roger Staubach, Danny White, and Troy Aikman. Both Staubach and Aikman are in Dallas’ Ring of Honor and each are also in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Any such honors for Romo are not even close at this time. In his fifth full season as Dallas’ starter and ninth overall, Romo needs to focus on getting better and playing more consistently good in order for the Cowboys to become a great team. While he has led Dallas to their two wins this season while playing with a broken rib, staying healthy would also help. Romo has battled injury in three of the last four seasons dating back to 2008 when he missed three full games with a fractured right pinkie on his throwing hand. In 2010, Romo missed 10 games with a broken left clavicle.

Romo’s play in 2011 has sent the Cowboys on a roller coaster ride. There have been peaks with some of them being maintained for multiple quarters and even most of a game which have factored into wins. There was the adrenaline rush Romo felt of leading Dallas to the comeback in the fourth quarter and overtime in the win at San Francisco. Then, there was Romo’s big pass play to Dez Bryant that set up the game-winning field goal against Washington. Read the rest of this entry →

The Washington Redskins and the Dallas Cowboys have been one of the National Football League’s best rivalries for decades. In fact, some pro football pundits might rank the matchup as the second best rivalry in the game behind the Green Bay Packers and the Chicago Bears, who just met for the 183^rd time on Sunday. Regardless of ranking, there is no doubt that the Redskins and Cowboys battle each other harder than any other opponent they play, just like any rivalry. Even when the scoring might not be much to talk about.

Such was the case on Monday when the two teams played each other to

Dallas rookie kicker Dan Bailey boots one of his six field goals in a win over Washington on Monday night (Matthew Emmons/US Presswire).

another dramatic finish, a mark of the longstanding series, especially in recent years. Including Monday, nine of the 13 games since 2005 have been decided by seven points or less. In the process, the games have been decided in the late stages of the fourth quarter and even within the last two minutes.

Monday night was more of the same. With Tony Romo ailing due to a broken rib and rendered ineffective for much of the game, Dallas escaped with an 18-16 win over Washington in its’ home opener at Cowboys Stadium. Rookie kicker Dan Bailey kicked a 40-yard field goal with 1:52 left to provide the final margin. Bailey accounted for all of Dallas’ points on the night by going 6-for-6 which tied a Cowboys’ rookie record for most field games made in a game. Romo finished 22-for-36 for 255 yards and had one interception.

While the game lacked touchdowns and big play offense, it was still a back-and-forth game. Both offenses stalled in the first half as the two teams split six field goals for a 9-9 halftime tie. Romo took several hits in the first half alone which tested his threshold of pain. While his punctured lung from a week ago had mostly healed, he had to take two pain-killing injections for the rib to get through the game. Once again Romo’s toughness and perseverance showed when it mattered most.

In the span of two weeks, Romo has gone from goat on the young season, to a successful clutch performer for America’s Team. After opening the season with a fourth quarter meltdown against the Jets in New York, where his fumble and interception aided the Jets comeback victory, Romo has come nearly full circle.

Romo’s performance in rallying Dallas from a 24-14 fourth-quarter deficit at San Francisco last week with a broken rib and a punctured lung followed by last nights’ gutty performance have cast Romo in a new and better light than in the past. That of a leader who is determined and focused. Up until now, Romo is best known for botching the hold of a snap on a possible game-winning field goal attempt in a playoff loss at Seattle following the 2006 season. Yet, Romo could still use an entire season of success to stake his claim to being an upper-echelon NFL quarterback. The season is still young.

As are the Cowboys, especially on the offensive line. Right tackle Tyron Smith, left guard Bill Nagy, and center Phil Costa are all rookies or second-year players with all three in their first year as starters. That unit is still a work in progress and needs time to become cohesive. Gone from the front wall is five-time pro-bowl center Andre Gurode who was released in training camp. Read the rest of this entry →

Pro Football Hall-of-Famer Emmitt Smith, the National Football League’s all-time leader in rushing, now has company on the same page in the Dallas Cowboys’ history books. The page noting courage and toughness while playing injured. Present day Dallas quarterback Tony Romo is his new neighbor.

Dallas' Tony Romo passes the ball as he is about to be tackled by the 49ers Aldon Smith (99) and Justin Smith (94) last Sunday in San Francisco (AP/Tony Avelar).

Romo’s heroic performance of playing with a fractured rib in leading Dallas to a 27-24 come-from-behind overtime win at San Francisco last Sunday placed Romo in the same conversation as Smith in this category. Along the way, it answered questions about Romo’s toughness, both mentally and physically.

In compiling a legendary 15-year career as an NFL running back – 13 of which were in Dallas – Smith’s epic game of playing with a separated right shoulder while leading the Cowboys to a division-clinching win over the arch rival New York Giants at Giants Stadium on Jan. 2, 1994 is widely recognized as his signature performance. This showed his love, heart, and passion for the game in addition to his courage and toughness. It also demonstrated his commitment to the Cowboys and that he played more than for the money, especially in a year where he saw the Cowboys open 0-2 in his absence due to a contract dispute.

After sustaining the injury following a 46-yard run with two minutes left in the first half, Smith persevered physically by refusing to come out of the regular season finale. The Cowboys needed to win the game to lock up home field advantage in the NFC playoffs.

Running against a defense featuring Lawrence Taylor, who had one sack in the game, Smith resorted to sheer guts and willpower in rushing for 168 yards on 32 carries and adding 61 yards on 10 catches, one which went for a touchdown. Smith did much of this with one arm throughout the second half. Of Smith’s 229 yards from scrimmage in the game, 78 came after the injury. Read the rest of this entry →

Despite not having a Hall of Fame caliber quarterback, the Washington Redskins clearly ranked as the best of the 44 Super Bowl Champions.

Since the first Super Bowl was held in January 1967, 44 teams have hoisted the Vince Lombardi Championship Trophy. But which of these championship teams was really the greatest of the greats?

In part two of our countdown of the Super Bowl Champions, we count down to the number one champion in Super Bowl history. For more details about the categories used to rank the teams, check out part one.

20. 1977 Dallas Cowboys – Record: 15-2 (32 points); Average loss by 11 points (9 points); Average win by 14.6 points (23 points); Opponent winning percentage: .485 (29 points); Wins over +.500 teams: 4 (25 points); Total Points: 118
Arguably the best of Tom Landry’s 29 Dallas Cowboy squads, the 1977 Cowboys combined an explosive offense led by Roger Staubach, Drew Pearson and rookie Tony Dorsett with a dominating defense led by linemen Randy White and Harvey Martin. Dallas finished 12-2 during the regular season with their two losses coming back-to-back after winning their first eight games. In the Playoffs, Dallas out-scored the Chicago Bears and Minnesota Vikings by a combined score of 60-13 to reach the Super Bowl. Facing the Denver Broncos in Super Bowl XII, the Cowboys were dominant in a 27-10 victory.

19. 1990 New York Giants – Record: 16-3 (26 points); Average loss by 8.7 points (20 points); Average win by 11.4 points (9 points); Opponent winning percentage: .500 (36 points); Wins over +.500 teams: 4 (28 points); Total Points: 119
Because the 1990 New York Giants narrowly won the NFC Championship Game over the San Francisco 49ers and then had to withstand a last second missed field goal to win Super Bowl XXV, the Giants are often overlooked when the best championship teams are discussed. However, the second of Bill Parcell’s Super Bowl teams was a solid team led by a defense that allowed the fewest points in the NFL. After starting quarterback Phil Simms was lost for the season in the 14th week, backup Jeff Hostetler stepped in and did not throw an interception in three playoff wins. Read the rest of this entry →