Sports Then and Now

Roger Staubach

The Sports Then and Now Vintage Athlete of the Month for January was known during his NFL career for leading his team to late-game comebacks and improbable victories.

During his nine seasons as the starting quarterback for the Dallas Cowboys, Roger 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. Read the rest of this entry →

One of the most memorable moments in the 2009 NFL season was the Indianapolis Colts scoring a last-second touchdown to pull out a 35-34 victory against the New England Patriots after the Patriots were stopped on 4th-and-2 at their own 28-yard-line, despite holding a six-point lead  with about two minutes to play.

Patriots head coach Bill Belichick’s decision to go for the first down in this game was reminiscent of former Cowboys head coach Barry Switzer’s gamble to go for a first down in his team’s own territory with the game tied in the final minutes of a December showdown with the Philadelphia Eagles.

The former Oklahoma head coach became head coach of the Cowboys following the departure of Jimmy Johnson after the 1993 season.

Johnson had led the Cowboys from a 1-15 season in his first year in Dallas to two straight Super Bowl titles, behind the famed “Triplets”; quarterback Troy Aikman, wide receiver Michael Irvin, and running back Emmitt Smith.

In Switzer’s first season, the Cowboys finished with a 12-4 record but were knocked off by the San Francisco 49ers in the NFC Championship Game.

In 1995, the Cowboys jumped out to an 8-1 start before being humiliated by the 49ers 38-20 in Dallas, leading owner Jerry Jones to come out and say that the team was outcoached.

The Cowboys would win the next two games before dropping another home game, this time against the Washington Redskins, as they entered their late-season showdown with the Philadelphia Eagles.

Under first-year head coach Ray Rhodes, the Eagles had complied a 8-5 record entering this game,  but had gone 7-2 ever since Rhodes had benched starting quarterback Randall Cunningham and replaced with veteran backup Rodney Peete.

Still, Rhodes played the “no respect” card for the Eagles as they hosted the Cowboys on a 13-degree afternoon in Veterans stadium, with a wind chill of minus seven degrees. Read the rest of this entry →

Don Meredith was an original member of the Dallas Cowboys.

Imagine being part of the team that created Microsoft and then later helping launch Google. In a sense, “Dandy” Don Meredith had that kind of career in professional football as he was an important part of the development of two iconic franchises in the Dallas Cowboys and Monday Night Football.

Because Meredith, who passed away on Sunday following a brain hemorrhage, has been out of the spotlight for nearly as long as he was in it, it has taken his death for many to recount just how integral he was to the development of two sports brands that are now taken for granted.

A two-time All-American as a quarterback at Southern Methodist University, Meredith was originally chosen in the third round of the 1960 draft by George Halas and the Chicago Bears. However, he was soon traded back to his native state of Texas and the expansion Dallas Cowboys.

During his first two seasons, Meredith was primarily the backup to quarterback Eddie Lebaron. However, he did play an important role in the first victory in team history as he replaced Lebaron and tossed the game-tying touchdown pass as Dallas rallied to defeat the Pittsburgh Steelers 27-24 on September 17, 1961.

He finally took over the starting job for good in 1963 and soon the Cowboys began to move from the NFL cellar to the penthouse.

Known for his wit and humor, Meredith was a start contrast to the stoic coach of the Cowboys, Tom Landry. Meredith described Landry as a perfectionist who if he were married to actress and model Rachel Welch would also expect her to be a good cook.

However, though Meredith was known for his joking personality off the field, there was never any doubt that on the field he was all business and one of the toughest players around. Early in his career the Cowboys offensive line had more holes than Swiss cheese, but Meredith took every licking and kept on ticking. Read the rest of this entry →

In his NFL debut, Clint Longley led Dallas to a 24-23 victory over the Washington Redskins on Thanksgiving Day.

Professional football has a long and storied history as part of our American Thanksgiving tradition. Many of the greatest players and best teams in NFL history have made their mark on this holiday and thus created a special place for themselves in the memories of families across the country during this time of fellowship and giving thanks.

You can read about some of those memorable moments and games in a column I first published last year.

While many of the players who have performed well on Thanksgiving Day were familiar faces and established stars of the game, there also have been a number of players whose one shining moment as a professional football player occurred on the big stage of Turkey Day.

