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Thus far, the closest contests have been those with the least disparate seedings. Yesterday's skirmish, between sixth-seeded Cornell Green and eleventh-seeded Jay Novacek, was the closest yet. Might today's match-up, between seventh-seeded Harvey Martin and tenth-seeded Don Perkins, yield a similarly tight result? You know the drill, people: read the bios, make your choice and hit to poll to cast your ballot.
Wanna keep tabs on the state of the bracket or look ahead to future contests? All the Midsummer Madness info you could ever want can be found right here.
Player: Harvey Martin
Position: defensive end
Seed: 7
Essentials:
| Name | Years | Career AV | Pro Bowls | All-Pro | RoH | HoF |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Harvey Banks Martin |
1973-83 |
96 |
4 |
1 |
no |
no |
Bio: Martin was drafted in the third round of the 1973 NFL Draft, and made an immediate splash. Although Martin played only on passing downs, he still led the team in quarterback sacks with 9. He became the full-time starter in 1975 and, in '76, registered got 15.5 sacks and made the Pro Bowl for the first time. His 1977 season was arguably the best ever by a pass rusher; in only fourteen games, he totaled 85 tackles and a league-leading 23 sacks (note that this is more than Michael Strahan's 22.5 record in 16 games), was a consensus All-Pro selection, and earned NFL Defensive Player of the Year honors. In addition, he was helped lead the Cowboys to a dominating win in Super Bowl XII, and was named a co-MVP of the game with Randy White.
He followed up his 1977 season with double-digit sack performances from 1978 to '81. Although the NFL didn't start recognizing quarterback sacks as an official stat until the year before Martin retired, the Cowboys did keep sack records, and their charts credit Martin with a career sack total 114 sacks after leading the Cowboys in QB bags seven times during a nine-year period. His unofficial career franchise sack record stood for 30 years, before it was broken by DeMarcus Ware in 2013. And, to top it off, he had an awesome nickname, being known "Too Mean" (to go with "Too Tall" Jones and Randy "Too Strong" White).
Player: Don Perkins
Position: halfback, fullback
Seed: 10
Essentials:
| Name | Years | Career AV | Pro Bowls | All-Pro | RoH | HoF |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Donald Anthony Perkins |
1960-68 |
67 |
6 |
1 |
yes |
no |
Bio: The Cowboys were officially admitted into the NFL too late to participate in the 1960 NFL Draft, but they wanted Perkins, so they signed him to a "personal-services" contract that essentially agreed that he would play for the Cowboys if and when they received an NFL franchise. After sitting out the 1960 season with a broken foot, Perkins hit the ground running in 1961, gaining 815 yards and winning Rookie of the Year laurels. On September 24, 1961, he became the first running back in Cowboys' history to run for 100 yards in a game, when he rushed for 108 yards on 17 carries against the Vikings. In 1962, Perkins became the first Cowboy to make the All-Pro team.
The following season, Perkins switched to fullback, but that didn't slow him down. Every year of his career, he finished in the top ten in rushing despite playing for some of the worst teams in Cowboys history. Perkins he led the team in rushing six times and in touchdowns on four occasions. He ranks third on the Cowboys' all-time rushing yards and rushing touchdowns lists, and was selected to six Pro Bowls and to one All-Pro team. Perkins retired as the fifth leading rusher in NFL history. He was inducted into the Ring of Honor in 1976
Alright, BTBers, which man advances to the next round?