Pound for pound Mr Bates maybe the hardest hitter to ever play in football, period. In the dictionary next to the word overachiever, there's a picture of Bill Bates. KFB( KA-FU-KIN-BOOM) # 40 was here
Bates is probably the only Dallas Cowboy that Tom Landry, Jerry Jones, Jimmy Johnson and Barry Switzer loved. He played forever and a day which isn’t easy at safety. He just kept going as long as he could.
Too Tall…the 1st player drafted in 1974 overall…15 year career…never missed a game…changed the way every quarterback played the game due to his ability to make Quarterbacks adjust their passes to the strong side of the field! Dominated the run along with Larry Cole & Randy White! To this day one of the most recognizable players in the history of the NFL! Never embarrassed the Cowboys in any way shape or form…great ambassador for the Cowboys, for the NFL and sports overall! He should probably be mentioned in this discussion! Also, how about Harvey Martin…if the league would actually recognize all of his sacks he would still to this day be the NFL’s leading sack artist! Just something to think about…
You could make an unbelievable team with who isn’t on this list. Bob Hayes, Chuck Howley, Charles Haley, Lee Roy Jordan, Harvey Martin, Don Meredith, Erik Williams, Witten, Charlie Watters, Too Tall, Jay Novacek, Moose Johnston, Jethro Pugh, Bobby Newhouse
Talk about players from the early days , I absolutely agree with Chuck Howley, the guy in middle Leroy Jordan. Landry said when the plays over , no matter where its at on the field and if he's not on the bottom of the pile #55 will be real close. And the first # 22 Bullet Bob Hayes ,I mean he is the reason the zone defense was invented. Emmitt Thomas was the fastest man onthe Chiefs , had the angle on Hayes and he out ran Thomas and the angle..1964 -100 Gold Medal in the Olympics, fastest man in the world that was tough as nails and a true talent at receiver. Double and triple teamed more than any receiver in history and like I said, he is the reason for the zone defense. I don't know who you bump off that top 10 but #22 is at least 10.5. In fact that maybe a good way to rate the top 10.5 greatest Cowboys have a tie at 10..but Bullet Bob Hayes needs to be there.. A safety name Woodson ring a bell?
If anybody argues with you, then you know a damn fool is proving himself to be one... Whites teammates said they didn't even want to be around him before the game and don't come to the game and be a slacker on. His defense. Better ask to be traded, you didn't have to worry about the coaches. The man was serious every down of every game. Bob Lilly never missed a game in 14 years, a defensive tackle, now thats saying something... That's Mr. COWBOY
Don Meridith! Good ole Dandy Don. Remember he would sit with player from the other team smoking when he wasn't playing. One of a kind! And a wonderful guy and friend Harvey Martin. Gentle man!! Love him 4 ever!
You guys easily and effortlessly dismissed Tom Landry. We all understand he was just a coach. But what a coach. With out him the Dallas Cowboys never would have been. There would had been a team from Dallas but that would have been it, a team from Dallas. No one gives him credit for what he did for the game. Landry singlehanded gave us the modern game of football. Kind of Before Landry BL and After Landry AL. Just a few things that I can remember; shotgun, 4 man defensive line, nickle back and nickle defense, the daddy of motion in back field...and so on and so no. Not to mention the computer that helped with the draft picks. This is why I say there would had never been The Dallas Cowboys without Coach Tom Landry from Mission Texas. Oh, look it up, during sometime in the mid 80's if not half almost half of NFL head coaches had played or coached under the tutelage of the big man himself. What other coach can claim even half of that. Respect where respect is due. Just saying.
There was no "easily and effortlessly". The made a list of Cowboys *players*. And *look it up*? You made the claim and you have to show that it's true--not the other way around. It's easy to make stuff up when you don't have to worry about having to show it's true.
