Now that we've locked down the offensive and defensive schemes for BTB's Best of the Best four team tourney, it's time to turn our focus to the players. Since quarterbacks often are equated to wins and losses just as coaches are, I thought it only fair to dedicate a post to them specifically. We'll handle the rest of the offensive player pool in the next post in the series.
Dallas Cowboys fans have been blessed with franchise quarterbacks. Manning the position puts a player in rarified air, with as much connotation as shortstop of the New York Yankees. There have been two Hall of Famers with seven Super Bowl starts between them, as well as another who started one for Dallas and one for another club. They have a quarterback that achieved a continued amount of regular season success, and are currently captained by a quarterback that is breaking most of the team's records. In between them, though, the void has been a great one. More than any other fanbase, the Cowboys know what it takes to lead a team from the quarterback position and what just won't cut it. Without further ado, here is the rundown of all players who have started a game for the Dallas Cowboys.
| Quarterback | Years Spanned By Starts | Career Record | Quarterback | Years Spanned By Starts | Career Record | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Don Heinrich | 1960-1960 | 0-1 | Bernie Kosar | 1993-1993 | 0-1 | |
| Eddie LeBaron | 1960-1963 | 4-21-1 | Jason Garrett | 1993-1999 | 6-3 | |
| Don Meredith | 1960-1968 | 48-33-4 | Rodney Peete | 1994-1994 | 1-0 | |
| John Roach | 1964-1964 | 0-4 | Wade Wilson | 1995-1997 | 0-1 | |
| Jerry Rhome | 1965-1967 | 1-2 | Clint Stoerner | 2000-2001 | 1-1 | |
| Craig Morton | 1965-1974 | 32-14-1 | Anthony Wright | 2000-2001 | 1-1 | |
| Roger Staubach | 1969-1979 | 85-29 | Randall Cunningham | 2000-2000 | 1-2 | |
| Clint Longley | 1974-1975 | 1-0 | Ryan Leaf | 2001-2001 | 0-3 | |
| Danny White | 1976-1988 | 62-30 | Quincy Carter | 2001-2003 | 16-15 | |
| Glenn Carano | 1980-1981 | 1-0 | Chad Hutchinson | 2002-2003 | 2-7 | |
| Gary Hogeboom | 1982-1985 | 6-6 | Drew Henson | 2004-2004 | 1-0 | |
| Steve Pelluer | 1985-1988 | 8-19 | Vinny Testaverde | 2004-2004 | 5-10 | |
| Reggie Collier | 1986-1986 | 0-1 | Drew Bledsoe | 2005-2006 | 12-10 | |
| Kevin Sweeny | 1987-1988 | 2-2 | Tony Romo | 2006 - Current | 39-22 | |
| Steve Walsh | 1989-1990 | 1-4 | Brad Johnson | 2007-2008 | 1-2 | |
| Troy Aikman | 1989-2000 | 94-71 | Stephen McGee | 2010-2010 | 1-0 | |
| Babe Laufenberg | 1990-1990 | 0-1 | Jon Kitna | 2010-2010 | 4-5 | |
| Steve Beuerlein | 1991-1992 | 4-0 |
Follow the jump to see who made the cut for our BTB player pool.
For a look back at the offensive schemes, go here. For the defensive schemes, go here.
[UPDATE: The players are NOW listed in ranking order]
Those Who Made The Cut:
Roger The Dodger
| QB Roger Staubach | 1969 - 1979 | Hall Of Fame. 2 time Super Bowl Champion, started two others. 1971 Player Of the Year, 1971 SB MVP. 11-6 Playoff Record. 6 Pro Bowls. | Career 85-29 record (.746 WP). Threw for over 22K yards in his career, 153 TDs against 109 INTs. Career 7.7 yards per attempt. Holds team single season record for YPA (8.9) and QB rating (104.8) both in 1971. | Interesting note, Staubach retired as the highest rated passer of all-time, leading the league on four different occasions. Tom Landry described him as "possibly the best combination of a passer, an athlete and a leader to ever play in the NFL." What else is there to add on to that? |
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Aikman, The Man-Robot
| QB Troy Aikman | 1989 - 2000 | Hall Of Fame. 3 time Super Bowl Champion, '92 SB MVP, 11-4 Overall Playoff record. 6 Pro Bowls. | Career 94-71 record (.570 WP). Just under 2900 completions and 33K yards in his career. 165 career TDs, 141 INTs, 7.0 career yards per attempt. 81.6 Career QB Rating | An interesting note I always thought about Troy Aikman's numbers. I fondly remember the Cowboys offensive strategy seems to be pass to get to the 10, and let Emmitt take care of the rest. To the point the Cowboys didn't pass into the end zone as a strategy, knowing the defense had to cover it, throwing underneath was easier. It's amazing to me that Aikman's interception totals were so high compared to TD, but I think that's a major reason why. |
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Dandy Don Meredith
| QB Don Meredith | 1960 - 1968 | 1966 Player of the Year. Career 1-3 playoff record. 3 time Pro Bowler. | Career 48-33-4 record (.588 WP). Threw for over 17000 yards for his career, 135 TDs against 111 INTs. Career 7.5 YPA, career 74.8 QB Rating. Holds record for longest Cowboys pass (95 yards) | An interesting note, Dandy Don Meredith is known as the original Cowboy. He had signed a personal services contract with another company of owner Clint Murchison before the team had a nickname, hired a coach or made a pick in the expansion draft. |
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Almost Danny White
| QB Danny White | 1976 - 1988 | Lifetime 5-5 playoff record. Appeared in 1 Pro Bowl. | Career 62-30 record (.674 WP). Just under 22K career passing yards, 155 TDs against 132 INTs. Career 7.4 YPA and 81.7 QB Rating. | An interesting note, White is known as the almost guy, not quite good enough to deliver a favored team to a championship. In the infamous catch game, White had completed a pass to Drew Pearson who was barely tripped up on his way to a score. |
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Tony 'The Playa' Romo
| QB Tony Romo | 2006 - 2010 | 3 Pro Bowls | Career 39-22 record (.639 WP) Holds team single season records for completions, attempts, pass yards, completion percentage, touchdowns. 8.0 career yards per attempt. 95.5 Career QB Rating, 116 career TDs against 62 interceptions. | Interesting note, Tony Romo has the same interception percentage as Aikman (3.0%) and better than Staubach. Doesn't Romo seem to have the impression that he throws picks more often than other Cowboys quarterbacks? |
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Craig Morton
| QB Craig Morton | 1965 - 1974 | Career 3-2 playoff record with the Cowboys, 5-5 lifetime. | Career 32-14-1 record (.691 WP). Threw for over 10K yards with 80 TDs against 73 INTs. Career 7.9 YPA and 71.7 QB Rating | An interesting note, Morton was the quarterback in Dallas' first Super Bowl appearance, SB V, a loss to Baltimore. Morton would go on to become the first QB to start a SB with two teams, when he led the Broncos into SB XII. |
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Up next in the series: BOTB Offensive Skill Position Cowboys
Special recognition for this series goes to the following resources. I'm very appreciative of the content provided.
www.profootballreference.com
www.wikipedia.com