One such player was former Dallas Cowboys backup quarterback Jason Garrett. Until recently becoming interim head coach of the Cowboys, he was likely best remembered by most football fans for his nearly flawless performance in place of starting quarterback Troy Aikman on Thanksgiving Day in 1994.

In only his second career start, Garrett passed for 311 yards and two touchdowns to help Dallas defeat the Green Bay Packers  42-31.

However, while Garrett’s performance was impressive, it was arguably not the best or most memorable performance by a Dallas backup quarterback on Thanksgiving Day.

That honor would belong to a rookie quarterback from Abilene Christian who two decades before Garrett’s Thanksgiving performance made a lasting impression on the football world with a memorable Thanksgiving Day show of his own.

In the mid-1970s, the rivalry between the Dallas Cowboys and Washington Redskins was emerging as one of the most interesting in all of professional sports.

Thanks to the contrast between Washington’s spirited head coach George Allen and the stoic leader of the Cowboys Tom Landry, the rivalry had gained steam and by 1974 was among the most anticipated battles on the NFL calendar.

When the two squads squared off on Thanksgiving Day in 1974 it provided a perfect venue for the renewal of this special rivalry. Playing on national television in an era before video games, multiplex theaters and cable television provided people with other entertainment options, the late afternoon battle between the Cowboys and Redskins was truly America’s afternoon dessert following the traditional Thanksgiving meal. Read the rest of this entry →

After a disappointing 1-7 start, Wade Phillips and the Cowboys are left to wonder what happened to the promise of 2010.

Finally having seen enough as the 2010 season continues to be a nightmare for his Dallas Cowboys, team owner and general manager Jerry Jones has done the inevitable and dismissed beleaguered head coach Wade Phillips.

Jones had tried to resist the temptation to make a coaching change during the middle of the season, but an embarrassing 45-7 loss on Sunday Night Football to the Green Bay Packers was more than the proud owner could absorb.

So, the Cowboys will finish the 2010 season under the leadership of offensive coordinator Jason Garrett.

It was just a couple years ago that Garrett was the hot young coaching prospect. When he became the offensive coordinator for the Cowboys in 2007 many thought it was just a matter of time before he would replace Phillips as the coach of the Cowboys.

Now, Garrett will have his chance, but it certainly isn’t in the situation originally envisioned.

With a 1-7 record and having been outscored 121-59 the last three weeks, Dallas is on pace for their worst season since their first season under Jones’ ownership in 1989.

During that season, Dallas started 0-8 and posted only one victory over the 16 game schedule.

However, the biggest difference between the Cowboys in 1989 and 2010 is that while the 1989 squad had no expectations and were biding time as Jones and coach Jimmy Johnson started building the team into eventual three-time Super Bowl champions, the 2010 Cowboys had visions of the Super Bowl dancing in their heads before the season. Read the rest of this entry →

Six games into the 2010 season, the Dallas Cowboys are playing anything like the star on their helmet. A 41-35 home loss on Oct. 25 to the division rival New York Giants in their only Monday night game of the season dropped the Cowboys to a dismal 1-5 with their third straight loss. Dallas is 0-3 at home this season and is off to its’ worst start since 1989 when it finished 1-15. As if things could not get any worse, starting quarterback Tony Romo suffered a broken left clavicle in the loss to the Giants and will be sidelined anywhere from six to eight weeks.

Dallas quarterback Tony Romo lays motionless after taking a hit from New York Giants' linebacker Michael Boley in the second quarter. Romo suffered a fractured left clavicle (non-throwing side) on the play and will miss six to eight weeks.

All of a sudden a team picked to contend for the Super Bowl finds itself all alone in the basement of its’ own division. A winning record let alone a wild card playoff berth seems to be a distant and unlikely feat this season. All those lofty preseason expectations have seemed to gone up in smoke.

Yet, when a talented team like the Cowboys stumbles, they need to look at themselves. Such is the case for Dallas this season as the Cowboys have defeated themselves. Penalties, turnovers, bad plays, breakdowns in special teams, and poor play calls by coaches have all been factors in the losses. Everyone from owner, president, and general manager Jerry Jones is involved in what is a serious case of underachievement.

It started in a week one loss at Washington when a holding call on right tackle Alex Barron nullified what would have been the game-winning touchdown pass from Romo to Roy Williams on the final play in a 13-7 loss. That was the final mistake in a night of goofs for Dallas which committed 12 penalties for 91 yards. Furthermore, Romo had two passes intercepted. Read the rest of this entry →