I can't argue with a single one of the players they chose for this list. Every single one of them was a great player... But then I think about all the GREAT players that were not on this list and wonder how do you leave this guy or that guy off. Some of the players not mentioned here that really are worth of consideration... Harvey Martin, only man to share co Super Bowl MVP status with Randy White. He also led the NFL in sacks that season. Ed Too Tall Jones, 15 seasons he played with Dallas and is the 5th leading tackler in team history. The NFL practically invented a stat because of Jones and his ability to get his hands in the way of passes. Mike Ditka, you know the competition is really fierce for a spot on this list when you have to leave a HOF inductee off of it. Along with being a great TE for the team he was an assistant coach before moving on to coach the Bears. In fact he won Super Bowl rings as a player and assistant coach with Dallas before adding his head coach ring later on with Chicago Jay Novacek, speaking of All Pro TEs Jay at least deserves an honorable mention. The triplets may have taken the lion's share of the glory but Novacek helped keep the chains moving with his reliable hands in the middle of the field. Bob Hayes, called the fastest man alive and the first truly great runner to play for the Cowboys. Seriously the man was an Olympic Medalist who learned to play football pretty well too. Charles Haley, OK he gets dinged because he spent part of his career in SF before he came to Dallas but the man is on The Ring of Honor and in the Hall of Fame. Oh and he was present for all three of the 90s era Super Bowl wins. Darren Woodson, how he isn't in the HOF yet is beyond me. Larry got the Super Bowl MVP trophy and Deon was certainly flashier but Woodson was a ROCK in the middle of that secondary. Everson Walls, poor Everson gets no respect and no mention since his career encompassed the slow downward slide during the 80s. Be that as it may he still led the NFL in interceptions 3 of the 8 years he was in Dallas and got 4 Pro Bowls. I remember being very happy for him when he finally got a Super Bowl Ring with the Giants. He definitely earned that ring! Not bad for a guy everybody said was too slow and too small to be a starting corner back in the NFL Danny White, one of the most forgotten and underappreciated of all Cowboys. Poor Danny never could get the team to the SB and had his career cut short by a broken wrist that never fully recovered. Never the less he threw for more than 3000 yards 4 of the 8 years he was a starter at QB (one of those seasons was shortened by a player strike as well), 6 out of 8 years he had as many or more TD than Ints. He took the team to three consecutive NFC Championship games and he handled the punting duties as well as QB duties for close to 10 years before Dallas finally got Mike Saxon. Daryl "Moose" Johnson, Johnson was such a popular player that even at away games the entire stadium would yell MOOSE every time he touched the ball. He was a fantastic blocker for Emmitt but he could also catch and excelled at short yardage running himself. Ken Norton Jr, Norton was the anchor at the heart of the defense that won three Super Bowls in the 90s and was one of the best middle linebackers in football in his prime IMO.
Sorry ,I love Randy White, but nobody was better than Mr. Cowboy, nobody....and everything you say is true. The Cowboys have had 2 of the best Right Defensive Tackles in the history of football. And I'm not taking anything away from Mean Joe Greene...
Wow, when I saw the link to this I thought this is going to be hard, and thought hard about who the top ten greatest Cowboys were before clicking. I ended up coming up with almost the same thing, but instead on Renfro, I had Witten. I had also thought hard about Renfro, Howley, Martin, Harris, Wright, and so many others. What a great franchise. Go Cowboys!
A Q I would have liked to have seen what Dorsett would have done behind Emmett's offensive line ! I can envision him having 2,000 yards in a season playing in his prime behind Emmett's offensive line !
No Bullett Bob Hayes who changed the way defense's are played to this day. We wera a losing organization until we drafted Hayes & that when the organization started to turn around from losing to wnning.
No Everton Walls, WOW, he lead the NFL in interceptions 3 times...I get that he was left off the team because no SBs but how many Cowboys have ever lead the NFL in INTs...
I was just getting ready to suggest that, but see you've already done it. Number 79 was an awesome player. I think Neon Deion Sanders was hard to beat also.
@@horseman528 he was fast yes great at covering receivers still doesnt take away from being a terrible tackler also he never played in the big D very long ,
Bob Lilly and Randy White didn't play together, but Chuck Howley and Lee Roy Kelly did. Coach Landry marveled at Lee Roy Jordan claiming that he could have been a great running back. Those two need to go into the Hall of Fame together.
This is the most accurate Cowboy Top Ten list. I agree that the older players don't get the credit they deserve. Lilly, Howley, Renfro and R White could all compete in todays league.
Renfro was a major threat as a punt returner. The arguments over this list are endless, but not bad really. I'd mention Neon Deion, Calvin Hill, Bullet Bob Hayes, Darren Woodson.. Have you got a day or three, this could go on.
Thanks for mentioning Charles Louis Howley!! I became a "Cowboy" fan during the ice bowl!! So many great, and a few hard to take memories, especially the 2, 4 point losses to the Steelers & the 3point loss to the colts on a end of game field goal by a tight end who barely made 50%!!!
Here's the thing..there were so many that 10 leaves alot of great cowboys out!!! It could be argued Darren Woodson to name one and the list goes on and on!!!! To include everyone there would have to be a list of at least the 50 greatest cowboys!😊
👍 Good picks. Chuck Howley and Lee Roy Jordan were both great linebackers. Bob Lilly and Randy White both rank in the top ten defensive tackles ever to play in the NFL. What about Jason Witten?
Staubach. Great QB, even a better human being. Catholic. Family man. Great father. Never heard a negative thing in the press about him. Ever. Made a life after the NFL. Smart guy, never went broke like so many of them do buying cars and toys. They should all look up to him. He didn't spend his $$ on stupid sh*t. He started a business and still worked after football. Nothing but respect for him ALWAYS.
This gentleman was right. The players I grew up watching are being completely forgotten. It’s sad, because we have such a rich history, especially for a team so young.
I met Bob Lilly while on a sponsored Deer Hunt in Marfa, TX. This was during his playing period and long before steroids and 300+ pound refrigerator/players in the NFL. Bob was the largest man I had ever met and had the largest hands of any human I had ever seen. That said, Bob was sized proportionately and you didn't notice how big he was until you got closer. He was also one of the nicest men I had ever met and demonstrated no ego whatsoever. Good quail shooter too.
Agree with the list. Always have been a cowboys fan. Chuck Howley, Lee roy Jordan, Harvey Martin, and Everson Walls all belong in the H O F! Past time !
I believe your belief and if anybody doubts it ask Troy Aikman, he said Allen would just crush pro bowlers. Other teams players would have their guys getting embarrassed and they would look at their teammates and say what do I do, they would shake their head and say ,we know man. It wasn't uncommon for Allen to come off a first block and lock up a linebacker and drive him 10, 15, or 20 yards down the field. If you had 5 Larry Allen's, you wouldn't need receivers, just extra running backs. The Cowboys rushed for 867 yards today....
@@randycrocker5908 yeah not just Troy you could ask HOFers that lined up against him. They said he would tell them that the run was coming behind him. Then he would blow them off the line. Amazing. Plus he was fast enough to be the pulling guard. Just amazing his physical talents.
Not often will I agree with these lists, but this one rings pretty true. There is film out there of Bob Lilly HURDLING a lineman and then chasing down OJ Simpson for the tackle... when he was old and OJ was young. Lilly was an outrageously impressive presence on the football field.
but Randy White was even better! Lilly gets the nod because he was the original. But in the NFL circles, White was the best player at that position, better than Lilly, Green, Olson, etc.
#1 Bob Lilly, Lee Roy Jordan, Walt Garrison, Calvin Hill, Jethro Pugh, Harvey Martin, Bob Hayes, Dave Manders, Cliff Harris, Roger Staubach. Honorable Mention Howley for sure, Charlie Waters, Rayfield Wright
Yes the coach is #1 since it was his system, he was the offensive and defensive coach as well AND he called the plays , the players were replaceable, it was the system. Roger Staubach offered NOT to retire if he could call his own plays, coach said NO it is a system and guess what after once the best Quarter backs in NFL history stepped down the cowboys did exceptionally great in the playoffs three years straight without him.
W/O watching, just guessing, in no order I say Roger Staubach , Bob Lilly, Drew Pearson, Tony Dorsett, Aikman, Irvin, Emmitt, Randy White, Mel Renfro & Cliff Harris.. honorable mentions.. Everton Walls, Too Tall Jones, Leroy Jordan, Harvey Martin, Jason Whitten
Hayes completely changed the game, but I'm trying to think of a time he came up big in the NFC Championship or Super Bowl. Even in the Ice Bowl, he made the mistake of keeping his hands in his pockets, on non passing plays, which clued the defense that the coming play was a run.
Great list, but Deion should be on it. He and Lilly are the two Cowboys consistenly placed on all time All NFL lists. Although I figure Allen is probably starting to show up.
Akiman couldn't hit anyone deep on the right sideline. Most accurate....LOL. Had the best OL to play behind and some of the best receivers. He was serviceable.
Harvey Martin should be on this list. He’s the true NFL sacks leader. They didn’t keep track of sacks while he was playing but he had more than Strahan, and did it playing a 14 game season compared to 16. Born and raised in Dallas, died way too young.
lilly was first draft pick , first cowboy in ring of honor, first cowboy in a pro bowl , first cowboy in Hall of fame..... Landry called him the greatest player he ever coached that should tell you all you need to know
Tough one. Staubach is one of the greatest, but is never considered the greatest at his position. Lilly, on the other hand, is among the greatest to ever wear a football uniform...period.
